One of the most enigmatic and contagious trends to infest the 1990s and early 2000s was a brand of music known as Emo.

The exact definition of what emo was was just as confusing as the genre itself. Senior Spin contributing writer Andy Greenwald attempts to delve into this complicated brand on music in his surprisingly interesting and sympathetic new book “Nothing Feels Good: Punk Rock, Teenagers and Emo.”

Emo began its existence as emotional hardcore, later shortened to emocore, finally settling on emo in the 1990s. Most of those who mock emo believe that it all began with a heavily passionate band known as Dashboard Confessional.

However, Greenwald traces the roots of emo all the way back to the 1980s, where bands like The Promise Ring, Fugazi, Jawbreaker and Minor Threat were making headway with their brand of deeply felt hard rock.

Several of today’s popular emo artists are simply following in the tear-laden footsteps of these emo pioneers. Bands such as Weezer, Jimmy Eat World, Dashboard, Saves the Day and Taking Back Sunday all count original emocore as their greatest influences.

Not only does Greenwald look at the much-maligned emo genre with a sympathetic eye, he also travels deep into the heart of emo fans. Meeting fans at Dashboard concerts and in Internet chatrooms and message boards (the heart of the emo world,) Greenwald explores the true intentions and loves of emo fans.

Greenwald interviews a host of teenage spectators, learning about what turned them on to emo in the first place, and what keeps them coming back for more. While emo enthusiasts are often picked on for their intense feelings and emotions, Greenwald does an amazing job of humanizing the kids and sharing their true hopes and fears.

Greenwald creates a visually stunning world of true fans whose greatest love will always be the band that understands them. Reading like a fantastic novel, “Nothing Feels Good” is perhaps one of the best books to ever approach a genre from the inside.

He elicits not only a new understanding of emo, but creates a desperate need in the reader to feel the same love of music as the fans he interviews. Fair warning, after getting this book, the reader can’t help but go out and start buying most of the CD’s Greenwald mentions.