四个一看就是老好人的小伙子，不但外型朴实得乏善可陈，连长相也都温顺得一塌糊涂。许多人简直难以想象，正是这四个其貌不扬的美国男人，在世纪之交的时刻掀起了席卷全美、继而震撼世界的EMO浪潮。没错，他们就是Jimmy Eat World。
不知不觉，Jimmy Eat World这支来自亚利桑那州的EMO团体至今已经走过了第十个年头。1994年，四位儿时的玩伴Jim Adkins（主唱兼吉他手）、Tom Linton（吉他手）、Mitch Porter（贝司手）和Zach Lind（鼓手）共同组建了乐队。他们奇怪的乐队名字来自于吉他手Linton两个爱打闹的弟弟Ed和Jimmy，有一天两个孩子打了一架之后，Ed为了出气，画了一幅Jimmy的画像，上面还写着“Jimmy Eat World”的字样，用来嘲笑长的胖乎乎的Jimmy。Linton看到这个词后觉得特别有创意，乐队其他人也觉得很有意思，于是大家决定用“Jimmy Eat World”来命名自己的乐队。
Jimmy Eat World在成立之初，他们的音乐更多的是受the Jesus and Mary Chain、Fugazi、Def Leppard等各种风格的乐队的影响，整体的音乐还没有形成自己的特色。他们除了在当地的一些小型场所演出之外，还陆续在一些当地的独立厂牌下，与别的乐队共同发表了一些合集。不久，Jimmy Eat World逐渐拥有了一部分追随者，并且在亚利桑那当地也算是小有名气了。1995年夏天，他们赢得了主流厂牌Capitol唱片公司的青睐，并与他们签下一纸合约。与此同时，贝司手Porter离开了乐队，而乐队也马上物色到了新的人选，那就是Linton的中学死党Rick Burch，在之后的日子里，他的贝司演奏也被认为是乐队最大的原动力之一。
1996年，乐队的首张专辑《Static Prevails》正式发表。正是这张在主流厂牌下发表的唱片，吸引了许多人的眼球。在经历了Grunge的大风大浪之后，一众美国的乐评人开始琢磨起了如何掀起下一个浪潮的计划。而Jimmy Eat World的出现给了他们一个热炒的时机，EMO浪潮也从此开始波澜不惊的开始涌动了。1998年年末，乐队邀请了知名制作人Mark Trombino（曾经为Blink182、Midtown等乐队制作唱片）担当新专辑的制作工作。1999年2月，乐队具有突破性的第二张专辑《Clarity》正式发表，专辑中的一首《Lucky Denver Mint》不但一举成为美国校园电台的热门单曲，而且还被收录在由德鲁·芭莉摩尔主演的青春片《一吻定江山》（Never Been Kissed）的电影原声带中，这也让乐队的知名度越来越高。
但Jimmy Eat World的发展并非一帆风顺，他们也经历了好几次波折。1999年年底，乐队与唱片公司Capitol在续约问题上出现了严重分歧，尽管乐队已经在当时录制好了第三张专辑，但他们还是决定离开Capitol，自己另谋出路。2000年春天，重返独立路线的Jimmy Eat World自筹资金，在欧洲的几个国家展开了乐队的第一次欧洲巡演。不久，他们在独立厂牌Big Wheel Receation旗下发表了早期单曲集《Singles》，以回馈那些长久以来支持他们的乐迷。2001年年初，著名厂牌DreamWorks决定为Jimmy Eat World发行唱片，并再次邀来了乐队上一张专辑的制作人Mark Trombino来共同完成唱片的制作。这张被名为《Bleed American》的乐队第三张专辑于当年7月正式发表。但没过多久，美国遭遇了“9·11”恐怖事件，为了避嫌，这张唱片也不得不更名为《Jimmy Eat World》。名称的改变并不能抵挡这张唱片的热销，这张乐队的同名专辑光是在美国本土就卖掉了130万张。而专辑中的单曲《the Middle》也成为2001年度最热门的曲目之一。
2004年1月，DreamWorks突然宣布关张，而早已红得发紫的Jimmy Eat World并不愁找不到新东家，他们迅速与大厂牌Interscope签约。而在这个冬天，我们就听到他们的第四张专辑《Futures》。这次的唱片封套设计与Jimmy Eat World以往的风格非常不一样：夜色中，一个只能看到侧面的男子，笔直的站在一个灯光昏暗的电话亭之前。封套上所流露出的如此阴郁的气氛，与专辑中的音乐遥相呼应，这也让我们看到了乐队忧伤的一面。专辑的开场曲《Futures》是典型的Jimmy Eat World式的歌曲，充满流行朋克动听的韵律，而又不乏让人震撼的张力。而在《The Wolrd You Love》里，听到是对世间之爱的感激，舒缓而轻盈的编曲，让忧伤的听者能够体会到世界的美好。Jimmy Eat World深邃的歌词与大气磅礴的编配，一直都是乐队的招牌，《Drugs Or Me》里深沉的钢琴声就是证明。
这张专辑所体现的忧伤气质，是如今一票只会狂噪的EMO乐队难以企及的，这足以让Jimmy Eat World在EMO界的一哥地位得以稳固。但这四位在演出时尽情挥洒的老好人，一但走下了舞台，他们又变得再普通不过了，真想知道他们到底在想些什么。用心聆听他们的音乐，他们的一切你都会明白了。
Once a trailblazing name in the mid-'90s emocore scene, Jimmy Eat World steadily rose to national prominence by embracing a blend of alternative rock and power pop that targeted the heart as well as the head. While the band's influence widened considerably with 1999's Clarity — an album that has since emerged as a landmark of the emo genre — it was the band's self-produced follow-up (specifically the infectious single "The Middle") that crowned them as major figures in commercial rock. The emo label proved difficult to shake throughout the 2000s, even when subsequent albums Futures and Chase This Light did little to evoke the hard-edged sensitivity of Clarity, but Jimmy Eat World nevertheless remained a league above the generation of emocore torch-bearers they'd helped influence.
Jimmy Eat World formed in February 1994 in the Phoenix suburb of Mesa, AZ. Jim Adkins (vocals/guitar) and Zach Lind (drums) had met while attending Mountain View High School; years of playing in local bands had also introduced them to locals Tom Linton (guitar/vocals) and Mitch Porter (bass). The four musicians joined forces and derived the band's moniker from an argument between Linton's younger brothers, Ed and Jimmy. The two siblings were prone to fighting, with the heavyset Jimmy usually emerging as the victor. One day, a revengeful Ed resorted to drawing a picture of his cherubic older brother shoving the entire world into his mouth. The caption "Jimmy Eat World" was printed beneath, and the band deemed it a perfect fit. Citing influences from Rocket from the Crypt, early Def Leppard, the Jesus and Mary Chain, Fugazi, and the Velvet Underground, Jimmy Eat World outfitted themselves as a punk rock act and began playing small shows in their native Mesa.
Over the course of 1994 and early 1995, Jimmy Eat World issued several EPs and singles on Wooden Blue Records, an imprint from the nearby town of Tempe. Limited-edition pressings of "One, Two, Three, Four," "Back from the Dead Mother Fucker," and split EPs with Christie Front Drive, Emery, and Blueprint would later run out of print, as would the band's self-titled full-length debut. The band's audience was steadily growing, and Capitol Records responded by signing Jimmy Eat World in mid-1995, when bandleaders Adkins and Linton were only 19 years old. Porter soon exited the group; Linton's best mate since seventh grade, bassist Rick Burch, was enlisted as a replacement, and the band marked their major debut with the release of 1996's Static Prevails.
Three years passed; by 1999, Jimmy Eat World had officially transformed themselves into an emo outfit with the release of their intricate sophomore album on the Capitol dime, Clarity. The record marked Adkins' emergence as lead singer and principal songwriter of the group, while Linton had handled such duties previously. Unfortunately, Capitol Records had also experienced some significant changes, ultimately culminating in the departure of president Gary Gersh — the same man who signed Jimmy Eat World in 1995. Capitol's new management balked at Clarity's sound and intended to shelve the album; it wasn't until several key radio stations (including L.A.'s influential KROQ) started airing the band's "Lucky Denver Mint" that the label relented and released Clarity in February 1999. "Lucky Denver Mint" proved to be popular on the radio and in the world of commercial cinema, where it scored a spot in the Drew Barrymore love comedy Never Been Kissed. Jimmy Eat World's fan base continued to grow, but their relationship with Capitol progressively soured. After the label shelved the band's third LP, Jimmy Eat World decided to leave the label, and Capitol was happy to oblige.
Although suddenly unsigned, Jimmy Eat World's powerful rock sound was attracting those overseas, with Clarity proving to be a popular entry on the German charts in 2000. The band responded by financing and promoting a tour throughout the European continent. Singles, a collection of unreleased B-sides and rarities, was released that same year on the independent label Big Wheel Recreation. A split EP with Australian rockers Jebediah was also issued, and the band scraped together the profits from those ventures and entered the studio to record Bleed American (whose title would later be changed to Jimmy Eat World after the horrific events of September 11, 2001). Enlisting the help of Clarity's famed producer, Mark Trombino (blink-182, Midtown, Drive Like Jehu), the band independently created the record that would effectively launch their high-profile careers. Jimmy Eat World then used the completed product to secure a deal with Dreamworks, who released the album in July 2001. While the hard-hitting title track did moderately well, it was the record's second single, "The Middle," that landed Jimmy Eat World a spot on the pop/rock map. Featuring a video populated by scantily clad teenagers, the song also enjoyed heavy exposure on MTV, where a younger audience latched onto the band's summery appeal. A year after its release, Jimmy Eat World was still a fixture on the Billboard charts and modern rock radio. A third single, "Sweetness," was released in summer 2002, and "A Praise Chorus" followed soon after, allowing the album to go platinum.
The Dreamworks label closed its doors in January 2004, and Jimmy Eat World shifted things over to Interscope for the release of their fifth album. Futures was released in October 2004 and debuted at number six on the Billboard charts, eventually going gold on the strength of the Top 40 hit "Pain." The Stay on My Side Tonight EP appeared a year later, featuring a Heatmiser cover and several tracks that were ultimately axed from the finalized Futures track list. Jimmy Eat World continued to tour in support of Futures before entering the recording studio alongside veteran producer Butch Vig, who had produced Nirvana's Nevermind and the Smashing Pumpkins' Siamese Dream before forming a platinum-selling group of his own, Garbage. With Vig behind the controls, Jimmy Eat World recorded their sixth studio LP, Chase This Light. The leadoff single, "Big Casino," was released in August 2007, and the album followed in October.