What is 'Emo'?

[BioShockWins]

Hey. This is sort of like a poll or survey of what people think what 'Emo' is.
I'm going to go with these following categories as options.
______________
Music Type.
Style in Fashion.
A state of deep depression where the victim is consumed by hopeless-ness.
A ploy for (media) attention, and fascination from peers.
Combination of these.
Other.
_______________

For whatever you choose, explain why you think that, and what makes it 'Emo'. For instance, why is a certain type of music Emo while another isn't.

Make sure you vote before reading other comments. I don't really want results effected that way.

I'm going to go for the "ploy" one. It's almost selfish. More or less a publicity stunt. They're doing this for attention of peers and media. Which almost always is accompanied with wealth. Not necessarily monetary wealth, but wealth non the less.
They seem to think that they're better than everyone else (follow me here). Everyone in life has issues. But for some reason they think they don't deserve to have to deal with it rationally.
As if someone has committed a crime against them.

Although I rarely hear that reasoning from anyone else.

[bioshock_fan]

An emotional individual that amplies their expressions to receive attention.

[2K Elizabeth]

emo as a phrase was coined for music, shortened from "emotional" which is what the music was. it has since blossomed into much, much more.

[dacbietazn]

how was the music emotional may i ask? what kind of genre did this fall into?

or is this like some kind of metal?

[BioShockWins]

emo as a phrase was coined for music, shortened from "emotional" which is what the music was. it has since blossomed into much, much more.

She is right. It did originate from punk music.

how was the music emotional may i ask? what kind of genre did this fall into?

or is this like some kind of metal?

People will get real pissed at you if you call Metal Emo music.
Not that I'm angry or anything. I do listen to the stuff, and I'm not surprised at their lack of empathy.

As far as I know, there are no genres in Rap music.

I'll get some music videos to show you the difference in a minute.

[bioshock_fan]

I used to think emos and goths were the same thing a year ago, lol:p .

[dacbietazn]

lol thanks

[BioShockWins]

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Hawthorne+heights&search=Search
This is emo.

This is not
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=KillSwitch+Engage&search=Search

The second has a lot more screaming and stuff. But I can assure you, is not Emo music.
The first, although, is. Although I've only heard one or two songs. And the only one I specifically know of is Ohio is for Lovers, because I am indeed from Ohio. And they're from the same city as me. So the Radio DJs had to play it. I guess.


The blacking of wrists and the cutting of eyes (do u c wut i did thar?) is a give away. While the KSE is a lot like any other music, but with effed up singing.

[dacbietazn]

yah...nonemo music is better thanks for clearing that up for me :]

[audiosnag]

Emo is such a stupid name for a genre. I like some bands that are 'emo' like Death Cab, Elliot Smith, some other ones but i cant stand the name. What genre of music is there that doesn't incorperate emotion? That's what music is all about, drawing an emotional response from the listener. Anyway i think now it's turned into a whole lifestyle that seems to be a bit faddish.

/rant

[Maria Sunderland]

I'll have to say none of these.

The term 'emo' is way overused today, and it became a 'popular' word one day without warning. The moment someone shows a display of negative emotions (as anyone does at some point) said person gets pointed at and called 'emo'.

I may be overexagerating... In fact I KNOW I am, but I find the word very insulting and sometimes offensive now.

Music? I can't say any music is that bad. Linking Park? A little dark in their lyrics, expressing painful situations, etc... Emotional? Yes, sure but then shouldn't any emotions in music be considered 'emo' then? And let's see... if it's only about negative emotions, I know plenty of heavy metal bands who display just that, yet aren't considered 'emo'? And whenever Celine Dion sings a heartbreak, then shouldn't it be considered 'emo'?

Fashion and clothes? What IS considered 'emo'? Goth? Well no, it's a completely other thing, right? Someone with black hair and a bit of make-up? Oookay... I know plenty of those then. Someone dressed solely in black? Geez I wear a lot of black. I guess that makes me 'emo' then. And what the heck, for 5 years I had bright red hair... like blood?

Depression; No. Depression is something EVERYBODY goes through once in a while, no matter what, even as they deny it. So I guess that makes all of us 'emo'? Severe cases of depression aren't 'emo', they're conditions that need treatment.

Now I'm sure some of you went "WTF?!", she doesn't get it at all once you reached this point of my post, right? Well I don't blame you. I might do the same.

All I wanted to show though, is that the term 'emo' is largely overused and has become exagerated. People cannot show or talk about some negative feelings (which is important to talk about) by fear of being pointed at as an 'emo kid' and whatnot. I'm also aware some people will exagerate themselves to the point of WANTING to be part of that stereotype and add oil to that burning fire.

I'm not 'emo' for a second, yet a wear black, black mascara, listen to a lot of darker music where there's screaming and then I guess you could say the singer 'cries' about his pain, etc... , and from time to time, I end up hitting the depression button. I'm not 'emo', I'm just normal.

I'm not pointing the finger at the one who posted the poll. On the contrary, I think it's an interesting subject. I only named my opinion on it, and I respect others' as well. :)

[BioShockWins]

Denial is a sad sad thing, Maria.
;)

[Maria Sunderland]

Hahaha I guess you're right... I'll go cry in my corner now ;)

[BioShockWins]

But anyway. It wouldn't be someone who occasionally shows signs of it, but who wears it on their sleeve.

Maybe it's just the "I think, therefore I am" philosophy.
(Unless I misinterpret that completely)

[audiosnag]

I think Maria called it. It's overused thats for sure.

[Iyul]

"Emo" is a disease that affects the young. Think about the children(not really)

[dacbietazn]

you killed it...

[Iyul]

I kill for fun

[Marko Shadows]

honestly though, i cant stand kids that dress up emo... it really annoys me

[japester]

Waitaminute. If starting new threads is a ploy for attention.....and being emo is a ploy for attention........Does that mean BioShockWins is emo?!?!

:D :p

[dacbietazn]

i...dont think so lol but i get your drift

[thesuperjman]

some of my buddies say im like old school emo. im not like scene, but i wear slim fitting clothes, and colors, and have medium cut blonde hair, and usually wear skate or converse shoes and listen to all kinds of music ranging from reggae to rock to rap (and i say rock including all rock-like genres). i dont like to call myself emo but oh well its cool.

[lotkrotan]

some of my buddies say im like old school emo. im not like scene, but i wear slim fitting clothes, and colors, and have medium cut blonde hair, and usually wear skate or converse shoes and listen to all kinds of music ranging from reggae to rock to rap (and i say rock including all rock-like genres). i dont like to call myself emo but oh well its cool.

that's more of what the original "emo" was. I hate what people think emo (as well as goth) is now.

Emo (which stood for emotive hardcore, not emotional) was a subgenre of hardcore punk that formed in the late 80s following the collapse of the scene. It took the fundamentals of hardcore punk music, and added more intelligent songwriting and better musicianship. While hardcore was more aggressive, fast, and mindless, emo was more about song structure, and having a message.

Bands like Fugazi and Rites of Spring helped form this genre.

This genre soon melded with the indie genre with bands like Jimmy Eat World and Weezer following in the footsteps, but with a more poppy style and sound. Some people misonceived them as being emo, while they were just emo influenced.

Nowadays, people confuse post punk and pop punk bands as emo. Citing bands like Fall out Boy, and My Chemical Romance as emo, while they are in fact not.

The same misconception is that emocore, or screamo is influenced by emo. Bands like From Autumn to Ashes, Chiodos, etc. They're actually a mix between post hardcore and metalcore.

These same misconceptions happened around punk at the end of the 20th century. People started labling bands like Good Charlotte and Blink 182 as punk band, when real punk bands hated everything about them.

Once again, these misconceptions happened to goth back in the mid 90s. Real goth bands were Bauhaus, Cinema Strange, and the Virgin Prunes, yet alt rock and nu metal bands like Marilyn Manson and Slipknot were being called goth. The real goth scene existed mostly through the 70s-80s, ending with most of the scene switching to a more industrial sound.

The same thing happened to Metal. Bands like Limp Bizkit and POD started becoming popular, and people thought they were metal. This however was not true at all. The bands in the nu-metal scene had more in common with pop and hip hop than metal.

Why does this happen? Fashion is the main cause. People well see a scenester wearing something, and as it's "hip" for a teen to rebel, they'll accept this subculture's fashion without understanding anything about it. The same ignorant kids start bad bands, and impressionable youth start to think that the whole scene is what these couple bad bands are like. Hot Topic hasn't helped either. The media misconstrues lots of things, subcultures being one of them.

Lastly, the emo "fashion" is more about jeans and band tees than tight pants, straight bangs, and eyeliner. The latter, which is often called "emo" is more "scene." That's a term coined after the typical metalcore/screamo fashion sense.

When you're all older you'll realize that every few years there's a new subculture to pick on. The kids that usually get into these faux subcultures are usually impressionable, and stupid. They are looking for something to complain about, and false claims of depression and suicidal tendencies are the norm. That's not just emo, emo just happens to be the trend they follow as they go through their teen years.

I picked music on the poll, even if it's not the music you're thinking of.

for reference (some songs have naughty language):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGJFWirQ3ks
fugazi, a real emo band

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNn3ObYRpmg
From First to Last, a fake emo band

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VyWNDxQQxM&feature=related
Bauhaus, a real goth band

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlfdoObRyoc
Marilyn Manson, a fake "goth" "Artist"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_09wFxoaeQ
Slipknot, a fake metal band

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwLtTa2trRs
Slayer, a real metal band

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfAVIePV6bs&feature=related
Good Charlotte, a fake punk band

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KriLK2X5Wyg
NOFX a real punk band

and just because the term hardcore has changed so much in the past few years...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVBgj0vqjC8&feature=related
Minor Threat, a real hardcore band

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qm1870K22lc&feature=related
Bury Your Dead, a fake hardcore band

[DemonCommander]

Emo music usually consists of bands such as Trivium, My Chemical Romance and Hawthorne Heights as BioShockWins stated earlier.

[Marko Shadows]

Emo music usually consists of bands such as Trivium, My Chemical Romance and Hawthorne Heights as BioShockWins stated earlier.

man, trivium in NOOO WAY is an emo band, at all...

[DemonCommander]

in my opinion, it is... but w/e

[Priest]

I've never really sat down and listened to "emotional rock", but the old school emo of Fugazi is something I've listened to since I was in high school, plus Ian MacKaye is one of the coolest guys I've ever seen, if you haven't seen Fugazi's "Instrument" it is a must see for any person who is a fan of Fugazi. I also listened to allot of "screamo" which sounds a bit similar to emotional, but has tons of screaming, better lyrics and even harder music. I personally don't listen to new stuff; I'm one of those guys that like his old days 90 music, mostly stuff like Sublime, Rage, etc. I tried to keep up with modern bands, even out of high school but just couldn't get over how much most bands today sound alike. Except for a few that actually did set themselves apart and have a unique sound, like Wolfmother, Bloc Party and The Klaxons. Maybe one day I can move on and listen to other stuff beside my old school stock, but at the moment it doesn't look like I'll be putting their albums away anytime soon.

[Pat Shants]

Isn't it wonderful that I haven't got a ****ing clue what any of this means.

My 16 year old daughter is now laughing at me very hard.

She agrees with Maria in that Emo is just a word now to label someone with if you can't be bothered to go any deeper. She hates being pigeon holed and will often do the opposite of what you expect.

Aaahh, the penny drops!

This opens up a whole new Dad-strategy for me. Thanks guys, I knew it was a good idea to join this forum.;)

[lotkrotan]

Emo music usually consists of bands such as Trivium, My Chemical Romance and Hawthorne Heights as BioShockWins stated earlier.

in my opinion, it is... but w/e

Well then, in my opinion Kreator is Punk and Rancid is black metal.

I've never really sat down and listened to "emotional rock", but the old school emo of Fugazi is something I've listened to since I was in high school, plus Ian MacKaye is one of the coolest guys I've ever seen, if you haven't seen Fugazi's "Instrument" it is a must see for any person who is a fan of Fugazi. I also listened to allot of "screamo" which sounds a bit similar to emotional, but has tons of screaming, better lyrics and even harder music. I personally don't listen to new stuff; I'm one of those guys that like his old days 90 music, mostly stuff like Sublime, Rage, etc. I tried to keep up with modern bands, even out of high school but just couldn't get over how much most bands today sound alike. Except for a few that actually did set themselves apart and have a unique sound, like Wolfmother, Bloc Party and The Klaxons. Maybe one day I can move on and listen to other stuff beside my old school stock, but at the moment it doesn't look like I'll be putting their albums away anytime soon.

There's a few really good modern bands. I don't know if you're into post rock, but Mogwai, Red Sparowes, and Sigur Ros are all great, and very unique. Placebo is a good alt rock band that plays around with ambient song structures. As for Screamo, The Number 12 Looks Like You is amazing. Technical riffs, brilliant song writing, and crazy spaz moments.

[thesuperjman]

chiodos is my fav screamo band

[lotkrotan]

my girlfriend is in love with them, and at first I couldn't stand them, but their new album is decent. Doesn't come close to the masterpiece that is Colors by Between the Buried an Me, but I doubt we'll see an album that good again in a while...

[Marko Shadows]

my girlfriend is in love with them, and at first I couldn't stand them, but their new album is decent. Doesn't come close to the masterpiece that is Colors by Between the Buried an Me, but I doubt we'll see an album that good again in a while...

uhhh, i tried listening to their album, Alaska, and i really couldnt stand them... Im a death metal guy myself, but im pretty open to listening to anything, as long as i like it...I think thats the problem with music nowdays, is that you are labeled by what you listen to... who knows how many emo kids actually listen to emo music. They could just be scene kids looking to get attention...

[lotkrotan]

uhhh, i tried listening to their album, Alaska, and i really couldnt stand them... Im a death metal guy myself, but im pretty open to listening to anything, as long as i like it...I think thats the problem with music nowdays, is that you are labeled by what you listen to... who knows how many emo kids actually listen to emo music. They could just be scene kids looking to get attention...

If you want just straight up brutal, Silent Circus, or their self titled album is what you want. Their latest two are more progressive. I love prog metal and tech metal (red chord and gorguts ftw!) but I know some people that don't.

[matches81]

I voted for "ploy for attention". The reason might be I don't know much about emo music. I agree "emo" is being vastly overused currently, but I also think it's a bit narrow-minded to stick with an old definition of something if it just doesn't completely apply anymore. So, I knew there is a music style / genre that was called "emo", but nowadays "emo" is mostly used for other things. For me, "emo" is what "goth" was 10 years ago. Every kiddie was suddenly "goth", now they're all "emo". And about the current sense of the word I agree with BioshockWins.
Same goes for metal or any other genre you can pull out: Of course it was different 30 years ago. But genres do change. I don't like most of nowadays metal too much, and it definitely is different from metal in the 80s for example. But it's still metal. As much as I hate saying it: Even nu metal is metal, although more like an ugly, charts-hungry and devolved sibling ;)

[Bioshock_FTW!]

Fact is, it's a usually ignorantly conceived mash-up of all of these characteristics that make up an "emo" kid. I've been watching this trend since I saw it surface when I was in highschool. It's near impossible to go to a mall without seeing at least a handful of them, usually in pairs or if male, holding the hand of some girl atleast 2 grades below him who makes him feel validated because she "gets" his sensitive, tortured soul. Rofl.

It's hard to take these kids seriously because they try so hard yet try to make it seem like it's just who they are and that they don't have to try. They contradict themselves before they even walk out the door.

It's a fad, a phase, and a complete joke to most of us who are confident in knowing that we don't have to sport off-balance, vision reducing hairstyles to show other people who we are and what we stand for.

It's a cry for help, it's a ploy for attention, it's fashion, it's music, it's ignorance to the very core of not being true to yourself. But the good news is, emo is just todays goth. Goth has just evolved into emo and has become the status quo for many out of place kids who want to be on the fringe. It's the place to be if you don't fit in; so at least the kids have that.

http://www.forumspile.com/O_RLY-EmoRLY.jpg

[Marko Shadows]

If you want just straight up brutal, Silent Circus, or their self titled album is what you want. Their latest two are more progressive. I love prog metal and tech metal (red chord and gorguts ftw!) but I know some people that don't.

ahh, so you're into the Red Chord? I saw them this summer in Toronto at a show where Through the Eyes of the Dead was playing... Im into brutal metal, but i also like melodic metal too, such as the old Through the Eyes, which is much more melodic than the new TTEOTD... Personal pref. i guess...

[lotkrotan]

ahh, so you're into the Red Chord? I saw them this summer in Toronto at a show where Through the Eyes of the Dead was playing... Im into brutal metal, but i also like melodic metal too, such as the old Through the Eyes, which is much more melodic than the new TTEOTD... Personal pref. i guess...

Yea, The Red Chord is pretty good, altough their latest album wasn't as great as their others. Not enough focus in my opinion. I've seen them a number of times. Once with Bury Your Dead and Cannae, once with The Banner (great show), once with Gwar, Municipal Waste, and The Acacia Strain, and once with Between the Buried and Me. They play up here quite a bit, which is weird seeing as we don't get many good bands up here. (last years biggest shows were Unearth and Killwhitneydead. That was all year.)

[JigSaw7426]

Hey. This is sort of like a poll or survey of what people think what 'Emo' is.
I'm going to go with these following categories as options.
______________
Music Type.
Style in Fashion.
A state of deep depression where the victim is consumed by hopeless-ness.
A ploy for (media) attention, and fascination from peers.
Combination of these.
Other.
_______________

For whatever you choose, explain why you think that, and what makes it 'Emo'. For instance, why is a certain type of music Emo while another isn't.

Make sure you vote before reading other comments. I don't really want results effected that way.

I'm going to go for the "ploy" one. It's almost selfish. More or less a publicity stunt. They're doing this for attention of peers and media. Which almost always is accompanied with wealth. Not necessarily monetary wealth, but wealth non the less.
They seem to think that they're better than everyone else (follow me here). Everyone in life has issues. But for some reason they think they don't deserve to have to deal with it rationally.
As if someone has committed a crime against them.

Although I rarely hear that reasoning from anyone else.



You're right. Emo's rarely ever have actual problems. If you pay close attention, almost all of them are either upper-middle class or rich and are very well off. They just make up problems to make themselves more interesting and distract from people in our society who actually have problems. I, though I will not brag or flaunt it, have some problems, but in no way do I go around shoving it in peoples faces and make them feel guilty for something they have nothing to do with. I simply live life by laughing and having a good time. No emo is worth any energy or time.

[lotkrotan]

You're right. Emo's rarely ever have actual problems. If you pay close attention, almost all of them are either upper-middle class or rich and are very well off. They just make up problems to make themselves more interesting and distract from people in our society who actually have problems. I, though I will not brag or flaunt it, have some problems, but in no way do I go around shoving it in peoples faces and make them feel guilty for something they have nothing to do with. I simply live life by laughing and having a good time. No emo is worth any energy or time.

You just described every attention *****, spoiled teen ever. Just because they follow a certain fashion doesn't mean they have a certain mindset. I know plenty of non-"emos" that act like that.

[Bioshock_FTW!]

You're right. Emo's rarely ever have actual problems. If you pay close attention, almost all of them are either upper-middle class or rich and are very well off. They just make up problems to make themselves more interesting and distract from people in our society who actually have problems. I, though I will not brag or flaunt it, have some problems, but in no way do I go around shoving it in peoples faces and make them feel guilty for something they have nothing to do with. I simply live life by laughing and having a good time. No emo is worth any energy or time.

Even further, they are supposedly the product of the status quo. They're the overlooked, ignored ones who aren't getting the attention because of the jocks and the troublemakers. It's funny and completely contradictory considering most of them pride themselves on being more than fine with being left alone to their tortured selves; yet the very thing that makes them emo is the exact opposite. What a joke.

[thesuperjman]

dude im kinda pissed cause i had to cut my hair for wrestling (didnt have time to get a cover) so i feel gay lol.

[bioshock_fan]

dude im kinda pissed cause i had to cut my hair for wrestling (didnt have time to get a cover) so i feel gay lol.

I was going to sign up for wrestling this year, but it costs $80 to sign up and there are all kinds of practises I would probably end up missing, lol:D . I don't remember anything about having to cut your hair for it though:confused: ...

[Fuzzy OneThree]

thesuperjman, your hair must have been really long because here in Texas, it has to be below the eyes to need to be cut. That happened once with our 112 pounder and the seniors got to cut his hair. If it was me, that kid would have had a mullet. :D

Back on topic, most emos are doing it for some sense of belonging. The kids that I know that became emos were the C-student that was not athletic. And some of the time, they can't get out of the emo "lifestyle" ; quite a few turn homosexual or kill themselves.

[Adam And Eve]

Emo is essentially music. It's a form of music that typically emotionally disturbed or masochistic people tend to listen to. Of course as far as personality go, people who consider themselves "emo" have none. "Emo" people are typically attention starved kids crying for help. I have an emo style (i.e music and dark clothing, minus the eye liner and other cliches), I don't go crying about my problems, I just enjoy emo music and typically dress a bit dreary. Having the booming social life helps as well ;D

[TheBuddhist]

I've met some people who were very into that scene.. Which is all it is, apparently..

They look a certain way, listen to the music, but none of the ones I met had a tendency to whine about their daily lives. Though they did seem obsessed with hearing how "beautiful" they were. The females that is.

Then again I've met some pretty confused people. Maybe they all had naturally black hair and happened to have accidentally fallen into a sink full of bleaching stuff.

[dacbietazn]

They look a certain way, listen to the music, but none of the ones I met had a tendency to whine about their daily lives. Though they did seem obsessed with hearing how "beautiful" they were. The females that is.

NARCISSIST!!!

[TheBuddhist]

NARCISSIST!!!


Exactly. :p

[dacbietazn]

Exactly. :p

lol mildly entertaining to watch someone stare at themselves in a mirror. thinking of how to flip their hair in public and giving themselves "the eye" haha

[Adam And Eve]

lol mildly entertaining to watch someone stare at themselves in a mirror. thinking of how to flip their hair in public and giving themselves "the eye" haha

I spend 90% of my mirror time winking at myself and making flirty comments :D

[coffee009]

I think its depression or a ploy for attenchin

[SydneyBlake008]

It's people who are confused with their lives, and it goes something like this:


Death?

[Xerxes III]

I just look at it to be a unique style of taste, perhaps bordering on the metrosexual look. I could be wrong as I often am.

Peace