What is "emo?"?

Question

Could someone define "emo" for me please? I have a friend that says that he's emo, but I don't even know what that means. I didn't even hear it until within the past few months.

Ok....why would a guy want to call himself an "emo" if it just means he's overly emotional?

Answer 1

Origins
Main article: Emo (music)
For more than a decade, the term emo was used almost exclusively to describe the genre of music that spawned from the 1980s DC scene and all of the bands inspired by it. However, during the late 1990s, as emo music began to emerge from the underground into popular consciousness, the term began to be used as a reference for more than just the music.

The origin of the word emo itself is unclear. In a 1985 interview by Rites of Spring in Flipside Magazine, members of the band noted that some of their fans in DC were starting to call them "emo", arguably because of the state of emotion that the band displayed during their shows. In later years, the word emo was viewed as a contraction of "emotional hardcore" or "emocore", which was the popular designation of the music genre. (One contingent of the scene insists that emo is a contraction for "emotive hardcore". However, no primary source has been found to confirm use of that term prior to the mid-1990s.)

In recent years, as its use has come to define more than just the music, the word emo has more often been viewed as simply being short for "emotional".

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2000s
Bands like Dashboard Confessional began to popularize a more dramatic and personal style of "emo", which utilized lyrics that had a far greater appeal amongst teenagers experiencing life and love for the first time. As the lyrical content shifted and as the sound began to enter the mainstream, the term "emo" started to be used more often to describe what was perceived by those outside the scene as the overwrought melodrama of the music. The perception was that melodrama was simply an invention, an effort to display depression or dysfunction where it didn't actually exist. Popular comments such as "don't be so emo" and "cheer up, emo kid" drove home the belief among deriders that fans of emo music took themselves too seriously.

As major labels began pushing more bands under the "emo" umbrella, varying styles of music and dress began to be lumped in as well. The style of bands like My Chemical Romance and Panic! At the Disco, including their use of makeup (particularly black eyeliner) and longish hair (often covering one eye or the face) began to be associated with emo.

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Fashion and culture
There are two popular forms of dress associated with emo. The first is essentially what came out of the 90s "indie emo" scene, and has connections to indie rock and punk rock. It includes more vintage and thrift store clothing, typically for a well-worn look. Some of the clothing leans toward khaki colors. T-shirts are typically of smaller sizes and with random prints, often images from the 1980s. Bags and backpacks often have pins and patches of various bands.

The other popular style of dress focuses on darker colors. Commonly seen elements include dark colored hair, dyed either black, red, multi-colored (brown and black, red and purple, etc.), or an unnatural dark hue, males wearing pants tailored for females, lip, eyebrow, and labret piercings, and dark make-up on males and females (most notably black eyeliner, although red eyeshadow is becoming increasingly popular). A common accessory for both males and females are glasses with a dark coloured (usually black), thick rim, a style sometimes even worn by persons who do not require corrective eye-wear.

Converse All-Star style shoes are common amongst both styles of dress, as are Vans shoes.

While "emo" is often used to describe the dress and attitudes of fans of emo music, "emo" as a musical genre and "emo" as a slang term are largely separate. "Emo" as a musical genre long pre-dated the use of "emo" as a slang term. At the same time, most current bands labeled "emo" are done so unwillingly, and largely because they share some of the fashion trends and attitude associated with "emo" as a slang term.

There is also a common stereotype that associates "emo" with self-harm, most notably cutting wrists, crying, and maybe an extreme form of nice guy syndrome, due to song lyrics associated with so-called "emo" bands, which often speak of acts of self-destruction.

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Alternative uses
The term "emo" has also been used in recent years on the Internet as a form of derogatory insult, especially toward those who appear emotionally unstable, or those who talk about issues in their lives to people in public forums or chat rooms. Similar to popular curses, it tends to be used as a general insult even when it is not directly applicable. Phrases such as "cheer up, emo kid" are used frequently as a quick brush-off in this context. Some use the term "emo" to describe a feeling of depression, harking back to the association of depression with the "emo" subculture.

Answer 2

This is something that really bugs me. Emo is shorthand for Emotional Punk. Emo was a new sound that started in the DC punk scene in the late 80s. Rites of Spring, Fire Party, and Gray Matter are considered the first Emo bands, though I'd put Husker Du out front of them all.

Emo kind of died down until the mid 90s when bands like The Get Up Kids, Sunny Day Real Estate, and The Anniversary cleaned up the sound a little and became the new emo.

That's where it ends!

I'm so sick of people referring to AFI, Coheed and Cambria, and the billion other mascara wearing, tight shirted indie rockers as emo. Personally I love AFI and Panic at the Disco, but they aren't Emo. All of these disparate, so-called, Emo bands are really Indie, or Progressive, or Po-Co.

Some moron at an idiotic mouthpiece for fashion must have seen Emogame and just assumed that Emo was a fashion trend, not a storied musical revolution rising from the hardcore punk scene of the 80s.

In summation: Emo is a musical styling that arose from hardcore punkers wanting to make their music more personal and less political. Emo is not mascara and pancake makeup. Emo is not cutting and dark poetry. Emo is NOT the new goth.

Fashion mags with unqualified fact-checkers have hijacked the term and caused it original meaning to be lost.

Thanks for letting me get that off my chest.

Answer 3

This article deals with the genre of music. For other uses, see Emo (disambiguation).

Emo or emocore is a subgenre of hardcore punk music. Use of the term (and which musicians should be so classified) has been the subject of much debate.

In its original incarnation, the term "emo" was used to describe the music of the mid-1980s DC scene and its associated bands. In later years, the term "emo-core", short for "emotional hardcore", was also used to describe the DC scene. The term "emo" was derived from the fact that, on occasion, members of a band would become spontaneously and literally emotional during performances. The most recognizable names of the period included Rites of Spring, Embrace, One Last Wish, Beefeater, Grey Matter, Fire Party and slightly later, Moss Icon. The first wave of emo began to fade after the breakups of most of the involved bands in the early 1990s.

Starting in the mid-1990s, the term "emo" began to reflect the indie scene that followed the influences of Fugazi, which itself was an offshoot of the first wave of emo. Bands including Sunny Day Real Estate and Texas Is the Reason put forth a more indie rock brand of emo, which was more melodic and less chaotic in nature than its predecessor. The so-called "indie emo" scene survived until the end of the 1990s, as many of the bands either disbanded or shifted their style to the mainstream.

As the remaining indie emo bands entered the mainstream, newer bands began to emulate the more mainstream style, creating a style of music that has now earned the moniker "emo" within popular culture. Whereas, even in the past, the term "emo" was used to identify a wide variety of bands, the breadth of bands listed under today's emo is even more vast, leaving the term "emo" as more of a loose identifier than as a specific genre of music.
History

Answer 4

omg emo people. Tell him to stop being such a sheep.

mo is a subgenre of hardcore punk music. Since its inception, emo has come to describe several independent variations, linked loosely but with common ancestry. As such, use of the term (and which musicians should be so classified) has been the subject of much debate.

In its original incarnation, the term emo was used to describe the music of the mid-1980s Washington, DC scene and its associated bands. In later years, the term emocore, short for "emotional hardcore", was also used to describe the DC scene and some of the regional scenes that spawned from it. The term emo was derived from the fact that, on occasion, members of a band would become spontaneously and strongly emotional during performances. The most recognizable names of the period included Rites of Spring, Embrace, One Last Wish, Beefeater, Gray Matter, Fire Party, and, slightly later, Moss Icon. The first wave of emo began to fade after the breakups of most of the involved bands in the early 1990s.

Starting in the mid-1990s, the term emo began to reflect the indie scene that followed the influences of Fugazi, which itself was an offshoot of the first wave of emo. Bands including Sunny Day Real Estate and Texas Is the Reason put forth a more indie rock style of emo, more melodic and less chaotic in nature than its predecessor. The so-called "indie emo" scene survived until the late 1990s, as many of the bands either disbanded or shifted to mainstream styles.

As the remaining indie emo bands entered the mainstream, newer bands began to emulate the more mainstream style, creating a style of music that has now earned the moniker emo within popular culture. Whereas, even in the past, the term emo was used to identify a wide variety of bands, the breadth of bands listed under today's emo is even more vast, leaving the term "emo" as more of a loose identifier than as a specific genre of music.

Answer 5

Emo doesn't stand for "overly" emotional. It stands for emotional as referred to by a style of music. Unfortunately, what used to be a style of music related to relationship failure, heartbreak, loneliness, etc, which was communicated in an uplifting, "you're not alone in this feeling" way, has recently been merged with a goth style that is much darker and more depressed.

Emo can also be stereotyped as a manner of clothing style, which completely counters the punk influence with which emo was born, but is nonetheless becoming a reality.

This guy was most likely referring to himself as emo because he identifies with that style of music, or dresses in the style of an emo rock star.

Answer 6

EMO has many menaing pls see below

Emo may refer to:

Emo (music), a subgenre of hardcore punk
Emo (slang), a slang term used to describe a wide range of fashion styles and attitudes somewhat affiliated with emo music
Emo (oil), an Irish oil company and filling station chain
Emo (album), an album by Screeching Weasel
Emo Philips, the American stand-up comedian
Emo, County Laois, a town in the Republic of Ireland
Emo, Ontario, a Canadian town
Villa Emo, a 16th century villa by Andrea Palladio
Keith Emerson, famed British keyboardist/pianist
Eric Moulds, wide receiver for the Houston Texans (formerly Buffalo Bills) (fan slang)
Emo, a character in the movie Elephants Dream
"Emo", a song by blink-182
"Emo", a song by Death Cab for Cutie
EMO may stand for:

Education Management Organization, a for-profit school administration company
Electronic Money Order, a type of online currency, or eCurrency
Emergency Measures Organization, an agency of Canadian provincial government responsible for emergency preparedness
Emergency Machine-Off operation, more commonly referred to as an Emergency Power-Off
Extra Man Opportunity, a synonym for a lacrosse or hockey power play

Answer 7

Emo, when discussing rock bands or people who listen to certain types of rock, means "emotional." That is the most common sense of the word; if you don't think that's what your friend meant then ask him!

Hope this helped.

Answer 8

emo means emotional

Answer 9

emo is a label. the meaning of labels varies. generally it refers to populations of people who are depressed or pretending to be depressed, and try to look all sad and scene.

it could be defined as a type of music, but come on people. its a LABEL. theres no one definition. its slang.

Answer 10

It's a stupid tag line, for people who like to listen to stabbing westward in their dungeon and cut and slit their wrists, while huffing mop n glow.
It's just a term for overly sensitive people. It was a fad. It went out just like bellbottoms.

Answer 11

It is amusic style,and a trend.It means your depressed and usally want attention because your depressed.But it's a music style first.