What is EMO?

Question

I keep hearing this word.. Are they sorta like the grunge kids of the early 90s? Or what?

Answer 1

"Emo" is not short for "Emotional." "Emo" does not mean Taking Back Sunday and Dashboard Confessional, despite what MTV has lead you to believe in the last few years. "Emo" is not sidebangs, tight pants, and male vocalists who sing like little girls about their failed relationships. "Emo" is not the use of diluted, meaningless metaphors and similes such as "My arms are like pinecones," and most definitely is not the rampant use of words such as "autumn," "heart," "knife," "bleeding," "leaves," and "razorblade."

I just thought I'd clear that up after all of these "definitions" in which I have encountered an unbelievable amount of people who try to pass off their blatantly false pretenses as fact, and are slowly infecting others with their high-horse, holier-than-thou bullshit. Because honestly, with your ridiculous definitions, Beethoven, George Gershwin, and Britney Spears are/was "emo bands."

Now, onto the real definition.

In the early 90s there was a movement in the hardcore genre that came to be known as "Emotive Hardcore," spearheaded by Rites Of Spring. Harder-core-than-thou kids, who swore by Dischord Records a la Minor Threat, actually coined the term "Emo" as something of a put-down for the kids who really liked Rites Of Spring, Indian Summer and this new wave of "Emotive" Hardcore bands. That's right, "Emo" was once not something kids called themselves. The field exploded outwards from there - Level-Plane Records has always been the most famous Emo label. Acts like Yaphet Kotto, I Hate Myself, Saetia, Hot Cross, A Day In Black And White, Funeral Diner, I Would Set Myself On Fire For You, You And I, and hosts of others came in the next decade. Most emo bands have since broken up, but there's still the occasional hold-out (again, the majority of Level-Plane Records' roster has been a procession of emo acts). Like most DIY hardcore/punk of the time, a majority found its way onto vinyl and not much else. Some people consider bands like Fugazi, and later Sunny Day Real Estate, a progression of emo, but personally, I don't quite follow that philosophy.

Often, more recently, this gets intertwined with post-hardcore, and understandably so - that's nothing to make an issue of, since well ****, at least it's close.

Since the late 90s, though, bands have been emerging in the vein of Taking Back Sunday, Dashboard Confessional, and the thousands of their clones. As far as I can tell, some lazy journalist somewhere, writing an article about them, decided "Well, ****, no one knows what emo is anyways, so I'll call these bands "emo" - sounds more appealing than bubblegum pop rock..." and the spiral continued downwards into the current amalgomation of bands MTV has told everyone is "emo."

Somehow, people decided that "emo" meant "emotional," which is obviously bullshit, as 99% of bands make music to illicit emotion, which would make "emotional" a completely all-encompassing genre from classical to opera to pop to rap.


Hope that helps.

Taking Back Sunday, Senses Fail, and My Chemical Romance falls under the "horrible pop rock" genre, not the emo genre.

Rites of Spring is emo.

This was one of the many definitions for this word on the site i found this definition.

Answer 2

I'm emo/goth sure there's a change and I'm a mixture of each... My dad calls me emish, I'm looking forward to that to capture on haha... Emos are satisfactory the type rocks along side the style in song and absolutely emo is created via difficult lives or pasts nonetheless, this does not imply we're continually unhappy and depressed we do smile!!

Answer 3

#1 An excuse to make fun of losers!

Real Answer: Emo comes from the style of "Emotional Metal". I believe it first originated in the DC music scene, with a few hard-hitting bands offering up heart-slashing 'tunes.

Whereas groups like Korn, and Marilyn Manson capture the rage of teenage angst with dark and angry lyrics, full of vigorous energy, and notable rage, hatred, and disrespect for the status quo, Emo groups tend to have far softer and sadder lyrics, focusing more on the "I am Hurting" aspect, rather than the "I am in a Psychotic Rage over this horrid injustice"

Nowadays, guys with eyeliner, total black hair, and bad haircuts are the symbol of Emo.

June 6th, 2006 was unofficially "Beat Up An Emo Day"

Answer 4

EMO is short for emotional. An "emo" is supposedly a person who is over emotional and thinks that the world hates him/her, when really they have a pretty good life. I like to refer to them as "the wha-na-be punks."

Below under the sources is a LONG link to a bunch of "movies" on "how to be an emo" found on YouTube. My personal favorite happens to be the one in a form of a documentary, but I have heard that a couple other ones are pretty funny too! Enjoy!

Answer 5

The Cure is goth not emo kid, They were around before that phrase was coined. EMO is whiny EMOtional rock, weezer was one of the first big bands to be termed EMO.

Answer 6

they're people who feel sorry for themselves mostly. and drain all the emotional energy from others. they're the sort of people who walk around with this dark cloud of gloom constantly hovering over them. they're depressing. (probably their mothers were taking lots of anti-depressants while pregnant or something and screwed up their brain chemistry)

kelly clarkston is a closet emo i think. i'm SICK of her whining about her problems. WE ALL HAVE ISSUES. GET OVER IT!!!

Answer 7

It's short for "emotional rock." I like listening to the beat but as far as the lyrics are concerned, it just sounds like a lot of whining.

Answer 8

have you heard of the Cure? they're emo like me. you always wear black and so on. Marilyn Manson and korn are goth not emo. Weezer is not emo they are geeks that never wear black. most of their music is not depressing too.

Answer 9

Hello. EMO has several different meanings.....here are very good web sites to explain..........

Answer 10

its more or less a personality its saddness. and black and white fotos. its eyeliner and black, brownish red, or dark hair. its black finger nails. its tight jeans, its all about the music