What Is Emo?

Question

...emo is a type of music right?than how come some people call themselves or others emo?

Answer 1

its mass marketed by MTV thats the reason everyone calls themselves that. Half the bands labeled as emo are nothing of the sort.

And "emo" does NOT mean "emotional". It's short for "emotive hardcore". Bands like Sunny Day Real Estate and Texas Is The Reason are real emo. Fallout Boy, Panic! At The Disco, MCR, et al, are horrible pop rock, not emo. If "emo" meant "emotional", then ALL music would be emo. From Urban Dictionary:

"'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 (sic) 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."

Source(s):

Urban Dictionary http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.ph... (Seventh definition down.)

Answer 2

Emo was origionally short for "Emotional Hardcore" and was an offshoot of punk, stemming from the DC music scene. Slowly, it began to take over, and was mass-marketed. Most bands listed as "emo" today are vastly different from true emo. It's a huge fad, and now kids are calling themselves emo to fit in with the "counter"culture.

Answer 3

Just another subculture popularized and exploited by industry, People identify with music. The whole idiom of emo is a sort of faux- existentialsim. Pondering meaning of thing, the cause and effect of action. Introspection or whatever. Indulging in emotion, but it seems the contemporary image of emo revolves around depression, isolation, nihilism or percieved negative values. Off-shoot of punk obviuosly, some early emo; some husker du , rites of sprting, rainer maria. Relavant in the late 80,s early ninties. It goes on to the more mainstream bright eyes, my chemical romance, or whatever supposed resurgance of emo. Emo is not very relevant today, now are the johnny-come-lately's of emo.

Answer 4

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 best the variety rocks along side the style in tune and absolutely emo is created via tough lives or pasts nevertheless, this does not imply we're continuously unhappy and depressed we do smile!!

Answer 5

Emo is an adjective so it can describe a person or music. i catogrize myself as emo cuz i dress emo-esque and i listen to emo music. Emo is short for emotional wich is a no brainer. But don't make this mistake, there is a HUGE difference between EMO and GOTH. For additional info go to www.urbandictionary.com

Answer 6

emo= type of music, emotional people who decided to label themselves as I am label as emo in my school becuase i cut and i was in the hospital for suicide=emo

Answer 7

An Emo is one of those people that dress in black, have long hair that they paste down on their face, grew up living like Beaver Cleaver but blame every problem they have on daddy not hugging them.......not really but, you get the picture.

I'm not an Emo so please correct me if I'm wrong.

Answer 8

emo is emotional and its not just a type of music...ppl can be emo too.

Answer 9

emo is a person of ither sex. that doesnt have any real problems but likes to think so. also they usually wear alot of black.
Examples:

girls. tight tattered jeans, messy medium lengthed hair, a black shirt that has a lot of patches usualy advertising bad names. black nail polish.

guys: same thing only sometimes that look even more like females

Answer 10

Originally, Emotionally-Driven Hardcore Punk, which evolved to just 'Emotional Music', which then evolved into its own subculture, most typically containing acoustic guitars, dyed dark hair, horn-rimmed glasses, very emotional people, and other similar things. (yes it is mass marketed).

Many people see it as 'just another trend', and others are completely submersed. What can you do?