what is a emo, why are they called that what does it mean and where does it come from?

Answer 1

EMO IS ACTUALLY A TYPE OF MUSIC. but somehow the definition slants and people take it as a short form of 'emotional' and these are signed by kids who wear black and all punk- looking (although there are a lot of controversy about this -punk kids dont like emo kids , scene kids dont like to be called emo etc etc they all look the same. )
READ THIS.
"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.

by Chelsea Mar 2, 2005 email it


taken from --- www.urbandictionary.com - type 'emo' in the search box.


have a great day.

Answer 2

Try:

http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery?s=emo&gwp=13

Answer 3

An emo or emo kid is a social pariah, a scenester with perfect messy hair and premium ripped up jeans, converse with ironic pink hahaha, and rectangular rimmed glasses. They listen to indie garbage like Regina Spektor and Plain White Tees. The best way to hunt an emo kid is to ask him what his favorite webcomic is and when he starts talking about Diesel Sweeties, punch him in his giant adam's apple. As for where it comes from? Only America could've produced them, man. Only America. And now you can find lots of 'em in Canada.

Answer 4

Emo = Emotional.

Answer 5

An emo is someone who is emotional all the time. emo is just short for emotional. Usually people who are always sad or depressed, and who are maybe in that suicide stage are considered emo.

Answer 6

well the word emo come from EMOtional...its a type of music where everyone hates them selves or something people feel sorry for themselves and cant handle there problems they wear lil pants and complain....... odds they all turn bisexual about 3 months into bein "EMO" so to answer your question mate its not really anything just people claiming to be something
its stupid cause normal kids can be fine and be sucked in and its so not worth it...

Answer 7

I asked someone this question yesterday, and was told that emo means 'emotional', and the word is used to describe a new strain of Goth - young people who listen to bands like My Chemical Romance and go about dressed in black, with fake blood on their faces and lots of makeup and who like to sit about in their rooms being upset and thinking about death. Sounds like the way I was from thirteen to twenty, except I was just called 'weird'.

Answer 8

Emo originally means "emotional", the people who are called "emo's" however are far from emotional, they are just plain screwed up and in need of serious help.
Emo's love the color black, they often seem almost "wannabe goth" with their black nail polish and black eyeliner.
A "true" emo will have a deep devotion to the band MCR (My Chemical Romance) and the lead singer who loves tight pants.

I make fun of them often..

Answer 9

Emo = emotional

And its a style. Like emo music, emo fashion, etc. When your describing a person, they're not far off a goth... its hard to explain!

Answer 10

An emo is a person who cuts themselves because they hate their life and their favorite color is black and that kind of stuff. Most emo's wear tight jeans and have funky hairstyles. Someone probably just made it up and it spread.