What's the difference between goth and emo music?

Question

I love all types of musics but my 13 year old sister has told me that one of my favorite songs, "Love Like Winter" by AFI is an emo song. I thought emo songs were depressing. Love Like Winter makes me want to get up and shake my booty--not want to grab a gallon of ice cream and cry. I always equated emo with goth music. But then my sister tells me there's a difference. She proceeded to explain the difference but I suddenly developed a headache midway through her explaination. Maybe you guys can help me out. Straight to the point please [I'd like some examples of groups and songs]
Thanks in advance!

The question is, "what's the difference between goth and emo?" Seems everyone is answering everything but the question I asked.

Answer 1

Goth in musical structure tends to be extremely disciplined which contributes to the strictly constructed spiderweb of overlayed instrumental textures that result in a lush density still allowing for the play of space in the music to create a breathing lifelike quality to the music. For the most part the vocals in Goth are postured affectations of either effeminite or masculine caracatures.

Emo on the other hand is a musical Gestalt self actualization knife edge of emotion that can become destructive as easily as it can become overwrought in delight. While not of the emo Genre it is believed that the post punk speed pop of Husker Du's Zen Arcade album is a primary influence on emo. The music itself combined the thrash, random quality of punks musical sloppieness but where punks posture was that of not caring about self or society emo is entrenched in the extremes of emotion and passion and played out in raw fierceness and recklessness with a greater emphasis on the overall mass of the music and less attention to finer style points.

Goth on the other hand not only embraced a sonic style it also was equally conscious of an entire image and cultural style drawing from the darkness of Gothic horror novels, art, history and in practice actually adopting the Aubrey Beardsley frayed gauntness in appearance. Goth was a complete scene which was as intricately woven with the music as the music was with the image. Bauhaus set a tone, followed by Souxie and the Banshees, The Damned, Joy Division all worked in a heavilly dark mood tonally and played to the characterization of dissapated pseudo zombie fasion further enhancing the mystery and disassociation the scene wished to embody. The lynchpin of the Goth scenes establishment as a culture and artform was brought about by The Cure. While Souxie maintained her virtual monotone musical constructs it was Robert Smith that expanded the genre musically by interplay of story, pathos, humor, ennui, coupled to music that ranged from playful novelty swing to thick sludgy waves of dynamic drive to near avant garde noise all with heavily emotional revelations that went from the nightmarish to the juvenile fantasy to the crushing sadness and melancholy of grief all with a remarkable agility. Goth had an artist of real merit.

Emo however never gained a full identity due mainly to the emphasis on emotional expression over creative expression. Where Goth could spawn the industrial hedonism of an Andrew Eldrich and Sisters of Mercy with their nearly erotic manifesto of power and lust, desertion and motion Emo couldn't find the way to encorporate a cohesive identity.

Goth however did encumber itself in pretense and imagery and eventually all fog machines and drones become monotonous which due to the Cure's expanding stylistic range was laid even more exposed as lacking in dimension. Goth became formulaic for all but the few and for many of them it was an infusion of synth techno or industrial that prolonged their viability.

Emo on the other hand virtually vaporized as the sound of many bands proved thin on music and mostly cobbled together sound. Of all the bands associated with emo it is often Fugazi that gets the nod as most significant which is indicative of the nebulous form emo barely established since Fugazi isn't an emo band.

Goth has managed to produce a couple of truly legendary musical forces in Robert Smith and Siouxie Sioux.

The thematic thread of Goth is curiously a delicate tenderness of expressions of love. While it has been saddled as death music there is a strong vein of passion and joy that belies the gloom. One perverse offshoot that has been tagged as Goth but is actually the purely manufactured pretender to the Shock Rock crown of Alice Cooper is Marilyn Manson who is a practitioner of Theater of Shock Rock with roots in Arthur Brown's Crazy World and Screaming Lord Sutch's Jack the Ripper theatrics where the show validated the music and only in the case of Alice Cooper did the music rise to the quality of the production.

I personally believe that emo never coalesced into anything beyond tenuous potential and sporadic unpredictability in performance and output and if the spirit of the emo genre is what one desires a listen to Husker Du's Zen Arcade or Land Speed Record or even the bleak Candy Apple Grey would be worthwhile but know in advance that Zen Arcade is an extremely intense sonic experience that will test ones tolerances.

Emo never really stopped being punk while Goth morphed into New Wave/Synth/Industrial/Techno/ and whatever bits and pieces could be encorporated into the Goth Creature is remains.

I should say that I'm adamantly against calling any of the current offerings claiming Goth or emo cred anything but substanceless chamelions merging images and postures with mediocre rehashes of weak copies of past scenes. All show and no go musically for the ones I've heard but there is no room for artists in the business these days, sell the package and the fad and move on, one day barefoot surf roots balladeers, the nextday pogoing pop punk midgets with punk coreography and matching wardrobes.

Answer 2

the actual question is: what's the similarities between goth and emo? the only factor they proportion is they're the two from a undeniable variety of punk, and not even an analogous sub-style. Emo is a sub-variety of hardcore punk which formed interior the mid-80s in Washington D.C, which has rapid guitar riffs, shouting vocals yet with emotional lyrics. Emo stood for emotive hardcore punk. the 1st emo bands have been Rites of Spring and include. interior the 90s, the type became reinvented and bands like Sunny Day actual assets and Texas is the reason have been labelled emo. rather of the hardcore sound, emo became mixed with selection and indie, to create a softer and greater melodic sound. interior the 2000s, emo hit the mainstream with Jimmy consume worldwide's the "the midsection" and all of it became emo-pop from then on (arising emo as all of us know it right this moment; a teenage section). Emo isn't a style, it is not a fashion fact, that is rather no longer a psychological sickness and it is not a sort of individual. It became in hassle-free terms a music style. Goth is a existence-style that incorporates vogue, attitude and music. The music is a sub-variety of positioned up-punk which became formed interior the previous due 70s/early 80s with bands like Bauhaus and Siouxsie and the Banshees. The goth time era got here approximately by way of fact a member of uk Decay (tongue in cheek) noted their music as "gothic rock" and Ian Astbury jokingly noted as Andi intercourse Gang a "gothic goblin" by way of fact he became small and lived in Visigoth shape, making their followers "goths". Goth is dark, the cultured embraces and expresses elegance in darkness. the variety of the lifestyle is what the individuals of the bands we pay attention to wore, if we've dark minds (that's basically noted as being darkly prone - somebody who has a depressing ideas isn't rapidly goth) then we are able to exhibit that by using our music, vogue and something imaginitive. another actual goth bands are The Cult, The March Violets, Nosferatu, The Sisters of Mercy and Mephisto Walz. Goth and emo isn't a character. Goth is a good variety of issues, besides the incontrovertible fact that that isn't any longer a character, faith or cult. each goth and each "emo" has a distinctive character, whether they're shown to have comparable ones basically by way of way they gown and how they act (some human beings point out that they are the two depressive or mopey) besides the incontrovertible fact that that isn't any longer genuine, the only thank you to be sure somebody's actual character is to get to renowned them.

Answer 3

AFI is NOT an emo band. Is and NEVER was. LLW is not an emo song. AFI= Punk band.

You don't hear true emo music anymore. Emo started in the 80's and pretty much died in the 90's. Emo has nothing to do with cutting, depression, eyeliner or crazy hair.

If you want to listen to real emo, go back to the DC bands that spawned the scene, such as the Rites of Spring or Beefeater.

Many hold the wrong idea of what emo is these days. Emo is a genre and that's it. It's not about image or dressing up. It's about bands playing a certain style of music.

Emo stands for emotive HARDCORE. Not "emotional", like what most people think. It was then shortened to "emocore" which was further shortened to "emo". You can't say "He's emo" or "I'm emo" because it won't make sense. BTW, there is no such thing as an emo. People who label themselves as "emo" are poseurs.

Many bands these days are INCORRECTLY labelled as emo, when they are NOT. It's all wrong and everything about it is f*cked up. I suggest doing research on emo and AFI.

Also, don't label a band something especially if you haven't listened to their whole catalogue. Go listen to Rizzo In The Box or High School Football Hero by AFI. That's not emo. AFI is not emo. AFI were once a very respected hardcore punk powerhouse back in the early 90's. They've been making music for 15 years.

Also, emo and goth are VERY diferent.

Answer 4

ok I am not sure but pretty sure that emo was a music genre all its own that supposedly "died" awhile ago. But AFI is an "emo" band but only because of the bands apperence. But rememer those are all just labels. Like 30 seconds to mars looks emo but there music doesn't sound it. It's all just cliques. I love 30 Seconds to Mars and AFI but I am a complete and total girly girl, but when my friends see my mp3 there like "are you emo?" I hate the sterotyping, there just rock bands.

Answer 5

Music is music. Emo, goth, punk whatever who cares? If you like it you like it. Maybe AFI is considered emo, you can still like them and jump around to their songs. And if it is emo and you like it, who gives a sh!t? Obviously not all emo songs are depressing if this one isn't. Open your eyes and get out of the labelling and categorizing.

Answer 6

Goth music glorifies "death".
Emo music is based on "deep sadness".
There's a difference.

Just to let you know.

: P

Answer 7

in my experience goth is angry sorrow and emo is every other kind of self pity there is. but I could be wrong. personally i keep at least a 50ft distance from all that.

Answer 8

Example

Emo-AFI
Goth- Cradle of Filth

Answer 9

To the idiot above me;
NO
NO