What is... Emo?

[Lazario]

I am 24, but as many of you have probably figured out by now, I'm not exactly the hippest guy around. I have to claim complete ignorance to what they are calling the current "Emo" trend. But some of the circles I run in, online communities (translation: Message boards), are very anti-Emo. Which makes me sort of think, they're nuts- there is no Emo.

But, what is Emo? Elmo without the L. Is this an illiterate hatred of... the little red guy?

Naturally, for some reason, I thought that Emo meant some college music thing. And the second I think of college music, I think: Save Ferris. Don't ask me why. They're probably considered terribly unpopular now by the mainstream, anyway.

I guess the reason I'm asking, is because whatever it is, for it to be thought of / regarded as an entire Scene, and for me not to know about it (you know, I haven't seen any sitcoms talking about it- so it's definitely a half-unknown Thing in the pop culture at least)... I just can't imagine. And me without imagination, is like asking a group of 10 year olds to form a Criminal Court Jury. Does anyone here know what this Emo thing is?

[Just Myself]

Emo is a trend, like goths and preppies are trends. Basically, emo kids are kids who have no attention and act out in insane ways to get it - they're many self-mutilators. I am anti-Emo, though not as strongly as many people I know.

Cheers,
JM

[DisneyDVDFAN]

Geez my son was asking me about that word also seems to be used a lot at his school by the other kids ... I searched and checked the dictionary and could not give him an answer .. LOL so thanks for posting this question and getting an answer .. now I can pass along the info to him ...

[so it goes]

It's 5 years ago.

But, seriously, it's a genre of music. Just Myself is way off. There was never any real good definition of emo, but, bands such as Sunny Day Real Estate, Jets to Brazil and Mineral were emo. When the "media" such as Rolling Stone got a hold of the term it was used for bands such as Thursday, Saves the Day and the Used. Although none of them where. Thursday came close, Saves the Day was moving in that direction, but neither truly were. At that time true emo was over. Emo is a dead scene. All the bands that where truly emo are long gone, bands being labeled emo now and just whiny hardcore (with some exceptions).

A mostly excepted description would be post-punk with loud soft dynamics and a use of breathy expressive vocals. Emo is short for emotion.

It has nothing to do with acting out for attention and self mutilating.

[Timon/Pumbaa fan]

Where's Wonderlicious when you need him!

[Jasmine1022]

It's 5 years ago.

But, seriously, it's a genre of music. Just Myself is way off. There was never any real good definition of emo, but, bands such as Sunny Day Real Estate, Jets to Brazil and Mineral were emo. When the "media" such as Rolling Stone got a hold of the term it was used for bands such as Thursday, Saves the Day and the Used. Although none of them where. Thursday came close, Saves the Day was moving in that direction, but neither truly were. At that time true emo was over. Emo is a dead scene. All the bands that where truly emo are long gone, bands being labeled emo now and just whiny hardcore (with some exceptions).

A mostly excepted description would be post-punk with loud soft dynamics and a use of breathy expressive vocals. Emo is short for emotion.

It has nothing to do with acting out for attention and self mutilating.

I'm sorry, but you're completely off. it is actually both. It IS a music genre, yes. Although it's up for debate who is and who is not an 'emo artist'.

but there are also "emo kids", as Just Myself correctly pointed out. Some people label them "goths", which aggrevates the goths to no end. basically, there are "posers", people that want to be preppy or skaters etc... emos are "poser goths", if you will. they wish to come off as goths. but...goths prefer to be ignored. emos, (again, as Just Myself pointed out) cut themselves and do other extreme things to be noticed.

[Wonderlicious]

Where's Wonderlicious when you need him!

Hey! Just because I had a Finding Nemo spoof saying Finding Emo for an avatar, doesn't mean that I am one.

Although emo is a genre of rock music, some of its teenage admirers have kinda taken it and combinded it with their certain tendancies and helped to make it a stereotype. A stereotypical emo has somewhat long straight dark hair (possibly dyed) that flops over one of their eyes, incorporates spots, stripes and the colour black. They are against everything and are miserable (mainly they make themselves miserable by being paranoid). They love MySpace, The Nightmare Before Christmas and My Chemical Romance.

[TheSequelOfDisney]

This is hilarious! Sorry. At school last year, in Spanish class, the whole 40 something minutes, we had a huge discussion of "What is Emo?", only because my teacher had no idea. Why in Spanish class, I don't know, but it was a comical class that day.

[Ting Ting]

The thing that bugs me about the whole "emo" trend is that people that call them self emo (which, by the way, is short for emotional) usually aren't. They write a bunch of "deep" stuff on their MySpace and dress a certain way, but in reality, they're usually the people who are class clowns. I'm really not fond of the "emo" term because I don't understand why people think it's cool to act depressed. It really irritates me and I hope it dies down soon.

[Escapay]

According to Kram, I'm an emo simply because I haven't yet cut my hair (since late August), and it's getting to the point where it hangs down over an eye if I don't push it back. When you're forced to keep hair a certain style and length for the "Disney Look", it's nice to not have to cut it for awhile (though I like to stay clean-shaven, as I never liked how I look with stubble or the beginnings of a mustache).

Emo people can probably be explained right here, a local college show countdown of the Top Ten Ways you know you're Emo.

Escapay

[RachelSmachel]

Here's the way I explain to anyone who asks:

Goths hate everything but themselves.

But...

Emos hate everything and themselves.


Yes, I know, I'm being horribly stereotypical. It's just a little joke I like to tell

[Chernabog_Rocks]

I've also been wondering exactly what a Emo is. I had a basic idea, my two friends are Emo, I told them if they want to hang with me than they can't be all depressing, ya I know I sound like a jerk but I don't want to hang around with a couple of people who just talk about drugs, and how much their lives suck and how they want to die, I told them if they feel that way than to go see a therapist or councillor. But ya, I'm against the whole Emo thing, why spend your life being depressed and suicidal? Def. not worth it IMO

[James]

Although emo is a genre of rock music, some of its teenage admirers have kinda taken it and combinded it with their certain tendancies and helped to make it a stereotype. A stereotypical emo has somewhat long straight dark hair (possibly dyed) that flops over one of their eyes, incorporates spots, stripes and the colour black. They are against everything and are miserable (mainly they make themselves miserable by being paranoid). They love MySpace, The Nightmare Before Christmas and My Chemical Romance.

That is such a great definition of emo. Some of my friends have absolutely no idea what it is (even though they should, since every second person in high school could be called one) and I've tried to describe it to them but they just don't get it. I said that emos cut themselves, and then I said that this chcik in our class was emo, and they didn't believe me, since she didn't cut herself. I tried to explain that they can still be emo if they don't cut themselves, but they're so oblivious to cutural crazes like this, it's so annoying. I could classify myself as an emo, since I act kind of depressed and unhappy at school, my hair is long, covers my eyes, and is to one side, and I like darker TV and film, but I don't really think of myself as an emo. I really like TNBC, but I wouldn't call myself emo. And If I really wanted to be emo, I'd dye my hair black, and I haven't even though it would suit me. And I really don't like Evanescence's new stuff, and I just find myself thinking whenever I hear Lithium- "can they smile a bit?". Although I do like AFI's new material, and I do like dark gothic kind of stuff. I guess it depends on how you percieve yourself. People who say that they're emo, are usually try-hards, and wannabes who just want to be cool. They kind of annoy me. And yeah, they do love MySpace, TNBC, and My Chemical Romance. It's the new trend, but it's kind of going out. I think that a mullet craze is in order now.
-James

[Lazario]

Ha!

The Nightmare Before Christmas is one of those movies I liked when I was a kid that I really don't like at all now.

[James]

Ha!

The Nightmare Before Christmas is one of those movies I liked when I was a kid that I really don't like at all now.

Yeah, I know a few people that have grown out of liking it. I think that teens like to rebel by liking it, and then they just grow out of it by adulthood.
-James

[Kram Nebuer]

I only call Escapay "emo" because he won't get his hair cut!

I've found this is the best at characterizing the extreme emo:

http://www.myspace.com/emorangers

It's rather sad to hear younger kids talk about being emo. They use it now to make fun of each other. It's sad how groups of people become the new word for "stupid."

[so it goes]

It seems emo has become the new name for "mall punk" which is what every one here is describing. I guess my problem would be I'm refering to emo in it's original use and know it from when I went to the shows and took part in the scene, which is absolutely nothing at all like what people are saying now.

So, Lazario, if you want a real emo lesson you need to go all the way back to the late 80's and start with Rites of Spring and then move onto Sunny Day Real Estate and that era of bands and then you can get to MCR and NBC. Which in my opinion, and the opinion of my group of friends, is not emo but a distilled media definition used to tag a group of teenagers and no longer seems to be connected at all to the music that spawned the original term. So I guess I'll have to be content with us using two different definitions.

[Loomis]

Yes, well "emo" has been around for some time, but has only recently hit the mainstream with bands such as My Chemical Romance.

Before that I just thought it stood for wanky, pretentious and whinging music

[xxhplinkxx]

They love MySpace, The Nightmare Before Christmas and My Chemical Romance.

HEY! I like all those things and Im not emo! .... am I?

[Maerj]

Emo kids look like Romulans from Star Trek and carry lunch boxes. That's how I've heard them described. They sound like watered down goth to me.