Emo

[Kamuro]

[SIZE=1]You know what, I'm tired of being called emo as an insult. What is "emo," it stands for emotional, that much I know, but really, is it bad to be in touch with your emotions? From my point of veiw it seems as though guys who know what they want get things more then those that deny actually wanting anything in the first play. Yeah, I play the guitar, I sing about love and I sing about loss. My hair is black and so are my clothes, so what? Who decides whats "emo"? Are you "emo"?

Well, I'll tell you one thing. I am who I am, no one will change that, and no matter how many labels are created to classify me as a specific type of person, I'll always be different. And all of you are just the same. Whether you exemplify every single feature of the "stereotypical blonde" or none at all, you're different. No matter how emotionless someone may seem, each and every one of us has feelings, about everything. And I for one am not ashamed to admit it.

I know there will be dozens of posts in this thread saying "I hate labels, I don't like them," blah blah blah. We know, but not one of us can reply with the god honest truth that we've never judged anyone before. I have, and so have you. The point isn't about the labels, and it's not even about emo for that matter. It's about you. I want to know what you think. Not what you assume, and not what you're told. I don't want you're friends opinion and I don't want your parents opinion. Tell me about yourself, and tell me about your "emoness."

[B]End Rant[/B][/SIZE]

[Goodbye, Face]

Where I live, emo usually means you wear girl pants (if you're a guy) and you play aucoustic guitar.

I will admit that I'm quite "emo," (as in "emotional" this time) it doesn't bother me, in fact, I'm proud enough of it to the point where no one calls me emo. Maybe it's just because they don't see me that way. Granted, Mae isn't exactly my favorite band, but I've been know to listen to and like many emo derivatives.

My wardrobe usually consists of greens, reds, and browns; usually, my pants/shorts are black. I stray away from the black shirt stereotype as best as I can, but about half of the shirts I wear are black... meh.

[Snarktastic]

[COLOR=Indigo]It's not bad to be in touch with one's emotions.

It's bad when one starts lording over other people that one is sooooo much deeper than "mundane" people because one is just soooooo in touch with their emotions.

The stereotypical emo kid does just that. "You cannot fathom the depths of my emotion because you do not know how to be in touch with your sensitive side!"

I'm not saying that you do this, because I don't know you. But using a label to gain a feeling of superiority over someone else is never cool.

*Forrest Gump mode* And that's all I have to say about that.[/COLOR]

[Retribution]

[SIZE=1]I thought emo stood for emocore. Hm...

Anyway, any rant about being labeled is a complete dead-end and here's why. The people label you do it to make life easier. So that they don't have to deal with understanding you as a person -- they toss you in a nice little clean cut box, and their day is a better one. Stereotypes exist whether you like it or not, even if you 'refuse' to be stereotyped or labeled, it happens. Not to sound mean, but deal with it.

That's not to say that the people calling you 'emo' as an insult are right in doing so, but you can't really change what they think/say. It's better to not take their harsh words to heart, and continue being who you feel you are. That's what counts.

People are using emo as an insult now because they find the music annoying, and those who identify with the music just as bad. I will admit, I'm not fond of emo music -- it feels like all it is, is a bunch of complaining about problems rather than facing them. But I don't hate those who enjoy that kind of stuff -- their cup of tea, and music's a great big opinion anyway. They use the insult because they find people who are 'in touch with their emotional side' to be 'cry-babies,' 'whiners,' or just general [spoiler]pussies.[/spoiler] It's just like if you act 'in touch with your emotions' in front of a bunch of stoic jocks, you're going to be made fun of.

As for my 'emoness?' I go no farther than black pants on a hot day... and I'm not sure if that's emo. I don't wear glasses, scarfs, my hair black, or anything else that one might possibly associate with being emo. I write poetry, but not the stereotypical emo stuff. *shrug*[/SIZE]

[Gen. Andronicus]

Im not exactly sure when emo became a label for people (instead of a musical genre), but then again anyone with dyed black hair today can be considered punk, so apparently something dumb like that was inevitable.

If people are going to use the word emo in a derogatory way than who cares? They probably have their own stipulative definition of what it means to them and they're missing out on a valid way to describe a musical genre that (in my opinion) has concieved quite a few good bands. However, I will admit to many crappy ones as well.

So yes, I am a fan of many emo bands. Bands that are to my liking include :

Sunny Day Real Estate, On the Might of Princes, Mae, The Appleseed Cast, Coheed and Cambria, and The Gloria Record.

[The Drizzle]

[COLOR=DarkGreen]i dont mean to get off topic but i wouldnt classify coheed and cambira as emo. they write about sci-fi geeky stuff. their lyrics are one big story with planets and different races like the plot to a sci-fi movie. they dont exactly write about emotions and stuff, they just have that sound i guess. alright well you can go back to the argument at hand now.[/COLOR]

[Gen. Andronicus]

I guess mostly agree with you on that. I actually hesitated listing them, but despite their lyrics, I still think have an emo sound. Even though they're a very original band, as far as their songwriting is concerned, I still don't think they succed in breaking out of their genre influences, which I feel is considerably emo.

[Kamuro]

[SIZE=1]lol I do listen to Coheed now and then so I suppose I'll tolerate it :p .

Concerning emo, I have heard whining, and sometimes I do agree. As for the music it doesn't really bother me. Music about losing a love, lamenting and such, is something I like. Because love is a ground of common interest, it may be a battleground but we've all been there. What some may classify as whining could simply be a person's feelings. However fabricated it may be, anyone who writes could tell you that it's a release and sometimes things are amplified beyond the original intention.

I can vouch for myself and say that some songs I've written have gone totally off track from what I thought they might be. The point is to have an open mind. Don't listen to a couple seconds of a song and judge it. Listen to the words and listen to the person singing. You might find yourself enjoying music you never thought you would. I love all types of music, and I'd be proud to name each and every band whether classified as emo or any other genre.

As for the "superior" post, I usually believe the opposite when it comes to emo. Most of the stereotypical things I've heard (such as the mentioned whining) is the person actually feeling sorry for themselves rather and thinking of themselves as something better. And truth is, people do hate to hear whining, but we've all done it before. Sometimes life just gets to us, and we're overtaken by emotions rather then rational thought.

The point is, people always think of labels as a negative thing. But I suppose this time it's kind of different. Next time you're called emo, accept the title with pride rather then scourn and maybe it won't be so bad? Being able to feel and able to cry is nothing to be ashamed of, and as long as you're living life to the best of your ability then you're allowed to complain. It's ok to feel "whining" thoughts, and feeling sorry for yourself is only natural. But merely to an extent.

And if I died tomorrow, I'd rather everyone remember me as "emo" then not remember me at all.[/SIZE]

[Semjaza]

[quote name='Retribution][SIZE=1']I thought emo stood for emocore. Hm...[/SIZE][/quote]

Yeah, basically. Emo is short for "emocore" which in turn is short for "emotional hardcore". Emocore was a take-off of hardcore with more "emotional" lyrics. What that means exactly, I have no idea. I guess as soon as you sing about life and love problems you're a new genre? lol

Obviously over time this has slightly changed. There's still plenty of emocore out there, but it's been pushed to the back. Emocore's general idea has been popularized and evened out into what most would personally consider a whole new genre. It's kind of the same concept of pop punk splitting off of more traditional punk. Emo of today split off of emocore and probably would benefit from being called "pop emo" because I think it's more accuarate. I don't mean this in a negative way, but just something that is a better description.

This is the stuff most people probably think of when they think of the word "emo": pop punk songs with "whiny" and/or "emotional" lyrics. Not many people think of the heaviness and screaming of emocore when they think of "emo". In fact, many people who like the more poppy version of emo today refer to traditional emocore in a derrogatory way. I'm sure people have seen the word "screamo", which [I]isn't[/I] meant as a compliment.

Of course, this leads into various arguments. People who are into emocore resent the fact that this more accessible music is also called "emo". People who like the more poppy emo don't like that what they listen to is called the same type of music as bands with tons of screaming and almost metal-like sounds. I'll say "emocore" when there's lots of screaming and then "emo" for some of the more popular things like Dashboard Confessional. I personally find myself differentiating heavily between emo and emocore because of this because someone who claims to love emo will be like "I ******* hate screamo." It's just easier in discussions and music recommendations to separate them.

At some point "emo" wound up not just describing a lyrical theme, but also a sound. This isn't for any real reason other than general misconception, I suppose. If there is some band with a whiny, nasaly guy a lot of people I know of just go "oh, that's emo and it sucks". It isn't necessarily correct.

Then you have the people who equate this "pop emo" with anything that's lowkey, indie fuzzrock. Again, this mostly just revolves around the sound and not necessarily the actual lyrical content. Unfortunately, all of this is extremely confusing thanks to genres like post-punk, post-emo, post-hardcore and post-rock.

Unfortunately there's nothing much that can be done about this. A lot of it has gotten so confused and intertwined that there's almost nothing to argue about. It's all just music. If someone likes it, then cool. If someone hates it, then whatever.

I myself am not big on the stuff. I'm far more likely to listen to emocore, but I don't really go out of my way for any of it. For me, personally, there's a strong difference between a band writing about "emotional" things and actually being an emo band. Anyone can write love songs or songs about emotionally charged topics under any genre. Most of the time bands I would personally refer to as emo (core or otherwise) tend to go to the extremes with these topics. It's all they talk about, it's exaggerated, they cry during the song, etc.

To each their own, as usual lol.

[satan665]

[QUOTE=Generic NPC #3]Yeah, basically. Emo is short for "emocore" which in turn is short for "emotional hardcore". Emocore was a take-off of hardcore with more "emotional" lyrics. What that means exactly, I have no idea. I guess as soon as you sing about life and love problems you're a new genre? lol

[/QUOTE]

I think they broke out of the Hardcore mold of mostly singing songs about friends that stabbed you in the back (which is what every hardcore song seems to be about).

With my old high school friends I think they got tired of listening to hardcore bands that all started to sound the same and started to listen to emocore, which to me seems like a label that exists solely to differentiate from alternative/indie rock.

But yeah, The post right above mine is a pretty definitive answer about the genre/label.

[Pumpkin]

[QUOTE=Retribution][SIZE=1]I thought emo stood for emocore. Hm...

Anyway, any rant about being labeled is a complete dead-end and here's why. The people label you do it to make life easier. So that they don't have to deal with understanding you as a person -- they toss you in a nice little clean cut box, and their day is a better one. Stereotypes exist whether you like it or not, even if you 'refuse' to be stereotyped or labeled, it happens. Not to sound mean, but deal with it.

That's not to say that the people calling you 'emo' as an insult are right in doing so, but you can't really change what they think/say. It's better to not take their harsh words to heart, and continue being who you feel you are. That's what counts.

People are using emo as an insult now because they find the music annoying, and those who identify with the music just as bad. I will admit, I'm not fond of emo music -- it feels like all it is, is a bunch of complaining about problems rather than facing them. But I don't hate those who enjoy that kind of stuff -- their cup of tea, and music's a great big opinion anyway. They use the insult because they find people who are 'in touch with their emotional side' to be 'cry-babies,' 'whiners,' or just general [spoiler]pussies.[/spoiler] It's just like if you act 'in touch with your emotions' in front of a bunch of stoic jocks, you're going to be made fun of.

As for my 'emoness?' I go no farther than black pants on a hot day... and I'm not sure if that's emo. I don't wear glasses, scarfs, my hair black, or anything else that one might possibly associate with being emo. I write poetry, but not the stereotypical emo stuff. *shrug*[/SIZE][/QUOTE]

[SIZE=1][FONT=Tahoma]I read everyone's description about what Emo exactly is and found out it means "Emotional". I'm still confused about what artists would be considered Emo, is Coldplay emo? Or just soft rock? Hard to determine. Anyways, I don't think being emotional would be bad. Everyone is in their own way. I don't believe in labeling, and I know thats said a lot but its true. Retribution is right when he says people just want to label you so they don't have to find out about you. If your being called a label, I usually ask them "How do you know? Is it because of the way I dress? How do you know if you don't even know me? Is it that easy to judge someone for you? That must really suck for you. " and most the time they get embarrased and walk off.

If you just say you are who you are, they I guarantee no one will even label you. It's worse when people label themselves. Anyways back on topic, I can't say if I listen to emo cause I'm confused about exactly what it is. I knew a guy that would be considered "emotional" and yes wears tight pants and plays a guitar lol. He's a very deep person and he asked me once if I was emo. Believe me I've never been so confused. It's almost like people are starting to invent new labels which happens, if your emotional, thats great. Don't hold that over people and it's okay to like a certain type of music. It's a part of you. Your characteristics. Just because you like one thing doesn't mean you like the other. Stay true to yourself. [/FONT][/SIZE]

[Semjaza]

Coldplay is more of a British pop rock group than anything. Again, I think the idea that random soft, fuzzrock sounding groups of all varities get associated with "indie rock" and then in turn some of those get associated with "emo". On the other hand, I've never heard anyone refer to Coldplay as emo in my entire life... There's more to fitting into the genre (emocore or the newer, more accessible variety) than writing things that are "emotional".

I mean, honestly, what even qualifies as "emotional" to begin with? Where is a line drawn that says "This isn't quite emotional enough to be emo!!" What happens when a metal band has emotional lyrics? An R&B group? A country group? It's really just not that simple.

Genres are a pain in the *** and I personally wind up just sorting all my music by very, very basic genres when I want to find something (rock, industrial/electronic, punk/hardcore/emocore and metal -- that's it). Some people like to differentiate and there's always a time and a place for that (particularly when you want to recommend something), but beyond using them to describe the evolution and branching of music I don't quite see the point in being very stringent about it.

Really, though, the commonplace idea is that "emo" fits in hardcore music with "emotional" lyrics and more pop punky bands with "emotional" lyrics. Things like Coldplay wouldn't really fit in there even by those standards.