True Definition of emo

[dionysus]

recently i have come under question of what emo really is. with complaints from other after i stated the band blink-182 was emo concidering their last few cd have contained a number of sappy love songs i hear constantly over the radio, i dont know what emo really is i guess. wats ur opinion.

[ANavissi500]

Well I'm as confused as you, but my best friend is "emo" and he just said it simply meant emotional (which really doesn't narrow down the scope - i mean most music evokes some kind of emotion - i think emo is kind of more like heartache and angst type emotions) . He also said only guys can be emo (although he didnt explain that one) He finished it off by saying that Dashboard Confessional is quintessential emo.

[The Postmaster General]

I think Blink 182 isn't emo because they are harder to beat up.

[cupajoe]

i think emo is the metro sexual of punk rock, your not quite punk but your punk enough.

[docholiday_13]

I call bands like Taking Back Sunday, Brand New, Alkaline Trio Emo because it's easier than calling them punk or pop punk.

It basically is to prevent convos like this...

Person 1:
Taking Back Sunday is a good punk band.

Person 2:
Taking Back Sunday isn't punk.

Person 3:
Well what's punk?

Then the three argue for hours about punk...


Here's the same conversation with the "Emo" used to classify a band.

Person 1:
Taking Back Sunday is a good "Emo" band.

Person 2:
Eww you listen to Emo? Man you're a fruit.


See? No long winded conversations about what "punk" truly is. Hurrah!!

[dionysus]

i dont get y "pop punk" is called that by anyone. all it really is in my opinion is emo but instead of crying about their old girlfriends they get mad at them. no where in that system can i find any amount of punk whatsoever.

[ANavissi500]

Originally posted by cupajoe
i think emo is the metro sexual of punk rock, your not quite punk but your punk enough.

That's a great definition!

[Raymond Babbit]

From what I understand, emo is like punk music, only it focuses more on emotional things. It evolved out of hardcore. The belief of some of the original emo groups was that popular music was too commercialized to convey any emotion. So, in a way, they were just as anti-commercial as punk artists.

I got this from the definition at allmusic.com, by the way

[ofmknockoff]

Well in these parts, Blink-182 is not emo because they do not sing much about breaking up and such. Granted, they do occasionally but it is normally in a somewhat humurous tone and is therefore not emo.

It seems like alot of people classify emo and pop-punk together. Just because it's pop punk does not mean it's emo, for example: Good Charolette.

[cupajoe]

i dont like punk what so ever but i do like blink 182 because me and my cousin worked one of there shows in long beach and they where incredibly nice to us. so they are considerd cool in my book.

[QUENTIN]

From The American Heritage Dictionary:

emo n.

1. Crap
2. Music which indicates a profoundly pansy nature within certain angst-ridden boys who believe the way to get girls is by constantly whining about them.
3. One who listens to such music, often marked by their clothing and trait of complaining, though they have little to complain about.
See also: single; over-sensitive.

pop-punk n.

1. A horrible sub-genre of music that has arisen in the recent music scene. Its origins are in popular bands with strong punk influences; such as The Romantics, Blondie, and Billy Idol. While these musicians created songs both catchy and filled with the hard musical beats associated with punk, such modern day bands song's have neither. By trying to combine the simple and loud music of punk with melodic voices and messageless lyrics, they succeed in being an affront to both punk and pop.
2. A cheap imitation of a genre which by definition cannot exist in the mainstream. Blink 182 is the quintessential example of this. See also: punk.

[cupajoe]

i totally agree with quentin on this what the dictionary also forgot to mention is that they allways whine about "suburban angst" what the hell is that, these kids are so angery that they live in the high class neighborhoods that they have to act like lifes been so ruff on them, which it hasn't so what else is there to sing about....girlfriends who left them thats all OR not growing to be like there parents.

[The Postmaster General]

Emo is the Marvin The Paranoid Andoid of popular music.