Jump to content

Emo (slang)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 68.193.153.34 (talk) at 02:50, 18 September 2005 (→Bands and fans). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

See Emo (disambiguation) for other uses of the term Emo.

Emo is a term which originated as an abbreviation of emotional hardcore, but is now broadly used to describe almost any form of guitar-driven alternative rock that expresses emotions beyond traditional punks's limited emotional palette of alienation and rage. The abbreviation has increasingly come to stand for emotional, as the links between modern usage of the term and the original genre have become more and more tenuous. There is also an emphasis on fashion and "the scene" amongst people following emo.

Music

Most recently (from 2002 to present) bands with more lyric driven songs have been labelled emo because their lyrics seem to be depressing and focus on hatred, mostly dealing with relationships.

The change of meaning has largely been attributed to the success of Jimmy Eat World. In the 1990s, they were considered an archetypal emo band. However, they began to move away from the emo genre and play music that took on a wider set of influences, most notably pop-punk acts like Green Day. As the band achieved greater and greater mainstream success, they became the most widely known emo band, and the term, rightly or wrongly, became inextricably linked to their sound. Bands who had a similar emotional bent to Jimmy Eat World yet played music that differs greatly from the original emo sound, such as Dashboard Confessional, Taking Back Sunday and The Used, have all been labelled emo, and the term has become more and more popular as an umbrella term for any modern music with interspective and often cynical lyrics, unusually long song titles that have little to do with song's lyrical content (which is a trend popularised by early 90s grunge acts like Nirvana taken to an extreme) and emotionally charged vocals which often incorporate screaming (though bands who include strong elements of screaming in their sound are sometimes labelled screamo). Amongst the most popular bands to be increasingly labelled screamo are Thrice. The term "screamo", however, was used to describe an entirely different genre in the early 1990s, and Thrice themselves more resemble the emocore of the 1990s.

The defintion of the term emo has become increasingly all-encompassing, and is often applied (correctly or not) to such varied bands as Coheed and Cambria, Taking Back Sunday, The Starting Line, Thursday, A Static Lullaby, From First To Last, Finch, Silverstein, From Autumn To Ashes, Underoath,Poison the Well,Alexisonfire and (on some rare occasions), Evanescence. It also often linked with similar modern musical trends, such as metalcore.

Bands and fans

'Emo' is also used as an adjective to describe actions or attitudes commonly linked to modern emo, or to fans of this genre, most commonly teenagers. The term itself originated as a way to describe the music of the mid-1980s D.C. scene and associated bands, mainly Rites of Spring and Embrace. The term addressed both the way the band connected with its audience, as well as its tendency to deal more with topics of personal and relationship politics than with the standard themes of punk music. None of the members of the originating bands invented the term nor did they purposely apply it to themselves. The label was applied by outside critics or journalists and many acts and fans consider the word itself a pejorative. In recent times however, more so than with most other musical genres, the term "Emo" has been subject to social perception above objective guidelines. What bands are or aren't Emo is therefore highly subjective and contested amongst those with an interest in the genre. As a result the term Emo has two main uses; as a label for the genre outlined above and as a multi-purpose adjective and umbrella term used to describe a large cross-section of music and popular culture.

Today, the term "Emo" is increasingly ambiguous, and is often used disparagingly to describe something that is overly sentimental or melodramatic, and is used in a similar way to the usage of "gay" as a derogatory adjective. The term "Emo kid" is often used as an insult aimed at people who dress in a way based upon Emo fashion, or who listen to music considered being "Emo". This is similar to the term "goth" being used as a pejorative aimed at those who were involved in the nu metal trend. It is commonplace for people to refer to themselves or others as "Emo" or "Emo kids" now. Some claim that this is similar to the usage of the term nigga by many African-American rap artists (though the level of negativity that has been associated with the term "Emo" is in no way comparable with that of "nigger"). Others, mostly veterans or fans of the original Emo sound, or those sometimes referred to as "Emo" but who consider the term a pejorative, believe that usage of the term in this constant is the product of ignorance of the actual meaning or connotations of the word "Emo" amongst those who use it self-referentially.

With the success of rock bands such as The Get Up Kids, Jimmy Eat World and The Promise Ring, the music industry has promoted a series of successful, Emo-influenced bands. The term has come to be used in conjunction with a vast array of powerpop bands that are incorrectly labeled by large media conglomerates as a tactic to sell records to teenagers. Whether the apparent misappropriation of emo-related terms is the fault of the major labels or simply due to the lack of popular knowledge about the earlier scenes is unclear. As the old proverb says, "History is written by the victors," and it remains to be seen which version of the genre will be accepted as the popular consciousness of "emo". skramskramskramskramskramskramskram13371337oop.

For more on the terms origins, see the main Emo article.

Emo fashion

Main articles: Emo fashion and Fashioncore
See also: Scene kids

Emo fashion relates to the hairstyles, clothing and demeanour of those involved in the Emo scene. Traditionally, the term "emo" when used in describing clothing meant clothes such as tight jeans and fitted T-shirts or polo shirts, sweaters, and "Buddy Holly" glasses. However, as the variety of music labelled "emo" has achieved greater mainstream popularity, there are now several distinct strands of emo fashion.

The most commonplace of these is often labelled "fashioncore", due to the adoption of short-lived trends amongst proponents of fashioncore. Though fashioncore is considered a pejorative when used to describe music, as it implies a band is more focused on image than their art, when used to describe clothing, it is seen as a fairly neutral term.

The most notable items of fashioncore clothing are low-slung, often extremely tight jeans suspended by studded belts and T-shirts, usually black, bearing either a band logo or an ironic image.

Most forms of emo fashion originate from fans emulating the styles of members of their favourite groups. These styles themselves are usually derived from pre-existing fashions of the new wave, punk, metal, indie, grunge, goth and hardcore genres and sub-cultures.

Criticism

Emo has been subjected to an unusually high level of criticism when compared to other musical genres, sub-cultures or trends. The vitriol aimed at the term "Emo" even exceeds that aimed at the similarly popular nu metal trend during its peak popularity.

"Cheer Up Emo Kid"

File:Cheerupemokid.jpg
The popular "Cheer Up Emo Kid" pin badge

"Emo kids" or "Emos" are stereotypically seen as being whiny, angst-ridden, and painfully love-struck teenagers. When attacking "Emo," its detractors often refer to wrist-slitting. This is largely due to the lyrical themes of music that is contemporarily labelled "Emo"; the connection between violence and romance is a very popular idea in Emo. Other bands, such as Thursday, address other topics considered depressing. The criticisms levelled at "Emo" because of reasons such as these are virtually identical to those levelled at other genres which have at one time or another been staple listening for angst-ridden teenagers, such as grunge, nu metal and goth.

Pin buttons and other accessories bearing the "Cheer Up Emo Kid" slogan are often worn ironically by those who dress in a style, or listen to music, that is labelled emo, perhaps to illustrate that the term emo, when used self-referentially, is almost always ironic.

"Say No To Emo"

Other criticisms directed at Emo are also shared with past musical trends; that Emo is "bad music" or that it is a shallow and soulless money-making trend. Many consider it ironic that those who despise Emo for being a trend are in actuality part of the anti-Emo trend itself. Scores of websites have sprung up aimed at criticizing or ridiculing Emo. Fans of many other musical genres have been known to wear T-shirts or other items with anti-Emo slogans such as "Say No To Emo."

The reason for the hatred aimed at emo and its fans seems to be that many fans, especially newer ones, are perceived as having a limited knowledge of the bands which influenced the genre, while many of the most successful emo bands are seen as tailoring their music and appearance to maximize mainstream appeal. This criticism, however, is true of virtually all genres of music. As the emo label has come to cover such a wide variety of bands, many think it's unfair that all bands are judged by the most extreme examples of commercial acceptability within the emo sub-culture.

This has been compared with the verbal tirades launched against nu metal based on the nature of popular acts like Linkin Park, who did not swear in their songs and banished guitar solos from their sounds, making their songs shorter and more radio-friendly. While this was certainly true of a number of nu metal bands, others, such as the Deftones, were critically acclaimed for their brave and groundbreaking sound. The basing of insults against bands such as Glassjaw and From Autumn to Ashes based on the nature of artists like Dashboard Confessional and The Used is undeniably similar to this.

Sexuality

Criticisms of Emo, often laced with anti-gay slogans and terms like "Emo fag," have become common. There are many likely reasons for this, one being that the popularity of Emo fashion is largely linked to metrosexuality; followers of Emo fashion display clothing and style stereotypically linked to gay culture; their style also leans towards an androgynous look, e.g. boys wearing makeup, having no facial hair, and wearing clothes that accentuate a slim build.

Another reason is that many "Emo girls" display a strong attraction towards gay or bisexual male activities. Though it is common in Western culture for men to find lesbianism erotic, females finding homo- or bi-sexuality erotic receive less mainstream attention but are common in many specialized interest groups including the Emo sub-culture. Pages collecting pictures of Emo boys making out have been created on internet sites such as MySpace (see example at Emo Boys Who Kiss). Female homoeroticism also exists within the Emo subculture, as evidenced by Emo Girls Who Kiss.

Sexism

Comparisons have been drawn by some between the 1980s hair metal scene and Emo, as some hold the opinion that they are both misogynistic forms of music produced predominantly by males. The notion that Emo is possibly misogynistic is based largely on the stereotypically "Emo songs" which focus on broken hearts. These songs are almost always told from a male perspective, due to the fact that vast majority of Emo vocalists are male, and some consider the lyrics to present an unfair representation of women.

Emo groups

For groups of the emocore or hardcore emo period see:

For a more general list of emo groups see:

See also

Sources

  • Template:Web reference author
  • . ISBN 0-31-230863-9. {{cite book}}: Missing or empty |title= (help); Unknown parameter |Author= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |Publisher= ignored (|publisher= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |Title= ignored (|title= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |Year= ignored (|year= suggested) (help)
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Emo_(slang)&oldid=23432897"