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This article is about the style of music. For Emo (disambiguation), see Emo (disambiguation).
Emo
Stylistic originsHardcore punk
Indie rock
Post-hardcore
Cultural originsMid 1980s, Washington, D.C.
Typical instrumentsVocals - Lead and Rhythm Guitars - Bass - Drums
Fusion genres
Screamo
Regional scenes
Midwestern emo
Other topics
List of emo groups - Timeline of alternative rock
Look up emo in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Emo (Template:PronEng) is a genre of music that originated from hardcore punk.[1] It has since come to describe several variations of music with common roots and associated fashion and stereotypes. In the mid-1980s, the term emo described a subgenre of hardcore punk which originated in the Washington, D.C. music scene. In later years, the term emocore, short for "emotional hardcore", was also used to describe the emotional performances of bands in the Washington, D.C. scene and some of the offshoot regional scenes such as Rites of Spring, Embrace, One Last Wish, Beefeater, Gray Matter, Fire Party, and later, Moss Icon (In more recent years, the term "emotive hardcore" has been used to describe the period).[citation needed]

Starting in the mid-1990s, the term emo began to refer to the indie scene that followed the influences of Fugazi, which itself was an offshoot of the first wave of emo. Bands including Sunny Day Real Estate and Texas Is the Reason had a more indie rock style of emo, more melodic and less chaotic. The so-called "indie emo" scene survived until the late 1990s, as many of the bands either disbanded or shifted to mainstream styles. As the remaining indie emo bands entered the mainstream, newer bands began to emulate the mainstream style. As a result, the term "emo" became a vaguely defined identifier rather than a specific genre of music.[citation needed]

History

First wave (1985-1994)

In 1985 in Washington, D.C., Ian MacKaye and Guy Picciotto, veterans of the DC hardcore music scene, decided to shift away from what they saw as the constraints of the basic style of hardcore and the escalating violence within the scene.[citation needed] They took their music in a more personal direction with a far greater sense of experimentation, bringing forth MacKaye's Embrace and Picciotto's Rites of Spring. The style of music developed by Embrace and Rites of Spring soon became its own sound. (Hüsker Dü's 1984 album Zen Arcade is often cited as a major influence for the new sound).[citation needed] As a result of the renewed spirit of experimentation and musical innovation that developed the new scene, the summer of 1985 soon came to be known in the scene as "Revolution Summer".[2]

Where the term emo actually originated is uncertain, but members of Rites of Spring mentioned in a 1985 interview in Flipside Magazine that some of their fans had started using the term to describe their music. By the early 90s, it was not uncommon for the early DC scene to be referred to as emo-core,[citation needed] meaning "emotional hardcore", though it is unclear when the term shifted.

Within a short time, the D.C. emo sound began to influence other bands such as Moss Icon, Nation of Ulysses, Dag Nasty, Soulside, Shudder to Think, Fire Party, Marginal Man, and Gray Matter, many of which were released on MacKaye's Dischord Records. The original wave of DC emo finally ended in late 1994 with the collapse of Hoover.[citation needed]

As the D.C. scene expanded, other scenes began to develop with a similar sound and DIY ethic.[citation needed] In San Diego in the early 1990s, Gravity Records released a number of records in the hardcore emo style. Bands of the period included Heroin, Indian Summer, Angel Hair, Antioch Arrow, Universal Order of Armageddon, Swing Kids, and Mohinder.[citation needed] Also in California, Ebullition Records released records by bands of the same vein,[citation needed] such as Still Life and Portraits of Past, as well as more traditional hardcore punk bands, all having various social and political themes in common.

At the same time, in the New York/New Jersey area, bands such as Native Nod, Merel, 1.6 Band, Policy of 3, Rye Coalition, Iconoclast and Quicksand[3] were feeling the same impulse. Many of these bands were involved with the ABC No Rio club scene in New York, itself a response to the violence and stagnation in the scene and with the bands that played at CBGBs, the only other small venue for hardcore in New York at the time. Much of this wave of emo, particularly the San Diego scene, began to shift towards a more chaotic and aggressive form of emo, nicknamed screamo.[citation needed]

By and large, the more hardcore style of emo began to fade as many of the early era groups disbanded.[citation needed] However, aspects of the sound remained in bands such as Four Hundred Years and Yaphet Kotto. Also, a handful of modern bands continue to reflect emo's hardcore origins, including Circle Takes the Square, Hot Cross, City of Caterpillar, Funeral Diner, and A Day in Black and White.[citation needed]

Following the disbanding of Embrace in 1986, MacKaye established the influential group Fugazi, and was soon joined by Picciotto. While Fugazi itself is not typically categorized as emo, the band's music is cited as an influence by popular second-wave bands such as Sunny Day Real Estate,[4] Braid,[5] and Jimmy Eat World.[6]

Early influence

In California—particularly in the San Francisco Bay Area—bands such as Jawbreaker and Samiam began to incorporate influences from the "D.C. sound" into a poppier framework; The former's music was described by Andy Greenwald as "a sonic shot-gun marriage between the bristly heft of hardcore, the song-writing sensibility of Cali pop-punk, and the tortured artistry of D.C. emo".[7] Other bands soon reflected the same sense of rough melody, including Still Life and Long Island's Garden Variety.

Also in the early 90s, bands like Lifetime reacted in their own way to the demise of youth crew styled straight-edge hardcore and desired to seek out a new direction.[citation needed] While their music was often classified as emo, it was also considered to be melodic hardcore.[citation needed] In response to the more metal direction their hardcore peers were taking, Lifetime initially decided to slow down and soften their music, adding more personal lyrics. The band later added a blend of speed, aggression, and melody that defined their sound. Lifetime's sound, lyrics, and style were a virtual blueprint for later bands, including Saves the Day, Taking Back Sunday, and The Movielife.[citation needed]

Second wave (1994–2000)

As Fugazi and the Dischord Records scene became more and more popular in the indie underground of the early 1990s, new bands began to spring up. Combining Fugazi with the Noise Rock influences of Big Black and Sonic Youth, a new genre of emo emerged.[citation needed]

Perhaps the key moment was the release of the album Diary by Sunny Day Real Estate in 1994.[citation needed] Given Sub Pop's then-recent success with Nirvana and Soundgarden, the label was able to bring much wider attention to the release than the typical indie release, including major advertisements in Rolling Stone.[citation needed] The heavier label support allowed the band to secure performances on TV shows, including The Jon Stewart Show. As a result, the album received widespread national attention.[citation needed]

As more and more people learned about the band, particularly via the fledgling World Wide Web, the band was given the tag emo. Even where Fugazi had not been considered emo, the new generation of fans shifted the tag from the earlier hardcore style to this more indie rock style of emo.[citation needed] It was not uncommon for Sunny Day and its peers to be labeled with the full "emo-core".[citation needed] However, when pressed to explain "emo", many fans split the genre into two brands: the "hardcore emo" practiced in the early days and the newer "indie emo".[citation needed]

In the years that followed, several major regions of "indie emo" emerged. The most significant appeared in the Midwest in the mid-90s.[citation needed] Many of the bands were influenced by the same sources, but with an even more tempered sound. This brand of emo was often referred to as "Midwestern emo"[citation needed] given the geographic location of the bands, with several of the best-known bands hailing from the areas around Chicago, Kansas City, Omaha and Milwaukee. The initial bands in this category included Boy's Life, Cap'n Jazz and Gauge. In ensuing years, bands such as The Promise Ring, Braid, Elliott, Cursive, and The Get Up Kids emerged from the same scene and gained national attention.[citation needed]

The area around Phoenix, Arizona became another major scene for emo.[citation needed] Inspired by Fugazi and Sunny Day Real Estate, former punk rockers Jimmy Eat World began stirring emo influences into their music, eventually releasing the album Static Prevails in 1996.[citation needed] The album was arguably the first emo record released by a major label[citation needed], as the band had signed with Capitol Records in 1995.

Other bands that followed the "indie emo" model included Colorado's Christie Front Drive, New York's Texas Is the Reason and Rainer Maria, California's Knapsack and Sense Field, Baltimore's Cross My Heart, Austin's Mineral, and Boston's Piebald and Jejune.[citation needed]

A Cornerstone of the late-Nineties emo movement was Weezer's 1996 album Pinkerton, which was to be considered one of the defining emo records of the 90s and was said to have introduced emo to a larger and more mainstream audience.[8][9]

As the wide range of emo bands began to attract notoriety on a national scale,[citation needed] a number of indie labels attempted to document the scene. Many emo bands of the late 90s signed to indie labels including Jade Tree Records, Saddle Creek Records, and Big Wheel Recreation.[citation needed] In 1997, California's Crank! Records released a compilation titled (Don't Forget to) Breathe, which featured tracks by notable indie emo bands such as The Promise Ring, Christie Front Drive, Mineral, Knapsack, and Arizona's Seven Storey Mountain.[citation needed] In 1997, Deep Elm Records released the first installment in a series of compilations called Emo Diaries, featuring tracks from Jimmy Eat World, Samiam, and Jejune. In 1999, famed 70s compilation label K-tel released an emo compilation titled Nowcore: The Punk Rock Evolution, which included tracks by Texas Is the Reason, Mineral, The Promise Ring, Knapsack, Braid and At the Drive-In among others.[citation needed]

With the late-90s emo scene being more national than regional, major labels began to turn their attention toward signing emo bands with the hopes of capitalizing on the genre's popularity.[citation needed] Many bands resisted the lure, citing their loyalty to the independent mentality of the scene.[citation needed] Several bands cited what they saw as mistreatment of bands such as Jawbox and Jawbreaker while they were signed to majors as a reason to stay away. The conflict felt within many of the courted emo bands resulted in their break-ups, including Texas Is the Reason and Mineral.[citation needed]

By the end of the decade, the word emo cropped up in mainstream circles.[citation needed] In the summer of 1998, Teen People magazine ran an article declaring "emo" the newest "hip" style of music, with The Promise Ring a band worth watching.[citation needed] The independent nature of the emo scene recoiled at mainstream attention[citation needed], and many emo bands shifted their sound in an attempt to isolate themselves from the genre.[citation needed] In the years that followed, Sunny Day Real Estate opted to shift to a more prog-rock direction, Jejune aimed for happy pop-rock, and The Get Up Kids and The Promise Ring released lite-rock albums.

While "indie emo" almost completely ceased to exist by the end of the decade[citation needed], many bands still subscribe to the Fugazi / Hüsker Dü model, including Thursday, The Juliana Theory, and Sparta.[citation needed]

Third wave (2000–present)

At the end of the 1990s, the underground emo scene had almost entirely disappeared.[citation needed] However, the term emo was still being bandied about in mainstream media, almost always attached to the few remaining 90s emo acts, including Jimmy Eat World.[citation needed]

However, towards the end of the 1990s, Jimmy Eat World had begun to shift in a more mainstream direction.[citation needed] Where Jimmy Eat World had played emocore-style music early in their career, by the time of the release of their 2001 album Bleed American, the band had downplayed its emo influences, releasing more pop-oriented singles such as "The Middle" and "Sweetness". As the public had become aware of the word emo and knew that Jimmy Eat World was associated with it,[citation needed] the band continued to be referred to as an "emo" band, despite their objections.[citation needed] Newer bands that sounded like Jimmy Eat World (and, in some cases, like the more melodic emo bands of the late 90s) were soon included in the genre.[10]

2003 saw the success of Chris Carrabba, the former singer of emo band Further Seems Forever, and his project Dashboard Confessional. Despite musically being more aligned to the singer songwriter school,[citation needed] Carraba found himself part of the emerging "popular" emo scene. Carrabba's music featured lyrics founded in deep diary-like outpourings of emotion. While certainly emotional, the new "emo" had a far greater appeal amongst adolescents than its earlier incarnations.[11]

With Dashboard Confessional and Jimmy Eat World's success, major labels began seeking out similar sounding bands.[citation needed] Just as many bands of the early-to-mid 1990s were unwillingly lumped under the umbrella of "grunge", some record labels wanted to be able to market a new sound under the word emo.[citation needed]

At the same time, use of the term "emo" expanded beyond the musical genre, which added to the confusion surrounding the term. The word "emo" became associated with open displays of strong emotion. Common fashion styles and attitudes that were becoming idiomatic of fans of similar "emo" bands also began to be referred to as "emo." As a result, bands that were loosely associated with "emo" trends or simply demonstrated emotion began to be referred to as emo.[12]

In an even more expanded way than in the 90s, emo has come to encompass an extremely wide variety of bands, many of whom have very little in common.[citation needed] The term has become so broad that it has become nearly impossible to describe what exactly qualifies as "emo".[citation needed]

The classification of bands as "emo" is often controversial. Fans of several of the listed bands have recoiled at the use of the "emo" tag, and have gone to great lengths to explain why they don't qualify as "emo."[citation needed] In many cases, the term has simply been attached to them because of musical similarities, a common fashion sense, or because of the band's popularity within the "emo" scene, not because the band adheres to emo as a music genre.[citation needed]

As a result of the continuing shift of "emo" over the years, a serious schism has emerged between those who relate to particular eras of "emo." Those who were closely attached to the hardcore origins recoil when another type of music is called "emo".[citation needed] Many involved in the independent nature of both 80s and 90s emo are upset at the perceived hijacking of the word emo to sell a new generation of major label music. Regardless, popular culture appears to have embraced the terms of "emo" far beyond its original intentions.[citation needed]

In a strange twist, screamo, a sub-genre of the new emo, has found greater popularity in recent years through bands such as Glassjaw.[13] The term screamo, however, was used to describe an entirely different genre in the early 1990s, and the new screamo bands more resemble the emo of the early 1990s.[citation needed] Complicating matters further is that several small scenes devoted to original screamo still exist in the underground. However, the new use of "screamo" demonstrates how the shift in terms connected to "emo" has made the varying genres difficult to categorize.

The difficulty in defining "emo" as a genre may have started at the very beginning. In a 2003 interview by Mark Prindle, Guy Picciotto of Fugazi and Rites of Spring was asked how he felt about "being the creator of the emo genre." He responded:

I don't recognize that attribution. I've never recognized "emo" as a genre of music. I always thought it was the most retarded term ever. I know there is this generic commonplace that every band that gets labeled with that term hates it. They feel scandalized by it. But honestly, I just thought that all the bands I played in were punk rock bands. The reason I think it's so stupid is that—what, like the Bad Brains weren't emotional? What—they were robots or something? It just doesn't make any sense to me.

— Mark Prindle, "Interview with Guy Picciotto". MarkPrindle.com. 2003.

See List of emo artists

Fashion and stereotype

Long fringe (bangs) brushed to one side

Emo is often associated with a certain fashion; although it is unclear as to whether the contemporary fashion directly emerged from Emo music's original fashion image or whether Emo was ever identified with any particular clothing, since the mid-80's.[citation needed] Today, however, the term "emo" is sometimes stereotyped with tight jeans on males and females alike, long fringe (bangs) brushed to one side of the face or over one or both eyes, dyed black, straight hair, tight t-shirts (sometimes short sleeved) which often bear the names of emo bands (or other designer shirts), studded belts, belt buckles, canvas sneakers or skate shoes or other black shoes (often old and beaten up) and thick, black horn-rimmed glasses.[14][15][16] Emo fashion has changed with time. Early trends included straight, unparted hair, tightly fitting sweaters, button-down shirts, and work jackets.[citation needed] This fashion has at times been characterized as a fad.[17]

File:Trosity2.jpg
Another example of hair characteristic of emo

In recent years the popular media has associated emo with a stereotype that includes being emotional, sensitive, shy, introverted, or angsty.[18][19][20] It is also associated with depression, self-injury, and suicide.[21][22]

Fans of emo are also often presumed by others to be homosexual or bisexual; this is largely a reflection of the style of dress popular within the "emo scene" (being that the differences between female emo and male emo fashion are very few)[citation needed].

Criticism

As certain fashion trends and attitudes began to be associated with "emo", stereotypes emerged that created a specific target for criticism. In the early 2000s, the criticism was relatively light-hearted and self-effacing, in ensuing years, the derision increased dramatically.[citation needed]

Fans of Emo have been derided for being posers who are overly sentimental; they have have also been accused of "robbing" the fashion styles of other music genres, such as the older Punk and Goth subcultures. This has created a disdain within many of these subcultures who see fans of Emo as merely following the latest trend popularized through the Internet.[citation needed]

In 2008, Time Magazine reported that "anti-emo" groups attacked teenagers in Mexico City, Querétaro, and Tijuana.[23][24] One of Mexico's foremost critics of emo was Kristoff, a music presenter on the popular TV channel Telehit. In a rant packed with curses, Kristoff said emo was a worthless movement that was mainly inspired by "image" rather than a genuine music form; stating "emo was fucking bullshit". However, he went on to condemn the violence against Emos on a subsequent broadcast after the riots occurred.[citation needed]

Gerard Way, the lead singer of My Chemical Romance stated in an interview that "emo is a pile of shit", and that his band was never emo.[25] Panic at the Disco also stated in an interview with NME: "emo is bullshit."[26] These two bands however tend to be classified as emo.

Fans of emo are criticised for purported displays of emotion common in the scene. Complaints pointed to the histrionic manner in which the emotions were expressed.[27]

In October 2003, a Punk Planet contributor leveled the charge that the current era of emo was sexist. Hopper argued that where bands such as Jawbox, Jawbreaker and Sunny Day Real Estate had characterized women in such a way that they were not "exclusively defined by their absence or lensed through romantic-specter",[28] contemporary bands approached relationship issues by "damning the girl on the other side ... its woman-induced misery has gone from being descriptive to being prescriptive." Regarding the position of women listening to emo, the contributor went on to note that the music had become "just another forum where women were locked in a stasis of outside observation, observing ourselves through the eyes of others."

Critics of modern emo have argued that there is a tendency toward increasingly generic and homogenized style.[29] A related criticism is the alleged anti-conformist philosophy of emo while at the same time allegedly conforming to a group that demands a high level of conformity [citation needed].

Emo music has been blamed for the suicide by hanging of Hannah Bond by both the coroner at the inquest into her death and her mother, Heather Bond, after it was claimed that emo music glamorized suicide and her apparent obsession with My Chemical Romance was said to be linked to her suicide. The inquest heard that she was part of an internet "emo" cult [30] and her Bebo page contained an image of an 'emo girl' with bloody wrists.[31] It was also revealed that she had discussed "the glamour of hanging" online[30] and had explained to her parents that her self harming was an "emo initiation ceremony"[31]. Heather Bond criticised emo fashion, saying: "There are 'emo' websites that show pink teddies hanging themselves." After the verdict was reported in NME, fans of emo music contacted the magazine to defend against accusations that it promotes self harm and suicide.[32]

In Russia, a law has been presented at the Duma to regulate emo websites and forbid emo style at schools at government buildings, for fears of emo being a "dangerous teen trend" promoting anti-social behaviour and suicide. [33]

See also

References

  1. ^ http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=77:4525
  2. ^ Embrace, Official Biography, Southern Records.
  3. ^ AllMusic.com: Manic Compression
  4. ^ "Shine On: Jeremy Enigk's Sunny days may be over, but his music is as bright as ever", by Dave Herrera, Denver Westword, July 27, 2006
  5. ^ "Braid singer speaks on roots of emo" by Emily Zemler, The Eagle Online, June 21, 2004
  6. ^ "Jimmy Eat World Message Board – FAQ: The Band"
  7. ^ Greenwald, Andy (2003). Nothing Feels Good, pp 20. New York: St. Martin's Griffin.
  8. ^ Edwards, Gavin. "Weezer: Pinkerton" RollingStone.com. December 9, 2004.
  9. ^ Weezer are the most important band of the last 10 years
  10. ^ DeRogatis, Jim."Emo (The Genre That Dare Not Speak Its Name)".
  11. ^ DeRogatis, Jim. "True Confessional?". October 3, 2003.
  12. ^ Popkin, Helen A.S. "What exactly is 'emo,' anyway?" MSNBC.com. March 26, 2006
  13. ^ "Screamo", by Jim DeRogatis, Guitar World Magazine, November 2002
  14. ^ Knot Magazine – "In Defense of Emo"
  15. ^ Incendiary Magazine – "EMO: What Is It?"
  16. ^ "Label it. .. emo". gURL. iVillage Inc. Retrieved 2007-03-11. {{cite web}}: |first= missing |last= (help)
  17. ^ Poretta, JP (2007-03-03). "Cheer up Emo Kid, It's a Brand New Day". The Fairfield Mirror. Retrieved 2007-03-08.
  18. ^ La Gorce, Tammy (2007-08-14). "Finding Emo". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-10-20.
  19. ^ Bunning, Shane (2006-06-08). "The attack of the clones: an emo-lution in the fashion industry". Newspace, University of Queensland, School of Journalism and Communication. Retrieved 2007-10-20. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help)
  20. ^ Stiernberg, Bonnie (2007-03-13). "What is emo?". The Daily illini. Retrieved 2007-10-20. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help)
  21. ^ Sands, Sarah (August 16, 2006). "EMO cult warning for parents". The Daily Mail. Retrieved 2007-03-11.
  22. ^ Walsh, Jeremy (2007-10-18). "Bayside takes Manhattan". Queens Time Ledger. Retrieved 2007-10-20. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help)
  23. ^ "Mexico's Emo-Bashing Problem." Time.
  24. ^ Anti-EMO Attacks in Tijuana
  25. ^ Brett Sowerby (2007-09-20). "My Chemical Romance talks to The 'Campus". "The Maine Campus" via Collegepublisher.com. Retrieved 2008-08-10. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  26. ^ "Panic! At The Disco declare emo "Bullshit!" The band reject "weak" stereotype". NME. 2006-10-18. Retrieved 2008-08-10. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  27. ^ Peotto, Tom. "The relentless force of 'emo'". e.Peak. February 27, 2006.
  28. ^ Hopper, Jessica (2003), "Emo: Where The Girls Aren't", Punk Planet, Issue 56.
  29. ^ Jacobs, Justin. "Emo Not Fatally Wounded". Pitt News. April 19, 2006.
  30. ^ a b Clench, James (2008-05-08). "Suicide of Hannah, the secret 'emo'". The Sun.
  31. ^ a b "Emo music attacked over teen suicide". NME. 2008-05-08.
  32. ^ "Emo fans defend their music against suicide claims". NME. 2008-05-08.
  33. ^ . NME http://www.nme.com/news/my-chemical-romance/38392. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

Bibliography

  • Radin, Andy. "What the heck *is* emo, anyway?". {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  • Andersen, Mark (2001). Dance Of Days, Two Decades of Punk In The Nations Capitol. Soft Skull Press. ISBN 1-887128-49-2.
  • Greenwald, Andy (2003). Nothing Feels Good. St. Martin's Griffin. ISBN 0-312-30863-9.
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