I feel like the term 'emo' has gotten such a bad connotation all of a sudden, but it feels like a couple years ago everyone was singing it's praises. I don't think the music has changed, and I also don't feel like it's been a commonly used term for all that long, but maybe I'm too young to have remembered. Either way, I don't think it's ridiculous now, I'm sure it's just going through the same thing that the term 'punk' did where everyone likes it while it seems to be underground then everyone hates it when they think everyone else likes it. I flipped through a book called 'Everybody Hurts,' a satirical guide to being Emo... I thought it was clever and funny and a cool way to shed some light on our generation of music.

I've been thinking about this ever since I started working with Armor and I feel like everyone has an opinion about it, so why not share it here. I'd love to hear what the term 'emo' means to you guys and why.

Talk amongst yourselves...

the first person to say Hawthorne Heights is emo, i'm gonna smack you.
emo has NOTHING to do with "cut my wrist and black my eyes".

emo music is all about how it sounds, not the lyrics.

think about it this way, if...AC\DC or any rock band had a song about dying, a girl or something, it's still rock...
but all of a sudden because Hawthorne Heights sings about cutting or something, they're emo? wtf.

try listening to some real emo bands..
Frodus
Sunny Day Real Estate
Rites Of Spring
Soulside

i could go on...

sunny day real estate, i love.

emo to me is just a type of music which can be defined,
like bread said, by the sound not the lyrics.
there's this website that talks all about it and its origins.
i'll go find it.

i also don't like how people use it to insult.
it makes them look stupid.
and we gotta admit, a lot of us have been called emo.

haha yuppppp i have.
because i have side bangs.
and cuz i like armor.

hahh exactly!
it's like now if you have bangs
that oh so happen to fall across
your head it means you're emo.

haha yeah it's pretty dumb.
and i feel bad because i know people that cut their wrist.
and i don't think being picked on about it makes it any better

emo: e-mo 1. a much mocked, maligned, and misunderstood term for melodic, expressive, and confessional punk rock

that came directly off the back of the book.

i get called 'emo' because i wear band t-shirts religiously, i wear skinny jeans, i have a side part.
and the fact that i dont listen to rap, hip hop, and r&b obviously makes me the most emo thing thing in the world. and God forbid that hollister isnt my favorite store.

wearing band shirts is usually considered hardcore for some reason.
i usually wear AOF/AFS/TFOT shirts everyday to school.

thats really weird taht band tees are considered hardcore..
i wear a uniform to school everyday. its pretty much a red, white, or navy blue polo shirt. khaki, black, or navy blue pants, dress shoes (in my case slip-on vans.. that i get written up for every now and then, and fined) and a navy blue sweatervest with our school's name on it. and we're not allowed to have "outlandish hairstyles, or unnatural hair colors." how can you be emo in something like that.. its only "jeans days" and outside of school htat i get to wear what i want..

its nothing important & everybody should just stop using the word.

I get called emo because of my hair and the music I listen to. : \

you and me both.

shut up emo face.

hey, at least i cut my hair you dutchbaker.

...remember that conversation we had on saturday? show some enthusiasm, I did when you got your haircut?

you have the memory of a fucking 2 year old.

ive been called emo for listening to armor, hawthorne heights, taking back sunday, from first to last, and the like.

i will admit. i look at emo music as a form of rock that delas with lyrics. i did a whole paper on emo, i researched it, andif you dont agree its all right there in the history of it.

"punk rock finally became about something emotional."

Hawthorne Heights is emo

Why? I think it is important. It must be because it means different things to so many people. And why should we stop using the word? Is it actually an insult or what? I really am asking, because when I used it a couple years ago it didn't cause a heated reaction at all. It was more, the guy at school who is in to music and likes this girl but he'll never talk to her... cool in his own way kind of thing. Maybe that's because then, it meant you were different. Now, maybe it puts you into a category when you'd rather not be judged and classified at all? I really am interested in this so lets keep it going. : )



That's a cool quote! This is how I've always thought of it. But I realize now it's more of a cultural thing.

I love how major labels turned emo from the shortened form of 'emotive hardcore' into the shortened form for "emotional". Especially considering you'll never find an emo band on one.

And that's sad because even today there are some amazing emocore bands playing: Envy, Circle Takes The Square, The Birds Are Spies They Report To The Trees, Ampere, etc.

I honestly don't know what emo is anymore. It's turned into a very relative term

No emo turned scene, all of a sudden its cool to be emo, and thats when the word took on about 50 different meanings

<3

Huh, I completely missed that line....Well said

I love that this website is still up and running. -----> http://www.fourfa.com

Nope its not ... didnt work for me at least

i mean everyone should stop using it cause it is only music[that is not truly around today,only influenced] it's annoying it is when people try to be what 'emo' supposely is and the people that do, only bring up a stereotype in a wrong way[ie: people might think 'he/she looks a certain way so they probably cut themselves,ect]and if anyone has seen that news "report" about it,you know what i mean because the people in there actually believe it & so do alot of other people.overall the word is just highly mis-used.

she made a typo, it's actually this: http://www.fourfa.com/

I don't associate 'emo' self-mutilation... The only people I've met that have those kind of masochistic disorders have actually been very ordinary looking so I never made the connection. I guess maybe that's the reason people are offended by it??

So are 'emo' and 'scene kid' synonymous? I always though 'scene kid' had a really negative connotation like 'poser.' Someone who puts on the heavy eye makeup and tight jeans when 2 days ago they were completely normal and now they want to be 'different'. Is this sort of what 'emo' stands for now?

Good call. Fixed.



Emo has a really negative connotation now too, so in a way the terms emo and scenester have become synonymous, especially to those that aren't really that into music.

you're right. these kids at my school ask me if I'm emo, just because i don't like the radio. I want to punch them in the face. and then all the little MCR and fake death metal freaks go around cutting theirselves saying their emo, like they're proud. I find being called emo rather degrading.

I'd like to tell you that'll change once you're out of school, but it doesn't. Being called one thing or another really makes no difference to me because I know that I'm none of those things. It's only degrading if you let it be.

I've been called 'emo' numerous times by so many people.
I don't get it, it's stupid how people call someone emo because of the music they listen to,the way they do their hair, or the way they dress.


I really just don't get why people can be such asses about stuff like that :/

People are asses in general, and it's the society we live in. You eat before you get eaten. We're taught that even in pre-school. And to be quite honest, it's an accepted part of society. Even in this thread, you can still see it in peoples comments. People aren't above it, or for that matter different, as much as they'd like to believe.

Yeah, that's true.
I just hate it real bad, I hate so many things about our society today.

bleh.

Nothing Feels Good.Punk Rock Teenagers and Emo.

By: Andy Greenwald.

GO READ IT. It talks about the movement in music and all the bands that created or what ever wan to say is " emo" once you read it it all makes sense. I mean Its not cutting. its not a way of dress mostly.
so now if you dont go read it I will probably rant. but it also has stories of some kids in it who have it like hell as their lives and how they react, I dont blame them.

tone down the font there big guy

Andy Greenwald's book is the biggest joke in the world, and just perpetuates the false sense of what emo really is. He's a corporate whore just cashing in.

thats what i hear. i have not heard anything but bad things about this book.


it's so funny that so many of those kids are usually striving to be different, when in reality they all dress and look the same.

.....*smack*

You'll find the back of my hand very displeasing

Hmm. Originaly, yeah, 'Emo' did come from the word 'Emotional', and was used to describe to things: 'emotes' and music.
The way certain bands dressed with music considered to be 'emo' sort of led to a style..and it got worse from their.
Emo and goth got mixed up in several places, so everyone who wore black and eyeliner must worship satan and cut they're wrists.
Anyone who wrote poetry became emo.
It used to be such a good term, where a great style of music was played.
But now its confused with cutting your wrists and such.
Its pretty sad.
One one bord I moderated on there was a huge fight in which people argued over the word emo. It was pretty pathetic, considering the person who started it claimed to be 'A real emo' , but had no idea that the word even came from music.
Its very frustrating how the words become so criticised.
My friends often make fun of its critiscm, though. Its still frustrating hearing "Are you gothic? " "no." "THEN YOU MUST BE EMO! Your wearing a band shirt and...omg! you listen tot he hawthorn heights! Do you cut your wrists, too?"
Its pathetic, really.
I missed the good old days. xD

yeah it happened to me alot in jr high especially.. black and bands shirts some how made me "goth" when i was definatly not.... but whatever i dont think kids today really truely know what "emo" or "goth" or "scene" is. i think they just hear it alot and just throw the words around at people who may be different from them... i think people are just confused....

i don't like how people are stereotyping the whole emo thing now. I think it is a type of music but its not the whole "oh you have sidebangs and wear these clothes and blah blah so you must cut your wrists." thats how people view it around where i live but i think it's dumb. It's a type of music & thats it. It doesn't mean you're depressed and you hate your life. eh idk some people are just too quick to judge.



i agree completely. If i wore band shirts and straightened my hair & wore converse or vans i was automatically "emo" or "scene" too

okay. so. emo as far as i can figure it out!

as far as music goes:
it's a genre of music that has a sound similar to straight punk rock, but the lyrics deal less with political ideas and more with personal emotions. and those who say bands such as hawthorne heights, silverstein, etc are emo are wrong as far as im concerned. that's not emo, that's post-hardcore. but thats a topic for another thread.

but if we're talking about the high school stereotype that the genre has grown to be associated with:
pretty much the kids that follow in the vein of the music. "emo kids" are generally very expressive of emotion, and though there are many different emotions, a lot of people usually associate emo with sadness and pain. commonly, an "emo" has several characteristics: has bangs that go across the forehead diagonally and sometimes cover part of the face, listens to emo music, and is very expressive of emotion, especially forms of pain or sadness. also, if a guy wears tight jeans, eyeliner, or both, he is more likely to be called emo.

sorry if i've been incorrect with any of this stuff.

as a side note, i'm seen as emo by a lot of people in my school. mainly because of my hair, the music i listen to, the fact that i wear eyeliner, and because i write poetry that tends to be on the darkish side. actually, people have commented after reading some of it that i shouldn't kill myself. i've also had people coming up to me asking if i cut, and there are a couple people i know who once in a while will come up to me and say, "we're the emo police. WRIST CHECK!" as far as being labeled goes, i dont mind being called emo that much anymore, i just hate being stereotyped. i think part of the reason emo's gotten a bad rap recently is because a lot of the self-proclaimed "emos" are very simply nothing more than attention whores who whine a lot.

once again, sorry if i've been incorrect or offended anyone with this. if i'm wrong, i'd love to be set straight... as long as it doesnt involve getting flamed. k im done now. hm. i guess i should stop typing... hm. nah, that's boring. oh well!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee k im done for real this time. peace out homes.

agree. when ever im having a sh*tty day one of my friends always goes "shelby let me see your wrist" i dont really have a problem with it cuz hes like one of my bestest friends ever and i know i dont cut so yeah. i think if i know i dont do it and i know who i am it shouldnt matter what people lable me as long as i am true to myself.

and you are right about why "emo" gets a bunch of crap from people... someone should really shut those whiney attention whores up...

Technically emo is a form of post-hardcore, as it was the first to branch off.

i loved reading this thread.
i love you guys.

i wish that people wouldn't use 'emo' as such an insult,
it reminds me of how people use the word 'gay' as an insult,
it's ridiculously stupid.

i have pictures of people all over my notebook and homework folder.
and they have similar styles, sidebangs/dark hair/piercings/long hair.
and they're all like "WTF! emo-galore on your folder!"
and they're really hott people, too.. lol.
it pisses me off, so much.

my friends and i get called 'emo' all the time because we are the only ones in our school who actually don't listen to rap/r&b/hip hop/whatever.. and listens to many genres that branch off rock, yeah - that totally makes us emo. everytime i wear my saosin shirt, i always get picked on because apparently it's 'too hardcore' compared to everyone else. i mean, i get called 'emo' when i wear other band t's, but my saosin one gets the most attention. i don't mean to be stereotypical, but the majority of my school are hollister shopping people who think that my style is discusting.. i don't know. they're dumb. we've been asked several times if we cut our wrists and whine in corners and cry when we listen to dashboard confession (i don't even like them that much..), sometimes people are asking that seriously and some are just being fucking jerks. sometimes people are frightened of us because people rumor that we cut our wrists and stuff, and they think it's creepy. i hate it. i mean, people don't want to even try to be friends with my friends and i just because of what other people say.. which it's terrible. i've heard that people say that i'm a conceited jerk that doesn't care about anything and just whines about everything and has no fun and hates life. which for me, is the exact opposite =/

it's about the music, god-fucking-damnit.
i really don't like my school. :|

sorry for like bringing this back up, when it hasn't been replied to in weeks.
i just wanted to; i wasn't apart of this board when it was made so yeah =/

yeah so last year in english we were having debates and stuff and one question was "do u think its wrong to judge people by the way they look?" most of the room said yes.. but some girl actually said the truth she said "oh come on u know u all do it! even im guilty but i know i shouldnt do it. its just human nature.. we shouldnt because we dont really know those people. like if u think emos are bad and just cut their wrist all day thats not true. some of the greatest people ive met are so called "emos" but they dont cut their wrist or anything.. so we should just seriously stop"

she had some good points...

smart girl.
i wanna be her best friend.
<3

yeah shes ok... but we dont really hand out in the same crowds if u know what i mean. i was just glad she kinda stood up for me cuz when that question was said everyone like looked at me...