The Clarification Discussion on being "Emo"

[PoeticRocker]

Ok... Ive been wrapping my brain on this topic for awhile now. I attempted to listen to some rock tracks that people consider is "Emo". And yes those type of bands whine, scream, screech, and wear dark clothing that makes them look gothic or palely dead inside. So I see that they got their personal problems and they yell it out for the whole world to hear. Is it bad cause they make it painfully obvious by telling their emotions than showing them??

So heres my dilemma....

I think the term "Emo" refers to more than the image outlook, which should mainly focus on the individual and their personal issues. But this can be made an example of in so many early rock bands and their songs. One good example would be Kurt Cobain, how he can be so negative and put himself down in his songs to make himself feel better perhaps. I mean "Rape Me" is basically straightout infering, "feel sorry for me I have problems and I deserve to be raped." Then when you hear it like that it becomes so bland sounding like an emo song. Does being Emo connect to suicides, self-loathing, and wanting to hurt yourself physically or mentally? Then so many lead singers that commited suicide - could be labeled Emo, though most of their devoted fans would say the opposite. All you got to do is find their sufferings and pain inscribed in lyrics or poems (Jim Morrison for example - who would write a poem about getting rid of his own penis).

My band tastes include many 50s doo wop songs about losing a girl, crying over her, and cant living without her. This comes off as emo to me... Kinda saying my life is meaningless if i dont have her. That sounds kinda negative and self-loathing. Then ya got The Beatles "Yesterday" song where Paul is basically whining about this girl he lost and expecting sympathy from his listeners. Theres also Roy Orbison who continually sounds a fear of being lonely vibe in his songs.

So Emo is short for emotions. Well thats too broad for a specific defintion. We're human... we feel hurt, pain, fear, and suffering now and then. Then look for sympathy in others through other forms of expression. Emo is just one expression through music. But you could be emo in many other ways I believe. Like in art... say the artist Frida and her surrealist paintings about her internal sufferings. Then Picasso and all the other troubled artists use the same technique to make their work's subject matter so powerful.

Emo just comes off as a contradicting term to those that admit theyre not Emo. I mean sure... you probably dont dress up in all black, paint your nails black, and have a frown on 24/7. But what counts is what you feel inside and how you percieve the world around you with your emotions. And if any way you feel hurt and you express it by art in hope that there is understanding about why you feel pain, then I think that makes you Emo.

So I think being Emo is categorized by people in two ways:

"Good" - showing your pain, rather telling - indirectly with the audience. Drinking alcohol or doing drugs to feel better.
"Bad" - telling your pain, rather showing - directly with the audience. Cutting yourself to feel better.

Still directly expressing your hurt is not overly "bad". It just actually a more simpler way on getting the message to the key audiences (typically naive teenagers in this example). Though I think with time it becomes so dull that you look for other ways of expressing your hurt.

But Art or Being Emo is whatever and its neither "Good" or "Bad", just depends on peoples judgements and thoughts.

I'am Emo, but the good kind... I hope...

Your thoughts on this?

 

[Que-Ever]

Everything could be considered emo. But today, specifically what it is, is the bunch of attention-getters that try to express their indivudualism by listening to/playing shitty music, get hung up (or at least act like they do) for long periods of time over small things (such as a girlfriend leaving them or not getting to go out with friends or something) and often times, attempting suicide or some other kind of self harm (drugs included) to get atttention or even because they don't have any will to try to get out of bad situations.

I mean, sometimes getting a little mopey over something bad is ok, but these kids whole lifestyles are based around moping constantly. Like, the beatles, occasionally they would have a song like, oh my baby left me, and now I'm sad... but then emo always seems to be trying to be deep and poetic or something, so it ends up... the onyl girl that has ever really loved me has walked out of my life, and now my soul is enshrouded in darkness, blah blah...

Actually, the above is my definition, and there is probably tons more than I can't remember, or that I don't know about at all (I try to avoid emo kids), or there's probably more in there than someone else would have put.

 

[Raziaar]

Emo people generally want to be seen as being Emo.

 

[Que-Ever]

^aha.

6char

 

[PvtRyan]

http://emosong.ytmnd.com/

 

[Cole]

I see Emo as not specifically emotional but bad emotional. Meaning they dramatise the bad things and don't think about the good things enough. I also throw people who dress black under Emo and then people who really take the crown with there attitude and girls + black eye liner I throw Goth as. I like colorful girls and things.

Personally though I wont listen to songs that seem sad or anything. Why? Because I've noticed how I act during the day is often a reflection of the music I listen to when I get up. I listen to sad songs then I will be like that throughout the day. Throw on some American Bad Ass from Kid Rock and you'd see the most insane mood swing ever. From American Bad Ass to U2 - Beautiful Day and you'll see another Mood Swing.

Although it's more to how I react to the actual beat & tempo and the flow of the lyrics of the song vs the actual lyrics.

I've figured a lot of stuff about me. I learned that people like me most and I feel the best when I listen to Barenaked Ladies. Sum 41 however threw me pretty low. Kind of odd also but I will randomly block out everything I hear. I will be doing something at my computer and then I will recognize the song....but what? that can't be!! they are 10 songs apart!!. I do it on the phone sometimes to. I will stay in perfect check with my vision but my sound...is just weird.... I just block things out at random times.

 

[Absinthe]

I think of "emo" as people who revel in their own emotional drama under the erroneous notion that their angst is unique and different from everybody else's. What's worse is that, even if they don't think it consciously, they wear it on their sleeves as a fashion statement. The mismatched clothes, the eyeliner, the horrible hair. It's attention-seeking for being "out there" and "deep". Depth being defined by the amount of tears you poured out when your fifteen year old girlfriend left you after three weeks of dating.

It's pretty much the pussy form of being goth. Less vampirism, more oestrogen.

 

[Que-Ever]

Deep, being how far they take it in the ass.

 

[ComradeBadger]

Emo is not short for emotions, it's short for Emotional Hardcore. And that's the mediocore genre associated with it. It's also a fashion thing, and another trend for people to follow.

 

[bigburpco]

And people who cut their wrists for entertainment.

 

[DeusExMachina]

Fugazi, Husker Du, and The Rites of Spring are not mediocore.

...But Comrade's got it right. It started out as emotional hardcore, basically hardcore music with meaningful and often times "emotional" lyrics. Fast forward a decade and a half and you see Dashboard Confessional on MTV and suddenly anything that expresses some kind of emotion is negatively termed emo as if emo meant emotional rock. Which it doesn't.

But the word has taken on an entire new meaning so I guess it doesn't really matter.

 

[gick]

Fugazi, Husker Du, and The Rites of Spring are not mediocore.

...But Comrade's got it right. It started out as emotional hardcore, basically hardcore music with meaningful and often times "emotional" lyrics. Fast forward a decade and a half and you see Dashboard Confessional on MTV and suddenly anything that expresses some kind of emotion is negatively termed emo as if emo meant emotional rock. Which it doesn't.

But the word has taken on an entire new meaning so I guess it doesn't really matter.

This man speaks the truth.

*Puts on spectacles and listens to Indian Summer*

 

[mortiz]

Emo and Self-Pity are almost interchangeable.

 

[Beerdude26]

Emo and Self-Pity are almost interchangeable.

If you look at it on an emotional level, yes.

 

[sinkoman]

Anybody ever notice that if you go up to an emo kid and say "don't you hate emos?", they reply with something like "OMG Yeah, emos are so gay."

Then you tell the same person "you're emo dude", and they say "NO WAY MAN! Yellowcard is totally not emo".

It's almost like they're oblivious to it.

 

[Dog--]

Goth and emo are different..

Goth is an image that most emos use.

Emo people are emotionally messed (hence the name "emo") those are the people who cut themselves..

Emo music is just hardcore goth music..

 

[knut]

It's a great genre of music, defined by some real raw, hard-hitting bands of the early 90's like Fugazi and Sunny Day Real Estate. Today, now, it's a fashion, apparantly. Not sure who sprung that one up, but they are a nobhead and deserve a brick in the face.

 

[Qonfused]

I instantly have a negative bias towards someone if I see their wrist and see marks. You have problems -- everyone does. Why do you cut? Because it helps you cope? Because it makes you feel better? No. It's an attention-whorish action. Knock it the **** out. No one ****ing cares.

 

[Mesz]

Emos get on my damn nerves, the way i see it, the more that commit suicide, the better. I really hate scene kids too they are THE worst. I see them walking around town looking like a scorched, chained up willow tree with the heavy black clothes and really long black hair and the theoir god damned chains hanging everywhere......i so wish guns were legal here......

 

[Steve]

Emo is not short for emotions, it's short for Emotional Hardcore.

Which is funny, because that's an oxymoron, if I've ever seen one.

 

[Jintor]

I instantly have a negative bias towards someone if I see their wrist and see marks. You have problems -- everyone does. Why do you cut? Because it helps you cope? Because it makes you feel better? No. It's an attention-whorish action. Knock it the **** out. No one ****ing cares.

Although isn't that why they're cutting themselves? It's a plea for attention because NOBODY CARES.

 

[Azner]

cuts emo wrist

 

[function9]

I always thought the emo people were the kids in art class that would take a few pieces of garbage and glue them to a canvas and call it art. Though they would have no apparent talent at all. They were always the ones that were "so misunderstood". They also had the tendency to over analyze everything. Like if a fly landed on them while they were sitting outside, they would ask a number of questions about why the fly chose them. And think it ment something other than the fly just happened to land on them.

Whenever I think of emo I think of the old SNL skit with Chris Kattan, the "Goth Talk", man they nailed that.

 

[Instinct]

And people who cut their wrists for entertainment.

Watch out for the steriotypical "emos all cut their wrists" argument. Many don't, and many people who arent emo, do. Self harm is a mental thing

Sure, people do it for attention. But theres probably a bad reason they're after attention, remember that.

That said, I really can't stand the Emo fashion :frown:

 

[Rude Ken]

OK, listen, and listen well. EMOS FTL. Emos are the worst thing around these days (besides Nazi Punks). If you are an emo, you don't deserve the grant of being able to live. Your music sucks. You're ****ing gay. You mope and talk about death. Please, light yourself on fire so I don't have to hear all of the chicken shit bull shit thats comeing out of your mouth.

 

[Dan]

****, I hate the chubby girls with died black or pink hair, heavy eye shadow and studed belt/wristband and some stupid ****ing hello kitty toy on their backpack. They inevitably have an equally annoying stick thin pale faced gay friend in tow with mandatory scarf, thick glasses, greasy hair, and bright coloured retro shoes. They complain very loud about how normal people are too conformist and how family members just don't "get" them. Or they talk about whatever simple ideas they managed to get driven into their brains in their oh so smart philosophy 101 class and then go back and forth making each other think they are so ****ing smart for learning about Plato's ****ing allegory of the ****ing cave.

 

[Vass]

 

[Ome_Vince]

I generally saw emo kids (other than the music and hairstyle) as self-pity kids. They're depressed about pretty much everything and feel the need to express that.
blech, /barfs

 

[Ennui]

emo music is the most annoying product of teenage angst since goth

 

[function9]

For all the youngsters out there: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goth_Talk

 

[theotherguy]

I find Cobain's music to be more meaningful, and much more mature than the emo crap that's out today.

 

[CookieCuttah]

I am thinking about making an emotionless band.

We'll have a robot singer with no sense of rhythm as we throw pots in the back round and yell randomly. I bet people will be so caught off-guard by the idea that they will all follow me to world domination.

 

[Fliko]

I saw a girl who looked like him....

Chubby girl with dyed-black hair

 

[PoeticRocker]

I saw a girl who looked like him....

Chubby girl with dyed-black hair

I think we all have man... hideous sight...

 

[function9]

I am thinking about making an emotionless band.

We'll have a robot singer with no sense of rhythm as we throw pots in the back round and yell randomly. I bet people will be so caught off-guard by the idea that they will all follow me to world domination.

Already been done. Atari Teenage Riot.

 

[xcellerate]

One of my best friends is goth and he has some seriously hot goth-friends. I mean, my normal belief was that all the goth girls were the ugly girls in school who nobody liked so they turned goth because that crowd was the only one that 'got' her. But he totally turned my world around.

That said, anybody who attracts unnecessary negative attention to themselves I would consider emo. I was at a party last week and I stepped out on the porch and there was a DUDE there and he says, "Why is everybody so shitty?" I just turned right around and stepped back inside.

 

[99.vikram]

I instantly have a negative bias towards someone if I see their wrist and see marks. You have problems -- everyone does. Why do you cut? Because it helps you cope? Because it makes you feel better? No. It's an attention-whorish action. Knock it the **** out. No one ****ing cares.

No, it's a form of self-punishment. It makes them numb to all the shit in their lives.

 

[Jintor]

That said, anybody who attracts unnecessary negative attention to themselves I would consider emo. I was at a party last week and I stepped out on the porch and there was a DUDE there and he says, "Why is everybody so shitty?" I just turned right around and stepped back inside.

He might've just been having a bad day. I've said that to myself on a number of occassions!