Emo is ONLY an insult given by Punks directed towards the avid fans of Emotive Hardcore Punk & the genre itself. Emotive started in the mid/early 80's in the D.C. Hardcore scene. Emotive is essentially watered down Hardcore Punk. This type of music wasn't accepted in the scene, thus the term Emo was born.
2 of the most noted bands to take this form of Punk in a new direction, was Rites Of Spring & Embrace. Guy Picciotto, the lead singer of Rites Of Spring; most famous for his work in Fugazi, paved the way for what we now know as Emotive Hardcore Punk. Ian MacKaye, most famous for his Hardcore Punk band Minor Threat & the creation of Straight Edge; was also was a defining band.
Emotive in the '80's resembled it's parent genre, with more emotionally charged lyrics & a new tone. But in the '90's Emotive took a totally different feel.
Emotive in the '90's took a more Indie feel to their music. More commonly known as Post-Emo, it was bands like Cap'n Jazz, Jets To Brazil, Joan Of Arc, Sunny Day Real Estate, etc etc... Cap'n Jazz helped transform emo from a deeply underground Punk sub-genre, into a more widely accepted subset of Indie rock.
Emotive in the '90's also gave birth to what we now know as Screamo (Skramz). Screamo (Skramz) is somewhat of a misnomer. Though the genre often had screaming vocals, it wasn't the focus of the genre. Skramz is a more chaotic way of playing it's parent genre.
2 of the most noted bands to take this form of Punk in a new direction, was Rites Of Spring & Embrace. Guy Picciotto, the lead singer of Rites Of Spring; most famous for his work in Fugazi, paved the way for what we now know as Emotive Hardcore Punk. Ian MacKaye, most famous for his Hardcore Punk band Minor Threat & the creation of Straight Edge; was also was a defining band.
Emotive in the '80's resembled it's parent genre, with more emotionally charged lyrics & a new tone. But in the '90's Emotive took a totally different feel.
Emotive in the '90's took a more Indie feel to their music. More commonly known as Post-Emo, it was bands like Cap'n Jazz, Jets To Brazil, Joan Of Arc, Sunny Day Real Estate, etc etc... Cap'n Jazz helped transform emo from a deeply underground Punk sub-genre, into a more widely accepted subset of Indie rock.
Emotive in the '90's also gave birth to what we now know as Screamo (Skramz). Screamo (Skramz) is somewhat of a misnomer. Though the genre often had screaming vocals, it wasn't the focus of the genre. Skramz is a more chaotic way of playing it's parent genre.
Rites Of Spring is Emo.
I Hate Myself is Emo.
Dashboard Confessional is NOT Emo.
My Chemical Romance is NOT Emo.
After School Knife fight is Skramz.
Toru Okada is Skramz.
Avenged Sevenfold is NOT Skramz.
Bullet For My Valentine is NOT Skramz.
I Hate Myself is Emo.
Dashboard Confessional is NOT Emo.
My Chemical Romance is NOT Emo.
After School Knife fight is Skramz.
Toru Okada is Skramz.
Avenged Sevenfold is NOT Skramz.
Bullet For My Valentine is NOT Skramz.
by Doisen August 29, 2009
Get the Emomug. Emoism a sexually transmitted disease commonly found in angsty teens and preteens. This disease is characterized by poor taste in clothing, too tight pants, too small shirts, retarded scarves, and hair that needs to cover at least half the face. This disease is usually spread in suburbia but can also be found elsewhere. This disease is usually spread during the emo mating ritual(See Emo def #3).
Unfortunately this STD cannot be stopped by any known STD blocker (condom, abstinence, etc). Care should also be taken when their music is playing due to the high risk of brain damage and/or complete stupidity.
Unfortunately this STD cannot be stopped by any known STD blocker (condom, abstinence, etc). Care should also be taken when their music is playing due to the high risk of brain damage and/or complete stupidity.
by Thepissant September 15, 2008
Get the Emomug. In 2005, the world was thriving with the movie mean girls, and emos with rlly cool hair.
Fast forward to 2019 most ‘emos’ aren’t emo.
Fast forward to 2019 most ‘emos’ aren’t emo.
by Don’t.wanna.be.emo.but.i.am. October 29, 2019
Get the Emomug. Emo- A group of teenagers who feel like loners, outkasts and rejects. People automatically pressume emo kids cut and are depressed living in a world of self pity. It is UNTRUE! Many emos are critisized by the way they dress or look even by the music they listen to. So what if a girl wants to have black hair covering some of her forehead or black skinny jeans. People should be allowed to listen to what they want dress how they want without being judged. If anyone else tells you otherwise spit in their fucking face and tell them to piss off! Emos can usually be depressed or not. Emos that self harm, its not for the attention. Its for way deeper reasons than that ie family life.
Think before you say. Words become actions.
Play with a toy, play with a knife. Play with an emo and we will play with your life and fuck it up so badly, you may become an emo too!
Play with a toy, play with a knife. Play with an emo and we will play with your life and fuck it up so badly, you may become an emo too!
by xXEmo_PrincessXx March 30, 2007
Get the Emomug. To me, it's a label. A stupid steriotype.
Emo's ARE NOT wrist cutters. Wrist cutters are wrist cutters.
Emo's can laugh and smile.
It's not a bad damn thing! Some of my best friends are emoish. I don't see why people like to make fun of them.
MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE IS NOT EMO!
Not all emos where tight pants.
We dont go and cry every time we get made fun of. Some of us can beat your ass :
And that is my definition of emo.
If you don't like it, then screw you :
Emo's ARE NOT wrist cutters. Wrist cutters are wrist cutters.
Emo's can laugh and smile.
It's not a bad damn thing! Some of my best friends are emoish. I don't see why people like to make fun of them.
MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE IS NOT EMO!
Not all emos where tight pants.
We dont go and cry every time we get made fun of. Some of us can beat your ass :
And that is my definition of emo.
If you don't like it, then screw you :
by Jayde~ June 20, 2008
Get the Emomug. Emo does not stand for "emotional" as many people think, nor is it a stereotype of whiny kids with stupid fringed hair.
EMO = EMOTIVE HARDCORE. IT'S A MUSICAL GENRE.
READ THIS:
After Minor Threat broke up in late 1983, the vibrant DC hardcore-punk scene that exploded in 1981 seems to start to run out of steam and fresh ideas within the established DC hardcore sound. The wistful, posthumous Minor Threat 7" "Salad Days" comes out in 1984 and drives the final nail into the coffin of DC hardcore punk. Bands all over the country begin casting about for new things to do : DRI and Bad Brains start going cheeze-metal, New York bands start doing tough-guy mosh, 7Seconds goes jangly U2 alternative, etc. The prevailing change in D.C. is toward melodic rock with punk sensibilities.
1984 marks the release of Zen Arcade by Minneapolis band Hüsker Dü, documenting their new mature sound combining furious, intense vocal delivery and driving guitars with slowed-down rockish tempos and more-complex, melodic songwriting.
In spring 1984, a new band called Rites Of Spring forms from members of The Untouchables/Faith and Deadline. This band retains a punk speed and frenzy, but brings a totally new vocal approach to the mix. Singer Guy Picciotto keeps an out-of-breath punk style most of the time, at times delving into intensely personal lyrics dripping with emotion and sweat. His voice breaks down at climactic moments into a throaty, gravelly, passionate moan.
The summer of 1985 becomes known as "Revolution Summer" when a new wave of rock-tempo, melody based, sung-vocal bands forms out of the DC punk musician pool with diverse rock sounds - Three, Gray Matter, Soulside, Ignition, Marginal Man, Fire Party, Rain, Shudder to Think, etc. Few bands retain the fast hardcore punk-based sound with the new vocal approach, Dag Nasty being the notable exception.
Minor Threat's singer, Ian MacKaye's, sings for a band called Embrace (compare the band name to earlier DC bands Minor Threat, Void, and State Of Alert) whose lyrics are emotional and deeply self-questioning, but still clear and unambiguous. Musically, the group (formed mostly of ex-Faith members) writes midtempo, somewhat jangly music with a lot of pop guitar hooks. MacKaye's vocals retain his trademark bold enunciation, with only occasional sparks of emotive delivery.
These bands' sound eventually becomes known as the classic "D.C. sound." Some of it is derisively labeled "emo," as shorthand for "emotional." One account has this term first appearing in a Flipside interview with Ian MacKaye. Shortly thereafter DC bands aquire the tag "emo-core."
Slightly later (1986), some bands begin to focus on the "emo" element itself. The Hated in Annapolis (near D.C.) seem to be the first post-Rites of Spring to do this. Shortly thereafter, Moss Icon appears in in the same town. Moss Icon strips the "emo" element down to the core, and adds a great deal of intricate, arpeggiated guitar melody (by Tonie Joy, later of Born Against, Lava, Universal Order of Armageddon, etc.) with a strong focus on loud/soft dynamics. The vocals, too, break new ground by building up to actual top-of-the-lungs screaming at songs' climaxes.
Moss Icon, as a relatively well-known band that toured some, introduces the punk scene to music that has core emphasis on emotion instead of punk energy. As such, I consider them the starting point for the emo movement, not Rites of Spring as is more commonly asserted. Later emo bands draw heavily from the Moss Icon dynamics, guitar style, and vocal delivery.
EMO = EMOTIVE HARDCORE. IT'S A MUSICAL GENRE.
READ THIS:
After Minor Threat broke up in late 1983, the vibrant DC hardcore-punk scene that exploded in 1981 seems to start to run out of steam and fresh ideas within the established DC hardcore sound. The wistful, posthumous Minor Threat 7" "Salad Days" comes out in 1984 and drives the final nail into the coffin of DC hardcore punk. Bands all over the country begin casting about for new things to do : DRI and Bad Brains start going cheeze-metal, New York bands start doing tough-guy mosh, 7Seconds goes jangly U2 alternative, etc. The prevailing change in D.C. is toward melodic rock with punk sensibilities.
1984 marks the release of Zen Arcade by Minneapolis band Hüsker Dü, documenting their new mature sound combining furious, intense vocal delivery and driving guitars with slowed-down rockish tempos and more-complex, melodic songwriting.
In spring 1984, a new band called Rites Of Spring forms from members of The Untouchables/Faith and Deadline. This band retains a punk speed and frenzy, but brings a totally new vocal approach to the mix. Singer Guy Picciotto keeps an out-of-breath punk style most of the time, at times delving into intensely personal lyrics dripping with emotion and sweat. His voice breaks down at climactic moments into a throaty, gravelly, passionate moan.
The summer of 1985 becomes known as "Revolution Summer" when a new wave of rock-tempo, melody based, sung-vocal bands forms out of the DC punk musician pool with diverse rock sounds - Three, Gray Matter, Soulside, Ignition, Marginal Man, Fire Party, Rain, Shudder to Think, etc. Few bands retain the fast hardcore punk-based sound with the new vocal approach, Dag Nasty being the notable exception.
Minor Threat's singer, Ian MacKaye's, sings for a band called Embrace (compare the band name to earlier DC bands Minor Threat, Void, and State Of Alert) whose lyrics are emotional and deeply self-questioning, but still clear and unambiguous. Musically, the group (formed mostly of ex-Faith members) writes midtempo, somewhat jangly music with a lot of pop guitar hooks. MacKaye's vocals retain his trademark bold enunciation, with only occasional sparks of emotive delivery.
These bands' sound eventually becomes known as the classic "D.C. sound." Some of it is derisively labeled "emo," as shorthand for "emotional." One account has this term first appearing in a Flipside interview with Ian MacKaye. Shortly thereafter DC bands aquire the tag "emo-core."
Slightly later (1986), some bands begin to focus on the "emo" element itself. The Hated in Annapolis (near D.C.) seem to be the first post-Rites of Spring to do this. Shortly thereafter, Moss Icon appears in in the same town. Moss Icon strips the "emo" element down to the core, and adds a great deal of intricate, arpeggiated guitar melody (by Tonie Joy, later of Born Against, Lava, Universal Order of Armageddon, etc.) with a strong focus on loud/soft dynamics. The vocals, too, break new ground by building up to actual top-of-the-lungs screaming at songs' climaxes.
Moss Icon, as a relatively well-known band that toured some, introduces the punk scene to music that has core emphasis on emotion instead of punk energy. As such, I consider them the starting point for the emo movement, not Rites of Spring as is more commonly asserted. Later emo bands draw heavily from the Moss Icon dynamics, guitar style, and vocal delivery.
Emocore bands:
Rites of Spring, Embrace, Gray Matter, Ignition, Dag Nasty, Monsula, Fugazi kind of, Fuel, Samiam, Jawbreaker, Hot Water Music, Elliot, Friction, Soulside, early Lifetime, Split Lip/Chamberlain, Kerosene 454
Post-emo indie rock the kind most people mistake to be true emocore:
Sunny Day Real Estate, Christie Front Drive, Promise Ring, Mineral, Boys Life, Sideshow, Get-Up Kids, Braid, Cap'n Jazz, then later Joan of Arc, Jets To Brazil, etc. Lots of Caulfield and Crank! Records bands, more lately a lot of stuff on Jade Tree for instance.
Rites of Spring, Embrace, Gray Matter, Ignition, Dag Nasty, Monsula, Fugazi kind of, Fuel, Samiam, Jawbreaker, Hot Water Music, Elliot, Friction, Soulside, early Lifetime, Split Lip/Chamberlain, Kerosene 454
Post-emo indie rock the kind most people mistake to be true emocore:
Sunny Day Real Estate, Christie Front Drive, Promise Ring, Mineral, Boys Life, Sideshow, Get-Up Kids, Braid, Cap'n Jazz, then later Joan of Arc, Jets To Brazil, etc. Lots of Caulfield and Crank! Records bands, more lately a lot of stuff on Jade Tree for instance.
by finding emotive July 21, 2008
Get the Emomug.