Short for emotional-hardcore:
An 80's subgenre of
hardcore punk which in itself is a genre of punk rock, used to define creative, angsty, and melodromatic bands that WERE PUNK, yet at the same time, to creative and knowing too many guitar chords to be classified as punk.
The term was invented by fans of Rites of Spring, a
hardcore punk band looking to break out of the D.C.
hardcore punk scene and create a unique sound.
Emotional-hardcore, often shortened to emocore, or emo, was very short lived, as were many of the bands in it.
After emo came indie, post-hardcore, screamo, and post-emo.
The term has been borrowed by asshole teenagers that constantly shop at Hot Topic, wear skinny jeans, black eye liner, and hear infront of their eyes, and listen to nothing but pop punk, metalcore, the pussified version of death metal, and post-hardcore.
How to identify emo:
-IF THE BAND IS NOT A PUNK BAND, THEN THEY ARE NOT AN EMO BAND.
-IF THE BAND USES GUTTURAL VOCALS, HAS A BREAKDOWN, OR HAS A DOUBLE BASS, THEY AREN'T EMO.
-IF THE LYRICS ARE "POETIC" PIECES OF CRAP ABOUT EX-GIRLFRIENDS, SUICIDE, OR SUICIDE, THEY AREN'T EMO.
-YOU ARE NOT EMO.
-IF THE BAND IS AROUND TODAY, AND IS INFLUENCED BY
HAWTHORNE HEIGHTS, THEY ARE NOT EMO.
The Northern Eastern SCENE KID that wears nothing but black is somehow mistaken for emo, but is sadly, still scene kid.
Scene kid, "I just bought the new Alesana CD, 'Where Myth Fades to Legend, they're so emo, Shawn cries at the end of track 9 *pretends to be sad*'".
Kid who knows better, "Woah, there are still emo bands around? I didn't even know you liked punk".
Scene kid, "No, they aren't punk, they're a metal/emo/screamo band. Shawn is so hott."
Kid who knows better, "You're a
fucking idiot."
Some real emo bands are:
-Rites of Spring
-Cap'n Jazz
-Mineral
-Frodus
Some bands idiotically mistaken for emo are:
-Fall Out Boy
-Hawthorne Heights
-Alesana
-Saosin
-My
Chemical Romance
-30 Seconds to Mars
-Bring Me the Horizon
-Attack! Attack! (the U.S. band)
-Drop Dead Gorgeous
-Suicide Silence
-A Day to Remember
-Saosin
-The
Jonas Brothers (it's been said)
-Paramore
-Flyleaf
-Bullet for My Valentine
-Good Charlotte
-Sunny Day Real Estate