WTF is emo music?

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Mucman

Diamond Member
Oct 10, 1999
7,246
1
0
Originally posted by: akodi
Originally posted by: Mucman
Emo is good stuff. I'm a big fan of The Juliana Theory, Thursday, and Sunny Day Real Estate. To me emo is like modern day Morrissey.

that's quite a big assumption.

Assumption???

 

AMDJunkie

Diamond Member
Dec 6, 1999
3,431
5
81
Emo is short for "emotional hardcore". Emotional hardcore was once a derogatory title (some still consider it to be) given to any punk band that had songs that were too outside the simple and narrow definition of punk. Most argue that the granddaddy of emo is Sunny Day Real Estate. A blend of punk and indie rock, with usually more moodier moments than found in other music, the definition of emo was then extended to include the real foundations of the term, namely Jawbreaker, The Get Up Kids, Mineral, and the like.

This is where it gets confusing now. While Dashboard Confessional was blatantly emo, what followed it were alternative bands that, not fitting the traditional sounds of punk rock, pop-punk, and alternative, were grouped into this emo category together. So now just about any band that writes music with intensity (At the Drive-In, Sparta, Thursday) or has a sad song somewhere that just can't be labeled as alternative (Jimmy Eat World, Yellowcard, et al) are convenient labelled into this growing subgenre of rock, whether deserving of it or not.
 

Chaotic42

Lifer
Jun 15, 2001
35,054
2,214
126
Originally posted by: weezergirl
I love how people are bashing emo even though they dont' even know what it is or know what bands are EMO. ok..hip to bash emo i guess?

emo bands: the get up kids, jimmy eat world, weezer (pinkerton album), dashboard confessional, saves the day, those are some of the big ones.

emo is basically sad (some say whiny) pop/punk/rock music
The only one of those I've heard of is Weezer. I like that song "Buddy Holly", but that's the only one of their songs I've heard.
 

thomsbrain

Lifer
Dec 4, 2001
18,148
1
0
Originally posted by: Chaotic42
Originally posted by: weezergirl
I love how people are bashing emo even though they dont' even know what it is or know what bands are EMO. ok..hip to bash emo i guess?

emo bands: the get up kids, jimmy eat world, weezer (pinkerton album), dashboard confessional, saves the day, those are some of the big ones.

emo is basically sad (some say whiny) pop/punk/rock music
The only one of those I've heard of is Weezer. I like that song "Buddy Holly", but that's the only one of their songs I've heard.

but that isn't an emo song. ;) weezer only had one album that you could call emo, "pinkerton." (which weezergirl already mentioned). pinkerton was their least-selling album, but it was the album that kept their fanbase large and actually helped them establish a cult following, which is why they were able to sell out their comeback tour even before releasing the green album.

i'm sure people would beg to differ, but i would say weezer has had the biggest influence on emo fashion and even modern fashion in general of any band in existance. the weezer look defined our modern-day emo/skater look as early as the early 90's. square black-plastic-framed glasses are in calvin klein ads and eyeglass stores across the nation. tons of people wear "emo" or otherwise weezer-inspired glasses without having a clue where the came from. rivers' shaggy hair when weezer first hit in 1994 is now "the" cool cut to have. i'm sure weezer stole their fashion from other people, too, but weezer was the first band to bring what is now the cultural norm to the mainstream.