no offense to those kids who think they're emo, but it really gets on my nerves whenever i see some kid that looks like this...
http://www.dtbmusic.com/gallery/emo%20kids.jpgnow, it's not that i'm getting @nal about the whole emo as a counterculture thing, but the whole emo thing started from hardcore punk in 1985 and is still a part of hardcore punk. i asked one of "those" kids about what they thought about it, they said, "pare, ang pagiging emo is emotional, emo music is music na may emotion!" and i was all, "wtf!? dude, there's no such thing as an emo culture, even if you trace it back to 1985 to 1994 and even as late as 1999 and 2003" and the only reaction i got was something like, "oo na, ang dami mo nang alam, yabang mo!" it's funny really, how insecure, image obsessed kids could latch on to a new trendy clutch so quickly. i mean, these kids don't even listen to real emo, all they listen to is stuff like Chiodos, Alesana, Dashboard Confessional, Typecast, Atreyu, Chicosci, Bring Me The Horizon, Drop Dead Gorgeous, Underoath, the Used and the likes. i dunno, it's not that i'm being elitist or something, but i'm just sick of how so many people pretend to know something they don't, and become so defensive if you try to share something you learned when you were in that position so long ago.
just in case people wanna know what emo is and have no idea of what it is prior to reading this post, lemme just give a short primer.
emo was a slightly derogatory term attached to the introspective approach of hardcore punk bands like Embrace and Rites of Spring who both came out in the Washington, DC scene in 1985. some 'zine referred to their introspectively expressive spin on hardcore as "emocore". ever since, the term sort of sideways stuck throughout emo's evolution.
here's a list of notable emo/screamo bands according to era/style.
Emocore(around 1985-1987 i think)
basically hardcore punk with parched singing and desperate sounding vocal delivery. the music itself was characterized by certain use of octave chords.
examples:
Rites Of Spring
Embrace
Husker Du
Emo (probably around 1987-1994)
the emo sound was built around the earlier emocore template that brought a more cathartic dimension to punk. this time, stripped down to pure unharnessed emotional delivery characterized by beautiful use of plucked buildups and cathartic, chaotic climaxes.
examples:
Indian Summer
Plunger
Julia
Moss Icon
Don Martin 3
Hardcore Emo (in the early 90s, i think)
to paraphrase Andy Radin, hardcore emo is to emo as hardcore is to hardcore punk. characterized by fast, blurry tempos and usually harsh screamed vocals.
examples:
Heroin
Angel Hair
Antioch Arrow
early Portraits of Past
Honeywell
Emo Violence
a joke term coined by a band called In/Humanity, probably first played by people who listened to powerviolence alongside either emo or hardcore emo.
examples:
Jenny Piccolo
In/Humanity
Palatka
Usurp Synapse
Screamo
this is debatable, but in my opinion, screamo itself is a blend of all the previous styles of emo, implementing traits from other genres of music such as indie-rock, post-rock, and to an extent, harsher types of music such as grindcore. it has become sort of a catchall for modern emo. it has reached worldwide popularity in different parts of the world particuarly in America and Europe. screamo bands from across the world usually have regional sounds associated with them.
examples of american screamo bands:
Saetia
Welcome The Plague Year
Neil Perry
You And I
Funeral Diner
Joshua Fit For Battle
Hassan I Sabbah
Cease Upon The Capitol
Yaphet Kotto
examples of italian screamo bands:
La Quiete
Raein
the Death Of Anna Karina
examples of french screamo bands:
Mihai Edrisch
Daitro
Gantz
Sed Non Satiata
examples of german screamo bands:
June Paik
Tristan Tzara
Louise Cyphre
Einermusstot
examples of scandanavian screamo bands:
Angora Static
Amalthea
Shikari
Marat
the Manhattan Skyline
Kaospilot
examples of malaysian screamo bands:
Kias Fansuri
Orbitcinta Benjamin
Killeur Calculateur
Daghlia
examples of japanese screamo bands:
Envy
Nervous Light Of Sunday
Nitro Mega Prayer
Dipleg
examples of philippine screamo:
Caitlyn Bailey
Capulette
Tigers Are Out, Bears Are In
Iola Morton
Means To No End
common characteristics in modern emo and screamo
in the 00's, more screamo bands took advantage of the buildup and cathartic climax element of emo and blended them with post-rock, bands like City Of ------ and Envy being perfect examples of this type of emo. another common type of screamo band is the more progressive type of emo characterized by complex structures and time changes, such as Circle Takes the Square. regional traits aside, it's also noted that Canadian bands from the 90s such as Union Of Uranus and One Eyed God Prophecy soundwise did a lot to influence screamo bands such as Orchid, Reversal Of Man, and the like. it's influence can still be seen in bands as recent as the Apoplexy Twist Orchestra or the Flying Worker.
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a little FAQ section
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Q: are Dashboard Confessional or My Chemical Romance emo?
A: no they are not, read the rest of the crap i posted, and you'll clearly see why
Q: but they are emotional Sad
A: so was my grandfater, but he isn't emo by a longshot.
Q: if they aren't emo, what are they then?
A: there are 134983721948 non-emo genres out there, figure that out yourself, sherlock. that's none of my concern.
Q: what do real emo kids dress like?
A: there's no such thing as an emo kid, the only emo kids are effects of gross mislabelling of bands via mainstream channels such as Spin Magazine and MTV.
Q: am i emo?
A: you are not.
Q: are you emo?
A: i wouldn't be caught dead in skinny jeans and scene hair, that's just dumb in my opinion.
Q: what are emo lyrics like?
A: contrary to popular belief, emo lyrics aren't usually about love or being misunderstood by the cool kids in school, rather, emo lyrics tend to be rather political, such with the case of bands like Ampere and Reversal Of Man.
Q: is there such a thing as emo-goth music?
A: there is no such thing, although Antioch Arrow actually did bring a little touch of goth aesthetic and goth musical flair to hardcore emo. but that's an isolated case, i guess.
Q: is there such a thing as emo-punk?
A: nope, punk rock came before hardcore punk, hardcore punk is a direct descendant of punk. emo is a direct descendant of hardcore punk, so it's impossible to label anything as emo-punk given that it's a generation apart in terms of chronological order. anything that has to do with real emo in terms of music is punk, but not everything that's punk has anything to do with emo.
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note:
the best way to understand emo is to actually give the bands a listen, so if anyone's remotely interested in learning what emo sounds like, it's best to open
www.myspace.com and use the search music function with this guide or a site like fourfa.com or youdontknowemo.tk as reference.
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(written by my bandmate.)
