What the heck is "emo" and what should I try listening to? - Music

Veri · 03-01-2007, 03:30

"Emo"?

I eventually tired of seeing this cryptic term and started looking things up. I learned much, and for the next half hour or so I probably could have recited a fairly detailed history of the genre(?), mentioning various bands I had never even heard of before - let alone actually heard.

Well, ok, Mission of Burma may have been mentioned in there somewhere, and I had heard them; but that was all.

Attempts to listen to some songs turned out to be encounters with some impenetrable hardcore, but perhaps I'd picked the wrong ones.

Not that impenetrable hardcore is neccessarily a bad thing. Several listens might get me to the point where I could hear it as music. I managed to get into Sleater-Kinney's Call the Doctor that way (not "emo", I know, but rather noise-like and screechy first encounter nonetheless).

ANYway, I'm wondering (1) whether there's any easily-grasped description of what "emo" is, one I might be able to remember for more than half an hour, and (2) what I should listen to if I want to see if I could conceivably like the stuff.

Emerican Idol · 03-01-2007, 03:46

I've heard Emo is Emotional music hence the shorting it to Emo.

I've heard of all these bands called Emo and listening to their music I don't see what any of them have in common but supposedly they are all Emo.

My Chemical Romance

Taking Back Sunday

Fall Out Boy

Hellogoodbye

Jimmy Eat World

Senses Fail

From First To Last

I guess the fact that their music could be seen as whiny whether it's about how bad life sucks or a Girl breaking up with them. Some of them I can see being together but I don't see how "Hellogoodbye" and "Taking Back Sunday" and "Fall Out Boy" and "From First To Last" could be in the same category and all be called Emo. Personally, I think a lot of people are just disregarding bands and throwing the Emo label on any band they don't like.

Veri · 03-01-2007, 04:13

Thanks, Emerican Idol!

Jimmy Eat World and hellogoodbye are the easiest for me to get into, My Chemical Romance and Fall Out Boy for some reason the most annoying. Taking Back Sunday and Senses Fail might turn out to be more interesting in the longer term.

I'm as puzzled as you at how they can all be "emo".

03-01-2007, 13:26

The Used!

03-01-2007, 14:05

Okay i wouldn't necessarily describe these as "emo" myself but in addition to the above i would suggest you check out some of these, you might enjoy them

the academy is...
afi
alkaline trio
the all-american rejects
billy talent
cute is what we aim for
dashboard confessional (as close to defining emo as youll ever get!)
the format
gym class heroes
hawk nelson
head automatica (beating hearts baby is an amazing song)
the hush sound
just surrender
lostprophets
panic! at the disco
the pink spiders
plain white ts (supporting hellogoodbye on their uk tour)
relient k
the spill canvas
straylight run (formed by ex-members of taking back sunday)
sugarcult
the used
yellowcard

phew! those are some of the bands i love. so i hope youll find one or two you enjoy as well

Super_Steve · 03-01-2007, 14:12

Angels and Airwaves are alright. Tom Delonge from Blink-182's new band. Nothing like Blink at all, much much darker. Worth a listen but don't expect to feel smiley when you do listen!

gandatron · 03-01-2007, 14:14

Check out Brand New's (think it's their second album) - Deja Entendu.

An absolute masterpiece, and apparently it's 'emo'.

ElRawns · 03-01-2007, 14:24

The Ataris are a quality band to listian too and are a mix between emo/skate punk. So Long Astoria is a good album but I recoken "Blue Skys, Broken Hearts - Next 12 exits" is the best. Also check out the album "End is Forever".

Its quality.

ElRawns · 03-01-2007, 14:26

...oh - And "The Starting Line" are a quality band too!

03-01-2007, 14:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by ElRawns

The Ataris are a quality band to listian too and are a mix between emo/skate punk. So Long Astoria is a good album but I recoken "Blue Skys, Broken Hearts - Next 12 exits" is the best. Also check out the album "End is Forever".

Its quality.

The Ataris are good. In This Diary is just a brilliant song. I agree that Blue Skys...is the best album.

ElRawns · 03-01-2007, 15:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by latszas

The Ataris are good. In This Diary is just a brilliant song. I agree that Blue Skys...is the best album.

I love that one too. Also love the cover of "Boys of Summer".

One of my faves has to be 1*15*96. I love playing along to it on my guitar. Also, the clasic "San Demis High School Football Rules" is another top tune!

ElRawns · 03-01-2007, 15:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by latszas

Okay i wouldn't necessarily describe these as "emo" myself but in addition to the above i would suggest you check out some of these, you might enjoy them

the academy is...
afi
alkaline trio
the all-american rejects
billy talent
cute is what we aim for
dashboard confessional (as close to defining emo as youll ever get!)
the format
gym class heroes
hawk nelson
head automatica (beating hearts baby is an amazing song)
the hush sound
just surrender
lostprophets
panic! at the disco
the pink spiders
plain white ts (supporting hellogoodbye on their uk tour)
relient k
the spill canvas
straylight run (formed by ex-members of taking back sunday)
sugarcult
the used
yellowcard

phew! those are some of the bands i love. so i hope youll find one or two you enjoy as well

Some very good bands in that list mate. Some I have not heard of but the ones I have are awsome. (Alkaline Trio all the way!)

03-01-2007, 15:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by ElRawns

I love that one too. Also love the cover of "Boys of Summer".

One of my faves has to be 1*15*96. I love playing along to it on my guitar. Also, the clasic "San Demis High School Football Rules" is another top tune!

Yes! I also love i wont spend another night alone. Very catchy! The thing ive found with them though is for every song i love there are two or three more which are just filler. Which is a shame.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ElRawns

Some very good bands in that list mate. Some I have not heard of but the ones I have are awsome. (Alkaline Trio all the way!)

Definitely! I downloaded their stuff a year or so ago but never really properly got into until i gave it a listen again recently and its just great

TennantsElbow · 03-01-2007, 15:43

Great question!

There's a pretty good definition here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emo_%28music%29

I tend to think of emo as being pappy rock sung in an overly melodramatic way to appeal to hormonal teenagers

sarahcs · 03-01-2007, 16:10

Top Shop Goths!

Paddy C · 03-01-2007, 16:33

Emo = Emotional rock.

The flavour of the month band-wise among Emo's is My Chemical Romance.

Basically any song about love (losing it usually) or death is the der rigeur of Emo's.

They usually have black hair, natually or dyed, and it usually obscures part of their face, usually one or sometimes both of the eyes. They wear lots of black skinny fitting clothing and usually belts with metal studs on them. A few, though not all, Emo's are gay. Although you would wonder....

Don't know what else to say really. I'm not one of them, but I know a few which is how I can describe them. Do a Google image search for Emo and see what you find. Most of the pictures will look the same I'm sure.

This might also help - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHTAT_UPm18

Paddy

London Chick · 03-01-2007, 17:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by loosefur

I tend to think of emo as being pappy rock sung in an overly melodramatic way to appeal to hormonal teenagers

That there is the best description of emo I've ever heard!!

Also I think alot of songs on Evanescences second album are quite "emo".

Paddy C · 03-01-2007, 17:46

Aren't Evanesence an Emo band anyway?

Paddy

Veri · 03-01-2007, 17:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paddy C

...

This might also help - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHTAT_UPm18

Paddy

Thanks! Very funny!

Also thanks to everyone for the other links. I'm listening ...

THEXTREMIST · 03-01-2007, 18:57

Most of what's said here is what is generally defined as emo nowadays. Once upon a time it was the name for a form of rock around of Washington DC, an emotional version of punk rather than angsty, though far from whining. Sadly, that genre name got stolen to label all these 'pappy rock' bands as you describe. Rites of Spring, Sunny Day Real Estate are the old fashioned emo and the new stuff is well...pretty far from that and IMO awful. A lot of bands have tried to cash in on it's commercial popularity by making their music much more 'emoish' by presenting their new material in similarly whiney voices to the pioneers of the new emo genre and changing the style of lyrics they write. Bands like Evanesence and Lost Prophets are key examples of this. Quite sad really that new rock music nowadays mainly goes into 1 of 3 groups; Supergroups, Emo or Screamo Metal.

Suzie80's · 03-01-2007, 19:33

It seems to be goth minus the vampires with different haircuts.

Ah well, the kids have to listen to something don't they! Before that it was all Marilyn Manson and Slipknot hoodies.

And I spent my teenage years in Pearl Jam and Nirvana t shirts so I'm not one to judge.

sbds1 · 03-01-2007, 20:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by gandatron

Check out Brand New's (think it's their second album) - Deja Entendu.

An absolute masterpiece, and apparently it's 'emo'.

Brand New are fantastic. Deja Entendu is a bit 'Emo' though not too much. Emo used to be more 'Emotional Hardcore' music, but its now just 'emotional Rock'

Whatever, these labels are just another way of creating divides between people.

rzappa · 03-01-2007, 21:11

I'm definitely not a hormonal teenager any more & I like a lot of the bands classed as emo (still makes me think of Emo Phillips the comedian).

Can I suggest Coheed and Cambria as well? Personal favourites of mine who I have heard are classed as emo.

getty · 03-01-2007, 21:19

The only Emo that I know and like is this one.
http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/...V40460139_.jpg

ayebab · 03-01-2007, 21:41

can i just point out goth and emo are 2 different things

03-01-2007, 03:30	#1
Veri Forum Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 39,539 Blog Entries: 14	What the heck is "emo" and what should I try listening to? "Emo"? I eventually tired of seeing this cryptic term and started looking things up. I learned much, and for the next half hour or so I probably could have recited a fairly detailed history of the genre(?), mentioning various bands I had never even heard of before - let alone actually heard. Well, ok, Mission of Burma may have been mentioned in there somewhere, and I had heard them; but that was all. Attempts to listen to some songs turned out to be encounters with some impenetrable hardcore, but perhaps I'd picked the wrong ones. Not that impenetrable hardcore is neccessarily a bad thing. Several listens might get me to the point where I could hear it as music. I managed to get into Sleater-Kinney's Call the Doctor that way (not "emo", I know, but rather noise-like and screechy first encounter nonetheless). ANYway, I'm wondering (1) whether there's any easily-grasped description of what "emo" is, one I might be able to remember for more than half an hour, and (2) what I should listen to if I want to see if I could conceivably like the stuff.

03-01-2007, 03:46	#2
Emerican Idol Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Stafford Services: Christian Bale and I are f**king done professionally Posts: 10,836	I've heard Emo is Emotional music hence the shorting it to Emo. I've heard of all these bands called Emo and listening to their music I don't see what any of them have in common but supposedly they are all Emo. My Chemical Romance Taking Back Sunday Fall Out Boy Hellogoodbye Jimmy Eat World Senses Fail From First To Last I guess the fact that their music could be seen as whiny whether it's about how bad life sucks or a Girl breaking up with them. Some of them I can see being together but I don't see how "Hellogoodbye" and "Taking Back Sunday" and "Fall Out Boy" and "From First To Last" could be in the same category and all be called Emo. Personally, I think a lot of people are just disregarding bands and throwing the Emo label on any band they don't like. Last edited by Emerican Idol : 03-01-2007 at 04:10.

03-01-2007, 04:13	#3
Veri Forum Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 39,539 Blog Entries: 14	Thanks, Emerican Idol! Jimmy Eat World and hellogoodbye are the easiest for me to get into, My Chemical Romance and Fall Out Boy for some reason the most annoying. Taking Back Sunday and Senses Fail might turn out to be more interesting in the longer term. I'm as puzzled as you at how they can all be "emo". Last edited by Veri : 03-01-2007 at 04:16.

03-01-2007, 14:05	#5
mashaholic Posts: n/a	Okay i wouldn't necessarily describe these as "emo" myself but in addition to the above i would suggest you check out some of these, you might enjoy them the academy is... afi alkaline trio the all-american rejects billy talent cute is what we aim for dashboard confessional (as close to defining emo as youll ever get!) the format gym class heroes hawk nelson head automatica (beating hearts baby is an amazing song) the hush sound just surrender lostprophets panic! at the disco the pink spiders plain white ts (supporting hellogoodbye on their uk tour) relient k the spill canvas straylight run (formed by ex-members of taking back sunday) sugarcult the used yellowcard phew! those are some of the bands i love. so i hope youll find one or two you enjoy as well Last edited by latszas : 03-01-2007 at 14:08.

03-01-2007, 16:33	#16
Paddy C Forum Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 7,527	Emo = Emotional rock. The flavour of the month band-wise among Emo's is My Chemical Romance. Basically any song about love (losing it usually) or death is the der rigeur of Emo's. They usually have black hair, natually or dyed, and it usually obscures part of their face, usually one or sometimes both of the eyes. They wear lots of black skinny fitting clothing and usually belts with metal studs on them. A few, though not all, Emo's are gay. Although you would wonder.... Don't know what else to say really. I'm not one of them, but I know a few which is how I can describe them. Do a Google image search for Emo and see what you find. Most of the pictures will look the same I'm sure. This might also help - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHTAT_UPm18 Paddy Last edited by Paddy C : 03-01-2007 at 16:34.

03-01-2007, 14:12	#6
Super_Steve Forum Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 2,941	Angels and Airwaves are alright. Tom Delonge from Blink-182's new band. Nothing like Blink at all, much much darker. Worth a listen but don't expect to feel smiley when you do listen!

03-01-2007, 14:14	#7
gandatron Forum Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Oxford, Coventry, Hanoi Services: Broadband, subsistence agriculture Posts: 2,394	Check out Brand New's (think it's their second album) - Deja Entendu. An absolute masterpiece, and apparently it's 'emo'.

03-01-2007, 14:24	#8
ElRawns DS Project contestant Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Bridgwater, Somerset Services: TalkTalk w. 8mb Broadband - iPhone 3G, Freeview, iPod 5th Gen 30gb Posts: 1,056 Blog Entries: 1	The Ataris are a quality band to listian too and are a mix between emo/skate punk. So Long Astoria is a good album but I recoken "Blue Skys, Broken Hearts - Next 12 exits" is the best. Also check out the album "End is Forever". Its quality.

03-01-2007, 14:26	#9
ElRawns DS Project contestant Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Bridgwater, Somerset Services: TalkTalk w. 8mb Broadband - iPhone 3G, Freeview, iPod 5th Gen 30gb Posts: 1,056 Blog Entries: 1	...oh - And "The Starting Line" are a quality band too!

03-01-2007, 15:43	#14
TennantsElbow Forum Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Bendy bit of DT's left arm Posts: 1,434	Great question! There's a pretty good definition here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emo_%28music%29 I tend to think of emo as being pappy rock sung in an overly melodramatic way to appeal to hormonal teenagers

03-01-2007, 16:10	#15
sarahcs Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 6,109 Blog Entries: 4	Top Shop Goths!

03-01-2007, 17:46	#18
Paddy C Forum Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 7,527	Aren't Evanesence an Emo band anyway? Paddy

03-01-2007, 18:57	#20
THEXTREMIST Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Upminster, Essex Posts: 156	Most of what's said here is what is generally defined as emo nowadays. Once upon a time it was the name for a form of rock around of Washington DC, an emotional version of punk rather than angsty, though far from whining. Sadly, that genre name got stolen to label all these 'pappy rock' bands as you describe. Rites of Spring, Sunny Day Real Estate are the old fashioned emo and the new stuff is well...pretty far from that and IMO awful. A lot of bands have tried to cash in on it's commercial popularity by making their music much more 'emoish' by presenting their new material in similarly whiney voices to the pioneers of the new emo genre and changing the style of lyrics they write. Bands like Evanesence and Lost Prophets are key examples of this. Quite sad really that new rock music nowadays mainly goes into 1 of 3 groups; Supergroups, Emo or Screamo Metal.

03-01-2007, 19:33	#21
Suzie80's Forum Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 759	It seems to be goth minus the vampires with different haircuts. Ah well, the kids have to listen to something don't they! Before that it was all Marilyn Manson and Slipknot hoodies. And I spent my teenage years in Pearl Jam and Nirvana t shirts so I'm not one to judge.

03-01-2007, 21:11	#23
rzappa Forum Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Central Scotland Services: SKY+ TV, SKY Broadband Posts: 1,979	I'm definitely not a hormonal teenager any more & I like a lot of the bands classed as emo (still makes me think of Emo Phillips the comedian). Can I suggest Coheed and Cambria as well? Personal favourites of mine who I have heard are classed as emo.

03-01-2007, 21:19	#24
getty Forum Member Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 2,247	The only Emo that I know and like is this one. http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/...V40460139_.jpg

03-01-2007, 21:41	#25
ayebab Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: birmingham Posts: 43	can i just point out goth and emo are 2 different things