What's "Emo" mean?

[jonesthecurl]

Although now an inhabitant of NJ, I am a Brit.
I have recently encountered the term "Emo", and it conves nothing to me. Is it good, bad, lifestylish, music-faddish, or what?
I spent some time thinking it was something to do with that 90's stand-up comic Emo Phipps(?) which didnt help.

[Anarkistsdream]

Just google Emo...

[borox0]

Kinda like a goth only without Devil worship. Stands for an Emotional.

[Neoteny]

Depends on the time frame. The current term differs from previous iterations. Wikipedia is also good.

[jonesthecurl]

yeah, I did google it, but got various definitions, one apparently current. hey seeme to refer to music etc from ten or more years ago. The context I was lookng for is, what does it mean if a 6th-grader says it today?

[jonesthecurl]

Oh, and yes I did think that the word "goth" might be hanging arond in the definition somewhere...

[Ditocoaf]

Goth and the Internet had a love child that had some self-awareness issues. and it was called Emo.

[muy_thaiguy]

Where's Sam when you need him.

HEY! SAM! Get over here so you can show this guy what an emo is!

[jonesthecurl]

BTW, it's late and my typing sucks...a previous post SHOULD say "none of them.." rather than "one of them" - i.e. the definitions didn't help.

[sam_levi_11]

im here!

basically it listening to rock music with emotional overtones and lyrics like my chemical romance/bullet for my valentine/lostprophets/30stm. The hair is a long straightened fringe normally over one eye(see me>>>).

Skinny black jeans, tight band tshirts and converse are all fairly common. Black eyeliner and nail stuff is also used alot.

people often think selfharm is involved but thats just stereotyping and stuff. its cos emos have a rep for being down and unhappy and stuff.

[sam_levi_11]

also if u want a true emo song check out juneau by Funeral For A Friend

[jonesthecurl]

Ok thanks all, and thanks, sorta, for the disturbing other "emo" thread.
One more thing: is it something you'd call yourself? Or an insult applied from outside the group?
So, would an emo say "I'm an emo?"
Or would someone else say "They're just an emo" ?

As you've no doubt guessed by now, I'm an old fart and thus (it's part of the job description for "old fart") out of touch.

[Nickbaldwin]

It's part and part, some of the 'poser' or wannabe emos would shout from the rooftops that they're emo, but usually it is applied to someone, by a non-emo (usually in a degrading way), or by a fellow emo (in a praising way)

[sam_levi_11]

yeahk, for instance, i wouldnt say im emo, other people say you are, my friends call me emo, and i call them emo, but u never say "i am emo". its nothing to be ashamed of and its fione to say "yeah whatever i dont care if im emo...." but u dont go round saying you are.

some posers however do, and its them that annoys everyone

[MeDeFe]

This should clear things up further.

[sam_levi_11]

as pointed out that is the stereotype that people give emo's.

glad to have helped where noone else has

[Curmudgeonx]

With the skinny black jeans/tight t-shirts, what do fat kids wear? Or is that a monstrosity that I do not want to contemplate?

[sam_levi_11]

there arent many fat emo's, but they wear normal black jeans and baggy tops

[Neoteny]

Where words fail, google delivers





I wouldn't call the second one emo, but I chuckled at the caption.

[JACKAZZTJM]

im here!

basically it listening to rock music with emotional overtones and lyrics like my chemical romance/bullet for my valentine/lostprophets/30stm. The hair is a long straightened fringe normally over one eye(see me>>>).

Skinny black jeans, tight band tshirts and converse are all fairly common. Black eyeliner and nail stuff is also used alot.

people often think selfharm is involved but thats just stereotyping and stuff. its cos emos have a rep for being down and unhappy and stuff.

translation-extremely gay

[sam_levi_11]

^^^translation, a confused guy who doesnt know he likes......

[reminisco]

these highly informative illustrations should help.

here's what emo looked like when i was in college:



here's what emo looks like now:



and here's the subculture offshoot of current emo:

[sam_levi_11]

exept both of them last two arent true......

[Neoteny]

Eh?

[gdeangel]

Here's my attempt: Emo would be taking that part of a metal concert when they cut to a "deep" ballad track and everybody pulls out the lighters and take a collective spiritual moments... but its just that and nothing else. There's no follow up with blazing thrash metal... like somebody took the verses out of Lithium (the Nirvana song) and left out the thrash metal part. It's like grunge with a stylist and a rejection of actual self-destruction (just fantasizing about it).

I think a mosh pit would be distinctively un-EMO, but whatever... all that angst has to get released in some form of catharsis, right?