Draft:Emo

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"I must say, 'emocore' must be the stupidest fucking thing I’ve ever heard in my entire life.
Ian MackayeWikipedia
I've never recognized 'emo' as a genre of music. I always thought it was the most retarded term ever. I know there is this generic commonplace that every band that gets labeled with that term hates it. They feel scandalized by it. But honestly, I just thought that all the bands I played in were punk rock bands. The reason I think it's so stupid is that - what, like the Bad Brains weren't emotional? What - they were robots or something? It just doesn't make any sense to me.
Guy Piciotto,Wikipedia frontman of emo pioneer band Rites of Spring.

Emo is a term with various meanings. For most, it refers to a music subculture associated with mall goth fashion and teenage angst.

Originally, it was a subgenre of hardcore punk that was mainly underground from the mid-'80s to the late-'90s. Originating in Washington, D.C., it diverged to be slower, more melodic, and to include more introspective lyrics compared to the politics of hardcore. During the '90s, emo would adopt more elements from indie rock in its Midwest scene. It would become mainstream as it merged with pop-punk in the 2000s to form emo-pop.

Due to its association with certain fashion and lyrical subject stereotypes that were somewhat out of step with the rest of the aught trends, the categorization "emo" received backlash as it grew, not the least from artists who were classified as "emo" by the press.[1][2] On the flip side, in the 2020s, an "emo revival" of sorts took place that combined both adults seeking nostalgia and comfort from the music of their teens and new rap artists that combined emo influences with hip-hop into a genre called emo rap.Wikipedia[3]

History[edit]

Introspective lyrics in rock and punk[edit]

In punk, after its first wave, some bands grew tired of the clichés associated with punk and decided to blend it with other styles where post-punk would be born. There was the radio-friendly new wave style, and then there was the gloomy melancholic style that would eventually influence post-hardcore and emo. The Cure and The Smiths are often the top examples of gloomy post-punk.

DC hardcore, revolution summer, and early emo[edit]

Bad Brains would be one of the first hardcore bands from the east coast since most of the hardcore scene were in California with Black Flag’s SST records. Their high energy shows would spawn a fanbase in DC, and so would new bands. Dischord records would be the main record label that would have a roster of DC hardcore bands, and later, emocore bands. It was founded by Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson, whom also lead the influential band Minor Threat. As the local popularity grew, so would the violence that would be present in the fanbases such as mosh pits, vandalism, and skinheads.

In response to the violent and political environment, some hardcore bands pulled away from the politics of hardcore and focus more on introspective and personal topics while changing their music style to be more reminiscent of the slower post-hardcore from the influence of post punk. This occurred during the summer of 1985 where it would be dubbed Revolution Summer. Rites of Spring would be the first. Due to their influence, more bands would occur such as Beefeater, Embrace, Dag Nasty, and Grey Matter, and other bands that were mostly signed to Dischord records.

This genre would be called emocore (a shortening of emotional or emotive hardcore), though the term was used pejoratively. Nevertheless, the genre would start to spread outside of DC with bands like Moss Icon and Indian Summer. Jawbreaker would be the most influential as it starts taking influence from pop punk into emo.

90s emo: Midwest emo and Screamo[edit]

Emo would start branching off from its DC roots as it spreads throughout the 90s. The success of the grunge band Nirvana would amplify this spread as major record labels start to gain interest in more alternative sounding bands.

In the midwest, devoid of any music scene, began to combine elements of emo into math rock that would be known as midwest emo although the sound is not exclusive to the midwestern United States.

In San Diego, California, bands from its local hardcore scene began to incorporate more aggressive elements into emo such as screaming which would give rise to the aggressive subgenre called screamo. This subgenre would be pioneered by gravity records. The founder, Matt Anderson, played as the vocalist in Heroin, one of the first screamo bands. Like its parent genre, it has spread to other areas of the United States with bands such as Orchid from Massachusetts and Pagenintynine from Virginia.

The modern emo fashion would be born in San Diego hardcore as well. Bands such as Antioch Arrow and Swing Kids incorporated elements of goth fashion into their usual mod and punk fashion. Swedish band Refused would copy the fashion of Swing Kids, and then the late 90s metalcore scene would in turn copy from Refused.

2000s’ emo pop[edit]

Decline[edit]

Revival[edit]

Fashion[edit]

Emo fashion is basically a gumbo of mall goth and modWikipedia fashion.

Backlash[edit]

Politics[edit]

While it deviated heavily from the lyrical themes of punk, politics are still prominent in the genre and fanbase.

Mental health[edit]

While emo mainly has returned to the underground, its mainstream impacts can be seen in mental health where the genre helped people be more open to express themselves regarding their mental health.

Notable Artists[edit]

See Also[edit]

  • EmoTrance - Alternative medince website nothing to do with emos

References[edit]

  1. "Who’s Afraid of Being Called Emo?" by Nate Rogers, Ringer, 2022 July 27
  2. "Sad As Fuck: How Early 2000s Emo Became a Subject of Scorn and Salvation" by Collin Brennan, Consequence, 2017 February 16
  3. "Emo revival: why 2022 was the perfect time to bring the genre back from the dead" by Judith Fathallah, Conversation, 2022-12-08