Does anyone else here feel like emo's influence has gone waay beyond the boundaries of people who listen to the music and the music itself? For example, even A/C rock like Pink, Avril Lavigne, Kelly Clarkson, D. Powter, and James Blunt deals with depressing, teen aged-feeling themes and is extremely melodramatic. And hipsterism has sort of reached over from a despicable subculture into becoming something that McDonald's markets to with its "subtle, ironic" advertisements...

there are too many threads on emo and I still don't really know what Emo is ;D

Emo is depressing, male-dominated pop-rock and indie rock targeted at hipsters and middle-class to upper middle-class teenage boys, and emo influences run through culture and music, particularly indie-rock in its themes, overall.

[quote author=wһіѕ

abrreviation for emotional.

It's a "sub-genre of hardcore punk with depressing lyrics and a more melodic style."

Too many people call emo what it is not. Now, emo type lyrics have been around for a long, long time...


But yes, it's WAY to popular and annoying!

[quote author=wһіѕ

If I hear the term 'emo' one more time I'm going to hurt somebody.

Does anyone else here feel like emo's influence has gone waay beyond the boundaries of people who listen to the music and the music itself? For example, even A/C rock like Pink, Avril Lavigne, Kelly Clarkson, D. Powter, and James Blunt deals with depressing, teen aged-feeling themes and is extremely melodramatic. And hipsterism has sort of reached over from a despicable subculture into becoming something that McDonald's markets to with its "subtle, ironic" advertisements...


Nah, it's not anything novel or noteworthy that all sorts of different performers are dealing with those subjects in their songs. Those things certainly aren't exclusive to emo. They've been a part of music for much longer than emo's been around. The grunge bands of the 90s dealt quite extensively with feelings of teen-angst.

I think, however, the influence of teen angst on culture, and in a whiny and not angry way, has gone waay too far. Like happy songs don't make pop radio anymore, it's all superficial whine and gloom.

I'm not really a big fan of emo at all, it's too whiny and annoying. That Dirty Little Secret song now makes me nauseous when I hear it.  Maybe a couple songs are ok, but that's it.

I hate all emo, indie and mainstream.

[quote author=wһіѕ

It seems the whole emo thing seems to be largely an American thing...if the U.S. has more input from Brit bands, other international acts, perhaps the emo movement will slowly fade away. Its high time for another musical revolution, a huge, all-encompassing grunge-like movement to sweep away all the *crap*... :D

It seems the whole emo thing seems to be largely an American thing...if the U.S. has more input from Brit bands, other international acts, perhaps the emo movement will slowly fade away. Its high time for another musical revolution, a huge, all-encompassing grunge-like movement to sweep away all the *crap*... :D

Man, grunge was/is so much better than emo! And at least I get their point.
Emo just seems so fake and artificial,I don't really get their point; they wanna be different than all these mainstream bands but in the end..I dunno, I don't even get their message!
I mean what the hell are they tryin to say?? How can you identify yourself with it?

Man, grunge was/is so much better than emo! And at least I get their point.
Emo just seems so fake and artificial,I don't really get their point; they wanna be different than all these mainstream bands but in the end..I dunno, I don't even get their message!
I mean what the hell are they tryin to say?? How can you identify yourself with it?


It's just that the majority of listeners identify with them because they too are whiney, and like to boast about how much 'angst' there is in their life. They think the whole world should know about how hard their life is, that their girlfriend left them, or that they don't have any opportunities in life. ::)

It's just that the majority of listeners identify with them because they too are whiney, and like to boast about how much 'angst' there is in their life. They think the whole world should know about how hard their life is, that their girlfriend left them, or that they don't have any opportunities in life. ::)

Well thanks for that, now at last I understand!  ;)
God no wonder people like that type of music then,they have to show everyone how "bad" their life is..great.

It seems the whole emo thing seems to be largely an American thing...if the U.S. has more input from Brit bands, other international acts, perhaps the emo movement will slowly fade away. Its high time for another musical revolution, a huge, all-encompassing grunge-like movement to sweep away all the *crap*... :D


Yeah, hopefully there's going to be an all-encompassing rock revolution that sweeps away emo and pose-rock like the Strokes.

EMO has evolved from being a genre of music no one likes to a subculture no one likes. Kinda like Grunge... with more estrogen!

I once dated an EMO... she was about halfway between "Effeminate Guys Crying" EMO and MySpace EMO. Those are two of the three of the Trinity of EMO, the third being Hipster EMO, which has somehow got it's tentacles into the weaker Indie bands.

abrreviation for emotional.

It's a "sub-genre of hardcore punk with depressing lyrics and a more melodic style."

Too many people call emo what it is not. Now, emo type lyrics have been around for a long, long time...


But yes, it's WAY to popular and annoying!


Oh I see, so would The Smiths and Morrissey fall into this category in the US?

Oh I see, so would The Smiths and Morrissey fall into this category in the US?


Morrissey and The Smiths are kinda the forerunners of EMO.

I'll list some bands, see if you know them.. they're the biggest figureheads in EMO today:

Dashboard Confessional, The Postal Service, Death Cab For Cutie, Ben Gibbard, Clap Your Hands and Say Yeah, Bright Eyes...

I think, however, the influence of teen angst on culture, and in a whiny and not angry way, has gone waay too far. Like happy songs don't make pop radio anymore, it's all superficial whine and gloom.


This really isn't anything new. Back in the mid-90s, people also used to complain that mainstream music was all about whiny, depressing angst-driven songs, and that there wasn't any happy sounding pop anymore. I remember when No Doubt first came out in 1996, people went "Finally, there's a happy band again."

This really isn't anything new. Back in the mid-90s, people also used to complain that mainstream music was all about whiny, depressing angst-driven songs, and that there wasn't any happy sounding pop anymore. I remember when No Doubt first came out in 1996, people went "Finally, there's a happy band again."


I've seen old Beavis and Butthead episodes from the mid 90s and they ALWAYS complain about there being "too many whiny bands these days".  This was in 1994!  I can only imagine what it'd be like if they made Beavis and Butthead today.

I do like Grunge, but I do think it's influence definitely needs to stop.  If it wasn't for Grunge, we wouldn't have had Nu-Metal or Emo.  I love the Grunge bands, but we need some rock bands that are actually happy.  Part of the reason Rock isn't as popular as Rap today is because it's so pessimistic compared to Rap.  Rock bands don't have to be complete party animals like the hair bands, they just need to have a positive outlook on life!

Morrissey and The Smiths are kinda the forerunners of EMO.

I'll list some bands, see if you know them.. they're the biggest figureheads in EMO today:

Dashboard Confessional, The Postal Service, Death Cab For Cutie, Ben Gibbard, Clap Your Hands and Say Yeah, Bright Eyes...


Some of my best friends skirt around emo, they listen to some of this sh*t (thanks for finally admitting CYHSY is emo crud), I think vaguely fancy themselves hipsters, and shop at that emblem of commercial '00s hipsterism, Urban Outfitters. But at least their personalities aren't emo and they don't have a MySpace. That's a pretty good list of the "emo leaders", except I'd add Taking Back Sunday, My Chemical Romance, Panic at the Disco, and Hawthorne Heights as really serious emo bands...

I think emo is really a combination of '80s English post-punk like The Cure and The Smiths, and maybe stuff like Elvis Costello and some American stuff like the Talking Heads, hardcore punk, and Elliott Smith and Jeff Buckley, but very whiny and with the influence of Blink-182.

Morrissey and The Smiths are kinda the forerunners of EMO.

I'll list some bands, see if you know them.. they're the biggest figureheads in EMO today:

Dashboard Confessional, The Postal Service, Death Cab For Cutie, Ben Gibbard, Clap Your Hands and Say Yeah, Bright Eyes...


These must all be American bands cos' I don't recognise any of them at all.

These must all be American bands cos' I don't recognise any of them at all.



It seems the whole emo thing seems to be largely an American thing...if the U.S. has more input from Brit bands, other international acts, perhaps the emo movement will slowly fade away. Its high time for another musical revolution, a huge, all-encompassing grunge-like movement to sweep away all the *crap*... :D


Hence my point ^

Hence my point ^


Yeah, I'm sick of this pretentious sh*t rock that comes from the US and to a degree Canada, with its emo and "pose-rock" tendencies. There needs to be some sort of revolution on the scale of grunge to get rid of this...

What do you guys make of Coldplay?  Personally I can't stand the whineing sound of Chris Martins tuneless vocals , but if it's truly depressing music that people seek, he's your man!  Someone I know describes Coldplay's musical style as 'Bedsit Dirge'  and the term musical  is used very loosely here. 

What do you guys make of Coldplay?  Personally I can't stand the whineing sound of Chris Martins tuneless vocals , but if it's truly depressing music that people seek, he's your man!  Someone I know describes Coldplay's musical style as 'Bedsit Dirge'  and the term musical  is used very loosely here. 


Coldplay isn't as bad of most of what is out there. The British mainstream scene (not including top 40 radio) is actually quite palatable. XY is nowhere near as depressing as Parachutes or a Rush of Blood to the Head, more abstract and elemental, but overall quite listenable.

I think of Coldplay and James Blunt as British pop-emo, in a way.

I think of Coldplay and James Blunt as British pop-emo, in a way.


Oh stop categorising EVERYTHING as emo... ::)

Oh stop categorising EVERYTHING as emo... ::)


Oh, you Aussie!

I think that stuff is really more rooted in the gloomy '90s rock of the Verve and Radiohead combined with Britpop than anything else...

What do you guys make of Coldplay?  Personally I can't stand the whineing sound of Chris Martins tuneless vocals , but if it's truly depressing music that people seek, he's your man!  Someone I know describes Coldplay's musical style as 'Bedsit Dirge'  and the term musical  is used very loosely here. 


Think of EMO as a person. Coldplay is what EMO will be when EMO graduates high school, goes to college, and becomes a 30-something family man.

Emo is the '00s version of Grunge.  In that the music itself isn't particulary commercially popular, but it has tons and tons of fans and a huge influence and reflection upon the times.

Think of EMO as a person. Coldplay is what EMO will be when EMO graduates high school, goes to college, and becomes a 30-something family man.


Umm okay..  think I got that   ;)


Emo is the '00s version of Grunge.  In that the music itself isn't particulary commercially popular, but it has tons and tons of fans and a huge influence and reflection upon the times.


BAUHAUS anyone?

Speaking of Emo, I do think the term Emo is really overused.  I've heard it reference bands that sound nothing like Emo.  Emo is quite possibly the most overused word today to describe music.  This board is a good example.  Suddenly, everything is Emo, from actual Emo to Pop-Punk to Indie Rock to whatever the hell Coldplay is.  Of all the bands I've seen people call Emo, only half of them actually are.  

It's just like the term Nu-Metal.  Back in the day, I saw people labeling everything from Linkin Park to Slipknot to Staind as Nu-Metal.  However, when one looks at it, none of these bands sound anything alike!  It was just a case of taking everything remotely Hard Rock and lumping it into the Nu-Metal label.  The same thing is now being done with modern "Alternative" music.  Everything's getting lumped into Emo when many of these bands don't sound alike at all.

Emo is the '00s version of Grunge.  In that the music itself isn't particulary commercially popular, but it has tons and tons of fans and a huge influence and reflection upon the times.




YES. I have actually said that to someone.

  In that the music itself isn't particulary commercially popular


You must be talking about a different kind of emo. It's one of the most commercially popular genres out there!

You must be talking about a different kind of emo. It's one of the most commercially popular genres out there!


Well again, it depends.  What is emo?  Most of the bands generally considered emo, such as My Chemical Romance tend to sell gold or 1x.  However, if you want to include Coldplay, The Killers, etc., you could say it's one of the most popular genres. 

I woulden't consider "Coldplay" as EMO

I usually consider such crap groups as "Fallout Boy", "Good Charlotte", "Simple Plan" and "The Killers" as Heavy EMO.  They try to rock hard, but they come across as a Boy Band Rock Group singing about Love and Relationships all the time

Think of EMO as a person. Coldplay is what EMO will be when EMO graduates high school, goes to college, and becomes a 30-something family man.


I sort of get that...but what do you mean?

Well again, it depends.  What is emo?  Most of the bands generally considered emo, such as My Chemical Romance tend to sell gold or 1x.  However, if you want to include Coldplay, The Killers, etc., you could say it's one of the most popular genres. 


I don't really know much about emo at all. Too me it's whiney punk like Good Charlotte, Fallout Boy.etc. Killers are a different breed from those bands. But I suspect the 'whiney punk' definition is not the 'real' definition of emo, which was very depressing (i.e. not upbeat or catchy) songs in terms of both lyrics and music. Can't really give any examples off the top of my head, but I thinked it was coined in the 90s.

I don't really know much about emo at all. Too me it's whiney punk like Good Charlotte, Fallout Boy.etc. Killers are a different breed from those bands. But I suspect the 'whiney punk' definition is not the 'real' definition of emo, which was very depressing (i.e. not upbeat or catchy) songs in terms of both lyrics and music. Can't really give any examples off the top of my head, but I thinked it was coined in the 90s.


I basically see emo as being lyrically similar to the plot of a John Hughes movie, but with the song structure of power pop and with a poppy, upbeat sound.  The guitar chords tend to be incredibly simplistic power chords and bass chugs, and the chorus is strongly emphasized.

I basically see emo as being lyrically similar to the plot of a John Hughes movie, but with the song structure of power pop and with a poppy, upbeat sound.  The guitar chords tend to be incredibly simplistic power chords and bass chugs, and the chorus is strongly emphasized.


Good Charlotte is basically pure-bubblegum pop sent to riffs. Nothing else.

Good Charlotte is basically pure-bubblegum pop sent to riffs. Nothing else.


I agree.  ;D

I basically see emo as being lyrically similar to the plot of a John Hughes movie, but with the song structure of power pop and with a poppy, upbeat sound.  The guitar chords tend to be incredibly simplistic power chords and bass chugs, and the chorus is strongly emphasized.


Yep, that's commercial emo (My Chemical Romance, Good Charlotte, etc.) all right! Then there's the indiemo, which is way more hipsterish and even more dramatic and "theatrical" in personality, has a fetish for overly elaborate graphic design on its packaging, and is depressing and thinks it's extremely smart. There isn't alot of musical similarity between these groups, though they share the influence of late '70s-mid '80s post-punk, new wave, and hardcore, and the power-pop echoes.

Yep, that's commercial emo (My Chemical Romance, Good Charlotte, etc.) all right! Then there's the indiemo, which is way more hipsterish and even more dramatic and "theatrical" in personality, has a fetish for overly elaborate graphic design on its packaging, and is depressing and thinks it's extremely smart. There isn't alot of musical similarity between these groups, though they share the influence of late '70s-mid '80s post-punk, new wave, and hardcore, and the power-pop echoes.


Indiemo is basically like new wave, with the must-be-thoughful attitude of '90s altrock.  Thus, there has to be guitars in the mix, and tons of different instruments.  Also, there has to be some Joy Division and/or Talking Heads influence.

Indiemo is basically like new wave, with the must-be-thoughful attitude of '90s altrock.  Thus, there has to be guitars in the mix, and tons of different instruments.  Also, there has to be some Joy Division and/or Talking Heads influence.


Yeah...it's always one of those two groups... ;D...also, it's less musically cohesive by far than either new wave or '90s altrock, in terms of the compositions, which tend to be sort of all over the place but heavily designed, aesthetically, like the Talking Heads.

Yeah...it's always one of those two groups... ;D...also, it's less musically cohesive by far than either new wave or '90s altrock, in terms of the compositions, which tend to be sort of all over the place but heavily designed, aesthetically, like the Talking Heads.


;D

Yeah, the essence of Indie, what draws people to it is the fact that it's supposed to sound like nothing else.  Of course, some monkeys in Japan were making similar music 500 years ago  ;D

;D

Yeah, the essence of Indie, what draws people to it is the fact that it's supposed to sound like nothing else.  Of course, some monkeys in Japan were making similar music 500 years ago  ;D


;D I was reading a scathing review of Bright Eyes on AMG I can post here if you want it...

;D I was reading a scathing review of Bright Eyes on AMG I can post here if you want it...


Okay  ;D

I really am trying to figure out a way to get my friends out of hipster sheesh like Bright Eyes and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah...I think most people would like this stuff alot less if they had been exposed to the Talking Heads, Smiths, Cure, and Joy Division, the main sources of this and way better. So I'm lending them some of my CDs of those.

When writing about Conor Oberst, the singer/songwriter who records with an ever-changing group of musicians under the name Bright Eyes, it is customary to state his age within the first few sentences of the piece. It is also not uncommon to read comparisons between this Nebraskan singer/songwriter and Bob Dylan, the best-known singer/songwriter to hail from the Midwest. This serves a specific purpose