That Is So Emo!

There are many different definitions and descriptions for the word "emo"; usually referring to the word as a subculture or music genre. Here are some descriptions I have heard over the years:

1. Punk music on estrogen.

2. Angsty teens.

3. 16-year-olds who don't smile.

4. Melodramatic white kids.

5. Male singers in their twenties whose balls haven't dropped yet, causing them to have ridiculously high pitched voices. Or, if their testicles have in fact dropped, their pants are so tight that they cut off the circulation in the singer's testicular area, therefore raising his voice.

Over the recent years, "emo" has become a negative term. Why? What did emo ever do to you?

Here is the real problem with "emo". Nobody actually knows what it really means! There has never been a set definition for the term. It has been used to describe a genre of music, people with hair that covers half their faces, suicidal teens, and more. In 2008, however, it is mostly used as an insult accusing people of being over emotional (because god forbid a person actually feels something). Before I go into the analysis aspects of the term, let me give a brief description of the history.

The term "emo" was originally used in the 1980s to describe the hardcore punk scene in Washington D.C. (and that music does not sound like the stereotypical emo song does today). The uprising violence of the hardcore scene in the area cause some of the hardcore band leaders to experiment with a new sound (this being the starts of emo). The term has been used in many different ways since the 80s; now it is mostly used in fashion and in describing those who are shy, depressed, angsty, and suicidal.

Now for the analysis:

This country's obsession with emo is spread by things like this:



SO WATCH OUT PARENTS! Take this as a warning! IF YOUR CHILD WEARS TIGHT PANTS, HAS BLACK HAIR THAT COVERS AN EYE, SUFFERS FROM MANOREXIA AND/OR WEARS GUYLINER, THEY MAY BE ATTEMPTING SUICIDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Obviously this is ridiculous. And there have been several news reports like this on television. I went to school with so-called "emo kids" and they turned out just fine. Here's another shocking revelation: an older brother of a student at my high school committed suicide a few years ago and he was an athlete!!! I know it's shocking, but it's true.

The bottom line is, being a teenager is hard, no matter what stereotype you fit in to. Adults see a "phenomenon" such as emo and overreact. "BUT WE MUST NOT REACT WITH FEAR!" Haha. Sorry. Anyways, they see this group as an "other" and react badly to what they do not understand. As a culture, we tend to reject what doesn't fit into our mold. If there is an uprising of something that is "outside the box" the mainstream culture feels threatened by the differences (hence the term sub or counter-culture). When this threat hits, the mainstream tends to focus on the extremes. For example, that news report focused on self-harm and self-mutilation. I am not denying that there are suicidal teens in the United States; but they aren't just part of this "emo culture". Here is another example of focusing on extremes: a man stood outside my work one day protesting the legal marriage of homosexuals. As my homosexual manager helped escourt him off the premise he asked the man why it mattered to him. The man's response went something like this, "First comes same sex, then comes bestiality." It is this extreme nature of our society that gives things like homosexuality, emo, and Britney a bad reputation.

Well, maybe not Britney.

Sellout

The term "sellout" seems to be used more and more often these days, especially in the rock and punk communities. But what some music fans don't seem to understand is the difference between maturing as musicians and compromising your values/beliefs for money. Usually artists are scrutinized for signing to a major label or releasing something that sounds little different. Let’s take the punk band Against Me!, for example (http://www.myspace.com/againstme). They released several albums on an independent record label before signing to Sire recently. When they released their major label debut, critics praised it; some even claimed it the best album of the year. However, fans of Against Me! disagreed. They called them sellouts and went from being number one fans to number one enemies. In an interview, the band said that they were under the influence of so many substances during their earlier work that they couldn’t come up with enough material for an album (which is why all of their songs are so short). One would think that their “hardcore” fans would be happy that their favorite band made it to the big time.

So why was the underground punk community shaken by the direction this band took? Why did they refuse to listen to Against Me!’s music even though it had strongly improved? Here is why: it is now a threat. These fans went from seeing an easily approachable band in basements with people just like them, to seeing this band as an opener for the Foo Fighters in large venues. This can be a shock to the leftover fans that were willing to journey into this uncharted territory. Although both of these bands can be classified under the very general term “rock,” they attract very different crowds. The more mainstream an act gets (the more KROQ plays their music), the younger their crowd gets. The younger a crowd gets, the more teeny boppers and soccer moms Against Me! fans have to deal with. This is where class comes into play. Teeny boppers and soccer moms aren’t used to seeing such a large gathering of tattoo baring, heavily pierced, aggressive, and rowdy troublemakers. On the other hand, these punks aren’t used to seeing such a large gathering of kids and women with scrunchies in their hair. These different cultures clash. The punks now feel out of their element. Even other fans that look like them could just be “posers”-pretending to be something they are not- or they themselves could be considered posers for attending such a concert.

Does your head hurt yet? It should. This can all be very confusing. Punks in general have a stereotypical reputation. A reputation that the younger generation enjoys and feels the need to upkeep (the aging punks learned a long time ago that none of this really matters, and soon the younger generation will also come to this realization). The need to challenge the mainstream and any kind of authority is the basic attitude behind punk. But the ironic thing is that true punk was exploited a long time ago and is no longer around. After a counter-culture is discovered by the mainstream it dies; just like grunge and the hippies. But the stereotypical punk lifestyle is so desirable to so many people that in a way it carries on. As these kids go to hot topic and buy their Sex Pistols shirt, they know (in the back of their minds) that they are buying from a major chain corporation. They also know that this isn’t what the anarchy/punk attitude is all about and that Sid Vicious is turning in his grave. But they do it anyway, and they choose to ignore these facts along with their peers and everyone else. This is done because the music they listen to tells them to look and act rebellious; but in this act they aren’t actually rebelling, they are simply conforming.

Against Me! fans went from seeing shows like this:




To shows like this: