Be Emo Without Being a Poser
Emo is a very misunderstood sub-genre. It is often associated with self harming and being depressed. These are just stereotypes. There are very few people who actually know what emo is, along with screamo. This article will help you understand more about it.
Contents
Steps
Understanding emo
- Be sure you know what emo is all about. The media and society tend to juggle around the word "emo" like it's subjective - it's not. It's always had a meaning, it's just not well known. Emo originally stood for emotive hardcore (punk) and it grew out of hardcore punk in the mid 80s, Washington D.C. Labelling yourself as part of a subculture/sub-genre and not understanding where it came from or a bit about the background is disrespectful to the roots.
- Explanation for the term meaning "emotional". Teenagers are prone to adopting the term "emo" because of their heightened emotions, which usually only comes down to hormones. In the teenage period, their bodies are changing them in to men and women, and they will mature at the end of their change.
- Be aware of the music evolution related to emo. Understanding that emo began as a music genre, short for emotive hardcore, it later on it diversified into being influenced by indie, alternative, pop punk and others. Originally it rooted in 1980s post-hardcore like Fugazi and Gray Matter. The first emo band was Rites of Spring which formed in the DC hardcore scene. Other early emo bands were Moss Icon, One Last Wish, The Hated, Embrace, Fire Party and Drive Like Jehu.
- In the 1990s, emo was reinvented and derived from other music like alternative, indie, pop punk, etc. Some of these bands were Sunny Day Real Estate, Jawbreaker, American Football, Texas is the Reason, etc. Even in the 1990s in California, screamo was invented by bands like Pg 99 and Heroin which had a harsh emo style inspired by hardcore punk and power violence and did screaming.
- 1990s screamo was often called "skramz". Other skramz bands included Orchid, I Hate Myself, I Would Set My Friends On Fire For You, Funeral Diner, Circle Takes the Square, City of Caterpillar, etc. In the early 2000s, emo became popular with bands like Jimmy Eats World, the Get-Up Kids and Dashboard Confessional. Later on, bands like My Chemical Romance, Senses Fail, Hawthorne Heights, Paramore, Fall Out Boy, Plain White T's, Brand New, Silverstein, From First to Last, Scary Kids Scaring Kids, Taking Back Sunday and The Used appeared. My Chemical Romance did have a sound off their first album especially songs like Skylines and Turnstiles that sounded a lot like early emo music. Even screamo came back with bands like Funeral For a Friend, Underoath and Thursday as bands like Circle Takes the Square still stayed in the screamo scene. Nowadays, many bands are tagged as emo.
- Nowadays screamo bands have had a post-hardcore/melodic metalcore influenced sound for a few times, however they remained as screamo due to their lyrics and their sound still had roots in the emo likes of Thursday, Silversmith and Funeral For a Friend.
- Be a fan. Emo people are fans of the above described music. As noted, emo has also been short for emotive, which is discussed more below.
- Emo music can be defined as emotive rock derived from punk/alternative.
- Make sure you are into emo music and culture because you like it, not so you can fit in, otherwise you're a poseur.
- Consider emo pop punk. Emo pop punk is a fusion genre derived from emo and pop punk music. Together they make the blend of "emo pop punk". With emo blending with pop punk to create a catchier chorus and a popper sound, these bands are typically what are labelled as plain emo today. Some of them include My Chemical Romance (their first album was influenced by hardcore punk/emo, but then gained an emo pop sound in the ones after that), Fall Out Boy, Panic! at the Disco, All Time Low and Paramore. While emo pop came from emo, it isn't actually considered to be emo. If you mainly listen to emo pop, you may be considered to be "emo pop" rather than "emo" (referring to the 80s genre of music).
Being emo without being a poseur
- Get in touch with your emotions. Besides just being a type of music, it means that you can understand emotions and that you love to express them. When you're angry, don't go out on a rage spree smashing random cars - write an angry poem or play. You could also draw, sing/write a song, play an instrument or express yourself in a positive way. Do not cut because it will not help and it may even lead to suicide. Cutting is the most obvious emo stereotype and again, you do not want to be called a poser.
- Wear whatever clothing you like. You can wear what ever you want when listening to emo. The original sub-genre did not have a fashion code, so you don't need to follow any type of "rules". Since emo is an D.I.Y punk genre, you may want to get into D.I.Y. Decorate your clothes, shoes and bags with badges and patches of your favourite bands. Have fun.
- Avoid the stereotypes. Take note on what the stereotypes of emo are. Some are: self harming (cutting or burning), being emotional, wearing all black and having some mental health issues like depression. If you think you do have a mental health condition - like depression - get help because being depressed definitely does not make you emo!
Tips
- Know that you will be made fun of, but you just have to hold your head high.
- If you want to look emo, there are two ways. The old one consisted of cropped hair, jeans, homemade skramz patches/shirts and glasses. The modern one is the hair fringe, mouth piercings, studded belts and jeans (sometimes tight).
- The word "poseur" is usually meant when someone calls someone a "poser" because they're not being themselves, or because they're claiming to be part of a subculture they know nothing about.
- You don't have to wear Converses all the time. Mix it up with Vans or just plain sneakers. However, the shoes emo do not maketh––many teens wear these shoes, mostly because they're the teen uniform.
- Don't neglect your friends just because you see life through a certain sub-culture lens. They're still friends, and they may learn from you and you may learn from them.
- Don't think you're better than everyone else. That's a bad habit to cultivate early in life and it's hard to stop thinking it later, whatever else you "become".
- Remember, your friends may not approve and possibly spread rumors! Don't let it stop you! Just be you. Soon, it will pass.
- If you are to be considered "emo", your music taste should largely consist of emocore/skramz, post-hardcore, indie rock and alternative bands. It doesn't make sense to label yourself as a "goth" or a "metalhead" just because you listen to one goth or metal band, so you shouldn't do the same for emo. These subcultures were born out of music, and they should stay true to their roots. It may evolve over time, and add things to it, but it never truly stops being what it was born out of.
Warnings
- A lot of people won't accept you because you're different. Well, if they can't handle that then who cares about them.
- Some people just will not care, especially on social sites or in person. You just have to accept the fact that they're not going to learn and stay away from them.
- You don't need to look emo, you can simply just have emo inside only instead.
- Bands mislabelled as emo or screamo today are usually in the metalcore/deathcore (Asking Alexandria; can also be considered electronicore), nu-metal (Slipknot, Korn, Evanescence (early work), alternative or emo pop punk scenes (My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy, Paramore). You can still listen to these type of bands, but just understand that they aren't particularly part of the emo sub-genre.
Things You'll Need
- Hair fringe
- Jeans
- Band shirts (you will have to throw some real emo bands in there).
- Converse or Vans, any flat shoes, you can even draw on them and make them look unique but realize a lot of teens are wearing the same stuff and not associating with emo
- Knowledge of emotive hardcore and where it came/originated from.
