What Is Emo? 2: THAT Is Emo

   Anyone who knows anything about my taste in music knows I am all about pop-punk, emo, alternative rock, that kind of stuff. Basically, if it's got someone whining about their life over fast guitars, bass, and drums, I'm probably going to be into it. 

  As I remember it, here's how my introduction to punk music went: it really started with Panic! At The Disco and Fall Out Boy. I first heard Panic from their song "C'mon" that they did with fun., which was my favorite band at the time. That and the fact that Panic was my best friend at the time's favorite band caused me to listen to them and I fell in love. As for Fall Out Boy, I remember hearing "My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light 'Em Up)" on the car radio as one of my friend's parents was driving us somewhere, and I enjoyed it. Listened to Fall Out Boy more later, realized I already knew "Thnks Fr Th Mmrs", listened to more, and, like with Panic, fell in love.

  If you're into Panic and/or FOB, that pretty much starts a rabbit hole where you'll pretty much inevitably get into similar bands. If you like them, chances are you already like, or would like, bands like Green Day, Paramore, Weezer, My Chemical Romance, Blink-182, Rise Against, Taking Back Sunday, Jimmy Eat World, Something Corporate, Jack's Mannequin, The Used, A Day To Remember, All Time Low, Pierce The Veil, Sleeping With Sirens, The All-American Rejects, The Academy Is..., Brand New, I could go on. Do you know how many pop-punk/emo bands there are?

   Needless to say, I am all about this kind of music. I know I keep saying "pop-punk/emo", and I know they're different things, but they often go hand-in-hand. A lot of pop-punk bands are also emo and a lot of emo bands are also pop-punk. Kinda like alternative rock and indie rock.

  But why do I love this type of music so much? A better question for me is, where do I start explaining that? Well, I'll try:

1. The subject matter

   Generally speaking, I feel like punk music goes a lot deeper than other genres. A lot of the more mainstream stuff is just formulaic, "I'll never let you go, I love you" songs. Or if it's rap, it's "I want to do drugs and have sex as much as possible". "Everybody's Lonely" by Jukebox The Ghost is about this. Not a punk song or a punk band, but quite great. While punk does do some basic stuff sometimes, it's on the whole much deeper than that. There's so much about not fitting in, being yourself, helping others and yourself, rebelling against oppression, and yes, as the stereotypes say, a lot of hating your hometown.

2. The acceptance

    You'll see all kinds of people at punk shows. And we're all cool with each other and just appreciating the music together. Like when my best friend and I went to see Taking Back Sunday. I'm an awkward dude who dresses normally, but there were all kinds of people there. Your stereotypical goth/emo people, people covered in tattoos, people who looked even more default white person than me, sweaty people moshing in the pit, etc.. The point is, punk is a very welcoming genre. Just don't show up wearing a swastika or something. You'll probably get beaten up.

3. It just sounds cool!

   I don't know how anyone can hear those jamming guitars, basslines, and drums, and not think it's absolutely sick. It takes incredible talent to play an instrument, and especially to play it like that. And for singers, to keep up with it. Yeah, punk singers have kinda whiny voices sometimes, but that's kinda the appeal and it fits with the themes.

   Also, about the emo stereotypes. The word "emo" invokes images of people with dyed black crazy haircuts, baggy shirts, ripped pants, black clothes, chokers, wearing a bunch of bracelets to cover self-harm scars, eyeliner, you get the point. And yes, that is one side of emo, but even then I hate the association with something as horrible as self-harm.

  But that's one side, and a small one at that. The vast majority of emo artists, and even many of the fans, are just like, you know, average Joes. Look at quintessential emo bands like Taking Back Sunday, Brand New, Dashboard Confessional, Thursday, Saves The Day, Sunny Day Real Estate, Hawthorne Heights, and Jimmy Eat World. You know what you'll see? Dudes in t-shirts and jeans. Emo is just as much an "accept all the outsiders" as punk is.

  The blog this blog is a sequel to was me being a bit of a gatekeeping curmudgeon about what emo is. I still agree with a lot of what I said there; a lot of bands that aren't really emo get called emo. But, you know what? Whatever. Reading the book Where Are Your Boys Tonight? by Chris Payne has helped me realize that while emo in its most explicit sense does refer to the specific genre that is emotional hardcore (emocore, which then got shortened even more to emo), it is also so much more to that. Emo refers to more than just that specific genre, it also applies to the whole movement that all these pop-punk and scene people are part of.

So yeah, I'm a punk kid. I'm emo. Sure.

Wasn't really sure what to do for the picture for this blog, so here's the cover of Fall Out Boy's Take This To Your Grave, a pretty awesome emo album.