Tlogmer's question answered, I'm going to hijack the thread and ask for a definitive definition of emo to present to my sister who is always asking me what the hell emo actually is. "That silly music high school kids listen to" is too broad. posted by BuddhaInABucket at 7:50 PM on November 25, 2004
Weezer was emo. And then emo changed, and so did Weezer, and then neither Weezer nor emo were emo.
I don't remember ever hearing the term "emo" until emo was no longer emo, actually. I can't tell if that makes me really rad, or really oblivious. posted by digifox at 8:06 PM on November 25, 2004
Also, emo emo emo. posted by digifox at 8:07 PM on November 25, 2004
If this lead singer is male and you can imagine him having a cat, it's probably emo. posted by 4easypayments at 8:09 PM on November 25, 2004
Shouldn't all GOOD music convey emotion? posted by TetrisKid at 8:28 PM on November 25, 2004
I was introduced to emo (or the concept) last night at the hideous Pixies concert in Toronto. The question about the young folk was are they emo? Did Weezer have emo for Pavement? You can be quite emotional and not in your face or the face of another can you not? posted by juiceCake at 8:32 PM on November 25, 2004
Emo != Just Emotional.
it's a contraction of Emo-Core, which refers to a derivative of hardcore and punk music that relies more heavily on personal emotiona nd introspection than outward anger and political lyrics. Emo music tends to be slower and more melodic than it's hardcore brethren.
Emo != Emo because Emo in no way has any roots in Hardcore. it is mere coincidence that Emo, when extrapolated out to it's logical conclusion, happens to converge with what Weezer was arriving at. posted by TTIKTDA at 8:35 PM on November 25, 2004
If the band has more than four words in the name, and/or one of the words in the name is a day of a week, and/or one or more words in the name is the name of a historical figure you've never heard of (usually literally) - they're emo. I think Chunklet had a nice piece on this a few issues back. posted by Gortuk at 8:42 PM on November 25, 2004
These days you need a bit of screaming to be considered emo, I'd figure. Shout-along screamish choruses and such. Dashboard Confessional is supposedly some sort of super-emo band, but I think the real quinessential emo act these days would have to be Taking Back Sunday.
Don't confuse Blink-182 and their pop-punk ilk for emo, even if they happen to whine about girls and spiders and stuff. You could maybe consider newer AFI emo, maybe. Like, the older the AFI record, the more hardcore it is, and the newer it is, the more emo it is. That's maybe not helpful. They're closer to hardcore than emo(core), I figure. So maybe emo is somewhere inbetween Dashboard Confessional and AFI. Holy shit, I must be on some sort of drug right now to be typing this.
Emo is screamy punk music that is sad. Damn, this music genre shit is hard. posted by Kleptophoria! at 8:51 PM on November 25, 2004
I don't think that was long enough. It was almost worth it to find out about 2Pac though. That part was funny. posted by Who_Am_I at 5:02 AM on November 26, 2004
re: the actual question "Is Weezer emo?" I always heard that Pinkerton was influential in shaping the current emo style, and that Rivers Cuomo hates that album for that fact. posted by Who_Am_I at 5:06 AM on November 26, 2004
I was always under the impression that Weezer isn't an emo act, but most of the bands they've influenced are.
Also, what squidlarkin said. posted by chicobangs at 6:20 AM on November 26, 2004
These days you need a bit of screaming to be considered emo, I'd figure.
that's screamo. posted by donth at 7:17 AM on November 26, 2004
"The Hideous Pixies would be a great band name."
I came up with the Styxies. A band that covered Pixies songs but in the manner that Styx would perform them. My friends had a negative emo reaction to that. posted by juiceCake at 8:32 AM on November 26, 2004
Huh. Thanks to the Taking Back Sunday link, I've realized that what I thought was emo wasn't actually emo, and that emo is what I've always considered "Late 90's Pop".
Does anybody have any more music links to check out? (Band names don't help me, because I'm not about to buy a CD just to find out what the genre is, and pop radio where I live doesn't rotate stuff like this). posted by bugbread at 8:33 AM on November 26, 2004
Bad emo band name? Tickle Me Emo posted by Alt F4 at 11:01 AM on November 26, 2004
These days you need a bit of screaming to be considered emo
Not really true. I mean I wouldn't consider Blink emo, but they have some emo songs - "Down" and "I Miss You" are totally emo.
I don't think there is one definitive style of emo - earlier bands like Moss Icon and Rites of Spring were emo. A lot of the early 90's hardcore bands had emo tendencies - Frail, Ordination of Aaron or Indian Summer were emo, and so too were the prototypes of the popularized emo you hear today - The Get Up Kids (who you can argue stole their sound from a german band called Rusty James, who released only one album ("Save the Last Dance for Me" and one 7" single ), The Promise Ring etc.
The emo-kids I hung out with (in real life, and on alt.emo - which I might add I started in 1996) championed Weezer starting from their second album - but only after it was clear that it wasn't going to be a commercial success. From my experience, that is how Weezer began to get labeled as Emo - i.e. they didn't set out to make an emo record, but made one by default. IMHO, they only have one emo-ish album, so no, they are not emo. posted by Quartermass at 1:19 PM on November 26, 2004
I've never thought of today's indie music as emo, just post-Weezer, as a lot of 90's was a post-Nirvana and post-Pixies era. posted by MiltonRandKalman at 4:41 PM on November 26, 2004
There are three bands that qualify as emo throughout the history of modern rock music.
1) Fugazi
2) Policy of Three
3) Rites of Spring
Anything else is post-emo indie rock. See: Sunny Day Real Estate, The Juliana Theory, etc.
Sorry, Taking Back Sunday and Weezer don't count.
Not even close. posted by baphomet at 6:15 PM on November 26, 2004
I came up with the Styxies. A band that covered Pixies songs but in the manner that Styx would perform them.
That is brilliant. posted by moift at 6:55 AM on November 27, 2004
The Pixie Chicks (or Hicks) could open with a little twango. posted by liam at 9:56 AM on November 27, 2004
I'll settle for the screamo label then. But genres change.
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posted by TTIKTDA at 7:44 PM on November 25, 2004