Defining Emo

Define emo.

What springs to mind? Black? Metal? Piercings? Goth?

'This song makes me feel so emo'. Yes I have said that on many occasions when listening to classics such as Welcome To The Black Parade (how can you not feel emo listening to that?)

If I was to define 'emo' I would put it somewhere between screamo and punk; easier to understand than scream but deeper (and darker) than punk.

According to the reliable source that is Google, an emo 'is overly sensitive and full of angst or adopts a certain style characterized by dyed black hair, tight t-shirts and jeans'.

So, am I an emo?

I'm not ashamed to say that I dyed my hair black to be more emo, but I've come to the realisation that I'm not any more emo than a 5 year old boy who listens to Take That (who are/were (are they even together any more?) a pretty good band - this isn't me hating on them.)

Anyway, I don't know who I was kidding thinking a simple box (well two, oh the joys of thick hair) would magically transform me from the shy kid in class to a rebellious and, well, emo one I guess.

I guess a part of me wanted a change so I could at least pretend I was a different person. I still think that it makes me feel as though the friends I used to have really don't know me know, sometimes people don't recognise me and I'm happy about that. I'm happy that people who used to know me don't recognise me because I'm not the same person anymore and people should know that.

But honestly, I couldn't be emo if I tried.

I'm more like that shy kid that secretly (secretly meaning not hiding it, just not talking about it) listens to punk (or whatever the hell the music I listen to is actually classed as).

How can I say if I'm emo or not when I don't even know what an 'emo' is?

I'd like to think I'm too nice and approachable to be an emo (although I have been informed that people think I'm a bitch and am not approachable at all...oops). But is being 'emo' even about the type of person you are? Is it not more about the music you listen to? Even then which bands are exactly 'emo'?

Gerard Way stated that emo, to him, was 'fucking garbage' and 'a pile of shit' (his words not mine). Yet My Chemical Romance still feature majorly in discussions on the topic of emo music. It begs the question on who can define which genre(s) a band belongs to? Doesn't it depend on the album or even the song?

In my opinion The Black Parade is an emo (or at least what the majority of people class as emo) album whereas Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys (what a rad album name) is not emo, nah (na, na na na, na na na), it's not even close.

But people have different opinions. Pop lovers think anything angrier than James Blunt (another fab artist - not a dig) are heavy bands.

Here's the thing, if you are ruling out any band who you class as 'emo' you are probably missing some truly great music. Some music is loud, some is angry, some focuses on real issues; it doesn't make them emo. Listen to different music and live a little, bring out your inner emo.

And, as I close this blog post (I'm not really sure if what I currently have has any purpose so I figure I'll end it here before I keep rambling on about things that might not even be emo), I realise the two most emo things in my room are my Green Day calendar (who aren't even emo) and my winged eyeliner (which I like to think is stylish and not just the singular aspect which groups me with other emos.)

I'm not emo and I never have been; oh well it was worth a try.

--- Aimee ---

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