From Hardcore to Fashioncore: The History of Emo.

Emo. The dreaded E word. Everybody has heard it, most people have an opinion on it, few people can clearly define it. Whatever you think it means, you can't escape it. Everywhere you go, these days, it seems that the "emo" craze has a firm grip on youth culture. The internet is a stronghold of this and many sub-cultures have been consumed by it. On popular social networking site myspace.com, you don't have to look far to find profiles of teenagers who identfy themselves with the "emo" culture. Bands that have very little to do with each other are lumped into the "emo" category, for better or (often) worse. Any sign of weakness or overdisplay of emotion may be cause you to be branded an emo. Characteristics of followers of either sex include:

Fashion

~asymmetrically cut hair dyed black perhaps with brightly colored streaks
~long, fringed bangs covering one side of the face
~form fitting t-shirts, typically of rock bands
~black horn-rimmed glasses
~Chuck Taylor All-Stars, or skate sneakers
~tight jeans
~ornate belt buckles
~studded belts
~tight fitting sweaters

Personality

~sensitive
~shy
~angsty
~depressed
~use of depressing internet screenames accented by straight edge X's, poetic and often cliche slogan try (example: xXAngel_teaRsX_x)
~fixation on and use and of dark and/or death releated imagery
~writing poetry that consists of thems such as depression, confusion, anger, loss, lonlieness, etc.
~sometimes the emo culture is associated with self-harm, such as cutting or burning one's self, as a means of "relieving inner pain"

Where did the "emo" term come from? How has it evolved? What is "truly" emo and what is not? These are some of the questions, I will try to briefly answer.

First Wave: (1985-1994)

The term emo is short for emotive harcore punk, and is a subgenre of post-hardcore, which is a sub-genre of hardcore, which, in turn is a sub-genre of punk music. Where the term orgininated is a mystery.

It is said to have been a term created by emo's detractors, who did not like how emo strayed from harcore's usual topics of politics and rebellion. Guy Picciotto told Flipside Magazine in 1985, that some fans of the band had started using the term emotional hardcore to describe his band's music, which shortened to emo-core, further shortened to emo.

However the word came about, the music behind it all started in the mid-80s D.C., with the 1984 release of Husker Du's Zen Arcade album, which would be a big influence on the emo sound, and with the collaspe of the D.C. region's hardcore scene. Minor Threat had broken up, the violence escalated, with people going to shows just to start fights.

To create a more postive scene, Guy Picciotto formed the Rites of Spring, a band that took the hardcore DIY(do it yourself) effort, yet seperated themselves from the violent scenes by focusing on more personal issues. They are almost universally recognized as the founders of emotional hardcore, with their album, End on End.

Alongside the Rites of Spring, there was Embrace, the band formed by Ian MacKaye of Minor Threat. Bands such as Moss Icon, Dag Nasty, Nation of Ulysses, and Gray Matter were influenced by the sound created by Rites of Spring and Embrace. Unfortunately, many of these bands broke up during the early 90s, thus ending the first wave of emo.

Second Wave: (1994-2000)

Following the dissolution of Embrace in 1986, Ian MacKaye formed the post-hardcore band, Fugazi, and was soon joined by Guy Picciotto. Though, not usually referred to as emo, Fugazi would be influential to second-wave emo bands such as Sunny Day Real Estate, Braid, and Jimmy Eat World. Perhaps the most important event to come out of the second wave of emo is the 1994 release of Diary by Sunny Day Real Estate. Due to wider promotion of the record than most indie records, the album recieved national attention. As more people learned about the band via the newly formed internet, they were labled emo.

Even though Fugazi were not considered emo, fans of the newer style shifted the term from the hardcore style to the indie. Their justifaction for this was spiltting the genre into two styles: the old harcore form, and the new indie form. In the following years, other bands such as Braid, The Promise Ring, Cap'n Jazz, Christie Front Drive, Mineral and Texas Is The Reason gained major popularity based on their "indie emo" sound. By the late 90s, major labels were looking to sign bands that had this sound, looking to captalize on the popularity of the genre. Many bands resisted, citing loyalty to the independent spirit of emo, or the mistreatment of some bands such as Jawbreaker, as a reason. This inner-conflict led to the dissolution of many indie emo bands, such as Texas Is The Reason.

By the late 90s, the word "emo" began to appear in mainstream circles, even in Teen People magazine, which branded emo the "hip" new music style, and The Promise Ring, a band to watch. Repelled by the mainstream attention, many emo bands shifted their sound, in an attempt to isolate themselves from the scene. By the end of the decade, the indie emo scene had almost completly disappeared.

Third Wave: (2000- the present)

Even though the underground emo scene had nearly disappeared, the term "emo" still floated around, as the mainstream continued to label the few remaining 90s bands such as Jimmy Eat World, "emo".

While Jimmy Eat World had played emo music early in their career, by the time of their 2001 album, Bleed American, they had removed nearly all emo influences. Still, as the mainstream became more aware of the word, and were aware that Jimmy Eat World were connected to it somehow, the band, at their protest, continued to be called emo". Also important was the formation of Dashboard Confessional, by Chris Carrabba, formerly of Further Seems Forever. While earlier emo acts focused on darker and painful topics, Carrabba focused more on love, love lost, and angst. While this newer music was "emotional", it drew far more attention from teenagers.
Major labels looking to captialize on the sucess of Jimmy Eat World and Dashboard Confessional, began seeking out similar bands to sell under the "emo" term.

At the same time, the word emo inexplicably expanded beyond a music genre, to mean strong displays of emotion. Trends and attitudes popular among fans of "emo" bands were labeled "emo", as were the fans. This has led to much confusion, and bands that have nothing in common being labeled emo.
Bands that are NOT emo include: AFI, Aiden, Brand New, Bright Eyes, Coheed and Cambria, Dashboard Confessional, Death Cab for Cutie, Fall Out Boy, From First to Last, Funeral for a Friend, Hawthorne Heights, My Chemical Romance ( are they Emo?), Panic! at the Disco, Taking Back Sunday, Thursday, The Used, and Underoath, etc.

Bands that DO carry on emo's traditional hardcore roots in the modern day include: Circle Takes The Square, A Day In Black and White, City of Caterpillar, Funeral Diner, and Yaphet Kotto.

Screamo, which a faster, more agressive and chaotic form of emo, includes: Saetia, Hot Cross, Orchid, Heroin, etc.

Conclusion: (present-???)

As I hope this article has shown, the history of the word emo is long and varied. With all the confusion and, yes, emotion that surrounds the word, it is hard to tell where it will end up next. As is evident everywhere, the term has been bastardized and turned into a false label, associated with young people who glamorize issues such as death and depression, and a uniformed fasion sense. You can pick an "emo" out of a crowd of people, but you'd be hard pressed pick out a person from a crowd of "emos". There is no such thing as an emo person, and this is all just a passing fad. As with all fads, this one will die out. But seeing as it has survived hardcore, indie, and Teen People, emo will not die out with it. But be reborn again.

THE HISTORY OF EMO GENRE

WHEN AN EMO SPEAKS, WHO WOULD LISTEN?

The Emo genre and subculture has become something that is very hard to define.
Because of this it is difficult to trace its ancestry. Most people who claim to be “in the know” cite the D.C. hardcore/punk scene and more specifically the band Rites Of Spring as the founders of emo. However, history has shown that it is rash to attribute the formation of a musical genre to one band. By looking at the musical scenes of the late 1980’s and early 1990’s we can better determine the roots and influences that started and continue to affect the emo genre and subculture.

Before one can understand where “emo” comes from one must first understand what it is today. “I prefer to think of it [emo] as punk rock that’s more melodic and introspective/depressing than hardcore, but still tapping into that primal energy and anger” (DeRogatis 1). This style of music has spawned a subculture of and scene that has been continually growing since the early nineties. Most of the kids look like nerds; wear dark rimmed glasses, chuck taylor high tops, and thrift store clothes. It is pretty easy to stereotype an “emo” kid, which is ironic because no can seem to define “emo” music. The best way to describe “emo” music is by soft arpeggiated guitars overtop soft airy vocals that build up and release into an orchestra of heavy distorted guitars and then brought back down to the original quiet part. Emo lyrics are generally very poetic and range from topics of lost love to religious beliefs or other emotional subjects. Yet “emo” covers a wide variety of bands these days, from the soft melodic pines of American Football to the hard driving sounds of At the Drive In. How can a genre so large be traced to anything? The problem is that what one person defines as “emo” is not to the next, it all depends on your point of view. Jason Gnewikow from The Promise Ring states it well, “ I could validate the point that we are an emo band, and I could also go on the other side and invalidate it. It all comes down of whoever’s asking, their perception of what it is” (DeRogatis 3). The prevailing perception of emo usually comes from the band Sunny Day Real Estate. Started in Seattle in 1992, SDRE combined their roots in hardcore with melodic vocals and a “pop” feel. Their 1994 release of “Diary” changed the emo scene forever. “Sunny Day came out of nowhere and changed a lot of peoples lives,” (Kurland 2) says Jeremy Gomez, bass player for the band Mineral. “Most people today when they think of emo think of the The Get Up Kids, Mineral. , and bands like that, that are coming from Sunny Day Real Estate” (DegRatis 3).Many people argue that Sunny Day is not emo at all. They claim that “emo” rose out of the D.C. hardcore/punk scene and the band Rites of Spring. “[Rites of Spring] was a melodic hardcore group, but what set it apart was the subject matter of its songs. Rather than ranting about revolution and anger, Picciotto sang about lost love and forgotten memories” (Kurland 1). While Rites of Spring did bring a more melodic sound to hardcore/punk, they certainly were not the first, and they also were not the first hardcore punk band to focus their lyrics on other subject matter.The hardcore/punk scene as a whole had been moving in this direction.

A Rolling Stone article in 1985 cites this growing trend, “Primal punk is passé… They have learned how to play their instruments. They have discovered melody, guitar solos and lyrics that are more than shouted political slogans” (Goldberg 1). Bands like Hüsker Dü had been pioneering new avenues in hardcore punk. “For the past two years, Hüsker Dü has been confounding warrior punks and mainstream rockers alike with a rapidly evolving fusion of high-speed thrash, recombinant pop-song structures, and emotionally scared lyric confessions” (Frickle 1).Rites of Spring put out one full album and an EP; they lasted for a little less than 2 years and played around fourteen shows. Lead singer Guy Picciotta then went on to start the band Fugazi, whom took some of what Rites of Spring started and progressed from there. However, only “to some extent Fugazi moved the legacy of Rites of Spring and Embrace forward, though its music was never quite as emotionally exposed. It would fall on the bands that followed to fashion emo into the style heard today” (DeRogatis 1).Although the influence of Fugazi and the Washington D.C. scene on emo were substantial, emo, as we know it today did not rise solely from hardcore scene. What is disturbing is that most sources that try to trace the history of emo leave a huge gap between the “D.C. Dischord sound” of the mid to late eighties and Sunny Day Real Estate of the mid nineties. How did emo get where it is today? I propose it was a marriage between hardcore and indie rock with grunge as the father of the bride, paying for the wedding.While bands like Rites of Spring and Hüsker Dü were breaking new ground in the hardcore scene, a band named Sonic Youth was transforming the indie/underground scene. “Sonic Youth used guitar riff hooks as the bait, but obliterated melodies and conventional song structures with long passages of drone, odd guitar strains and scathing atmospherics” (McGurgan 1).

Their 1987 release of Sister would prove to be a hugely influential album. “On this record they use the soft, warm sound as a base from which each of the song's emotions flower. The effect is comforting and primal, like the hum of a mother cooing her child to sleep. Then out of nowhere, like the opening bars on "(I Got A) Catholic Block," guitars crash in and twist the pervading sense of peace into feelings of disruptive frustration. As the lyrics and the tempo converge and take the song's feelings to a pitch, the pace slows down; the guitars slowly drop off as if the emotions had been spent…” (Neumann 1)Sonic Youth continued to redefine the predictable rock song by producing progressive albums throughout the 1980’s, following Sister with their masterpiece Daydream Nation. Their influence on rock music is almost unprecedented, especially for a band that never had a Top 40 hit. However, full recognition of their significance would not come until the effect of Nirvana’s Nevermind was felt throughout the rock community.Another band that was redefining the indie scene at this time was The Pixies. They formed in 1986 when lead singer Charles Thompson placed an ad in Boston for a “bassist for a Hüsker Dü and Peter, Paul, & Mary band” (Kane 1). Once Charles had all the members he needed The Pixies began to write songs and play shows around the Boston area. Their music is typified by stop/start-distorted guitar beneath Thompson’s vocals as he “veers from a whisper to a scream” (1).“The Pixies' busy, brief songs, extreme dynamics and subversion of pop song structures proved one of the touchstones of '90s alternative rock” (Erlewine 1). However, more importantly The Pixies laid the groundwork for the alternative explosion of the early '90s.

They were one of the first indie bands to break through the pop charts giving the lesser-known underground bands of the early 90’s an opening to gain success.As the eighties moved into the nineties the American youth was looking for a new direction in music. Kids were tired of the fake pop anthems sung only to make a dollar. “There has been a return to the emotionally charged performance, the display of raw power as an assurance of the truthfulness and sincerity of the performer(s)” (Santiago 189). These Generation X’ers wanted music that mirrored their feelings. “They defined nineties rock with an angry metal/punk and rap, which reflected their fears, frustration, desperation, and hopes” (Szatmary 315). Out of this need for emotion, feeling, and true music came the grunge scene and eventually the emo scene.Seattle’s Sup Pop label arguably was the impetus behind the grunge and emo movements. “Sup Pop scored its first success with Soundgarden” (326). They began signing other similar acts in the early nineties and eventually stumbled upon a local band named Nirvana. The Seattle scene and the “Sup Pop sound” had shaped a worldwide explosion of ripped-jeaned, flannel shirt wearing teenagers. “By the end of 1990, Sub Pop had helped to create the image of Seattle as the site of an exciting, emerging music scene” (328). Nirvana was the band that broke things open in Seattle. After their first album, Bleach, on Sub Pop, Nirvana went on a European tour with Sonic Youth. Sonic Youth introduced Nirvana to David Geffen, owner of the DGC label. Geffen paid off Sub Pop and singed Nirvana to his label. In 1991 Nirvana released their landmark album Nevermind. “[Nevermind] was the perfect embodiment of punk attitude, classic rock, and pop melody -- the combination of which had never been embraced, or heard before” (Gulla 1).“In early 1992 Nirvana hit the top of the chart…within a year the band had sold 10 million copies of their debut…” (Szatmary 328). Nirvana was the quintessential overnight success story, giving record labels and garage bands everywhere a dream that they could find or become the next big thing. “Everywhere music critics spoke of the search for the ‘next Nirvana.’ Major labels scoured Seattle for still – unsigned bands” (Bertsch 1). Now the music industry had an ear to the underground and underground bands now had a platform to stand on.After Nirvana left Sub Pop, they continued to look for new ground breaking talent. They discovered local Seattle band Sunny Day Real Estate and released their first full-length album in 1994. “On "Seven" and "In Circles," the first two songs of its debut album Diary, Seattle's Sunny Day Real Estate practically drew up the blueprints for an entire genre of rock” (Cohen 1).

It was with thisalbum “that emo began making waves outside the hardcore community” (Kurland 1).“Sunny Day Real Estate inadvertently signaled ‘go’ for the emo-core frenzy with Diary” (Cohen 1). Jeremy Egnik's powerful falsetto voice coupled with vast dynamic shifts and heartfelt lyrics typify Sunny Day revolutionary sound. Their influence on the emo community was immense considering the low profile they kept, only doing one interview and never playing a show in the state of California. In 1995, before the release of their second album, LP2, Sunny Day Real Estate disbanded, however, their impact had already been made.The emo-core genre was now off and running. With bands such as Mineral, Texas is the Reason , and Christie Front Drive following in Sunny Day’s wake the genre had begun planting its roots around the country. Today, emo has evolved into many different styles and sounds with every new band adding it’s own twist to the genre.

Because of these artist’s diversity I would not be surprised if many other genres of music will develop from the huge canopy of emo.Music is something that does not change overnight it evolves slowly yet dramatically. Music advances because artists are constantly pushing the boundaries, striving to be different, striving to be original. No true musician wants to be labeled or put in a box and that is why few bands want the “emo” stereotype. The fact is that the underground/indie scene evolves within itself, even within different genres, labels, and subcultures.In order to trace this evolution we must look at the scenes and genres in general that contributed to emo. While certain bands become more popular than their other contemporaries, and other great artists are overlooked it is important to touch on the larger more influential group and artists so that a general consensus can be reached. There are far too many bands that have influenced the emo genre to list, however, by looking at the main artists in a genre one can get a general feel of what was happening in that genre at the time.Rites of Spring and Sunny Day Real Estate did not start the emo genre. They were two of the more influential bands in the development of emo. Emo was the culmination of many bands and genres all brought together at the right place and the right time. Many bands had to build bridges for underground artists to be heard in the mainstream.

Many other bands also brought about new sounds and ideas that helped to form the emo sound. With all of these factors in place a band and or a label had to start the wheels in motion forming the emo genre.


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SOURCE: http://www.angelfire.com/emo/origin/