Emo Songs, Music and News

“Emo” emerged as a movement in Washington DC in the early 80’s, breaking free from the place’s hardcore punk scenario. This was started out by Guy Picciotto and his band the Rites of Spring in 1984, which created a genre that was more melodic and less aggressive. Unlike punk music, has more varied rhythms, melodic guitars, and a more personal and passionate lyrics. They’d further insert other emotions in the songs, such as romance, desperation and nostalgia. Their performances would greatly reveal their viewers’ emotions, sometimes making them weep.

A lot of other bands inspired by the Rites of Spring also emerged, namely Embrace, Beefeater, Fire Party, Dagmaster, Kingface and Lunch meat. They all joined in Washington DC’s movement, the “Revolution Summer” back in 1985 to uplift the spirit of creativity in the place.

There were no definite names on who first coined the term emo, but the emo music we know today is called emo-core, with its core all about being emotional. Despite the bands disliking this new label, it stuck, nonetheless.

With the success of  ”Revolution Summer” in 1985, other bands around the country adapted this new music trend, incorporating different emotions as the music begins to evolve. In the early 90’s, bands like Jawbreaker and Sunny Day Real Estate redefined emo and turned it mainstream.

At the same time that emo went mainstream, other underground indie and punk bands also emerged. A lot of recording companies focused on alternative rock bands and other underground music, spending a lot of cash for their promotion.

Over the following years, emo has retreated, morphed, returned and grew to become something even more than a music genre. The new brand of emo music is a mixture of indie rock’s brilliance and hardcore punk’s fervor and aggression, albeit a little milder and smoother melodies, even the more ‘yearning’ vocals.

The 90’s was also the year when their fashion statements begin to take shape: a lot of people are now into jet black hair and tight wear, add the black makeup they wear all over their faces.

As the millennium was fast approaching, emo’s fame skyrocketed even more: a lot of recording companies are now looking into the genre’s marketability. It is at this era that emo music really flourished, and has shown a lot of changes.  Bands like Story of the Year, Simple plan, Fallout boy, My Chemical Romance and many others had their shares of chart-topping songs.

With emo music being redefined by the artists, the emo culture is being redefined as well. Instead of being just plain emotional, now emo is associated by self-mutilation, angst and suicide, which is the tendency of the people within that culture.

From a movement to oust violent punk music back in the 80’s, to people who cut themselves with a razorblade, the definition of emo has gone a long way. Which kind of emo do you wish to have?