As you’re probably aware the term “emo” is not new at all. It’s been used to pigeonhole various different artists in the mainstream since the late 90’s, and the term was originally used in the 80’s hardcore punk scene.

However where “emo” was once a much less ambiguous term, it is now so muddled and easily assigned to anything with a remotely solemn content, that “emo” today is anything from screaming make-up metal bands; post new -wave punky stuff, or simple acoustic angst. How can this be the case? “Emo” obviously parallels the early 90’s “grunge” scene, but at least in “grunge” you’d expect to see some common characteristics--  very fuzzy, dirty, guitars, with a forced Seattle accented rasp. Emo, however, is tagged to upbeat pop-punk as frequently as it is to shouty metal. This term seems to serve no purpose at all.

Appearances are also emo, If your hair is feathercut and floppy and you look like you’ve spent the majority of your earnings in Toni and Guy, then sure enough you’re as emo as they come.

Personalities are emo. Been dumped? Having a hard time coming to terms with that? Well, you’re an emo.

And this absurdity has just become a reality because it’s such a quick and easy way to reference someone. You’ll no longer need to tell your friends which person you’re talking about in any context when they bear these attributes you can simply refer to them as “the emo one”

In music, if trying to describe a band’s sound as “electro post-punk, with a blend of 90’s pop rock” gets too tiring, it can be immediately shortened to “emo” and everyone will more or less know what you’re talking about.

Emo is an insult, a fashion, a hair style, and it also loosely defines a style of music. It has become a huge part of our culture whether we like it or not. But for some people emo defines something very different, a golden age of gritty hardcore punk with bands like “Rites of Spring”, and “Fugazi”. Fans of this era are enraged with the bastardisation of the genre, with bands like “Panic! At the Disco” and “My Chemical Romance” giving emo a bad name.

In reality bands very rarely refer to themselves as “emo.” Guy Piccoto of “Fugazi”, and “Rites of Spring” was asked in an interview in 2003 how he felt about being one of the pioneering emos,

 “I don't recognize that attribution. I've never recognized 'emo' as a genre of music. I always thought it was the most retarded term ever. I know there is this generic commonplace that every band that gets labelled with that term hates it. They feel scandalised by it”

Right from the beginning musicians and individuals have been trying to lose the tag, But now it’s been with us for well over a decade, it would seem that for better or worse we’re stuck with it.