Evolution of Emo - Nichols (11/23)

For most of us, hipsters and scene kids have always been a part of our young culture. We'll see these skinny jean clad and tight black shirt wearing youths hanging in posses at the mall, flipping their long, black straightened hair and checking their eye-shadow to make sure they look dark enough. They'll listen to My Chemical Romance or some emotional boy band that shares their passion for darkness in the corners of the lunchroom, just far enough away so they can bash the 'sheep' eating their lunches in ingnorance. They carry with them an oddly gripping feeling of sorrow and pain, characterized by their sodden faces and grim attitudes. Most people, sometimes including myself, find themselves off-put by the strange and unique external expression of anger and sadness, but it seems this fear is caused because of a simple lack of understanding.

At the very basic level, emo is short for emotional, a term they have been bestowed since the late 1980's, when punk music was making its way up the charts in popularity. These very passionate fans of newly distinguished punk bands would cling to the emotional aspects of the song and live, breathe and basically do everything in respect for the sadness and pain emulated in these songs. While seemingly extreme, the music at the time was so new and revolutionary in it's emotional draw that many found comfort in the passionate lyrics and conformed to a lifestyle fitting to those strong emotional ties.

From there, punk music has continued to thrive to today, at least in a sense. The emo scene grew in popularity throughout the 90s and finally peaked in 2003. "The word has been adopted by a whole generation of teenage music lovers for whom a melodramatic attitude and style of dress is just as important as musical taste. It's now seen as one of the more consumer-driven subcultures, and one of the most brand-obsessed."  This new trend has branched out significantly since it's origins, making fashion and rebellion more of the draw then actual music. This has caused a bit of a riff in the emo community, splitting the original emos from the new-school teenagers. However, despite this shift in identity, the emo name has evolved and become much more of an encompassing term, especially in recent years.

The major difference in the new generation from the old is the difference in the terms punk versus emo. While they both hold specific values of outrage, anger, and an overall fuck the man kind of attitude, emo holds values much deeper than that. These values are often associated with common feelings of teenage angst, such as heartbreak, depression, self-loathing and fear, making the genre of music and lifestyle very dark in essence. Bands like Atreyu, Alesana. Taking Back Sunday and others helped create the music that would change a generation, allowing young teens to cling to their emotionally charged lyrics and emulate them in their everyday lives.

From Atreyu's Ex's and Oh's:

You took me home
I drank too much
'Cause of you my liver turned to dust
Cold rust taste
A cruel creeping cold pain
Do you understand what I mean?
When you feel your soul drop to the floor
Like a hole
Like an open bleeding sore
Then you'll have bled like I bled
And you'll have wept as I've wept

The obvious pain and very visceral feeling of sadness in these songs is exactly what has changed these young fans into the dimly dressed youths that we see today, but the question of why they choose black still has yet to be addressed,

One of the main reasons why black has become the color of the emo culture is because of their ties to the gothic subculture, which has historically been known to idolize the darkness in clothing, hair and even makeup. Since both subcultures are closely related, it isn't far-fetched to assume these cultures may be intertwined, at least in the fashion sense. However, with emos, the fashion style is a bit more confined to a very specific form of black clothing. Tight-fitting jean and shirts, preferably name brand or from Hot Topic, are the main staple of most emo's wardrobes. Add in a studded belt, Converse or Vans shoes and black make-up and you've got a 2000's emo kid.

But again, why black? The obvious answer is the connection between black and the very visceral feelings the emo population thrives on. Darkness, pain, depression, and even death are all very much associated with the color black, especially in terms of pop-culture. These fans idolize these ideas of pain and suffering, and the only way to connect with the music further is to become part of it, hence the black clothing, On a deeper level, the answer may lie in the origins of how these kids come to be a part of the culture in the first place. One advantage of this culture is that it provides an avenue for expression that isn't normally accepted or understood by popular culture, and for the outcasts and misfits in society this is a way for them to finally express themselves in a way they feel comfortable. For example, a skinny and unpopular high school student might not feel welcome in the jock ridden halls of his school, but might feel more welcome in a group that unites in their passions for music. While the student might not be suicidal or depressed, the subculture provides a way for the student to express himself among his peers and feel welcomed.

http://www.soemo.co.uk/emo.php

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goth_subculture

http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/atreyu/exsandohs.html

http://www.wikihow.com/Be-Emo