Emo Class
 

The substitute professor walks into the loud classroom.

“Alright settle down kids, take your seats.” The kids refuse to budge. The professor now shouts: “NOW! And that means you bung! You too boo boo!” The kids sit down unhesitatingly.
“So now that I have you attention, let me write my last name on the board.” He writes in big letters “Don.”
“I'm your musical professional today, and I want to talk about what 'Emo Music' is and name a few examples of some bands that fit the criteria." The entire class groans.
“But we already know what it is,” says bung.
“So what is it then, smarty-pants?” the professor responds.
“Emo/Emocore is a derivative of the 80s Hardcore punk scene. Emo was used as a term to describe fans of bands that had more melodic, heartfelt lyrics than that of hardcore punk. In time, hardcore changed into what we call "post-hardcore", there is a difference between "post-hardcore" and emo/emocore, and there is a HUGE difference between that and "post-hardcore influenced pop punk."
“No, not really. You see kiddies, emo is more broad and in-depth than most think. Emo was initially used to describe hardcore bands – not fans - who favored expressive vocals over the typical rants of other bands. Emo is a branch alternative/indie rock and some is very closely related to punk-pop with the use of whiny vocals, though it's a bit more intricate. But also, Emo can actually be more progressive too, full of complex guitar work, unorthodox song structures, arty effects, and extreme dynamic shifts. At first, emo was obscure – along with the known emo trends - but in the mid 90's came Sunny Day Real Estate which consequently lead to the many emo bands of today. With SDRE came the dramatic melodies and soft vocals and this spawned Weezer's second album in 1996 which featured the more catchy pop side of emo and thus emo evolved into what it is today. Who can name another important aspect of identifying emo?”
“The lyrics?” asks boo boo.
“Yes, well done young man, gold sticker for you.” boo boo starts to continuously yelp like a dog who has just acquired his favourite bone.
The professor continues, “The lyrics of emo are mostly deeply personal, usually poetry or intimate confessionals.”
boo boo interrupts; “But Nirvana, among others, has those types of lyrics in some songs, doesn't that make them emo then?”
“Absolutely not, but good question. Just because a certain band may use very similar lyrical concepts to that of an emo-style, does not mean they play emo music. And this is because the lyrical aspect of emo music is merely an addon, if you will. To qualify to be emo, you first must employ the styles listed previously, and adding the lyrics then becomes a further attribute in identifying emo, but certainly not an exclusive element. The same goes with the use of whiny-vocals. Now, who thinks The Used are emo?” No one moves. “Why not?”
bung grins and says “Because I've heard one of their songs off MTV, and they're definitely just pop-punk.”
“Well yes, The Used do have some pop-punk tracks in their music, but this does not mean they don't qualify as emo. Who here has heard their latest album 'In Love and Death'?” The class shake their heads in unison. “Well, The Used's first album has some emo elements in it too, but 'In Love and Death' features emo very dominantly in most but not all of their tracks. The Used make use of quite complex layering and unconventional song-structures while encompassing emo's trade-mark lyrical styles. So what this means is that most of the tracks off the album are emo because although it is close to pop-punk, The used take that style and add to it with the previously mentioned techniques amongst others.”
“But Greenday are punk-pop, doesn't that make them emo?” asks lespaul.
“You weren't listening. Emo is close to punk-pop yes, but it is slightly more complex, like I said. So Greenday aren't emo.”
“I still don't understand, aren't Rites of Spring emo and the first true emo band? And The Used don't sound anything at all like them.” says Crow.
“Correct, Rites of Spring were the first emo band, but incorrect that The Used don't sound anything like them. As mentioned previously, The Used have many tracks off their latest album that sounds very similar to classic emo bands such as Rites of Spring. Moreover, it should be noted that Rites of Spring don't just play emo, they also play post-hardcore, alternative pop/rock and indie rock. And this is the same for most emo bands (or any band for that matter), they do not stick to just one style."
“Oh I see, so The Used do play pop-punk but they also play emo?” asks lespaul.
“Yes! Well done, triple gold sticker for you. So now, by the same token, I hope you can see that Coheed & Cambria are also an emo band, as well as being a progressive rock band. Remember, the second part of the definition of emo says that Emo can be more on the progressive side too.”
The bell rings. “Okay kids your homework is to listen to an entire Used album and tomorrow's lesson will be on queercore which is a related style to emo.”

*Throws dart at Professor*....


"Hey dumbass you're in the wrong class. Didn't you read the sign on the door you dopey old ****, it says Rock, R o c k, and metal, thats m e t a l. Emo is 3rd corridor on your left."

*Later that afternoon with the Principal*...

"I know some of the students are tough Don, but you're fired. Oh and before you go, turn around and drop trow, I wanna check something...".

rofl

Dude, you are an idiot.
You have no idea what you're talking about.
Fucking idiot.

rofl. Notice that that's a retort used by someone who knows they're wrong but are in denial too much so can't admit it.

Oh please man. No matter how many times you set up mock "classroom scenarios, you are still wrong. The used are not an emo band. Just because you saty that pop punk, is the same thing as emo, doesnt make it true. Indian Summer, Sunny Day Real Estate, Rites Of Spring, Antioch Arrow. Those are emo bands. Not the pop shit that everybody clumps them in with.
You never cited any sources where you got the information, you never even used anything to back up the fact that The Used, or similar bands are emo. Basically you are just wrong in every aspect. I think its funny that your attemp to mock us, turned into a joke on you because it only further proves that you have absolutely no clue what emo is.

www.fourfa.com

Maybe you could use this to re-write your lesson plan.

I never said emo is pop-punk, I said it's closely related to it, which it is. And I didn't cite any references because it was a play. But okay here's one:

http://wber.monroe.edu/EmoECYC.pdf

Ermm, did you even read it?

ROFL. Notice how my reference was from a scholarly journal and yours was from a dodgy site that some guy made. You see, my knowledge is based on irrefutable information, and yours seems to be based on like one guy's opinion. lol

PS: I didn't read any of that site so it could be right but since you don't know what emo is, I'm guessing it's wrong or maybe you fail at simple reading and comprehension

SCHOLARARY JOURNAL!!!!! Hahhahahahahahahah
What kind of an idiot scholary would actually argue that The Used are an emo band. I am through wasting my time with you, it is glaringly obvious that you dont know what the hell you are rambling about.

I'm gonna stop being immature about this now. I just wanna say that it's not the end of the world that you or anyone were wrong and the only reason I resorted to childishness was because several people kept calling me an idiot and a moron, etc. In future, try to respect what others say when you think they're wrong, even if you think they have a hidden agenda. I do like making jokes and making light of situations whilst linking them with facts, but this is presumably unknown by most and seem to think I'm out to prove someone wrong for my own pleasure or whatever. I enjoy having a laugh above all, and I just happened to find it funny when someone resorts to name calling when they believe they're correct. So when I respond, all I'm doing is trying to joke around but at the same time trying my best to educate the misled. But this is a very difficult task because when some people think they have knowledge of a particular concept they will store a construct in their brain and it will almost never be changed. I don't like arguing in topics such as these, so hopefully this will be my last post on the matter.

That's a really good link, thanks for putting it up. Sorry BungalowBill, but I think Don wins hands-down on the link and evidence side - as far as the debate goes. That guy from Rochester makes some really interesting points about expression and communicating feelings and its encouragement through musical styles. I've got to say that Bill's link wasn't so hot, the guy on that site answers his critics by complaining about spelling and grammar mostly, giving very little actual argument and CLEARLY using the straw-man technique of picking the worst mail to reply to, so that he doesn't need to actually present an argument.

Sorry once again, but Don is wrong. Check the very first sentance of this "scholarly document".

That statement, is blaringly inaccurate. The term emo is a nickname for the term emotionally driven hardcore punk. And you'll also notice he goes on to describe emo as a "look" as well as a general attitude when it is mearly just music.

The writer also fails to mention any actual emo bands, other than SDRE, but rather name drops mainstream pop-punk and pop-rock bands, with little actual involvement into the musical aspects, and rather than look at the actual music, mocks history by referring back to his miseducated thesis. Both Don and this "scholar" are incorrect in their statements, negating whatever they were trying to get across.

Emo sucks. http://www.metboard.com/style_emotic...ault/dance.gif

I think there is a lot more truth in this than people are prepared to admit.

One of the things I have noticed about the emo education thread is that there is very little of it saying how emo became the mainstream phenomenon it did.

5 or 6 years ago I can remember vividly bands like Weezer , Sunny Day Real Estate , The Get Up Kids , Rival Schools & and bands such as that being classified as bringing the genre into the mainstream.Now i`m not saying those band ARE emo , but their popularity & success certainly helped emo be as popular as it is now and I don`t see anybody suggesting any 'real' emo bands in their place as far as mainstream success goes. I guess you could look at it as the effect Green Day had on the mainstream as far as punk goes.You can argue all you like about them being a punk band or not the fact is they bought it to mainstream attention in the early - mid 90s.

Somewhere along the line , something happened to get an obscure 80s hardcore band like Rites Of Spring to become the catalyst of an entire movement to the stereotypical picture today of what an emo kid is. And so far Don is the only person i`ve seen try to explain how it happened , so instead of bitching about him saying what he did may I suggest someone tries to amend the emo education thread to say HOW emo became mainsteam 7 or 8 years ago.

haha, this amuses me although i can't understand why how someone may catagorise a band incorrectly has become such a big issue, i mean with so many new styles of music its really hard to tell what the ****s what these days anyway. absolutely ridiculous how some of you people are so stubborn, i refuse to take sides as i generally don't think im familiar enough with the definition of emo, mainly because i don't spend most of my time sitting in the house trying to fully understand why this is classed as that and so on, im too busy creating my own genre, demonic psycho-fusion ....core. a blend of music so powerfull its been known to cause multiple orgasms to the extent in which it can lead to heart and kidney faliure in later life, and possibly leave some of you weaker minded people twitching in a fusion coma, but its still in the works im afraid, and i just don't think your all quite ready for it just yet, but just you wait....you'll see....god i dont half prat on about bollocks :(

Send us some when you`re done

:laughing:

i gotta warn you i played some of my new stuff to my cat and it died....no kidding, really, infection in the brain related to a faliure in his liver/ kidneys i think it was.

Emotional music? So with your ridiculous definition, Beethoven, Joy Division, Poison, Barry Manilow, and Britney Spears are/was "emo bands." Alot of bands make music to illicit emotion, which would make "emotional" a completely all-encompassing genre from classical to opera to pop to rap. So basically according to your logic, nearly every power ballad is basically an emo song and as A_Perfect_Sonnet says, that pretty much ruins the whole thing. The whole article is pretty moronic. I own all the used albums, and just because a band has emo influences, doesn't mean they're emo. Because according to that logic, my music is now electronica because I take lyrical influences from Ben Gibbard, i'm also whatever the hell genre bright eyes is, because I take vocal influences from him. I happen to own both the Used albums so assuming i've never heard them is stupid, they we're one of my favorite bands for along time. The whole article is pretty sketchy, it really doesn't give anything on the actual sound of a band. Because according to that sexo should be a genre, cause there are plenty of artists that sing about sex right?

But none of those bands contributed into emo becoming as mainstream as it is now , the ones he mentioned did.

So rites of spring aren't emo, but any band that contributed to emotional music becoming mainstream is emo? and those bands are only emo because they contributed to emo becoming mainstream....o..k...

tell ya what i ****ing hate emo music anyway, can't stand the stuff, i don't know why im still here, you kids have fun now.

No I never said that.

I`m not argueing what is & what isn`t emo what i`m saying is somewhere along the line emo became mainstream & so far i`ve not seen anybody suggest how that happened.

Emo didn`t become mainstream because all of a sudden thousands of teenagers in the late 90s started buying a 15 year old rites of spring album.

If you read my original post in this thread you`ll see what i`m getting at.

Fall Out Boy Are Emo Right?
They Look G[/i]ay Enough

:D you love them really...

Ha Dude you know me well enough to know
I Really Dont.

Uh so, basically, all these bands bayside, anberlin, alexisonfire, bullet for my valentine, the used, my chemical romance, etc... are all emo bands because some of them contain slight emo influences? I Killed The Prom Queen is also emo because they sing about cutting themselves? Some bands probaly do have emo influences, but that wouldn't make them emo. That'd be like considering every band influenced by the ramones pop-punk and or bubblegum punk.

Yes. Basically.
Now Get Out.:wave:

You seem to have missed my point by a mile.
Like I said i`m not saying what is & isn`t emo , i`m just saying that nobody has so far said anything about what bands contributed into emo becoming mainstream and you are just dodging the issue to pick holes on points i`m not even trying to make.
I`m not argueing with you here i`m asking you because so far i`ve not seen you or anybody else answer the question , if the bands he mentioned had no impact into the mainsteam success of emo then who did?

I really don't see how emo is mainstream.

:laughing:

sorry but you really don`t beleive that do you?

HAHAHAHAHA.
Urban Hatemonger I think youll agree with me this girl/boy lives in some kind of box.

Kids bitching about cutting themselves, and wearing tight pants and the whole thing aren't emo. Thats like saying the kid in the mohawk with the good charlotte shirt is punk. Its a trend started by the media and yet again they've grabbed some genre and slapped it on a group of pop acts and marketed it as something they're not.

God Sake...:crazy:

But it still happened , as much as you hate it you can`t deny it

Crap, MB went homo for a second okay, but just because MTV labels a band emo doesn't mean they're emo they've abused genres like this in the past. It doesn't mean people should agree with it and ignore the history of the genre and the real bands out their today. People need educated on this kind of thing, its one of the many reasons I joined a music forum. The majority of these so called emo bands are just pop with guitars. Listen to anberlin for an example of this.

But that happens in every genre that goes mainstream not just emo.

I`ve always been a fan of garage rock , when everybody went apesh*t over that a few years ago you think I was happy that sh*t like The Vines & The Strokes & Jet were being called garage rock bands?

Just because some band walks around playing a pop music with slight influences from a genre, doesn't mean you have to turn around and call them what the media has dubbed them.

True , but most people do and thats where the stereotypes come from