Tickle Me Emo

Welcome to Waxy's emo faq. This is the place to get edumacated.

What the hell is emo?

Emo is yet another genre of the greatness that is rock n' roll. The term emo is short for emotional (say it: emo-tional). Most emo songs, if not all, deal with the stress and heart-break of relationships and unrequited love. Also known as emo-core, wooze rock, or geek rock (sorry that's Rush, Yes, or Dream Theater) or mistakenly referred to as indie-rock or indie pop. In essence emo combines elements of post-punk, new wave, and brit-pop.

OK, so how do I recognize an emo band?

As far as sound and instrumentation goes, it has the standard guitar, bass, drums set-up. But what makes emo stand out is whiny high-pitched vocals, buzz-saw distorted guitar chords, simple melodies, and its inclusion of Moog synthesizers which were popularized in the late '70s, early '80s by cutting-edge bands at the time like Rush, Electric Light Orchestra, Devo and The Buggles. Dual male and female vocals are sometimes prevalent. Some emo bands contain a brass section too (yes kiddies, not all bands with a brass section is ska.) As far as "the look" goes, and believe me rock n' roll should not be based on what you wear, members of emo bands sport an alternative-geek look. That is dark-rimmed glasses, cool original t-shirts, and short haircuts… the basic indie-snob look.

So, does that mean emo has an easily definable sound?

Yes and no. Emo exists on a continuum (at least according to me.) At one end of the continuum is poppy emo. The extreme would be Samiam. At the other end is the arty and experimental emo. That extreme would be Joan of Arc. All emo bands exist on this continuum. Most tend to gravitate towards the poppier end.

Who are the Five Pillars of Emo?

In my opinion, the Five Pillars of Emo are those bands who have standardized sub-genres within the emo continuum. These are Promise Ring, Braid, Samiam, The Get Up Kids, and Joan of Arc.

Who are the forerunners to the emo movement?

These bands are not necessarily emo themselves, but they have had serious influence on these bands. Sometimes referred to as godfathers of emo, these bands include (again, my opinion): Sunny Day Real Estate, Devo, Weezer, Superchunk, The Pixies, Blur, Elvis Costello, Violent Femmes to name a few.

Have any emo bands hit the mainstream yet?

Funny question, considering that if one was mainstream, you would probably have heard of them. Nope. I hope not either. Let the mainstream be choked with pop, pop rock, rap-core, or over-the-hill bands staging their "once-in-a-lifetime" comebacks. The closest thing to a mainstream emo band would be The Rentals, which began, as Matt Sharp's side-project to Weezer in 1995. Signed to Madonna's corporate vanity label, Maverick, they had one hit with Friends of P. Unfortunately, the band was viewed as a novelty act for hard-core Weezer fans, and with a 4-year wait between their debut and sophomore release, The Rentals faded away into obscurity.

If it's not in the mainstream, how can I hear emo?

Vagrant Records is currently a major player in the post-punk/emo scene. Their crown jewel is The Get Up Kids (who haven't yet sold out and signed to a major, like Blink 182, but they're not emo anyway.) Some bands include: The Anniversary, Reggie and the Full Effect, Jets to Brazil, Jejune, Coalesce, American Football, Hot Rod Circuit, Dashboard Confessionals, The New Amsterdams, Schatzi, Lovelight Shine, Pop Unknown, Rocket From The Crypt, Koufax, Saves The Day, Jimmyeatworld, Promise Ring, Radio 4, Samiam, Ultimate Fakebook, Braid, The Rentals, Superchunk, The Firebird Band, Ozma, Joan of Arc, Hey Mercedes, The Hippos, The Smoking Popes, Kara's Flowers, and countless others. I suggest going to their websites to find out more about them and emo.

And no, Emo Phillips has no ties to emo rock. But he is a cool comedian.

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