Is "Emo" Still an Identifiable Culture?

Post Reply New Topic

This is emo music from back in the 00s. It's really passe now.

Yes, Hurtloam is right. Both Goth and Emo are out. EDM, also called Dance, is still in though. I like the soft, atmospheric, classy, '80s MIDI styles of EDM; my friend Amy likes the louder industrial, more aggressive EDM genres.

The PERFECT emo song!

"A Brief History of Emo" ... that's about how I remember it. Nothing before 1985, then a burst of emotional punk metal bands (Social Distortion, anyone?), a bunch of "Me Too" bands, a slow devolution into self-parody, and now a genre on life-support with a few bands still hanging on and playing their greatest hits.

Sorta like what happened to Disco.

Story of my life

I got into EMO for a bit like 10 years ago. I was very frustrated over my 1st relationship ending & depressed. I'm attracted to EMO girls & really like EMO music. I was desperate to find another girlfriend & thought I might would have a better chance with EMO girls than mainstream 1s. I got along with EMO people better but none of those girls were interested in me romantically. I never looked the part of EMO thou.

...except his name was William. I’m sure it’s Bill or Billy or Mac or Buddy.

The first two are...unlistenable. So suicidally depressing that you cant get through two bars.

The last one is pretty cool. The girl lead singer- the angrier she gets- the hawter she gets!

However I just learned that that last band, Paramore, figured in the soundtrack albums of the Twilight Series movies of the early 2000s. So a true Emo fan would probably dismiss them as being..."ewwww...too commercial..".

Oh well.

Hmmm...

you're suggesting that the demon that possessed emo was exorcized only for it to re inhabit Trap.

"Trap" is yet another recent microtrend in music. Based in Atlanta, and closely allied to the Atlanta hip-hop scene, Trap is essentially techno (aka "electronica" aka "electronic dance music") but with a Black hip-hop inner city feel. The lyrics are all about anger about being trapped in poverty, and in the inner city. But its not quite the same thing as emo which is about White suburban angst performed by White suburban kids for a mostly White audience. Not quite the same spirit. Not that folks from either part of town, of either skin color, cant dig the other music trend. Just that the two genres have a different feel.

It's hard to say, but during my high school years (2004-2008), the "emo culture" was a popular thing, but after looking up some old classmates on social media and comparing their attire to what some wore 10-15 years ago during when the "emo culture" was at its peak, I believe that the "emo culture" has been pushed to the wayside and has been replaced by newer cultural trends that if introduced 10-15 years ago, would have IMO, been looked down upon as strange and/or not right for mainstream society.

However, it has been said that since about 2011 or 2012 (not sure the exact date), "emo culture" has slowly been trying to make a comeback, but has been kept to underground scenes in part because of how much times have changed. As to why this is, it's hard to determine.

(To be clear, I didn't understand the appeal of "emo culture" when it was a popular thing which IMO, may have been one reason why I didn't fit in very well with others, including "emo" classmates.)

As a former Emo girl, I’d say the culture is going away. All of the MySpace girls and boys in high school and even middle school I knew are probably completely different people now including myself. I’m more girly now. I still wear band tees every now and then but I’m not into black eyeshadow, big stompy boots and don’t dye my hair.

It’s 2019. The 2019 me is a far cry from the 2008 me (the Emo days).

Plus there’s no more MySpace

True.

EDM is actually booming now. Armin Van Buren, Avicii (RIP) come to mind.

Not really EDM, but I like listening to Paul Oakenfold’s podcast, and other ambient, trance, trip hop podcasts.

I can’t really get into EDM. It’s just not my taste. I did get sick of hearing Emo music talking about slitting wrists and suicide though.