Mixed emos
I must be getting old, but I cannot for the life of me work out what an 'emo' is. I was discussing it with my daughter in intricate detail this morning, and the following conclusions were arrived at:
1. An emo is, to an extent, indefinable.
2. The kind of music they like tends to have some sort of emotional content and/or resonance. (Well, that narrows it down a bit...)
3. 'Post grunge' will get you some of the way, but it's not that simple. Emos like Nirvana but not The White Stripes, so I'm told.
I am still confused. Not that I NEED to understand the minutiae of today's teeny/tweenie generation; but I wouldn't mind knowing what an emo actually is. I'm well aware that just saying this ages me by about a decade. Can anyone help? With the definition, not with my aging process.
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All i can say is
I know one when I see one.
Well I dunno about that but this I do know...
...one of the main ways in which I used to waste my young life when I was 14 was in arguing in whether Chuck Berry was rhythm and blues (thumbs-up) or rock and roll (thumbs-down). The fact is it's only lately that I've thrown off the mental chains of my youth enough to be able to embrace both and lots more without fear or favour. And also to recognise that categories make the dullest arguments.
I suspect that while they may point to the emotional content in the music they've decided to like, they're pretty much deaf to emotional content if it doesn't come from one of the acts on their list. I also suspect that you shouldn't waste too much time trying to understand it all because it may not be around to trouble us in the future.
Now how patronising is that? Just what my Uncle Stan used to say about the Beatles.
One important difference - he was wrong.
And
Presumably, it's a function of parents NOT to understand their children's generation. If you played a 13 year old some Chuck Berry and told them it was once labelled R&B, I for one would get a kick out of their confused response.
R & B
Oh I've tried this on mine.
What you get is that withering look which is a cross between "how sad is my dad" followed by the "ohmigod how embarrassing it would be if he said something like that in front of my friends"
You get the same reaction when doing the statutory taxi driver stuff and have the nerve to listen to your music.
I've discovered that great fun is to be had by singing along and/or drumming on the steering wheel. Guaranteed to turn offspring into quivering wrecks.
On a historical note, when did R&B stop being Muddy Waters and start being histrionic US divas? Nobody consulted me about it.
When did R&B become arrandbee?
There was a memo. You may have been on holiday. Check your spam filter.
"thrown off the mental chains"
"thrown off the mental chains" ?!
Honestly, David. I've told you time and time again not to listen to those Howard Jones records. Now go and tidy your room.
Rod Hull used to work with a
Rod Hull used to work with a EMO.
Boom Boom
Just the sort of joke that would be wasted on a 13 year old. But I appreciate it.
Sulky Teenagers
Emos are basically sulky teenagers.
The word "emo" is an abbreviation of "emotional" and the label is an attempt to make teenage torpor seem important and deep.
The music is an ugly din that gives expression to alienation and woe. (The inexplicably-revered Nirvana have a lot to answer for.)
They're a bit like Goths in our day, i.e. horrible clothes and shite music, a cocktail made even more lethal by being laced with a generous dash of self-pity.
They express their individuality by all dressing the same.
My daughter went to see My Chemical Romance ( officially the worst group in the world since Rage Against The Machine) but fortunately she's too fond of The Shangri Las, wearing her dad's old polka dot shirts as dresses, singing along to Bernard Cribbins songs etc. to go the whole hog. Her mobile ringtone is The Tams' "Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy" which is basically what Emos are doing in their own daft teenage way. Bless.
"The inexplicably-revered Nirvana"
Yes! Where do I join?
Careful with your categories there...
My daughter assures me that there is a clear distinction between goths (she claims to be a semi-goth -- I can see on last.fm what she is listening to at the moment: Evanescence, David Gray, Within Temptation, Alanis Morissette and Linkin Park -- where did we gog wrong?) and emos (her cousin is one of them).
As far as I can see, the difference is in the hairdo: yer actual emo tends to comb his forward over the face, with significant amounts of 'product' to keep it there. The goth tends to go for natural lankness.
You'd better take your boxing dog...
A fascinating disussion. Visual evidence is always helpful to those unsure of the subject in question.
In the lack of an Emo Powerpoint presentation, this clip may help.
Like Goths...
you can tell an emo by the way they swear they're not emo
Emo in lurve
There is an Emo character in Hollyoaks at the moment if you want to see a teen soap version in action. Though it does mean you have to watch Hollyoaks. So forget I spoke.
Hang on a minute
Is this going to be like QI and a buzzer is going to go off when i say that i thought Emo 's were so called because they all looked like surreal comedian and all round strangling Emo Phillips. Surely the fashion sense and haircut style is no co-incidence .Am i the victim of a giant joke designed to laugh at my naivety -- Ha ha Emo and Emo Phillips what on earth were you thinking you out of touch man?
Anyway my 12 year old reckons they won't last because they are all self harmers and eventually they will all bleed to death !!!!Bloody hell kids eh?
The original Emo
Emo Grass
It cuts itself.
The most reliable definition of an emo
is anyone who denies, or rather feels that they have to deny that they are one.
This was not an original thought, but I can't remember where I heard it. (Oops, just re-read preceding posts, and somebody else said more or less the same thing here. I told you it wasn't original.)
Perfect prezzie for your emo kids...
Outstanding
I'm sending that link to my daughter.
Just a quick question
Are you the same Lucas Hare that played the vet in the Jessica Hynes drama 'Learners'? And if not why not?
Yes
Well spotted. I was on screen for all of ten seconds! I suppose being last in the credits does have its advantages...
I once Googled myself and discovered that there is another Lucas Hare who's a State Trooper in the Maine police force.
Nice owl work
I could see your motivation. Yep caught the last name on the credits and thought 'where have i seen that name?' . It came to me at 3.15am - Damn you.
Best skip I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here
and have an early night, I reckon! Thanks for appreciating the subtle nuances of minor parts, though.
RE: What happened to proper R&B
I had much the same thing with rap - when did it get all shouty and violent?
I tried playing some Grandmaster Flash to a kid who professes to love 50Cent. He lasted about 1 minute before asking if we could put his cd on instead.
Ah well, I tried...