Overall, this is a rant about words that become overused thanks to the internet (and really, that happens to every word over time so it’s somewhat of a pointless discussion) but I just felt like stirring up some talk over it.

I hate the word “Emo”. (Yes, the irony of my clbum is not lost on me.)

Frankly, it’s a label that is too ambiguous to define easily. Everyone has their own ideas about what is and isn’t emo in fashion, music, and behavior. Whenever a band comes up in some musical discussion, someone will call it “emo” if it’s anything resembling rock, and then some fan of the band will step in and defend it and vehemently insist it isn’t emo. Whenever someone is displaying moderate amounts of negativity, someone will say “stop being emo”.

Making fun of “emo” on the internet has become almost too easy to spot. If someone says “i’m going to go listen to linkin park now”, I think “that guy’s trying too hard” every time. Never does it cross my mind that he actually likes Linkin Park.

No band in their right mind would ever admit that they are emo. My Chemical Romance once claimed “emo is ****ing bull****”. The problem is that ”emo” has become a catch-all word for everything that is wrong with music. If it’s wrong and you don’t like it and it sounds vaguely like alternative rock, it must be emo. But depressing themes in music are far from uncommon; hell, there’s plenty of it in hip-hop singles (So Sick by Ne-Yo, Heartless by Kanye West). So any alt-rock band that has any number of songs that have negative ideas has to have thick skin because someone will always spout off about how emo is bad and how he’s so much better than emo kids.

Moreover, ”emo” has become a catch-all word for what’s wrong with people and teenagers in general. Guy going through a rough patch after losing his girlfriend? He’s probably being emo right now then. I see my friends insist that their anger right now is not “emo” but it’s justified because of such and such. Russia even attempted to pbum legislation to ban “emo”.

So what’s a good alternative to saying “emo”? “Scene” is a better depiction of the “emo” fashion and music; it has the added advantage of inherently noting that a lot of kids are just bandwagoning with the current cool fashion/music trends. And if you want to say “man, my friend’s a whiny **** right now” or “wow, this song has way too much needless screaming about stupid ****”, go ahead. But “emo” is an oversimplifying, ambiguous label that doesn’t have a good universal definition. Just say a few more words to get your point across.