Do In EMO mod If you Under 20

Something about EMO fashion

Whether the word "emo" has you reaching for the black hair dye and eyeliner, or running for the nearest exit, it's hard to deny that it's the teen culture genre of the moment. And like so many music terms used and abused, we've reached the point where nobody is really sure what "emo" means or exactly who is doing it. Here's our attempt to make a bit of sense of it all.

The origins of emo
'Emo' was first used around the mid-1980s in Washington, DC, where American punk rock bands such as Rites of Spring and Embrace would become spontaneously emotional during what had previously been traditionally aggressive performances. Hence the emo tag (short for 'emotional') started to get used.

This scene grew in the '90s due largely to the breakthrough success of 'emo-core' heroes Fugazi, but by the new century, the term emo was being associated with more commercial punk-pop acts such as Jimmy Eat World, although none of these bands were willing to define themselves as emo.

Emo today
In the last couple of years, whether by a genuine sub-cultural movement or just some very clever image marketing by record companies, emo has become a teen cultural phenomenon as Goth was in the '80s and grunge was in the '90s.

As with grunge, it is very hard to define the actual common attributes that the bands in this so-called scene share. However it is safe to say the most popular bands associated with emo today, such as AFI, My Chemical Romance, Panic! At the Disco and Fall Out Boy, do loosely share a pop-punk sound, melancholy, overwrought lyrics delivered in a high-pitched, theatrical fashion, not to mention a stylist who only learnt to cut hair so that it covers a third of the face at an angle and advised against regular shampooing.

How emo are you?
The mainstream adoption of the word emo isn't even about the music and is just as likely to describe a fashion, lifestyle or a generally depressed demeanour. Emo can be likened to a melancholy version of punk. Or alternatively, a tougher version of goth.

Use our checklist to confirm your emo-ness:

Are you under 20?

Was the last time you smiled at your tenth birthday party?

Are you wearing:

* Skinny black jeans
* Converse All-Stars or Vans
* Eyeliner
* Piercings
* An asymmetrical haircut in which a long fringe is brushed over one eye


Are you members of the official site message boards to any of the previously mentioned bands?

If you answered 'yes' to most of these — congratulations, you're emo!