Emo What?

Emo Broke English

2006-08-01T09:31:00.000-07:00

Wow it's been a while huh?

So this post is going to revolve around words. Yay, right now you're probably going I'm reading this so I'm literate, what else do I need to know. If not, good for you.

To get the point 'emo' is a word, nothing more, no one can debate that because someone somewhere decided it was. It is the idea this word represents that is controversial. Assuming, that emo was at one point 'made-up' like all other words, that means at one point so was its meaning. Emo is most likely a derivative of 'emotional' or 'emotive' terms used to describe a muscial genre. So it's obvious that the word had a clear meaning.

Like many words, meanings, or even stories as they transfer from one person to another they change. So what happens of someone were to start using 'emo' with a different meaning? What if many people agreed with this meaning? Who decides which meaning is correct? Are they both? Is the original meaning? Or maybe they are merely two completely different words, like so many other homonyms. In which case the new and old meaning are both different words.

The reason why any languages exist is because a group of people agree on the meanings of words and are able to use them. However given a disagreement upon the meaning of a word, does this mean that a language system is flawed, or is it just another form of slang? What this ultimately comes down to is whether or not emo has changed its meaning, become two words, or means both interchangeably. However since there is no set rule to decide the meanings of words in specific languages, one must question is it majority rules, where if enough people agree you can get away with it or do words still mean what they were meant to?

You tell me.

askaninja.com Got Emo on Themselves Again...

2006-06-13T13:21:00.000-07:00

Well, the team at ask a ninja have just unveiled their first release of their latest creation, Hope Is Emo.

They seem to touch on some interesting points, even though they are looking for a more comedic appearance. It brings up an interesting argument (although shown as one-sided in the first episode) as to the meaning and representation of words. Words mean nothing. To define a word is simply to say what is meant when the word is used, to say what a word means is to say the purpose of the idea or thing which the words represent.

The most interesting part, however, is perhaps the irony, whether intentional or not, of the name Hope is Emo. Hope is more than a name, it is also a word used commonly in the English language to describe a belief in the possibility of a particular occurrence. The use of emo in Hope is Emo, is apparently the stereotypical 'emos hate their life' or 'emo means emotional and therefore emos are emotional', so the fact that they chose to name the 'emo' hope, is nothing short of ironic.

I have one last thing to say in response to this quote from Episode 1 of Hope is Emo

"If you take anything away from this video, like you know, please stop misusing words"

Perhaps people should stop misusing emo.
Email Hope at hopeisemo@gmail.com

The Internet Is Going Emo, One Web Server At A Time

2006-05-11T15:53:00.000-07:00

Why is it people tend to call everything dark, or relatively "depressing" emo?
I don't know, but following that definition, then the internet is now emo.
How you say?
Emo servers!
Emo web servers.
Don't believe me?
Hate all of these sentence fragments?
Visit the server now.

My Band Was Named By A Computer

2006-05-01T14:47:00.000-07:00

Don't look now but there's another stereotypical emo use on the internet! Make that two! The Emo Band Name Generator is just one online tool to give stereotypical emo names. However I must give it due credit for basing results off of real modern day emo bands.

A more muscially focused "true to it's roots" emo band selector is the emo band survey. It's a survey that finds emo bands based on your interests. Too ba it's litterede with pop-ups!

Emo Is A New Type of Word

2006-05-01T13:06:00.000-07:00

Here is the Emo What? motto:

"Emo. A type of music? An adjective? A noun? A social group? Here's where we get into the history of emo, what is "emo". Emo is not necessarily an insult, nor is emo music always bad. So why is the word "emo" the new "loser"?"

we know emo is a type of music, and that now people are being called "emos" in the form of "you're an emo". So linguistically, what does this make the word emo? Originally it could be thought of as more of a genre of music and simply left at that, but with the evolution of the term it has grown to explore many new facets.

Emo is used as an adjective (describes a noun), as in "emo hair"
Emo is used as a noun (a person, place, thing even if you can or can't touch it), such as "you're an emo"
Emo could be used as a adverb (describes a verb), as in "he did an emo dance"
Emo is definitely a type of music

So what does this mean linguistically? Not many things in the English language can be classified as more than one type of word, really up until now every word has. So is this a new type of word? Has 'emo' just made world history, becoming the first multipurpose word? I mean, you can't use good as a noun, car as an adverb, or swiftly as a genre, so why is it you can with emo?

Have any more uses for emo? Comment.

Emo Mutates Like Viruses

2006-04-30T11:48:00.000-07:00

The meaning of emo has changed simply because the majority of people have agreed with that change. The evolution of emo it seems is an isolated case, but there is other strange manipulation of words. For example, PC Fastlanes' claim that the plural of virus, while commonly thought to be viri(i), is viruses in accordance to a long forgotten Latin linguistics rule. So does this mean that emo should be returned to it's roots? Or maybe a better question would be, is this emo?

I'm an Emo and a Geek

2006-04-30T09:06:00.000-07:00

As a follow-up to the I'm a Geek not an Emo post, here is evidence that, yes, you can be both. It's a new book called "The Emo Programmer".

Also apparantly MySpace is "better than emo".

Emo sweeps the Nation: Emo on CNN

2006-04-30T08:59:00.000-07:00

Yes thats right, emo is on CNN

"And I think that even though hip-hop and R&B have been dominating the top 40, I really think that rock and Emo and Punk Pop, all these new sounds are really starting to make a presence in the top 40 and in mainstream."
-Nela

Even an explanation of emo:

"Emo is like, sort of like a slow more tempo rock. It's kind of like people try to, you know, define it as goth, but it's not really goth. It's sort of -- you know, they say -- they call it screamo, because they scream. It's like, "Ah." But it's very popular among the youth of America, let me tell you."
-Nela

This transcript was from Frebruary of 2004!
Emo is even in CNN's back to school 2005 guide:

"Let's start with the basics. Emo mop-top haircut: check. Buddy Holly horned rimmed glasses: check. Favorite vintage, band T-shirt: check. Beat-up pair of Chucks: uh-oh."

Breaking News, it's How To Be Emo!

2006-04-30T08:52:00.000-07:00

Appearing on Google Video is a somewhat educational emo video. It covers both the history of emo, emo rock, where it's headed, as well as common emo styles. For 20 minutes it may be worth it to educate yourself, okay well maybe the first 5 or so minutes are. After that just skip it.

WARNING: this video is not censored for language.

Emo finally gets off the street: House of Emo

2006-04-30T08:13:00.000-07:00

House of Emo is a blog in which is almost everything considered remotely emo. Is it exaggerated? Yes. Has it got anything to do with the roots of emo music? Well, no, but it does have modern emo music.

They've got an emo forum, (another) emo dress guide, and modern emo bands.

Point Taken

2006-04-30T06:35:00.000-07:00

Alright some very good points were made on this new post on ashleyspace (thanks for the linkback).

I'm glad to see the realization in people that emo isn't type of person, it's a phenomenon.

Today in Emo

2006-04-30T06:20:00.000-07:00

An interesting read is the Goth vs. Emo article.

The first ever emo vidcast, found through reddit. Hopefully the vidcast won't be littered with stereotypical "emo-ness".

Define Emo

2006-04-29T15:10:00.000-07:00

Alright so we've determined the emo generally has two definitions; the music, and the slang.
Let's see what else we have. There's how to dress like an emo, the Urban Dictionary's definition of emo, some "e for emo", heck emo is even a town in Canada!

Finally, here is my favourite: emo is going commercial!

Cashing in on emo is ebay, advertising on Google for emo. Of course, ebay probably just picks hot keywords and uses them for advertising.

Emo Links

2006-04-29T09:29:00.000-07:00

Here's what some other bloggers have to say about emoness.
Perseonally I don't believe a haircut changes your social classification, or did we all just forget about who we are?

Got any insightful comments or websites? Comment.

I'm a Geek, not an Emo

2006-04-29T08:54:00.000-07:00

Straying from the current path to find the true roots of emo, this is the confusion between emo and geek. Some people accept they're a geek, in a very good way, however false stereotypes (is there any other kind) end up covering emo with anything. Geek being on of them.

Since when did emo reflect anything someone doesn't like? It's fine not to like everything or everyone, but get it out of your head. I'm a geek, not an emo. Don't agree? Then tell me. Comment.

Now that emo has spiraled out of control, geeks are being miscategorized as emo. Emo this, emo that, let's skip the criticism, what do you think?

Emo Through The Ages

2006-04-28T17:24:00.000-07:00

Like it or not, it appears the meaning of "emo" has been distorted in such ways emo is offensive, but to be honest, whatever happened to the music? Is using this black coloured website "emo"? Emo has become synonymous with just about anything emotional. It has grown so much that with enough people backing it, who's left to say the truth? Well I know I've been called emo, and my general responsive is "okay, so what is an 'emo'?". What's left is a stuttering sheep. Not saying that calling someone emo is bad, because of course as I say, emo should not be an insult. Emo started as emo music and it seems that it has not stopped deviating from it's real meaning. MSNBC has really summed up what I'm trying to say here in their excellent article. It seems that emo now describes any social class and is summarized by "cut my wrists and die" as so inadequately put. You may not know who is an emo, but that certainly does not mean that people who partake in such actions are emo.

This is for everyone who's ever listened to emo, been called an emo, called one an emo, or ever even said emo. Do the world a favor. Read those articles from the links, and consider it before you get offended, or offend.

Please comment. What do you think is emo? What emo music do you listen to? Do you have a story about what is emo? Feel free to comment, but before you call someone an emo, think about it.