Apologies in advance (I have a soft spot for a couple of emo bands), but I simply couldn't resist publishing this definition of the term from urbandictionary.com... Punk music on estrogen. Often acoustic guitar with soft, high male vocals that dwell exessively on the singer's feelings, especially melancholy remembrances of past relationships/mistakes in life. A form of music that diverged from punk in the '80s, the name "emo" is derived from the emotive style of the lyrics and music. This genre has lately been marketed heavily by the music industry to teenagers with bands such as Dashboard Confessional and Taking Back Sunday, and has seen much commercial and mainstream success. The music has also spawned a subculture which conforms to certain conventions in dress such as tight sweatshirts, tight band T-shirts and horn-rim glasses. Adherents profess to exessively melancholy temperments. Males that adhere to the emo subculture are sometimes confused with metrosexuals; indeed the line between the two is somwhat blurred, though both groups claim to be intouch with their emotional side. The ephemeral and hackneyed nature of emo songwriting suggests that its audience will be restricted largely to teenagers. the genre suffers from a lack of credibility outside the aforementioned demographic group, much like current Nu Metal bands. Any takers?

Its all bit similar to me. Similar vocals, similar structure. Simply i cant tell one band from another.

the frames are emo, arent they?

i have to say that the most emo i get is at the drive in but the rest just all the same lyrics moaning about teenage s**t when the person is probably 28. and i hate the way all people who sing like that seem to have to hold the mic in a certain way

At the drive in are between what you think of as emo....dashboard, brand new etc and hardcore stuff that i'm talkin about. In a way at the drive in kicked it all off. Totally agree about with the mike comment!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i know its bad to say but when i hear the first initial lyric from an emo band i change the station . as the way they sing for some of them is very annoying especially if there from wales and there accent is fake

Funeral for a Friend are my personal favorite, went to see them in the Ambassador, good live band, frontman is just what you'd expect, i.e. not really good at talkin to the crowd but strangly that seems to be what the crowd like. They have original melodies though, and I love the guitar playing. They're new album is supposed to be a bit more on the heavier side. Know what you mean emu about the fake accent, its a bizzare thing that affects more than EMO bands though. I dont think its always a bad thing, depends on the individual I suppose.

My fave release of last year was Converge - You Fail Me (tied with Isis - Panopticon). Converge is hardcore and sooooo good with it. I've never been clear on what Emo is. But I think Sparta is emo, and they were also on my list of best releases.

Punk music on estrogen. Often acoustic guitar with soft, high male vocals that dwell exessively on the singer's feelings, especially melancholy remembrances of past relationships/mistakes in life. A form of music that diverged from punk in the '80s, the name "emo" is derived from the emotive style of the lyrics and music. This genre has lately been marketed heavily by the music industry to teenagers with bands such as Dashboard Confessional and Taking Back Sunday, and has seen much commercial and mainstream success. The music has also spawned a subculture which conforms to certain conventions in dress such as tight sweatshirts, tight band T-shirts and horn-rim glasses. Adherents profess to exessively melancholy temperments. Males that adhere to the emo subculture are sometimes confused with metrosexuals; indeed the line between the two is somwhat blurred, though both groups claim to be intouch with their emotional side. The ephemeral and hackneyed nature of emo songwriting suggests that its audience will be restricted largely to teenagers. the genre suffers from a lack of credibility outside the aforementioned demographic group, much like current Nu Metal bands. So...Bitch Rock eh? Yet another movement that will probably die quicker than nu-metal did. How are the boys from Linkin Park doing these days?

prob right on the money there, i still will hold out for ffof though. could do with a good new heavy band, as cormac battle said at the kerbdog gig in tbmc last friday week " what with all these bands and their skinny leather jackets?" hah. by the way anyone at that? wasnt it great? never saw so many people in there.

What's EMO?

It's bitch-rock. Whiney vocals that are self introspective/deprecating with allegedly "punk" music as the back up. Bands like AFI etc.

emo seems to be a terms that is thrown around alot. the other day i heard a guy refer to the smiths as an emo band!!?!

Yeah, cause all bands like Dashboard and Brand New sight them as a major influence.......Bollocks!

Emo is a way of categorising another layer of the "rock" cake. It's right up there with prog rock and nu-metal. Although, the fact that they want to attribute it to the smiths in some way is ridiculous at least!!!!

emo band 'La Quiete' are playing in the Lower Deck on 11th March (I htink it's the 11th anyway)meant to be pretty good.

Sorry...I re-read my post and it came off wrong. I meant that so much of the music that is influenced by the smiths, is so far removed from that level of art, that it's ridiculous to even compare the two. The Smiths are still an amazing band. And the stereotype that often surrounds them is very single minded. They may seem depressing, but they're not. Alot of their stuff is extremely upbeat. Why am I promoting the smiths on here? Y'all know they're fantastic. So I'll shut up now.