[dReAmIn4EvEr]

first thing i think of when i hear emo, is a joke i heard...and it goes like this

Q: How many emo kids does it take to screw in a light bulb???

A: None, they'd rather sit in the corner and cry about it

so that is what helps me comprehend what Emo means in short emo = emotional

[thelitguy]

Q: How many emo kids does it take to screw in a light bulb???

A: None, they'd rather sit in the corner and cry about it

so that is what helps me comprehend what Emo means in short emo = emotional

Certainly humans have more emotions that sadness. If emo is emotional, doesn't that mean it could also be happy, funny, mad, or apathetic?

[Jeffrey]

Originally Posted by demon_hunter

when i think emo i think dashboard confessional, and blink182. and a couple others i cant remember. emo pretty much covers it all.

emo is kool tho. i like it. slow spining redemption is one of my favorite songs

See, people often ask me "Jeffrey, why are you such a sociopathic hardass about issues like what emo is and isn't?"

I tied it all back to my underlying philosophy that if you take identity from something you don't dig into, you become a horribly atrophied person who spreads his or her misinterpretation of art onto others.

Here is a case. Someone named after the band "Demon Hunter" who calls Dashboard Confessional and blink-182 emo.

Given Chris Carabba's connection to a post-hardcore scene in Florida, I can almost understand that, though he himself was not trying to tap into an "emo" vein.

If demon_hunter had said "blink-182's current album..." I would almost understand it because the current album has that poppy feel that folks are associating with "emo."

But no, he just said "blink-182."

Now, I've shown how the benefit of the doubt could have been given to him. But here is the reason I did not give it to him:

He called Dashboard Confessional's big movie soundtrack single "Vindicated" by the name "Slow-spinning Redemption."



See, people say stuff like "Since the understanding of emo has changed, we should accept what the new term means."

I understand that reasoning of people tired of arguing, but in giving in we're not only risking losing the historical aspect of the term (that has always been a debated term but at least the debate was whether the bands it was created to define could get use to it, not whether it could be applied to everything from pop-punk to folk to post-ska to metal), we're also letting people with horrible understanding of music dictate the terms of music that we have to use.

Too many people on CGR have done little or no digging into music. That's not the problem. The problem is when you have threads like this and people say ridiculous things.

Folks, life is more than music. You don't have to debate music. When you do so, however, you are staking a claim that you find identity and enjoyment in music and have made it central enough in your interests that you can engage in thoughtful discussion of it.

If you don't know the names of a major band's radio singles, you ought to think twice about making statements about the band or connected musical information.

I don't care what you listen to or what you like. That's subjective. But when you take identity and claim education in an area, you should know what you're talking about. I'm trying to help. I really am.

Music seems like a small issue, but it's a form of art and is thus part of the human experience where we explore ourselves and the human condition. Even the silliest pop song is a form of release and enjoyment. All areas of our lives speak to human existence and are worth vesting thought into.

If you take identity from something without really understanding it, that will carry over into other areas of your life more important than music. If you can claim identity from music but not really understand it, are you cultivating a good understanding of what it means to find identity?

The risk is to know "too much" about music, in the sense that you find your identity from constantly learning. Heck, there's nothing wrong with constantly learning. If all you do is study music and you have no active spiritual or social life, that's bad. But if you are cultivating a healthy mental life of reading and engaging literature and the arts, picking up musical knowledge isn't a big deal.

[Demon_Hunter]

actually, i called vindicated by the other name cause i have a horrible memory, and i can barely remember song titles from songs i heard a day, or 2 days ago. and i often have a hard time remember lyrics. hence i didnt know what to call it, but i remembered the chorus.

and songs i have heard 2 or 3 years ago, i would have an even harder time naming them. (there are others i would have named but cant remember anymore).

You are assuming something about me without all the facts.

but since you know now that i have a sucky memory....

btw: i originally meant for this post to be funny, sorry if it came off as angry.

[dReAmIn4EvEr]

Originally Posted by thelitguy

Certainly humans have more emotions that sadness. If emo is emotional, doesn't that mean it could also be happy, funny, mad, or apathetic?

very true, but emo from what ive heard it used as, refers to ppl who are always sad or complain or cry about the simplest things

[Sean]

Originally Posted by dReAmIn4EvEr

very true, but emo from what ive heard it used as, refers to ppl who are always sad or complain or cry about the simplest things

That would be a way of burlesquely describing "emo." You've made it into a caricature.

[Jeffrey]

Originally Posted by demon_hunter

actually, i called vindicated by the other name cause i have a horrible memory, and i can barely remember song titles from songs i heard a day, or 2 days ago. and i often have a hard time remember lyrics. hence i didnt know what to call it, but i remembered the chorus.

You called it one of your "favorites." I think it's completely fair of me to assume someone knows the names of their "favorites."

[Demon_Hunter]

Originally Posted by Jeffrey

You called it one of your "favorites." I think it's completely fair of me to assume someone knows the names of their "favorites."

i guess that is fair. but there are tons of songs that would be on my favs list, and i dont know their titles, and i probably will never know.