My Chemical Romance, Emo and Emo Bashers

Haven't done a modern culture analysis kinda piece in a long while so I guess I'd get started. Those modern culture kinda thing was what got me by General Paper in Junior College. Instead of focussing on cliched quotes from George Bernard Shaw or other commonly-quoted people, I took the liberty to write about popular culture and art and quotes people like Jarvis Cocker from UK Britpop band Pulp and relate the art, culture and etc with the stuff we see on TV and hear on radio. GP teachers liked it, I loved it - because it's MY field, so I stuck with it. Now to the meat.



What is Emo? If you trace emo culture, I would say it all started with the music. Back in the 90s when emopunk was a independent-label, underground sorta scene. I don't claim to know much about this early period of the evolution, but it was an offshoot from punk itself. Naturally, with punk came the mascara and mopey Robert Smith-esque look. It's not like they want to look 'emo' or anything, but it was just a part of the punk thing.

Next we got these bands that were just starting to break into the mainstream, for example The Get Up Kids and their ever-so-catchy single Red Letter Day. And who can forget Dashboard confessional, which had dominated the emo scene for goodness knows how long, but only really got their limelight when they had released the single Vindicated in conjunction with the Spiderman Original Soundtrack.

It's music. It's not some mopey dopey act about bloodletting and feeling sorry for oneself. It's not about thinking it's cool to be sad or anything. It's music. Music that appeals to a younger crowd, that lets them identify themselves with.

To be honest, My Chemical Romance - the band that had gained as much notoriety as popularity for fitting the emo musical style and fashion sense - is not bad. While they are not entirely original (lifting much of its ideas from bands like Queen), they do sing well, play well, and write songs that appeal to a large audience.

Do we really have to judge a band by what category they're pigeonholed into, rather than the quality of the music? I don't think so. But I dare you to wear a My Chemical Romance T-shirt in public and NOT be verbally lynched for that.

There are some bands though that do have their roots in emopunk, but have since shed the fashion sensibilities associated with it. Jimmy Eat World and Weezer are 2 of them that come to mind. I love Jimmy Eat World. So sue me. It's pretty sad that bands have to shed their emo image just so that they won't get ridiculed.

All in all, isn't emo just music and its associated fashion and culture? Nothing to be ashamed of. Nothing to ridicule about. It's a genre with some great bands, just like all other genres.

Emo is not an insult.