Editing Emo (section)

==Characteristics==
Emo originated in [[hardcore punk]]<ref name="EmoAM">{{Cite web |title=Emo |url=https://www.allmusic.com/style/emo-ma0000004447 |website=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=April 21, 2020 |archive-date=May 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200514163729/https://www.allmusic.com/style/emo-ma0000004447 |url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfn|Bryant|2014|p=134}} and is considered a form of {{nowrap|[[post-hardcore]].<ref name="postHC">{{Cite web |last=Cooper |first=Ryan |title=Post-Hardcore – A Definition |url=http://punkmusic.about.com/od/punktionary/g/posthardcore.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304063251/http://punkmusic.about.com/od/punktionary/g/posthardcore.htm |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |access-date=July 12, 2016 |publisher=[[About.com]] |quote=all emo is post-hardcore, but not all post-hardcore is emo.}}</ref>}} Early emo bands used melody and emotional or introspective lyrics and that were less structured than regular hardcore punk, making early emo bands different from the aggression, anger, and {{nowrap|verse-chorus-verse}} structures of traditional hardcore punk.<ref name="SubgenresofPunk" /> According to Ryan De Freitas of [[Kerrang!|''Kerrang'']], "Emo in the '90s was about scrappy, emotionally fuelled imperfection."<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-05-12 |title=The 20 best pre-2000s emo albums |url=https://www.kerrang.com/early-emo-albums-best-american-football-saves-the-day |access-date=2025-04-19 |website=Kerrang! |language=en}}</ref>

According to Chris Payne, author of ''Where Are Your Boys Tonight?: The Oral History of Emo's Mainstream Explosion,'' emo is "often more melodic, more vulnerable [than traditional hardcore] — and often really over the top. [There are also] really performative aspects in emo."<ref>{{Cite web |title=5 things we learned about the legacy of emo music from author Chris Payne |url=https://www.cbc.ca/arts/commotion/5-things-we-learned-about-the-legacy-of-emo-music-from-author-chris-payne-1.6881146 |work=CBC News |last=Eqbal |first=Amelia |date=June 19, 2023 |access-date=March 31, 2025}}</ref> Sandra Song of ''[[CNN]]'' describes emo as a "softer approach to hardcore punk, with warbly vocals and evocative lyrics that have other bands derisively calling it the sound of 'teen angst.'"<ref>{{Cite web |last=Song |first=Sandra |date=December 29, 2023 |title=In photos: The angsty era of emo music |url=https://www.cnn.com/style/emo-music-bands-negatives-photos/index.html |access-date=March 28, 2025 |website=CNN}}</ref> Em Casalena of ''[[American Songwriter]]'' stated that the genre is characterized by an "[[Angst|angsty]] yet kind of miserable vibe."<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-04-18 |title=Em Casalena |url=https://americansongwriter.com/author/em-casalena/ |access-date=2025-04-18 |website=American Songwriter |language=en-US}}</ref>  

Despite being rooted in hardcore punk, emo has also been associated with other related genres, such as [[alternative rock]],{{sfn|Hansen|2009}} [[indie rock]],{{sfn|Shuker|2017}} [[punk rock]],<ref name="Archived copy">{{Cite web |url=https://www.masterclass.com/articles/emo-music-guide#what-is-emo-music |title=Emo Music Guide: A Look at the Bands and Sounds of the Genre - 2021 - MasterClass |access-date=October 28, 2021 |archive-date=October 28, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211028031546/https://www.masterclass.com/articles/emo-music-guide#what-is-emo-music |url-status=live }}</ref> and [[pop punk]].<ref name="WholeNewEmo">{{Cite web |last=Green |first=Stuart |date=January 1, 2006 |title=The Get Up Kids...It's A Whole New Emo |url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/get_up_kidsits_whole_new_emo |access-date=July 21, 2018 |website=[[Exclaim!]] |archive-date=July 21, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180721221740/https://exclaim.ca/music/article/get_up_kidsits_whole_new_emo |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Crane |first=Matt |date=April 17, 2014 |title=The 5 great eras of pop-punk, from the '70s to today |url=http://www.altpress.com/features/entry/the_5_great_eras_of_pop_punk_from_the_70s_to_today |website=[[Alternative Press (music magazine)|Alternative Press]] |access-date=June 6, 2016 |archive-date=May 21, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160521023610/http://www.altpress.com/features/entry/the_5_great_eras_of_pop_punk_from_the_70s_to_today |url-status=live }}</ref> Andrew Sacher of ''[[BrooklynVegan|Brooklyn Vegan]]'' has expressed his belief that the year 2001 was something of a crossroads for the genre, saying that "emo came in a lot of different varieties" during this time that year. He explained: "There were bands who were still playing the style of second wave emo that was prominent in the 1990s, as well as bands beginning to define the sound of the third wave. Some bands leaned more towards post-hardcore, others more towards pop punk, others towards indie rock, and others towards softer, acoustic guitar and piano-based music."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sacher |first=Andrew |title=The Year That Emo Broke: The 20 Best Emo Albums of 2001 |url=https://www.brooklynvegan.com/the-year-that-emo-broke-the-20-best-emo-albums-of-2001/ |access-date=2025-04-21 |website=BrooklynVegan |language=en-US}}</ref> ''[[The New York Times]]'' described emo as "emotional [[punk rock|punk]] or {{nowrap|post-hardcore}} or {{nowrap|pop-punk.}} That is, punk that wears its heart on its sleeve and tries a little tenderness to leaven its sonic attack. If it helps, imagine [[Ricky Nelson]] singing in the [[Sex Pistols]]."<ref name="findingemo">{{Cite news |last=La Gorce |first=Tammy |date=August 14, 2007 |title=Finding Emo |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/14/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/14njCOVER.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150503191539/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/14/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/14njCOVER.html |archive-date=May 3, 2015 |access-date=October 20, 2007 |work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> Author Matt Diehl called emo a "more sensitive interpolation of punk's mission".{{sfn|Diehl|2013|p=82}}  

Emo guitar dynamics use both the softness and loudness of punk rock music.<ref name="AngstSales">{{Cite web |last=Kuipers |first=Dean |date=July 7, 2002 |title=Oh the Angst. Oh the Sales. |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-jul-07-ca-kuipers7-story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170726022009/http://articles.latimes.com/2002/jul/07/entertainment/ca-kuipers7 |archive-date=July 26, 2017 |access-date=April 21, 2020 |website=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref> According to ''AllMusic'', most 1990s emo bands "borrowed from some combination of [[Fugazi]], [[Sunny Day Real Estate]], and [[Weezer]]".<ref name="EmoAM" /> Some emo leans toward the characteristics of [[progressive music]] with the genre's use of complex guitar work, unorthodox song structures, and extreme dynamic shifts.<ref name="EmoAM" />

Lyrics, a focus in emo music, are typically personal and [[Confessional poetry|confessional]],<ref name="AngstSales" /> or according to [[Merriam-Webster]], "introspective and emotionally fraught."<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Emo |encyclopedia=[[Merriam-Webster]] |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/emo |access-date=January 5, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170323103927/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/emo |archive-date=March 23, 2017}}</ref> Themes usually deal with topics such as [[Breakup|failed romance]],{{sfn|Diehl|2013|p=82}} [[Self-hatred|self-loathing]], [[pain]], [[Insecurity (emotion)|insecurity]], [[Suicidal ideation|suicidal thoughts]], [[love]], and [[Interpersonal relationship|relationships]].<ref name="AngstSales" /> ''[[AllMusic]]'' described emo lyrics as "usually either {{nowrap|free-associative}} poetry or intimate confessionals".<ref name="EmoAM" /> According to''[[The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians]]:'' "In its most basic sense, the term “emo” is short for emotional, an indication that the music had left behind punk’s heavily politicized public protest for more private and reflective concerns. Musically, this new emotional sense was best captured in the [[Nostalgia|nostalgic]] and [[Poetry|poetic]] lyrics of the [[Rites of Spring]] singer [[Guy Picciotto]] and his cracked, almost distraught, intense vocal style."<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Wikipedia Library |url=https://wikipedialibrary.wmflabs.org/?next_url=/ezproxy/r/ezp.2aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cub3hmb3JkbXVzaWNvbmxpbmUuY29tL2dyb3ZlbXVzaWMvZGlzcGxheS8xMC4xMDkzL2dtby85NzgxNTYxNTkyNjMwLjAwMS4wMDAxL29tby05NzgxNTYxNTkyNjMwLWUtMTAwMjI0MDgwMz9yc2tleT1pSklZeUkmcmVzdWx0PTE- |access-date=2025-05-01 |website=wikipedialibrary.wmflabs.org |language=en |doi=10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-1002240803?rskey=ijiyyi&result=1| doi-broken-date=May 1, 2025 }}</ref>