emo today

Emo, is a term which is given to the subculture of hardcore punk and pop, which originated from the Washington DC area, but which later spread like wildfire to the rest of the US and also to other parts of the world. Emo has since evolved into a musical and fashion experience which is embraced by quite a number of young adherents.

The word “Emo” actually originated from the term "emocore" which refers to the hardcore punk music scene which started in the mid-1980s. The term is a variation of the word "emotive hardcore", which is what the bands in the DC area sounded like. They have developed a unique punk-rock style of music, which blended the characteristics of the electric guitar with smooth sounded mellow tracks, which are typically screamed from the top of the lungs, hence the term emotive hardcore. Amongst the bands which pioneered this genre were groups such as One Last Wish, Embrace, Fire Party and Moss Icon.

The Emo subculture is also heavily influenced by the Indie scene, with the likes of people such as Fugazi heading off the first wave of Emo, with bands which included Far and Texas Is The Reason, which pumped Indie music into the Emo subculture.

The sound feels more like a chaotic blend of instruments laced with emotional singing which emanates deep inside the lungs. This attracts crowds of young people. Their chants and raves have become characteristic as far as Emo concerts are concerned. These concerts have in turn become some of the most vibrant in the entire rock industry.

The Emo culture is not all about music however. There are fashion statements and stereotypes associated with the Emo subculture which spread to other facets of culture. Black is considered the color of choice in the Emo universe and it permeates almost all aspects of the Emo dress code. The hair is typically dyed jet-black, and in some instances it is spiked and can contain other colors as well. For the ladies, black nail polish is also widely used. In the Emo world, make-up is utilized by both males and females.

There is now a wide range of products which cater to the needs of the Emo subculture. Cities such as Austin have fully embraced it and have great places which have an Emo theme such as restaurants, record stores and other joints. It is now common to even see special clothing lines, merchandise, toys and even TV programs and movies. Today, the Emo subculture has caught influences from both pop and rock and is beginning to be accepted as a lifestyle choice.

i love her like sunset

photo source: sunset love

Everyone is right and at the same time wrong on being emo. It's just the way the world works. See, everyone has their own opinions and no one should shut them up no matter what others think, or if they don't agree. It's just how the world works. Isn't that the whole point of trying to "find" you? To never hold anything back and always look for a you that you feel comfortable in, and all the people who call the others posers, how are you to judge that?

Everyone is still human, still people trying to find themselves in this image crazed world. There's no right or wrong thing to think or say or be for that matter, "When your mother tells you to love and appreciate your body, it's not just to get you to shut up. They know that when you're old you are going to feel exactly the same way you do inside as you do now.

We try on different dresses, different selves, but our souls are always the same — ongoing and full of light." It's from the book, Psyche in a Dress by Francesca Lia Block (All time favorite book). It's true, no matter what shells you try on you're always going to be the same, no site on the internet can tell you who to be, but you make that choice to look at it and see if maybe you could try on that shell. That is you, the human that wants to appreciate and love their own body. You just gotta see the good and bad in it. Not just what you want to, but everything else that makes it.

my photo emo

This is Poisonthehat. Probably, most of you emo guys would like to have this look. Here is the instruction and the tools you need to achieve this emo hairstyle according to Poisonthehat himself.

In his own words:

"Well, there are a couple of different "emo hair styles" I guess you could say. If you're looking for something like the picture above, then I can pretty much tell you everything I do to my hair, because that's me. I can still help you with whatever you're looking for though, since I've been through a couple of different "emo hair styles". I didn't part my hair in the picture above, but I usually do."

The basics of emo hair:
-A flat iron straightener (a MUST have)
-Black hair dye
-Some sort of hair product, not sure what they're called but I use Neutrogena Triple Moisture Healing Shine Serum
-Cut short in the back to prevent mullet-ness
-Conditioning your hair every night
-Combing your hair after you get out of the shower and whatnot helps

On the color of his hair:

"Yeah it's a blue black color but I don't remember what dye I used. I think it was some of that crap you mix up with the other crap and then you use the cap thingy and all that. If you cut the back short and then straighten your hair with a flat iron I'm pretty sure you could get a haircut close to mine. Oh, and make sure to let the sides grow out."

On Neutrogena Triple Moisture Healing Serum:

"Neutrogena Triple Moisture Healing Shine Serum fixes up ugly "straggling" hair like woah. It's like this oil type stuff, and you put a small dot of it you hand, rub your palms together, and then run your palm through your hair or something like that. I know there are other brands of it out there, so it shouldn't be too hard to find. I always use it after straightening my hair because my hair gets all dry looking after I straighten it, and then this stuff fixes it right up.

I recommend you just ask one of your female friends to straighten your hair, or if your mom has a straightener or whatever, just use hers. I'm pretty sure it would end up looking something close to my hair. As for the part, I'm not really sure how I get that. I just use my hand and push my hair to the side and it works. I'm sure you can figure it out.

The moisture shine stuff keeps it from poofing and fix flyaways and makes it look straighter and thinner. Also, I use the straightener every day."

Final words:

"Just grow it out, use flat iron straightener, cut it short in the back, and you can spike the back if you wish. I usually don't but sometime I get bored and will do it. You don't have to dye it black if you don't want, especially if your hair is already naturally black. Yes it could take a couple of months for your hair to grow as long as mine. It's a long process but if that's what you want then it'll be worth it."

About Emo Hairstyles

'Emo' stands for EMOTIONAL HARDCORE and not just EMOTIONAL! To call it "emotional" is just listing one of its traits. Besides, ALL music are emotional anyways so that's a pretty stupid definition. Emo is a culture that has its own values, ideals, an emotional investment and of course fashion. They do not believe in conforming to mainstream fashion or trends. Emos want to be different and therefore create their own distinct styles. That is why it’s not surprising that Emo hairstyles break the mold as well.


Probably nothing characterizes the Emo look more than the Emo hairstyle. Typical Emo haircuts are characterized by asymmetrical lines, bold highlights, usually red or white and a jet black hair. An emo girl or an emo boy dye their hair jet black and the bolder the effect the better. You don’t have to worry about the dye looking unnatural and can even shade the edges with frosted highlights, blue, orange, or purple. Emos usually wants to be alone and their haircuts are simply an extension of this belief. An Emo hairstyle is a one of a kind experiment. Its not the type that you can get at an ordinary salon. If you want an emo hairstyle, better bring a picture of Pete Wentz and tell the barber this is the style you want.

It is perfectly acceptable to create your own Emo hairstyle just with a pair of scissors, razor and dye. Emo hairstyles has no set technique. It maybe described as more of a personal art-form, a style of expressing yourself, of one’s deepest emotions. In other words, any style can pass off as an Emo hairstyle as long as it looks different and doesn’t look like one of those “dos” that you might wear to a prom. Being an Emo is all about being true to yourself, being unique and comfortable with one’s self. An Emo hairstyle is also all about the distinct personality of an individual and self-expression. If you feel that you are not one to follow the flock either, then you might just want to consider picking up any pair of scissors and doing up your hair the Emo way!

Emo Hair 01

This emo hairstyle is accompanied with dark eye makeup and a light colored face. You can place a temporary tattoo of a teardrop underneath the visible eye.

The band "Refused" popularised the emo hair with their uniform appearance in this music video for the "New Noise" single.As with clothing, the hairstyles of emo kids vary depending on the individual and on his/her music influences. However, there are several common aspects of emo hairstyles.

For one, because the emo scene is very DIY-oriented, hair that is not professionally cut is considered to be more scene than hair that is. Emo kids have their friends cut their hair, or they cut it themselves. Jet black, bleached blonde, or dark hair with a reddish or purplish tinge are all very emo, as is hair with distinct sections of contrasting colors (all-over black hair with a section of bleached blonde in the undermost layer of the back is quite common).

Emo hair is short-ish, and does not differ much from gender to gender. It is common for boys and girls to have oily and/or shaggy hair that covers the eye and reaches the shirt-collar. Boys usually wear theirs unkempt and girls may wear clips on the front. It is common for both to have bangs cut straight across their browridges, and swept to one side.

The most common emo hair

What is most commonly implied by the term "emo" in reference to hair is dyed jet-black hair that is sloped to cover, or partially cover, one of the eyes (usually the right eye). Sometimes this is known as the "emo comb-over", because the way the emo hair sweeps from the back of the head looks like the way an old man would grow a patch of comb-over hair to hide a bald spot. The popularisation of this hairstyle is often attributed to the band Refused, whose members had uniform jet black hair sloped to partially obscure the right eye. The uniform dress code of the band has also been an influence of emo fashion — especially the fashioncore strand — in general.

As the term "emo" has become more and more ingrained in the popular conscience, "emo hairs" have come to include a much wider array of styles. These more complex styles are largely associated with the fashioncore style of emo fashion and are most commonly sported by scene kids.

The Scene/Devilock haircut

AFI frontman Davey Havok with what is commonly referred to as the Havok Devilock. The origins of one of the most popular emo hairstyles are largely attributed to The Cure, The Misfits and AFI. Robert Smith of The Cure had his long hair drooping over his eyes, but had the back slightly shorter and spiked out. Jerry Only of The Misfits invented a haircut in the late 1970s/early 1980s known as a "devilock" which involved the hair to be cut short, but leaving the fringe to grow very long and to be combed forward over the eyes. Only, guitarist Doyle and former lead singer Glenn Danzig all wore the style and dyed their hair black. Most members of The Misfits have sported the style or one similar at one point or another. During the "All Hallows EP" and "The Art of Drowning"-era, AFI frontman Davey Havok used to have a haircut that mixed these two styles together, cutting his hair short by way of the standard hardcore punk shirt and spiky haircut, but left only his immediate fringe to grow long, at least down to his chin. He also dyed his blond hair black from a very young age. Since the appearance of this variation of the devilock, the two have been given names: The Only Devilock and The Havok Devilock. These two, and in particular Havok's variation, are an obvious precursor to what has become known as "scene" hair.

The neo-mullet

Lostprophets guitarist Mike Lewis sports a neo-mullet. Also referred to as a skewed mullet or 90-degree mullet, this is an updated version of the much-derided classic mullet haircut. The basic "business at the front, party in the back" cut is often modified with a longer piece of hair on one side at the back, whilst the front section of the cut often partially obscures one eye (most commonly the "tail" at the back slopes to the left while the fringe slopes to the right). This haircut is commonplace amongst both male and female scene kids. The hair is almost always dyed jet black, and it is then commonplace for sections to be highlighted either blonde or red.

More info about emo boy Tom Falcone

Tom actually recently cut his hair off, but in the picture it was a short-medium length shaggy cut. A few layers in the front so it can be swept off to the side. Actually if you go to CIWWAF's myspace, or I think Tom still has some older pictures up on his myspace that show his hair better than my picture does. Like I said he's recently cut it short but I prefer the longer style he had going a few months ago.

As for what I know about him, he's only about 5'5"-5'7", brown hair, brown eyes. He honestly is one of the sweetest guys I've met. He's a bit shy, but if you can find him I highly recommend talking to him. He's incredibly nice and gives the best hugs. Very gracious too.

got this tru email
thanks to Andraea

Blonde: Shorter than Shoulder Gallery

Another gallery for emo girls with blonde hair shorter than shoulder. The usual emo hair for females: cut short, just above the shoulders. Tips and streaks are the most widely used version. Side bangs is also a common trait.

Emo: A Mosh Pit Of Sound

Sadly, a lot of people have very limited opinions (and ideas) about emotional hardcore music, or emo music. Some would even assume that for as long as the lyrics aren't clear and the lead vocalist is singing on hyper drive, then it must be emo music. What most of you didn't know is that emo developed from music recorded on vinyl. It can be considered Indie, sure, but it most probably emerged into being before they even had a name for it. With its roots in hardcore punk, emo music is bringing the core of punk music into a whole different level. With people buying more CDs, downloading stuff off the net, and investing in music hardware or software like there was no tomorrow, I wouldn't be surprised if emo music became another solid category all on its own, like pop rock or country.

You can't possibly understand emo music without taking the time to ponder on its evolution. Just like with other genres, emo has no clear-cut definition. Some would even call it a lyrical and sonic revolution. You hear these artists and bands play some kind of a distraught yet endearing sound you've never quite heard before and you find yourself actually liking it -- it's the most successful 21st century snake charmer routine to date.

Even though emo started in the 80's, the most popular emo music only came out and boomed in the 90's until the present. What started out as a fast, loud, hard, intense, and one-tracked version of punk (emocore) lead to a varied post-indie rock that more people seemed to relate better to. Bands like Jimmy Eat World started to perform across the country, had their five minutes of fame on MTV or a far-reaching alternative radio show, appeared on next-generation movie soundtracks, and before anyone knew what hit them, the mosh pit of sound was reborn.

One can expect that the appeal of emo music would vary, since people have particularly sundry tastes. The emo music scene was almost completely divided, leading to variations that only die-hard emo fans can fully grasp. On one hand, you have the heavy, faster-than-fast, noise-bouncing-off-the-walls variety which blended elements of apocalyptic chaos and neurotic grind-core with nose-bleeding screams. These bands would include One Eyed God Prophecy, Living War Room, To Dream Of Autumn, and Reversal Of Man. On another part of the pie graph, you have experimental analog synths and new wave or goth. Bands like Crimson Curse, Slaves, VSS, and Das Audience did a lot of post-emo style-rock in their time. It is also believed that this lead to the birth of an almost exclusively Californian indie sound that brought about the unique styles of bands like The White Stripes, The Hives, The Strokes, and The Faint, mixing a little 60's and 70's rock whenever they can.

To date, there is a very good collection of awesome emo music albums that everyone should listen to at least once in their lives. The self-titled LP or CD from Embrace, End On End by Rites of Spring, Lyburnum Wit's End Liberation Fly by Moss Icon, Plays Pretty For Baby by Nation of Ulysses, and the self-titled EP or CD from Heroin are only some of the first rocking emo records released.