Emo Dictionary

Differences

//Hey guys! Lari(LarisaExists) here.I wrote this chapter and I really hope you guys like it! //

There are many types of people who enjoy the punk/alternative inspired subgenres of rock, especially “Emo”, who very often mixes with other subgenres and creates many names for people who enjoy virtually the same music to a variable degree and are in mostly the same community, except for the fact a few differences are obviously present.

This is for everyone who is confused about why people label themselves as one or the other, or for anyone who wants to know what to label themselves as. Which, if you just got into the emo music scene, can seem like a daunting task even if few people care.

Punk

Punk was the first in the group, actually being the main influence for both Emo and Goth. While Goth went in a more electronic approach, and Emo in a more indie one, Punk is based of Rock (especially Garage rock) and, since it's the oldest, usually has the most variation, with sub-subgenres like  Punk Blues to Pop Punk.

It's defined by the person's non-conforming attitude and the tackling of socio-political issues.

Goth

The music is mostly gothic rock, along with new wave, post-punk, industrial and synth pop.
Goth, although it is mainly rooted in a kind of music, is a lot more diverse. There are goth movies, art, clothing, literature, and overall a goth identity that can be defined outside music, that identity being a mix of post-punk and Victorian era that empowers sexuality whilst being misterios, exotic and expressed through dark colors.

Scene

Scene is a combination of all the fashions and music styles of the past entries, along with Emo, Pop Punk, Hip Hop, Skater Culture and Indie culture.

It's defined by liking most of the styles mentioned in the last paragraph. Dressing in bright colors, cartoon prints, and the skinny jeans/studded belts combo, although not restricted to them.
Most characteristics of the new wave of Scene can be found in hipsters.

Emo

This entire book is spent explaining the ins and outs of Emo, and it's subcultures are everywhere on the spectrum from Emo Pop and Emo Rap to Screamo, but there's a consistent subculture and fashion that everybody reading this book probably recognizes. Skinny jeans, T-shirts with band names, you know the gist of it.

Which bands fall into what categories?

(There are going to be two sides of this: music that most if not all of you know, such as Fall Out Boy and ones that are a bit less common to be fans of but that fall into these categories, so that you can get a better idea of the sound.)

Also, punk has a long history so I will only name Modern Punk.

•Punk
1. Green Day, The Offspring, Nirvana, Sum 41
2. Ten Foot Pole, Less Than Jake, Bad Religion

•Goth
1. Joy Division, The Cure, The Doors, HIM
2. Christian Death,Siouxie and the Banshees, Bauhaus, Alien Sex Fiend

•Scene
1. Pierce The Veil, Sleeping With Sirens, Asking Alexandria, Black Veil Brides
2. We Came As Romans, Jeffree Star, Issues, Attila

•Emo
1. All Time Low, Fall Out Boy, Weezer,Paramore,The Used
2. The Anniversary, The Get Up Kids, Edison Glass, Hellogoodbye

There are, of course, bands that fit into multiple categories.
My Chemical Romance actually fits all of the tags in this chapter, for example.

The main reason people market themselves as one or the other varies, for Punk and Emo it's to show your favourite kind of music, for Goth it's to show you are part of the community, and for Scene it's to show your interest in all of the many kinds of music fitting into that label, seeing as Scene is quite different from everything else on the list.

There are many chances of the people in different groups discussing which is better, arguing, and all-around not getting along, but at least now you can follow along to said discussions and pick a side if you want to.

There's also:

Alternative which is fans of Alternative Rock such as Foo Fighters and Highly Suspect, but usually doesn't have a community around it. Most of the people who label themselves as any of the first four like at least a few Alt Rock bands.

Metal which has a clear community but little to no overlap with the other groups except for the Alt Metal popular in some scene groups and Death Metal popular in some goth groups. Metalcore is actually a Metal and Hardcore Punk combination popular even in Emo groups.

K-pop is NOT in any way associated with Rock but it is a popular music community of Korean Pop filled with fans of K-pop groups that can, at times, have Emos in it. If you happen to meet a person who enjoys both Emo and K-pop music, please treat them like real fans and not like ‘Fake’ ones just because they also like another style of music.

You might identify yourself as any of these, be it because the description fits you or because you like the music in that group the most.
You might not want to identify yourself at all, and that's okay! But it's useful to know these terms when you talk to people who do identify themselves.
You might think that you should have some kind of agenda once you identify yourself, but you can still consider Lovefool by The Cardigans your favourite song whilst being Goth, and love Demi Lovato whilst being Punk.

Always remember that these names are supposed to help you, not stop you from liking anything else. Once they stop you from enjoying something, just remember that everybody's taste is different, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with yours, no matter what kind of Rock fan you identify yourself as.