As every good emo kid knows, Hot Topic is the place du jour for clothes related to the emo and goth cultures, and they sell a ton of music and accessories, as well. They feature a large, diverse selection of band t-shirts and shoes, too. It’s not hard to find all the makings for a good emo outfit as Hot Topic. But for those who don’t want the mainstream emo experience, there are a number of other online shops to find the makings for your emo wardrobe.
A lot of online clothing companies for emo clothes and accessories are based in the UK. Subculturewear.com features a huge selection of emo, goth, punk and rockabilly clothes like hoodies, pants, shoes, tights and leggins and jewelry. There’s even a section for infant clothing, as well, if you feel the need to have yourself a little emo in the family. They offer makeup and hair products, too, to make sure you completely look the part. For men, they also offer suspenders to help complete the emo look. If you’re in the market for beanies, wristbands, fingerless gloves, wallets or bags, they also have a collection that should have what you’re looking for.
Sohos is also another good place to find emo and punk clothing, and they can be found at sohos.co.uk. In addition to the usual shoes and shirts and pants, they also offer jackets, a section for children, and the option to shop by brand. Loloz.co.uk also features a trendy selection of emo clothing, and some funky accessories, as well, like candles and umbrellas and stationery. Darksideclothing.com is another UK shop that caters to the emo crowd, as well, and they even feature a section on clothing for dogs, so now your pet can be as emo as you are when you go for walks. They also have a section of clothing for infants and are broken down into very specific categories, including wife beaters, which is an unusual category on the whole.
Kathmanduonline.co.uk is also another fantastic place to find emo and alternative clothing to complete your wardrobe. They not only cater to hardcore punk and rockabilly, but also specialize in emo clothing and accessories, and that special brand of emo culture called screamo, too. They’re also one of the only sites to feature body jewelry for the emo scene, too.
For shoes only, Bootdungeon.com has an awesome selections of shoes, boots and flats from the brands Demonia and Deviant. Draven.com is another good brand that has awesome shoes for every emo out there. The shoes are not only stylish and comfortable, but come in a variety of styles, colors and textures, which means everyone is bound to find a pair that goes with your emo style.
Since music is what originally started the whole emo music scene kid movement and continues to fuel the culture every day, it’s only appropriate to spend some time giving props to the bands that help keep the music and emo genre alive and kicking.
When emo first started on the scene in the 1980’s, it was more hardcore and emo punk than anything, music that got people’s emotions going and helped them identify with themselves and others of the same genre. Hardcore 80’s music eventually devolved into a genre known as emocore, with emo bands such as Beefeater, Moss Icon, Rites of Spring and One Last Wish dominating the scene with their emotional sets and lyrics. Some music enthusiasts claim that The Cure were one of the first emo bands, way back in 1976, and that they really helped set the tone for the emo bands that were to later start emerging. Depeche Mode was also instrumental in helping break the emo culture onto the scene, with lyrics that are moody and a sound that’s electronic yet dark at the same time.
Later on, in the 1900’s after some of the more emocore emo music bands had left the scene kids scene, the meaning of the word emo changed again to refer to the indie rock scene that was starting to emerge. Bands like Fugazi and Sunny Day Real Estate were some of the more prominent bands that started the wave of 90’s emo music. Texas is the Reason was also a popular band that followed the more indie lines of emo rock songs, while Fugazi paved the way for 90’s emo songs with a more straight-up punk sound.
Emo music defines itself with lyrics that are emotionally straightforward, instead of dealing with emotions through metaphors. Some emo bands that sound like they might be emo, with their indie rock sound, typically can’t be classified as emo because the lyrics just aren’t as straightforward and emotional as true indie emo bands. Being as how it’s such a hard musical genre to define, some bands fall into an either-or category, with people just not agreeing on what to label them, whether they be emo, indie, or punk. Modest Mouse is a good example, because even though they have a soft, melodic and mellow sound than other bands might, they’re still not considered emo because of their lyrics, which aren’t straightforward in dealing with emotion.
But just because a band might sound mellow doesn’t automatically qualify them for the emo label. Emotional music can also come in the form or raw, abrasive lyrics and power, like emo punk bands such as Sex Pistols or Suicidal Tendencies. Emotion doesn’t have to be sung to be understood, it can also come from screaming or yelling while singing. This is what makes different types of emo music, like screamo and the aforementioned emocore.
In recent years, emo culture has really exploded through emo music, and bands like My Chemical Romance, Panic! at the Disco, AFI, Taking Back Sunday, Jimmy Eat World, New Found Glory, Death Cab For Cutie and The Used have really helped spread the emo epidemic, making emo mainstream for consumers. There is also a small subgenre of emo msuic called Christian Emo, which is music that deals with emotion on a religious level, or from bands that openly practice the Christian faith. Hawthorne Heights, Chiodos and Hearts Consumed cna possibly be categorized into that small section of Christian music, although it’s still open to subjectiveness, like every other emo band that is trying to be labeled.
Emo lyrics, while straightforward on the emtional plane, also deal with a plethora of subjects, some of which are taboo but are brought forth in such a manner as to evoke emotion and sympathy. Consider the lyrics of the Hawthorne Heights song, “Ohio is for Lovers”: And I can’t make it on my own/Because my heart is in Ohio/So cut my wrists and black my eyes/So I can fall asleep tonight or die/Because you killed me/…Spare me just three last words/I love you is all she heard/I’ll wait for you, but I can’t wait forever. These lyrics embody some of the very definitions of emo music - straightforward lyrics that show a lot of heartfelt emotion in a situation that feels like unrequited love. People that hear these lyrics can often relate them to some part of their life or a past experience, therefore becoming emotional themselves upon hearing them.
Or lyrics from “I’m Not Okay (I Promise) by My Chemical Romance: “What will it take to show you/That it’s not the life it seems/I’ve told you time and time again/You sing the words/But don’t know what it means …” There’s no metaphor camouflaging these feelings when Gerard Way sings to someone that they really don’t know what it’s like to lead his life or know who he is on the inside, his thought and feelings and emotions, and that it’s hard to forget about someone once they’re in your heart and mind.
Let’s look at one more song, “I Will Follow You Into The Dark” by Death Cab for Cutie: ” Love of mine/Someday you will die/But I’ll be close behind/I’ll follow you into the dark … If Heaven and Hell decide/That they are both satisfied/Illuminate the ‘no’s’ on their vacancy signs/If there’s no one beside you when your soul embarks/Then I’ll follow you into the dark.” There’s no way to consistently misconstrue these lyrics. The emotion is plain as the author talks about death and the soul leaving this world for the hereafter, and the loneliness that might be felt as the soul departs one plane to the next. The author is stating that there is no need to feel alone, for he will follow his love into the depths of the beyond as long as he can be with them. I suppose metaphorically speaking the dark can be the emptiness someone feels when they feel alone and sad, but not only does the author clearly mention death at the beginning of the lyrics, the music of Death Cab for Cutie is categorized as emo for scene kids for it’s strength of emotion, which is evident.
There is really no right or wrong way to draw an emo cartoon, so feel free to use whatever style you want, whether it be crisp and clean or smudgy and messy or comic book-esque.
The really important part of any cartoon being emo is what the characters are wearing, and the situations that they’re in. Making sure that the character is wearing the appropriate emo attire, clothing and emo hair is a definite, so in that regard try to make sure the characters have hoodies, baggy pants or skinny jeans, skulls, piercings and weird hair - if the character is human or to have human qualities.
If you’re wanting to make an emo cartoon like Pon and Zi, shading is everything. Dark shadows under the eyes or casting on the ground are especially effective at capturing the darker nature of the emo world. But drawing an emo cartoon doesn’t necessarily have to be all dark and poetic; it can also be sweet and light-hearted, as long as it’s packed with emotion-provoking graphics. Hair and eyes are a big part of any emo cartoon, so spend as much time as is justified getting those the way you think best brings out the ever-imitable style of emo and emo scene kid cartoons.
Eyes are usually depicted as dark and brooding, or wide-eyed and without eyelashes. Hair is usually drawn as long on one side and short on the other, or short all over with long bands over the eyes, or sometimes even long all over with spiky bangs that dangle into the line of vision. Eyebrows are usually drawn in a straight line or sloping dow to the inside of the eyes, to depict thought or sadness. As far as situations go, shorter is better. A lot of common emo themes are about sadness, love that was lost or not quite reached, or proving how emo someone is, so a one or two frame cartoon is often the best way to go. You can show the character crying, holding a broken heart, with dark shadowing under their eyes or feet. The character can be sitting in a corner, crying, wearing striped tights or fingerless gloves, with a caption about love. A character saying something witty about emo music as they are wearing an emo outfit is also a good way to go, if you want to inject some humor into the situation.
Just as long as the characters are experiencing emo feelings and wearing emo clothing outfits, your cartoon should accurately reflect emo situations that are found in real life and for the emo scene kid. There are several emo websites out there that promote the emo scene kid’s subculture through emo cartoons, which can be witty and thought-provoking, or just reflective of the nature of the emo trend. Emobucket.com lets users upload their own cartoons and drawings to be seen and commented on by others, which is a necessity in a world where people are wanting to hear feedback on their work to let them know how they should feel. Ponandzi.com is a cute little cartoon about two emo creatures name Pon and Zi that were created by Azuzephre, who is an artist that randomly posted Pon and Zi around the internet before discontinuing doing so.
Ponandzi.com is the biggest collection of this emo music cartoon around, and features the characters in numerous emo settings, such as unrequited love and trying to prove how hardcore emo they are. Newgrounds.com also started an emo section, which is a collection of emo cartoons and games meant to lighten the emo mood and poke a little fun at the whole subculture emo genre.
To be emo scene is, in essence, to embody everything that a subculture offers, from emo music to the hair to the clothes to the emotions. Scene kids, as they’re called, are usually very involved with the music scene and are savvy about the local music in their area, being avid supporters of the indie bands, or local bands that haven’t been signed to a label. Being scene also means being into the types of culture that come with the music, like art, photography, tattoos, piercings, hairstyling, going to emo music shows to see emo bands, shows,being an emo scene kid, drawing emo cartoons etc.
