morrigirl | Sweet Emotion

This is the first day all summer I've been able to walk my customary half mile to work without sweating through the back of my shirt. It's still warm outside but there's heavy cloud cover and a nice breeze. Feels downright autumnal. You know, when I was younger summer was my favorite season. I know a lot of people like winter, *shakes head* not me. I'd rather sweat than freeze. Summer is all about heat and sun and being outdoors, things that I as a depressive don't get enough of. I love being able to go for long walks, wear tank tops (NOT wife beaters. What a sexist turn of phrase!), and prance about in long flowy skirts. But the older I get the more I find myself enjoying spring and autumn, the inbetween seasons, the time when it's not too hot and not too cold. I like being able to wear long sleeved shirts without a jacket. I like feeling my hair blow lightly in the wind. I like wearing light pants. I like being able to walk a couple miles and not keel over from heat exhaustion or get frost bite. Too bad the in between seasons seem to get shorter and shorter every year. I don't think we've even had a spring in NYC in four or five years :-p

Other Mike and I were on the phone for two hours last night. We had a nice long conversation and now all is right with the world. It was seriously one of the best talks we've had in a while, it flowed perfectly from the moment I answered the phone to the minute we hung up. His words wrapped around me like a blanket and kept me warm all through the night, or some other such cliched nonsense.

One of the things we discussed last night was Emo music. Now, I'm not really sure I understand what Emo is. The way it has been explained to me in the past is it's music that contains really over the top emotions. Okay I get that but...can you really classify a genre of music based solely on lyrical content and the emotive ability of the singer? Don't genres usually have their own sound as well? Granted, I'm not totally up to date on populear music at the moment, but all the bands I've heard that fall into the Emo category sound like regular ole rock to me. What is the Emo sound? I know what pop sounds like. I know what rock, rap, R&B, blues, jazz, punk, ska, electronica, world, folk, bluegrass, adult contemporary, alternative, new wave, metal, country sound like. Sure, most of the aforementioned generes also have their own emotive and lyrical conventions but they all have a specific sound, a sound so distinctive I can turn on the radio and know immediately whether I'm listening to rock or metal. If I hear an emo band, I don't know they're emo unless somebody tells me. There is nothing distinctive in the music to tip me off.

So tell me, is emo really all just about the content or does it have a sound? If it doesn't have a sound, how can you tell a band is emo? Emo lyrics don't strike me as any more melodramatic than early '90's alternative. How does one pinpoint an emo band?