Troubled band put out of self-harm's way

I decided to start my research on the topic of Emo by re-reading an article that I saved from the Sydney Morning Herald's weekend Arts & Entertainment section, Spectrum, written by Alexis Petridis in 2006. Yes, I am that big of a nerd that I save newspaper clippings about my favourite bands :P

I think that this article presents a well-researched examination of Emo (albeit relatively brief), and about how the band's image and music have become synonymous with this subculture, despite them wanting to distance themselves as far from the Emo label as possible.

Petridis notes that several teenage Emo girls that she observes appear to be harmless, which is a far cry from the Dangerous Teen Cult of Self-Harm that one British tabloid described Emo as being.

She suggests that the appearance of two of the band members - Mikey Way and Frank Iero - may contribute to the band's threatening image, with Frank wearing typical emo attire (tight black jeans, dyed black hair, piercings and tattoos) whilst Mikey "looks every inch the stuff of middle America's post-Columbine nightmares".

Iero suggests that fans may identify with the band members' personal histories and image because "They're not f---ing ashamed of who they are any more because this cool band came out that is f---ing retarded and ashamed and awkward like me, so maybe being retarded and ashamed and awkward is not a bad thing".

This quote suggests that many MCR fans may find their self-esteem being improved by positively identifying with a band that encourages their fans to accept their flaws and be okay with who they are.

Petridis gives a short summary of Emo's history:

The "emo" name has been lurking in the US punk underground for 20 years. First, it was shorthand for "emotional hardcore’" plied by mid-1980s Washington DC combos Rites of Spring and Embrace. A decade on, it was used to describe the tuneful, angst-ridden pop-punk of Sunny Day Real Estate, Thursday and Jimmy Eat World.

Those who have labelled My Chemical Romance as Emo may reference their dark clothing, the morbid themes within some of their music, their debut album being produced by a member of Thursday and their openess about their past mental-health problems, such Gerard Way's former drug and alcohol addiction.

However, My Chemical Romance claim not to be part of the Emo scene at all. When the band started off, they were surrounded by emo bands which MCR distinguished themselves apart from. Thus, they couldn't get booked for gigs and only Christian metal bands would take them on tour. Furthermore, their lastest album, The Black Parade, "has absolutely nothing to do musically with Rites of Spring or Sunny Day Real Estate", according to Petridis.

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At this point in my research, I plan to investigate the history of the Emo subculture more thoroughly, summarise texts which contain insights into the lives of Emos, and explore further how this music genre is portrayed in the media.