This past weekend, I traveled down to Charleston to visit a good friend of mine at Eastern Illinois University. While we were eating dinner Saturday night at the union, the radio station that was being played over the loudspeaker was tuned to a country station.

“I don’t know why people listen to country music,” she said to me. “It’s basically watered-down emo music. They should just listen to emo music and get the full effect.”

The timing of that statement couldn’t have been better. Several weeks ago, I sent out an e-mail to my friends and colleagues asking them five questions about the word emo and what they thought it meant, who they associated it with musically and to use the word emo in a sentence.

Here’s a bit of what I got in response:

Q: What’s the first thing that pops into your head when you hear the word emo? What do you associate the word with?

– “Kinda whiny lyrics, a bunch of singers who all sound the same with the same inflections and everything; blackness, depression, angst, youth-hipster teenagers.”

– “Sappy 13-year-old boys and 40-year-old men who are trying to find a title for the music they like.”

– “Honestly, the music. I guess I just think of music that exists more for the spirit than anything else. I also associate it with a type of person, and a mood. A noun, an adjective and a verb.”

Q: Give an example(s) of emo bands/artists.

– Brand New, Cursive, Jimmy Eat World, Saves the Day

– Dashboard Confessional, Something Corporate and New Found Glory

– Fugazi, Sunny Day Real Estate, Dashboard Confessional

– Bright Eyes, Dashboard Confessional

Q: Use the word emo in a sentence.

– “That girl is being a little over emo, eh? Don’t you think? Eh?”

– “I’m just too emo to go out tonight.”

– “I’d rather be retarded than emo.” (This quote is actually from a button)

Now that we have the views of what people think emo is, let’s take a look at what the word actually means.

“Emo is short for emotional. Originally, it was short for “emocore,” a strain of punk rock that was notable for its obsession with feelings. Eventually, the term was applied to bands that weren’t punk, to fashion trends, and to sad-eyed kids in the back of class. Being emo is a scarlet E across your guitar strap – a mark of shame or a reason to beg off and plead ignorance. Emo is seeking a tangible connection out of intangible things. Emo is the music you carry with you – it’s why your parents cry at the “Big Chill,” why your older sister tears up at “Say Anything” or “Singles.” Except in emo’s case, we’re talking about soundtracks to real life, not a movie. As long as there are feelings, teenagers will claim that they had them first. And as long as there are teenagers, music will bet labeled emo.” -Andy Greenwald, author of “Nothing Feels Good: Punk Rock, Teenagers, and Emo.”

To say that you are emo means you’re not emo. No band wants to be called emo. There isn’t a band rehearsing in a garage right now thinking, “that’s good, but not emo enough.”

Look at someone like Chris Carrabba, lead singer of Dashboard Confessional. Can’t find him? Look down. There he is. He’s uber short but his lack of height is made up for by his lyrics and abundance of tattoos that cover his body. He’s the first image that pops into people’s head when you say the word emo and the first name that people associate the word with as well. He’s vindicated. He’ll scream about things that seem so impossible at you. Hands down, this guy is the epitome of the word emo.

When people think of emo bands, several come to mind right away, sans Dashboard. Jimmy Eat World, Taking Back Sunday and Brand New top the list.

Jimmy Eat World is more light emo. When the Arizona natives first came on the scene in 1994, they were faster and more punk than they are today. Jim Adkins barely sang on the first two Jimmy albums, and rhythm guitarist TomLinton filled the space with his vocals. It wasn’t until “Clarity,” a staple for every punk and emo fan alike, that Adkins showcased his talents and took over lead vocals. “Bleed American” took the quartet to the radio and produced hits such as “The Middle” and “Sweetness.” The group reinvented themselves with “Futures” this past November and will continue to redefine the drop D tuning.

Taking Back Sunday and Brand New both hail from Long Island, NY and came out around the same time, TBS with their scream-o vocals and Brand New with their transcending guitar riffs and jaw dropping lyrics. At one point in time, both bands were feuding over the same girl (now that’s emo) and even shared the same lyrics between their songs (TBS with “There’s No ‘I’ in Team” and Brand New with “Seventy Times Seven”).

So now that we’ve cleared up the emo word a little bit, be careful how you use it. Not every punk band is emo and not every kid with black fingernail polish is emo either. What you think maybe a compliment may actually be an insult to someone. Even though we may have to wait a bit for the next Dashboard album to be released, there’s plenty of bands to fill your emo void until then.