Just got back from a raging dinner party at my grandmother's house on occasion of a visit from family from the old country (that's Cleveland, Ohio). We're sitting around the table and my mom's cousin starts asking about this word "emo" that all the kids say. My mom and the mom of one of the younger cousins start laughing because they have heard all about emo.
"Well, my dad thought emo was this old comedian."
Seriously, the first time my dad heard my brother and sister and I making emo cracks, he said, "What, are all the kids into Emo Phillips?"
So, the younger cousin says that it's supposed to be short for emotional and mentions screamo and cutting and stuff. Then, people start looking towards me, since I seem to be taking over my uncle's position as resident music know-it-all.
"Um, it's like, uh." What am I supposed to say? Give them the Wikipedia answer? I mean, I'm pretty far removed from the whole emo thing, but I did see Rye Coalition play at Coney Island High sometime in the late 1990s. Oh and I went to that Taking Back Sunday show over the summer, not to mention Warped Tour.
"Well," I began. "Emo guys are usually 6'2", extremely skinny and wear girl-sized jeans."
"I think I know one of those guys," says my mom's cousin.
"Does he have an asymmetrical haircut?"
"Yeah," she answered.
"That's emo."
Then she starts talking about how her son's friends look like that and she's surprised that none have been beaten up.
"I know!" my mom answers. "I'm still trying to figure out why all the guys want to look like anime characters."
Hey, pretty cool. My mom knows what anime is as well.
My grandma looks confused.
"Grandma, think of what I looked like at 15 and multiply it by 10."
"You looked so weird then. All you wore was black."
Actually, all I still wear is black, but I don't safety pin my mom's old slips and wear them as jumpers anymore.
"How come I don't see emo kids in my neighborhood?" she asks. "Is there something wrong here?"
"Grandma," I answered. "I grew up with most of the kids in your neighborhood." (True fact: My biggest fear was running into my grandparents while sneaking out of my friend's house to TP.) "We were goths, not emo."
"So where are the emo kids?"
"At the mall. Around Hot Topic."
"Where's Hot Topic?"
"Across from Banana Republic. Next to Macy's."
"Oh, okay. I'll keep an eye out."
Let this be a message to the kids. My grandmother now officially knows emo. It's time to move on to a different scene.