Posted on 12/26/2010 11:05:36 PM PST by oblomov
AFP - When police officers arrived at 13-year-old Masha's home, searched her room and inspected her computer, it was not because they suspected her of any crime.
Her offence was simply to be a devoted follower of the angst-ridden punk-rock subculture known as 'emo', in an ex-Soviet state where pressures to conform remain strong.
"It was offensive and frightening at the same time," said Masha, a schoolgirl in the Armenian capital, clearly upset by the experience.
Police in Yerevan have been conducting a campaign against the capital's small but controversial emo community since the recent suicides of two teenagers who were rumoured to have been emo fans.
They claim that the subculture represents a threat to young people's welfare.
Officers have visited schools, searched pupils whose distinctive clothing marks them out as possible 'emos', and mounted surveillance on public places where young people gather.
Several fans have been detained for questioning, despite the lack of any specific legislation against the musical genre or its followers.
In a recent newspaper interview, Armenia's Chief of Police, Alik Sarkisian, claimed that emo could "damage our gene pool". "We should fight against such phenomena because they are morally harmful to our people," he said.
Emo -- an abbreviation of 'emotional' -- is a more melodic and melancholy form of punk rock. It has origins in the United States but has become a well-established global subculture in recent years.
(Excerpt) Read more at france24.com ...
Moose?
Emo Armenian?
Never in Glendale!
Emo (pronounced /ˈiːmoʊ/) is a style of rock music typically characterized by melodic musicianship and expressive, often confessional lyrics. It originated in the mid-1980s hardcore punk movement of Washington, D.C., where it was known as "emotional hardcore" or "emocore" and pioneered by bands such as Rites of Spring and Embrace. As the style was echoed by contemporary American punk bands, its sound and meaning shifted and changed, blending with pop punk and indie rock and encapsulated in the early 1990s by groups such as Jawbreaker and Sunny Day Real Estate. By the mid 1990s numerous emo acts emerged from the Midwestern and Central United States, and several independent record labels began to specialize in the style.
Its hard for me to imagine a meloncholy punk rock song. Angry and despondent yes, but not meloncholy.
What’s the blues without a good rage?
Reproduction isn't their strong suit.
Billie Holiday.
Ain’t she purty. Needs a boob job, though.
The Growlers play party music that’s shot through with an undertone of melancholy.
Q: How do you get an emo kid out of a tree?
A: Cut the rope.
The entire “emo” scene is propped up by ecstacy.
*ping*
I know you’re big into the rock scene... :-P
The Democrats said the world is angry about Iraq but now they love us.
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