How to Know the Difference Between Emo and Goth
Research the backgrounds and history of each., Learn about the music., Look in to associated genres., Consider fashion., Learn the aesthetics., And finally, dismiss all stereotypes.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Research the backgrounds and history of each.
To be able to understand something, you need to research it.
This is the most important part of trying to learn about something, and it's what a lot of people who are trying to be "emo" or "goth" miss out.
Different websites will tell you different things, so it's better to look at multiple sources.
The basics are:
Goth Goth is a subculture which includes aspects of music, fashion and aesthetic.
It takes inspiration from Gothic architecture and Gothic novels such as The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.Goth rock was born out of the British post-punk scene in the late 70s/early 80s in the infamous Batcave nightclub which opened in 1982 in London.Bands like The Velvet Underground and The Doors were described as gothic, as was David Bowie's song Diamond Dogs, however they are not "goth".Bela Lugosi's Dead is retrospectively, the song which coined and defined the goth music genre.
Bauhaus indicated that the song was supposed to be tongue-in-cheek, but they sung it with naive seriousness making the audience understand it differently.Goth rock characteristics include a simple 4/4 post punk beat or drum machine, dry baritone vocals (in men), flanging guitar used for atmosphere and a lead bass.
If the band plays more darkwave music, then above but with synthesizers as an addition.
The goth subculture and fashion includes elements of punk, glam rock, new romantic, high chic, antique, retro-kitsch, fetish, secondhand trash, ancient Celtic, Christian, pagan, Egyptian and Asian religions and iconographies.Emo Emo stands for "emotive hardcore punk"
which was shortened to "emo-core" and then eventually "emo".Emo is an outgrowth of the hardcore punk sub-genre, and a reaction to the heightened violence in the hardcore punk scene.
The term was first used in a Flipsize magazine by Ian Mackaye.The term "emo" was an insult used towards people who listened to this music, and the people who stayed true to hardcore saw this as a lesser genre.
They used to go to shows and scream insults at the band members.Rites of Spring and Embrace, even though they reject the label, were named and considered the first emo bands.
Emo is describe as a loosely based punk genre, because it was redefined as a type of indie rock in the 90s (bands like Sunny Day Real Estate and Texas is the Reason are a perfect example of this sound) but some people like to say it only refers to the first wave as that only had the true hardcore punk sound. -
Step 2: Learn about the music.
Since these are both musically motivated subcultures, the music should be the most important part of each.
Understand that you cannot be both emo and goth at the same time, but you can listen to goth rock and emo together.
It just wouldn't make you an "Emo goth"
like some people think.
Some proper goth and emo bands are:
Goth:
Bauhaus Siouxsie and the Banshees The Cure (some albums) The Sisters of Mercy Southern Death Cult The March Violets Fields of the Nephilim Ausgang SpecimenAlien Sex Fiend Christian Death 45 Grave U.K Decay Emo Rites of Spring Embrace One Last Wish Drive Like Jehu Braid Dag Nasty Moss Icon Indian Summer Emo pop punk Jimmy Eat World The Get Up Kids The Promise Ring My Chemical Romance (after their first album, which is hardcore punk/emo inspired) Paramore Fall Out Boy Panic! At the Disco , Goth and emo aren't only what members of these subcultures listen to.
They listen to similar genres or fusions which are associated with the primary genre.
In goth culture, they are called "goth friendly" genres.
This means that the genre itself isn't goth, but has underlying dark themes which makes it relevant.
The latter list gets confused for goth time and time again when what's really goth came out of the 80s post punk scene.
There is nothing wrong with a goth listening to or enjoying these genres, they're just not part of the subculture and shouldn't be labelled as such.
Associated emocore genres include:
Hardcore punk Indie rock Skramz (another name for screamo) Emoviolence (screamo and powerviolence) Associated emo pop punk genres include:
Emo Pop punk Alternative rock Indie rock Associated goth genres include:
Positive-Punk Post-punk Darkwave Gothic Punk Batcave Cold wave Shoegaze Dark indie Post Punk revival Deathrock Punk rock New wave Goth friendly, or genres mistaken for goth include:
Gothic metal Neo classical Witch house Industrial EBM Electro Aggrotech Shock rock Nu Metal Ethereal Dark ambient , The main thing to remember when looking at the differences of emo and goth is that emo isn't meant to be dark, but goth is.
Emo pop punk was dark, but that was because of heavy influence from Blink-182 and later, My Chemical Romance, during The Black Parade album.
Traditional goth fashion, makeup and hair includes:
Black clothing, with an antique or Victorian air to itFishnets tights and mesh topsSilver jewellery, including piercings, earrings, nose rings, bracelets and necklacesoften depicting religious and occult themesor decorated with skulls, human skeletons and batsSiouxsie Sioux Cleopatra inspired makeupA death hawk, inspired by Jonny Slut or simply just jet black and backcombed/teasedEyebrows which were either; thick, pointed and triangular; high arched and thin or upward strokes, called "death brows" and most commonly worn by Daniel Ash from BauhausGarments in leather, velvet, silk, PVC or laceOld school emo fashion includes:
Sweaters and jumpers Thick horned rimmed glasses Flat shoes Messenger bags and jeans Plaid shirts Emo pop punk fashion includes:
Band shirts, usually of rock bands Converse Sweat bands Studded beltsOften dyed black hair with fringe/bangs Hoodies Eyeliner, While aesthetic is an aspect of each, it is not the only thing that will make you goth or emo.
Most people in the goth subculture have had a darkly inclined mindset from the beginning, and that's what prompted them to seek out dark music, fashion, art, literature and film.
The goth and emo aesthetic is said to be as follows:
Goth: seeing beauty in darkness, and in anything that would appear "ugly"
"strange" or "weird" to mainstream society.
Emo: being in touch with your emotions, but not necessarily being depressed , Stereotypes are general, usually, negative assumptions about an entire group.
There are some people who don't give a second thought and think they're actually what the subculture is about.
Some people event to make differentiations by saying "emo kids cut and goths wear all black".
There are stereotypes which hurt both subcultures and in no order they are:
Self harming Being depressed Attempting or having thoughts of suicide Wearing all black Worshipping the devil Being part of a cult Being a drug addict or dealer Smoker Alcoholic Rude, aggressive or elitist type personality Being in trouble with the law -
Step 3: Look in to associated genres.
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Step 4: Consider fashion.
-
Step 5: Learn the aesthetics.
-
Step 6: And finally
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Step 7: dismiss all stereotypes.
Detailed Guide
To be able to understand something, you need to research it.
This is the most important part of trying to learn about something, and it's what a lot of people who are trying to be "emo" or "goth" miss out.
Different websites will tell you different things, so it's better to look at multiple sources.
The basics are:
Goth Goth is a subculture which includes aspects of music, fashion and aesthetic.
It takes inspiration from Gothic architecture and Gothic novels such as The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.Goth rock was born out of the British post-punk scene in the late 70s/early 80s in the infamous Batcave nightclub which opened in 1982 in London.Bands like The Velvet Underground and The Doors were described as gothic, as was David Bowie's song Diamond Dogs, however they are not "goth".Bela Lugosi's Dead is retrospectively, the song which coined and defined the goth music genre.
Bauhaus indicated that the song was supposed to be tongue-in-cheek, but they sung it with naive seriousness making the audience understand it differently.Goth rock characteristics include a simple 4/4 post punk beat or drum machine, dry baritone vocals (in men), flanging guitar used for atmosphere and a lead bass.
If the band plays more darkwave music, then above but with synthesizers as an addition.
The goth subculture and fashion includes elements of punk, glam rock, new romantic, high chic, antique, retro-kitsch, fetish, secondhand trash, ancient Celtic, Christian, pagan, Egyptian and Asian religions and iconographies.Emo Emo stands for "emotive hardcore punk"
which was shortened to "emo-core" and then eventually "emo".Emo is an outgrowth of the hardcore punk sub-genre, and a reaction to the heightened violence in the hardcore punk scene.
The term was first used in a Flipsize magazine by Ian Mackaye.The term "emo" was an insult used towards people who listened to this music, and the people who stayed true to hardcore saw this as a lesser genre.
They used to go to shows and scream insults at the band members.Rites of Spring and Embrace, even though they reject the label, were named and considered the first emo bands.
Emo is describe as a loosely based punk genre, because it was redefined as a type of indie rock in the 90s (bands like Sunny Day Real Estate and Texas is the Reason are a perfect example of this sound) but some people like to say it only refers to the first wave as that only had the true hardcore punk sound.
Since these are both musically motivated subcultures, the music should be the most important part of each.
Understand that you cannot be both emo and goth at the same time, but you can listen to goth rock and emo together.
It just wouldn't make you an "Emo goth"
like some people think.
Some proper goth and emo bands are:
Goth:
Bauhaus Siouxsie and the Banshees The Cure (some albums) The Sisters of Mercy Southern Death Cult The March Violets Fields of the Nephilim Ausgang SpecimenAlien Sex Fiend Christian Death 45 Grave U.K Decay Emo Rites of Spring Embrace One Last Wish Drive Like Jehu Braid Dag Nasty Moss Icon Indian Summer Emo pop punk Jimmy Eat World The Get Up Kids The Promise Ring My Chemical Romance (after their first album, which is hardcore punk/emo inspired) Paramore Fall Out Boy Panic! At the Disco , Goth and emo aren't only what members of these subcultures listen to.
They listen to similar genres or fusions which are associated with the primary genre.
In goth culture, they are called "goth friendly" genres.
This means that the genre itself isn't goth, but has underlying dark themes which makes it relevant.
The latter list gets confused for goth time and time again when what's really goth came out of the 80s post punk scene.
There is nothing wrong with a goth listening to or enjoying these genres, they're just not part of the subculture and shouldn't be labelled as such.
Associated emocore genres include:
Hardcore punk Indie rock Skramz (another name for screamo) Emoviolence (screamo and powerviolence) Associated emo pop punk genres include:
Emo Pop punk Alternative rock Indie rock Associated goth genres include:
Positive-Punk Post-punk Darkwave Gothic Punk Batcave Cold wave Shoegaze Dark indie Post Punk revival Deathrock Punk rock New wave Goth friendly, or genres mistaken for goth include:
Gothic metal Neo classical Witch house Industrial EBM Electro Aggrotech Shock rock Nu Metal Ethereal Dark ambient , The main thing to remember when looking at the differences of emo and goth is that emo isn't meant to be dark, but goth is.
Emo pop punk was dark, but that was because of heavy influence from Blink-182 and later, My Chemical Romance, during The Black Parade album.
Traditional goth fashion, makeup and hair includes:
Black clothing, with an antique or Victorian air to itFishnets tights and mesh topsSilver jewellery, including piercings, earrings, nose rings, bracelets and necklacesoften depicting religious and occult themesor decorated with skulls, human skeletons and batsSiouxsie Sioux Cleopatra inspired makeupA death hawk, inspired by Jonny Slut or simply just jet black and backcombed/teasedEyebrows which were either; thick, pointed and triangular; high arched and thin or upward strokes, called "death brows" and most commonly worn by Daniel Ash from BauhausGarments in leather, velvet, silk, PVC or laceOld school emo fashion includes:
Sweaters and jumpers Thick horned rimmed glasses Flat shoes Messenger bags and jeans Plaid shirts Emo pop punk fashion includes:
Band shirts, usually of rock bands Converse Sweat bands Studded beltsOften dyed black hair with fringe/bangs Hoodies Eyeliner, While aesthetic is an aspect of each, it is not the only thing that will make you goth or emo.
Most people in the goth subculture have had a darkly inclined mindset from the beginning, and that's what prompted them to seek out dark music, fashion, art, literature and film.
The goth and emo aesthetic is said to be as follows:
Goth: seeing beauty in darkness, and in anything that would appear "ugly"
"strange" or "weird" to mainstream society.
Emo: being in touch with your emotions, but not necessarily being depressed , Stereotypes are general, usually, negative assumptions about an entire group.
There are some people who don't give a second thought and think they're actually what the subculture is about.
Some people event to make differentiations by saying "emo kids cut and goths wear all black".
There are stereotypes which hurt both subcultures and in no order they are:
Self harming Being depressed Attempting or having thoughts of suicide Wearing all black Worshipping the devil Being part of a cult Being a drug addict or dealer Smoker Alcoholic Rude, aggressive or elitist type personality Being in trouble with the law
About the Author
Brandon Clark
A seasoned expert in lifestyle and practical guides, Brandon Clark combines 11 years of experience with a passion for teaching. Brandon's guides are known for their clarity and practical value.
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