Real Emo" only consists of the dc Emotional Hardcore scene and the late 90's Screamo scene. What is known by "Midwest Emo" is nothing but Alternative Rock with questionable real emo influence. When people try to argue that bands like My Chemical Romance are not real emo, while saying that Sunny Day Real Estate is, I can't help not to cringe because they are just as fake emo as My Chemical Romance (plus the pretentiousness). Real emo sounds ENERGETIC, POWERFUL and somewhat HATEFUL. Fake emo is weak, self pity and a failed attempt to direct energy and emotion into music. Some examples of REAL EMO are Pg 99, Rites of Spring, Cap n Jazz (the only real emo band from the midwest scene) and Loma Prieta. Some examples of FAKE EMO are American Football, My Chemical Romance and Mineral EMO BELONGS TO HARDCORE NOT TO INDIE, POP PUNK, ALT ROCK OR ANY OTHER MAINSTREAM GENRE
The truth about "emo" is that most of what is accepted here isnt really emo, it's some form of indie rock. People here point back to Cap'n Jazz and Sunny Day Real Estate as the progenitors of everything they listen to today, which is true, but they are not progenitors of emo. They are pioneers in college indie rock (and in SDRE's case, mainstream indie rock [yeah, they were on MTV in 96 and half the members went to Foo Fighters, look it up]) incorporating influence from post-hardcore and emo.
There's a reason this stuff is called "post-emo indie rock," or as it has been branded thanks to a handful of early 90s bands no one remembers any more who were from the actual midwestern United States and actually played emo (including Gauge, Current, Ordination of Aaron, Endpoint, Split Lip, Friction, and Chino Horde), "Midwest emo." The reason is because it isn't really emo and needs to be distinguished, kind of how 'metalcore' came about when that scene stopped being primarily hardcore and moved to metal/alternative.
In a similar sense, the post-emo/midwest/indiecore scene moved away from hardcore in the mid 90s, and was seen as a new, post-emo movement, hence the name and ridicule from hardcore bands. Meanwhile, I doubt anyone who lists Mineral or American Football as their favorite 90s "emo" bands could name any actual mid/late 90s emo. Sucks cause there's so much good shit: Traluma, Chocolate Kiss, Stratego, Edaline, Twelve Hour Turn, Unionsuit, Blue Water Boy, Still Life, Thumbnail, Four Hundred Years, Assfactor 4, Sleepytime Trio, Amber Inn, The Deadwood Divine, Bread and Circuits, The Red Scare, Metroschifter, Radio Flyer, The Hal Al-Shedad...I could go on.
