its like a lighter form of indie punk

Emo means emotional. i myself dont see much difference between and emo and a gothic person but people tell me there is a difference. I do know that "Emo's" cut themselves when they are depressed and like to wear black clothing

An emo is a person that is really...like... mad at the world and is keeps to themselves.

It's depressing music that goes on for ever, Emos usually look a bit like goths with a hairctu simil;ar to the Missfits devil lock and have a thing about taking their own pic from a mirror and posting it on Myspace and the likes. They claim to be an offshoot of Punk, but I don't see anything similar.

In the early 90s there was a movement in the hardcore genre that came to be known as "Emotive Hardcore," spearheaded by Rites Of Spring. Harder-core-than-thou kids, who swore by Dischord Records a la Minor Threat, actually coined the term "Emo" as something of a put-down for the kids who really liked Rites Of Spring, Indian Summer and this new wave of "Emotive" Hardcore bands. That's right, "Emo" was once not something kids called themselves. The field exploded outwards from there - Level-Plane Records has always been the most famous Emo label. Acts like Yaphet Kotto, I Hate Myself, Saetia, Hot Cross, A Day In Black And White, Funeral Diner, I Would Set Myself On Fire For You, You And I, and hosts of others came in the next decade. Most emo bands have since broken up, but there's still the occasional hold-out (again, the majority of Level-Plane Records' roster has been a procession of emo acts). Like most DIY hardcore/punk of the time, a majority found its way onto vinyl and not much else. Some people consider bands like Fugazi, and later Sunny Day Real Estate, a progression of emo. Some people decided that "emo" meant "emotional," which is incorrect, as 99% of bands make music to illicit emotion, which would make "emotional" a completely all-encompassing genre from classical to opera to pop to rap.

Emo = Emotional person. Thinks about death, etc. I'm old school too. I think.

There's no such thing as "an emo" what society considers emo is more or less nonsense, which came from bands such as Sunny Day Real Estate who were what I consider indie "emo" and from there bands influenced by them appeared and with each new set of influenced band it was watered down 'till you get these morons dressed in a particular way which society considers emo. In reality Emo is a sub-genre of hardcore, which just so happens to be an off-shoot of punk. Look for bands mentioned by the dude with The Brain as is pictcha for real emo.