Death Cab for Cutie was frequently labeled emo, although I would sooner label them lyrically-intelligent indie pop.

Generally, when people say emo, what they mean is "whiny music that sucks." I tend to associate that term, outside of media labeling, with young men (primarily) who want to disparage others' choices in music and emotional sensitivity in general. Hence the fact that it is applied to bands as divergent as MCR and DCFC.

I also associate it with homophobia and misogyny, due to the fact that, by aforementioned macho youth, the word "emo" is frequently coupled with "pussy" or "fag."

See Projekt Revolution and that whole mess.

I don't know a whole lot about guitars, but Frank Iero (the thrash punk one) has said that both he and Ray Toro think of ideas that the other never would. If you get a band of five guys who all listen to exactly the same music, you can pretty much guess what their music is going to sound like. But when your influences are coming from wildly different directions (Queen, Morrissey, The Smiths, The Misfits, Black Flag, Iron Maiden, etc. etc.) the outcome of how you put them together is going to be much more of a grab bag.

I also associate it with homophobia and misogyny, due to the fact that, by aforementioned macho youth, the word "emo" is frequently coupled with "pussy" or "fag."

Bingo. I have always seen "emo" used as a derogatory term. Which is part of the reason I don't have a clear understanding of what music genre really could be called emo.

The homophobia & misogyny bring up another thing: most of the bandom bands are fiercely against both, and frequently say things (in interviews, on stage) to change people's perceptions. (Frank Iero's "homophobia is dumb" t-shirt, the ever evolving stagegay aspect of MCRs live shows, Gerard ranting about other band's roadies trying to get girls to flash them for backstage passes.)

I also associate it with homophobia and misogyny, due to the fact that, by aforementioned macho youth, the word "emo" is frequently coupled with "pussy" or "fag."

See Projekt Revolution and that whole mess.

As a note, emo kids are getting beat up and threatened in Mexico: [link]

And Ailleann nails it in the descriptor of MCR's style. (Another side note, a British magazine described Toro as looking like he was airlifted in from another band at a moment's notice.)

The first I ever heard the term "emo" was in reference to the band Rites of Spring, an 80s hardcore punk outfit on Dischord with emotional lyrics that were screamed (the singer was Guy Picciotto, pre-Fugazi). I was verrry confused when the term gained popularity years later.

The first I ever heard the term "emo" was in reference to the band Rites of Spring, an 80s hardcore punk outfit on Dischord with emotional lyrics that were screamed (the singer was Guy Picciotto, pre-Fugazi). I was verrry confused when the term gained popularity years later.

Exactly! All the hardcore punks I know were like "What? What are they calling emo now? The fuck?" when the term started cropping up again a few years ago.

Frank Iero's "homophobia is dumb" t-shirt, the ever evolving stagegay aspect of MCRs live shows, Gerard ranting about other band's roadies trying to get girls to flash them for backstage passes.)

This actually partially got me into them.

Also, Jilli, Trudy owes you a cookie.

Also, Jilli, Trudy owes you a cookie.

Okay, I like cookies.

... um, why does she owe me a cookie?

I also associate it with homophobia and misogyny, due to the fact that, by aforementioned macho youth, the word "emo" is frequently coupled with "pussy" or "fag."

Bingo. I have always seen "emo" used as a derogatory term. Which is part of the reason I don't have a clear understanding of what music genre really could be called emo.

Yeah, I have this problem with the term, too.

However, the following joke is still very funny to me:

"I wish my lawn was emo so it would cut itself."

Again, very poor characterization of the term emo (which is vague enough as to be useless), but that joke made me laugh and laugh and laugh when I heard it.

Well, emo was originally short for emotive rock, which was a subgenre of hardcore. The term was (mis)appropriated around the time Bright Eyes and Death Cab and Dashboard came out for the kind of lyrically intelligent, slightly maudlin indie pop gone mainstream. It started to get used for Fall Out Boy specifically post "Take This To Your Grave" and into "From Under the Cork Tree" around the time of Pete Wentz's incident with prescription medication. Funny, that. Before then they were pretty clearly in the pop-punk category; Pete has said that he and Joe wanted to put together a band like Good Charlotte, which is a pretty clear indication of where they wanted to put their genre label.

This is also pretty closely related with the mainstream media generally (mis)labeling contemporary goth-adjacent rock as emo, probably because media thinks goth looks sad and sadness is apparently a characteristic of emo. Or something. I don't really understand the mainstream media. So by 2005 (at the latest) you had three threads of contemporary media that all got stuck with the emo label--slow singer-songwriter indie pop, the bitter, clever lyricism of Fall Out Boy, and the fashion and imagery of My Chemical Romance. (I am disincluding Evanescence here on purpose.) The result is a shambolic attempt to slap "emo" on anything wearing eyeliner, writing about sad or bitter things, or wearing black.

Predictably that doesn't work terribly well in practice, especially when the term itself was pulled from a subgenre that it is no longer is correctly applied to anymore. Pete rightly pointed out in some interview that most of what people write songs about is emotional stuff, so everything is emo.

Granted, emo as a descriptor, while nonsuccessfully applied to music, can serve as an accurate enough term for a style that fits snugly between hipster and goth.