Everybody Hurts: An Essential Guide to Emo Culture

By Trevor Kelley and Leslie Simon

What is emo? For starters it's a form of melodic, confessional, or EMOtional punk rock. But emo is more than a genre of music–it's the defining counterculture movement of the '00s. EVERYBODY HURTS is a reference book for emo, tracing its angsty roots all the way from Shakespeare to Holden Caufield to today's most popular bands.

There's nothing new about that perfect chocolate and peanut butter combination––teenagers and angst. What is new is that emo is the first cultural movement born on the internet. With the development of early social networking sites like Make Out Club (whose mission is to unite "like–minded nerds, loners, indie rockers, record collectors, video gamers, hardcore kids, and artists through friendship, music, and sometimes even love") outcast teens had a place to find each other and share their pain, their opinions, and above all, their music–which wasn't available for sale at the local record store.

Authors Leslie Simon and Trevor Kelley lead the reader through the world of emo including its ideology, music, and fashion, as well as its influences on film, television, and literature. With a healthy dose of snark and sarcasm, EVERYBODY HURTS uses diagrams, illustrations, timelines, and step–by–step instructions to help the reader successfully achieve the ultimate emo lifestyle. Or, alternately, teach him to spot an emo kid across the mall in order to mock him mercilessly.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Oct 6, 2009
• ISBN: 9780061984273

Reviews for Everybody Hurts

[csweder · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Oh fun.

This book is all about emo...and while it talks about how amazing emo people are....it also makes fun of them.

I was happy to see that a lot of books, movies, and bands I liked already were "emo". :)

Oh funness.

[pescatello · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Read this book to gain some insight into the emo demographic. Boy was i disappointed. All it does is describe what emo kids are doing. The chapters are Fashion, Film, Literature, Music, TV, etc. So what you have are two emo kids describing what they do in their life. What they like. They don't provide any insight into why something is emo just whether it is or isn'tA few examples:1. They name an iPod as being emo, saying: An mp3 by any other name would not be as emo. Actually come to the think of it, try even naming another mp3 player. Go ahead and take a minute. What? Can't think of any? Yeah we didn't think soThat really makes me happy i read this book. Gee - as if i didn't know the iPod was popular. 2. They have a section of emo TV shows and they basically just list all the popular shows of the past 10 years. For instance, they name 24 even though they can't even describe why it's emo:"There's no teen angst or high school romance, and no one broods over the meaning of life. Instead, 24 is about the life of a federal agent whose days are lived out every week in real time... So why is it that emo fans in huge numbers list 24 as one of their favorite shows? Honestly, we have no idea. "Get them a Pulitzer. Don't waste your time on this one.

[marymonster92 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This had me crying with laughter!

[circasurvive · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A very tongue-in-cheek book that is as hilarious as it is truthful about the ever popular, "emo scene". Even if many of the facts written are true, I wouldn't really take everything written in it seriously. I still loved reading it though. :)