Electric Roulette: Music blamed for death again, this time it's emo

I'm not one to defend emo music. Far from it. I think it's awful. However, when music is blamed for someone's death, I start getting agitated. I mean, it seems that, if you like heavy metal, hip hop - and now emo - you simply can't resist the temptation of death. Certain sections of society would have you believe that hip hop makes people go on a drive-by when before hip hop, these people would be found knitting. Heavy metal makes you go on killing sprees around various American schools and now, emo makes you kill yourself. It's pathetic.

The girl in the picture is 13-year-old Hannah Bond. The Telegraph said of it all: "Maidstone Coroners’ Court heard that Hannah, of East Peckham, Kent, had lived a double life, outwardly a bright fun-loving family-orientated schoolgirl, but inwardly a devotee of “emo” which stands for emotional. She had secretly chatted to “emo” followers online all over the world, talking about death and the glamorisation of hanging and speaking about “the black parade” - a place where “emos” believe they go after they die."

The Telegraph then goes on to talk about self harm and how it's a form of initiation and then goes on to refer to emo as a "clan". Of course, The Sun go one further, calling emo a 'cult' and, like the Telegraph, generally place the blame on My Chemical Romance. The Daily Mail talk of Hannah being a girl who "killed herself after becoming obsessed with a fashion which links death with glamour." Before adding "Emo fans wear dark clothes, practise self-harm and listen to "suicide cult" rock bands."

One thing unites all the press, and that's the mentioning of this supposed infatuation with My Chemical Romance. Apparently, two weeks before her death, she started following the US band, which of course, is plenty time to completely convince one of their fans to hang. Many papers are quoting a lyric of MCR... "Although you're dead and gone, believe me your memory will go on." Of course, this press scavengering fails to notice that, as sentiments go in modern pop music, that's pretty nice. I mean, it's a bit saccharine... almost like an emo equivalent of 'Candle In The Wind'. At no point in that lyric can I see 'go on... do it... be a martyr for emo... see you in the black parade'.

Fact is, I sincerely doubt that My Chemical Romance would want their own fans to die. I also take umbrage with the notion that a bright girl would kill herself on the whim of a 'scene'. No, what's happened here is that a girl who clearly has problems has seen no way out. Whether these problems were justified or not, it doesn't matter. The loss of life is tragic for all concerned, but making a scapegoat out of rock 'n' roll music isn't the answer. Rock 'n' roll has always dealt with death, from the opening strains of 'A Day In The Life', 'Tell Laura I Love Her', 'Dead Man's Curve', 'Leader Of The Pack' and a whole load more. Pinning the blame of a band is lower than low.

Even if the world's teens are getting a little fixated with death, it's hardly surprising if you open just about any newspaper at the moment. Tales of violent muggings, stabbings, shootings, war, abuse, torture and more, all broken down into minute grisly detail... I would have thought that the interest arose from those fuax-moralisers on Fleet St, rather than some dumb punk band from New Jersey. You see, once again, people are showing their conservative colours and looking for a scapegoat. If Hannah Bond listened to Rihanna, her death wouldn't get an inch on page 10.

If anything, rock 'n' roll made this poor girl feel like she belonged to something. A group of people who probably liked drinking on the sly and making joints from cigarette butts. Emo kids have an identity which they feel is their own... something apart from the perceived consumerism of rap... that group of people, and the bands they listen to aren't out to end it all. They might say that for effect, but most people happily dance around to nihilistic punk and rock and flick fingers at those that 'don't understand'. Rock 'n' roll did not push Hannah Bond to death and the press are wrong for suggesting as such.

It's worth pointing out that her dad said that he'd noticed superficial wounds. He said: “We discussed it when I noticed the marks. When I was younger I was a punk and we used to do tattoos and things, but I wasn’t angry with her because she promised me she would never do it again. Although she was in touch with emos all over the world, particularly in America, she was still in touch with the same girl she always was." It seems to me that her parents aren't blaming emo for this, but rather, understanding what it's like to be a teenager that sees 'no future'. I'm almost certain that they blame themselves for this, when they clearly shouldn't. Should they have done more? To me, it looks like the parents did everything they could and the only person with the answers to this is their sadly departed daughter.

[Mof Gimmers]