By: Ryan Martin
On June 1st, 17 years ago, a very special album was released. Enema of The State by the band Blink-182. Not only is this album one of my favorites, but it’s a landmark for pop-punk music along the sides of albums like Green Day’s Dookie, and The Offspring’s Smash. This was a simpler, edgier time where catchy hooks and crunchy guitars could score you radio hits as well as fame and fortune. The world was still reeling from the expeditious rise and fall that was Nirvana and their new sonic sound that exploded into mainstream success, despite Kurt Cobain’s personal wishes. If Dookie was there to bring pop-punk into the public’s eye, Enema of the State was there to master it. That album has had such an everlasting impact on the youth of the late 90’s. This legacy makes it hard to swallow the fate of pop-punk music.
I believe that the depressive stage that hit pop-punk was around the time New Found Glory came out. There was a certain vibe about Jordan Pundik’s vocals that lean the genre towards pop rather than punk. While there is no doubt that albums like Sticks and Stones have a lasting impact on the culture, it was around that time that punk culture adjusted it’s whininess to fit the vocals of the music. The punk aspect was out-weighed and it was determined that the pop aspect is what fueled the most cash and spread the most hits. Around the mid-2000’s, bands like My Chemical Romance and Fall Out Boy came out and were classified as pop-punk. The culture and fanbase that followed these groups dismantled itself from the 90’s skater punk vibe to the current goth and emo culture that we have today. I’m talking highlights and webbed tights. Freaky shit. This led to pop-punk becoming tightly classified with emo music or screamo vocals to the point where it isn't pop-punk anymore. It’s a combined genre of those three elements that appeals to a certain group of teenagers that most likely shop at Hot Topic. Perhaps the saddest thing about the drastic change in pop-punk music today is the estranged fans of the late 90s. Fans of the old Blink-182 sound now have little to no options when opening up iTunes, often resorting to old albums or being forced to adapt to the new genre at the forefront.
On June 1st, 17 years ago, a very special album was released. Enema of The State by the band Blink-182. Not only is this album one of my favorites, but it’s a landmark for pop-punk music along the sides of albums like Green Day’s Dookie, and The Offspring’s Smash. This was a simpler, edgier time where catchy hooks and crunchy guitars could score you radio hits as well as fame and fortune. The world was still reeling from the expeditious rise and fall that was Nirvana and their new sonic sound that exploded into mainstream success, despite Kurt Cobain’s personal wishes. If Dookie was there to bring pop-punk into the public’s eye, Enema of the State was there to master it. That album has had such an everlasting impact on the youth of the late 90’s. This legacy makes it hard to swallow the fate of pop-punk music.
I believe that the depressive stage that hit pop-punk was around the time New Found Glory came out. There was a certain vibe about Jordan Pundik’s vocals that lean the genre towards pop rather than punk. While there is no doubt that albums like Sticks and Stones have a lasting impact on the culture, it was around that time that punk culture adjusted it’s whininess to fit the vocals of the music. The punk aspect was out-weighed and it was determined that the pop aspect is what fueled the most cash and spread the most hits. Around the mid-2000’s, bands like My Chemical Romance and Fall Out Boy came out and were classified as pop-punk. The culture and fanbase that followed these groups dismantled itself from the 90’s skater punk vibe to the current goth and emo culture that we have today. I’m talking highlights and webbed tights. Freaky shit. This led to pop-punk becoming tightly classified with emo music or screamo vocals to the point where it isn't pop-punk anymore. It’s a combined genre of those three elements that appeals to a certain group of teenagers that most likely shop at Hot Topic. Perhaps the saddest thing about the drastic change in pop-punk music today is the estranged fans of the late 90s. Fans of the old Blink-182 sound now have little to no options when opening up iTunes, often resorting to old albums or being forced to adapt to the new genre at the forefront.
What really sucks is emo music used to be more than a fashion sense. It was a combination of indie rock with alternative and pop with some of the most confessional lyrics. That’s why it was called emo. For ‘emotional’. Bands like American Football, Jimmy Eat World and Brand New capitalized on this. Some more modern bands are still using this formula though. Both Modern Baseball and The Front Bottoms are currently my favorite bands and have a more traditional pop-punk emo sound to them. With Modern Baseball’s new album, Holy Ghost, being one of the best emo records I’ve heard come out in a long time and The Front Bottoms’s new album Back On Top having radio-friendly hits mixed with personal lyrics. That being said, there are also new acts that claim to be pop-punk and are the farthest thing from punk rock. Like 5 Seconds of Summer which even had a meme made about them poking fun at anything that could be more pop-punk than them. Punk rock is more than a boy-band. It’s something that fuels rebellion, compliments angst, and highlights vulnerability.
Pop-punk and emo fanbases, both old and new consist of some really loyal and persistent fans. My Chemical Romance’s fanbase was an insanely hardcore one as well as newcomers Twenty One Pilots, who really don’t have anything pop-punk about them, except their self-aware and personal lyrics. Which relate to both the kind of people that over think just about everything as well as the kids who shop at Hot Topic. What we need is an act to rekindle the angst and raw fun into an album. An album that will feel like a summer where there is no responsibilities and all of the world to rebel against. No group has been able to do that yet, with pretty much all of the albums sounding either too poppy or to hardcore. I’m looking at you, All Time Low, and Sleeping With Sirens. It seems like the original pop punk has died off with the same culture that accepted bleach blonde hair and oversized jeans. Although I don’t know how I feel about the 90’s fashion culture, I feel it is way overdue for traditional skateboarding pop-punk to make it's way back into the mainstream.
Pop-punk and emo fanbases, both old and new consist of some really loyal and persistent fans. My Chemical Romance’s fanbase was an insanely hardcore one as well as newcomers Twenty One Pilots, who really don’t have anything pop-punk about them, except their self-aware and personal lyrics. Which relate to both the kind of people that over think just about everything as well as the kids who shop at Hot Topic. What we need is an act to rekindle the angst and raw fun into an album. An album that will feel like a summer where there is no responsibilities and all of the world to rebel against. No group has been able to do that yet, with pretty much all of the albums sounding either too poppy or to hardcore. I’m looking at you, All Time Low, and Sleeping With Sirens. It seems like the original pop punk has died off with the same culture that accepted bleach blonde hair and oversized jeans. Although I don’t know how I feel about the 90’s fashion culture, I feel it is way overdue for traditional skateboarding pop-punk to make it's way back into the mainstream.
"Punk rock is more than a boy-band. It’s something that fuels rebellion, compliments angst, and highlights vulnerability."