I was 14 when I crowd surfed at a Mayday Parade ft. All Time Low concert. To this day when I’m asked, “What’s one of your favorite memories?” I still smile and share the story about being dropped on the concrete floor of Newport Hall in Columbus. At this time, “Miserable at Best” was on radio stations on repeat, teen angst was high, and high school had just begun. The trifecta for the path onto pop-punk heaven. I began my love for pop punk around this time. As I grew up the love began to fade because it was seen as “teen-based music.” Within the last couple of years I rediscovered my love for the genre after a love interest sparked a conversation about the band We Came As Romans.
Through rediscovering the genre, I also rediscovered why the music meant so much to be at such a young age. When I was younger there were the classics: blink-182, Sum-41, New Found Glory, Green Day, etc. However, it’s begun to grow over the last 5-10 years into a whole different beast. Once you’ve passed the teens, you begin to reach adulthood. Especially as a senior in college, it’s time to swap the teen angst for briefcases and high heels. However, whenever anyone asks me what my favorite music is, I cannot think of another genre. As much as I love rap and hip-hop, pop-punk takes the cake. Here are a few reasons why:
Whether it’s a bad day or a good day, there’s a song to fit your mood.
One Halloween, my emotions were flipped inside out and upside down. For some reason the only music that fathomed my anger, desire, and heartbreak were the songs from Neck Deep, Knucklepuck, and The Story So Far. There was nothing like going for a long run, blasting some Neck Deep, and taking a moment to process your own emotions. On the flip side, pop-punk is there when you’re having the perfect day. Bands such as Man Overboard, Transit, and yes… even All Time Low are there for you when you’re ready to take on the world. The emotions displayed through the songs (if you are listening to the right bands) are raw and true. The songs are relatable on a good day, bad day, through a break up, new relationship, and all of the inbetweens.
It’s empowering
There’s an idea in Psychology that if you stand in a “power stance” for five minutes before an interview or public speaking event, that your confidence is overwhelmingly higher. That’s what pop-punk is to me. It’s that power stance that allows me to walk down Middle Path or at the KAC working out. The confidence from head-banging and air-drumming energizes you like no other. When you feel beaten down or as if the world is spinning out of control you can take a small escape into your headphones to pump you back up.
Like most music, pop-punk has an amazing community
It cracks me up as I write “community,” because when most people think “pop-punk” they see 15 year old girls screaming at the top of their lungs at Warped Tour. As amazing as Warped Tour is/was, that’s not the community I’m focusing on in this article. The connection you make when you bring up pop-punk with someone who also shares that common interest is electric. Immediately, there’s a bond. Some of my favorite things to do with my friends who also love pop-punk is share music (like most people) and there is nothing like screaming at the top of your lungs with some amazing people.
Pop Punk isn’t for everyone — that’s for sure. The point of this article was to demonstrate some of the reasons why this genre is NOT dead. Pop-punk is not all about white boys with bad comb-overs, but this genre is about pain and emotion just as a lot of other genres. Below are a few of my favorite bands. Check them out and try to take what I said to heart:
Go Go Go: Sleeping With Sirens
The Darkest Timeline: Old Again
Get Lost, Find Yourself: Chunk! No, Captain Chunk!
Capture & Release: Beautiful Bodies
Love Your Friends, Die Laughing: Man Overboard
Knucklepuck’s entire album: Copacetic
A Part Of Me: Neck Deep, and also their entire new album Life’s Not Out To Get You
Anti-Social Butterfly: Settle Your Scores
Golden: Farewell Firefighter (This one hits the feels for any seniors about to graduate)
Image credits: Giphy.com