When punk rock began to merge with pop music in the 1970's, they made a baby genre of music that many millennials know as pop punk. But it wasn't until the late 80's early 90's that pop punk really began to make a claim for itself in the music world. Bands like Green Day and Blink 182 changed the face of 90's rock music with their melodic, emotionally-charged jams. That theme is still relevant today in bands like Fall Out Boy, Paramore and endless others. If you're not a millennial, you're probably asking yourself, so what? What's so great about these bands? What's so great about this music? I think you should really be asking yourself, what's not great about these bands? I bet it would be a shorter list. Here's ten of the many reasons millennials love pop punk:
1. The Song Lyrics
When cookie-cutter pop music fails to really make an impact on you, you can always turn to a pop punk band to hit you right in the feels. Look at sweet, sweet Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy in the gif above. He's crooning to you, telling you that you can't always bang bang into the room; sometimes, you just have to make room for one more troubled soul.
2. The Band Culture
The relationships between these bands is unreal. I can watch Brendon Urie talk about Fall Out Boy over and over and never get bored. The cool thing is, Urie's band, Panic! at the Disco, was signed by Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy's label. The camaraderie between them makes their music feel connected somehow. Like even if you listen to one band's entire CD, you can go listen to the other's and get a similar and maybe even more enthralling experience.
3. The Song Titles
If you've ever looked at a list of songs on a pop punk album, you know that there are some song titles that look like they've been thrown into a word scrambler and pushed back out again. "A Little Less Sixteen Candles, A Little More Touch Me" may be one of the longest song titles I've heard, but Fall Out Boy never fails to produce a hit song to match the wonky title.
4. Album Art/Covers
When I compare pop albums and pop punk albums, I can see the artistry that was put into each, but there is something about pop punk album covers that makes me feel invited into the artist or band's world. These album covers tap into the emotion of the album title. Paramore's "Riot" has just one word scattered around in a cluttered mess, but it really emphasizes that riot-like feel of the album. A Day To Remember hones in on the image of alienation with this artistic choice of album art to match the title of their album. I feel like we just don't see this kind of thing with other genres of music, which is totally fine. But this makes pop punk special, at least for me.
5. Music Videos
I know not all pop punk songs are as heavy as this one, but whenever I hear one with honest and painful lyrics, the music video never fails to enhance and encompass the meaning to an entirely new level. This music video isn't even that detailed; its rather simple. But his facial expressions and the people who he passes on the street, it all makes me feel something in the pit of my stomach. Something like Taylor Swift's "Wildest Dreams" music video doesn't even come close to creating a similar effect.
6. The Concerts
I went to this concert. I saw her perform this song. Hayley Williams touched so many hearts with this incredible performance, and the rest of the concert was spent doing the same. I've been to quite a few pop punk concerts, and I have never left feeling disappointed. The songs, the band culture and the artistry all come together to create this ethereal experience for the pop punk community. I'm going to a Fall Out Boy concert in March to hear their new album "American Beauty / American Psycho" and I cannot be more excited to be immersed in the culture and the music.
