I know what you're thinking. I'm not a grumpy old pensioner yet. I can't start reminiscing about my hay-days and complaining that things weren't like they used to be. Well, unfortunately, I've gotten grumpy!
Well, not really. I just think that everybody is somewhat nostalgic about he music that they first really got involved with during their teenage years. For me, and a lot of my generation, it was pop-punk. Blink-182 and Green Day were the major gateways, with Good Charlotte, Yellowcard and Fall Out Boy all making big impressions. Hopefully a few of you will know what I'm talking about. That music was awesome, right?
After moving away from that music and developing my taste over the last 8 years, I still find myself coming back to those pop-punk classics. It seems to just stay in your blood. But I am slightly worried about my music taste becoming static and also I really don't want to become a grumpy old man before my time. So I try to keep up with what's new. But this leads me to my genuine question: Where has all the good pop-punk gone? Was it really just a fad? Or are there still bands out there pumping out killer tunes that I'm unaware of because I'm just not 'with it' anymore? Is pop-punk dead?
Less Than Jake - The Ghost of Me & You
An example of awesome pop-punk
I know that music never stays the same. It grows and evolves but surely there are still some form of pop-punk music happening. It couldn't just disappear. I can think of a few examples of more recent bands. These fall into two categories. Either they are incredibly small local bands who are short-lived, or they are just not very good. A lot of those early pioneers I mentioned (e.g. Blink-182, Yellowcard, Sum 41, the list is surprisingly long!) have returned with new albums that unfortunately fall into the second category. Writing a catchy tune shouldn't be this hard. Despite it being a bit of an old genre, there still must be enough people who want to see good new bands come out and be successful.
The best examples I can think of that are still somewhat relevant and can still pen a tune are Title Fight, Starters, and Living With Lions. Of these, Starters didn't last long, and never made it out of Dublin; Living With Lions had one awesome album then ruined it by changing their line-up. Title Fight are relatively successful, at least for this genre these days, but are still more harcore/emo. I'm going to mention Army of Freshmen quickly here too. They might be considered too 'poppy' for some, and enjoy very limited success. But they know how to write a hook, and that's exactly what seems to have been forgotten by so many.
Starters - Geocache Girl
Should be more popular
So am I right? Is there still good pop-punk out there? Or am I just clinging to immature music tastes, and what I really need to do is just grow up? Let me know what you think. I am want to be proved wrong!
Music is the same as food, your tastes mature, but the stuff you loved as a child never leave you. I used to never like tomatoes or mayonnaise but I still like spaghetti. Simple as that. Pop-Punk for you, Metal for me. I get the exact same feeling about nu-metal. WTF is all this new-age malarky? And the teenagers now will have the same thing in ten years time. And even then we will still be listening to Kiuas and Seether.
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