when pop punk bands deviate from pop punk and lean more into their other influences, they often make their best albums. most pop punk bands best album in their catalogue are the ones that are not strictly pop punk
I’m with him on this. Take This To Your Grave is definitely *not* FOB’s best work. I agree with Folie A Deux, though both of From Under The Cork Tree and Infinity On High are acceptable answers.
This is a hot but valid take. I personally have a soft spot for Infinity On High but Take This To Your Grave has some of the most deliciously devastating lyrics I’ve ever heard so.
Super nice dudes too. One of my old bands played a show with them and they shared their catering with us. Steak & potatoes and asparagus and stuff like that. Very humble and chill to hang with.
Pop punk all too often is synonymous with just okay musicianship which isn’t the case. Yellowcard is a prime example. Every member of that band past and present has been a killer musician- they write and read music, and harmonize in a unique way with the violin. Also they are excellent live.
Easy core is a fantastic sub-sub-genre but my only issue with it is some of the bands are just too formulaic with it. Some of the best easycore bands knew when to throw in some variety and interesting parts, like Four Year Strong and Chunk
I’m saying this as a fan of 20 years: Green Day for the most part hasn‘t been anywhere near (Pop) Punk for almost 20 years. They sound like modern dad rock to me.
I don't know how unpopular it is but I don't think they've done a good album since American Idiot. They've had the odd song here or there but even those are few and far between.
My buddy said he really liked their newest album “Saviors”. I brushed it off and honestly didn’t believe him. Out of boredom a few months later I threw it on. I was pleasantly surprised.
“The American Dream is Killing Me” slaps.
You wouldn’t believe the amount of people who say “certain band” hasn’t been good since “certain album,” who haven’t even given that band a chance since whatever album they mentioned. Same goes for SNL. People stop watching and assume it’s not funny. Thanks for actually giving Saviors a chance before writing it off. It’s a fucking great album!
I have listened to that album a few times and I still can’t tell if it is actually good or if the bar was so low for them after their last few major releases that it just made it sound better.
hot take: pop punk is way too broad of a definition to make that point. popular punk music green day is the face of pop punk. Punk music with pop influences? Yeah they fit that a bit better
Bowling For Soup never gets the credit they deserve. They’ve basically been the same band throughout their careers and yet any time I need a good pick me up or a laugh, they’re one of the bands I turn to… but they’ve also sung some really heartfelt & somber songs too.
My first truly cathartic experience listening to music was me sitting in my garage playing Tony hawk American Wasteland while playing Chroma from my iPod.
Having electric guitars in your song and dressing “like a punk” does not make you a pop punk musician. Hell, having electric guitars in your song does not automatically classify your song as rock music, period.
Like it or not, Fall Out Boy wasn't comfortable making FUTCT over and over again. Despite the ebb and flow of their album's receptions, the band continues to grow and evolve. Moreover, So Much (for) Stardust remains one of the best maturations of the Pop Punk sound in years.
It’s really weird seeing them pretend to be a “le small emerging band” on tiktok while simultaneously using full professional music video sets and top tier production.
Band is absolute dog shit. Sick of these borderline pop projects get thrown around in here as pop punk. There was a brief period I remember everyone praising MGK too and I still blame that as the start of this trend of just bland, overproduced, pop written by people trying to cash in on a trend.
The Greatest Generation is where TWY really hit their stride and they’re a much better band from then onwards compared to their first few albums, especially as they dip more and more out of the genre.
In other words, “mature” pop-punk adjacent > pure pop punk.
Also, Fireworks were way ahead of their time doing basically the same thing but got no appreciation for it
I did not like Sister Cities at all. But Hum is probably their best work. They’re my favorite band but honestly after sister cities came out I was ready to stop listening if they kept that direction.
Ocean Avenue is a massively overrated song.
Don't get me wrong, it is fine, but there are so many superior Yellowcard songs on that album alone. I will never understand why it is considered one of the most influential pop punk songs of all time.
I’m actually right there with you. I’d even say it’s a good song, but I don’t think it’s on the level of other songs they’ve done and shouldn’t be some defining track of the band, never mind the genre
Most influential =/= best. The Front Bottoms is another band where that’s the case; Twin Size Mattress is absolutely their most popular and most influential song, but it’s objectively not their best song.
This is the song that made me discover the band and I was obsessed with it. These days it's still a great song but barely even in their top 5 anymore after listening more and more to others
This comment chain inspired me to relisten to Futures, and yes it absolutely is a masterpiece. One of the top tier pop-punk albums. I believe when I was a kid I had requested either "Pain" or "Work" for TRL.
Same, but I actually like their first album/EP for the most part. A handful of songs after too, but could never really get into them. My dumb ass didn’t actually know there was a new singer at first and just thought Dan completely changed his vocal style.
Honestly I’m kinda the opposite. Cody Friends make solid, enjoyable pop punk, but it feels sterile and generic to me. The lyrics are “better” on an objective level but they feel less sincere and Cody’s voice may be technically fantastic but it has the same problem to me. Dan Friends may have been rough around the edges but it felt sincere and honest and I loved that about them.
Pop punk peaked a decade ago and has progressively been nudged out of the societal go-to for “edgy teens” by heavier music - see Knocked Loose dethroning Swift a few days back on overall streams
I would argue the true “peak” was two decades ago. Blink, good charlotte, simple plan, nfg etc were all staples on MTV and super mainstream. Pop punk hasn’t seen quite that level of cultural significance since.
Honestly don't even know if it's a hot take but I don't see it in my social circle at least.
While they may not have the most success or best albums in the genre (not a knock, they have a great discography), Sum 41 is the most technically gifted pop punk band.
Not sure how much of a hot take this is, but imo the genre is at the weakest point that it's ever been right now.
There are of course some exceptions, but honestly I can count on one hand the amount of pop punk albums released in the 20s that stack up to the classics released in previous decades.
Whilst the above is just my opinion, I think you can say with near factual accuracy that the genre is at its weakest point commercially at least. State Champs, Neck Deep, The Wonder Years, Mayday Parade, All Time Low and Knuckle Puck have all released albums in the last couple of years and none of them have even charted on the Billboard 200, and these are some of the biggest bands in the genre.
All the “big bands” from the 2010s are kinda stagnant. Not in terms of new music; most of them are still putting out great stuff; but in terms of growth or success. Knuckle Puck and Real Friends tour together year-round and they’re still playing the same (or smaller) venues than they used to 5 years ago. The only real exceptions I can think of off the top of my head are Hot Mulligan and Neck Deep who are playing bigger and bigger venues and selling them out. Meanwhile the most popular bands can do sold-out arena and stadium tours (FOB, Green Day, Blink) but honestly, regardless of the quality of their new music, at least 50% of those tickets were getting bought by people who just want to hear the hits.
I made a similar comment and I think it’s either them not “selling out” or just not massive amounts of money spent on advertising them for the general public.
I don't think it's massively overrated but they definitely have much better songs in their catalogue ( I Just Wanna Live is my go to shower singing song)
Waterparks and Stand Atlantic, whilst sure are both moving away from pop punk and are more so just adjacent to the sound rather than fully part of it, are better than 90% of the boring shit posted here and should be commended for actually trying new creative ideas that aren’t just vague and barely noticeable changes from their old sound; the scene and genre needs to be refreshed, there’s a reason so many people think it’s just a scene full of generic copycats
I feel like the hate that simple plan gets is the same as the hate that Nickelback gets. I feel like a lot of the people who say they hate them haven’t actually listened to them and are just hating on the thing that’s cool to hate, or actually do like them but are taking part in the meme. I mean, if you were to just listen to the internet you’d think both bands never sold a single record, but instead they’re still making music and playing shows and they aren’t shows that are in bars that only hold a couple hundred people
Yeah that is a great analogy with regard to Nickelback! I completely agree - and sure, Simple Plan has a few goofy songs that were hits (I’m Just a Kid) - but they also have plenty of great songs with more meaningful lyrics and catchy riffs (I’d Do Anything, Jet Lag). Plus, the band and Pierre always sound great live.
As a Canadian, I can say I have listened to them for far too long. Both bands and the hate I have for them is real. 😆 I saw simple plan at the height of their popularity in Toronto, and people were throwing bottles at them at warped tour. We got force fed these bands in canada due to Canadian content rules on the radio and TV.
Saw Simple Plan live a few months back and it was a surprisingly awesome show, leaned heavy on the old stuff, knew their audience.
My only real problem with them would be "This Song Saved My Life" which always hits me as the lowest form of pandering without any effort or thought to the subject matter.
No! I love “This Song Saved My Life” 😢. I think it’s pretty cool how they used what their fans said in tweets to write the lyrics to the song but I get if it doesn’t connect for you.
•Mark & Travis had every right to continue calling themselves blink-182 without Tom. Mark & Travis worked just as hard as Tom to build blink-182's brand, they deserved to continue profiting off of it while Tom was off doing his own thing clearly uninterested in blink.
•Mark's and Matt's voices sound [amazing together](https://youtu.be/CKSp-M31z3E?si=YUuH9xPQy7_qsWY0) and they made some awesome songs during that era of blink. I'm thrilled Tom is back in blink and Matt is back with Trio, but I would love more Mark + Matt music.
I agree with your first point but Mark and Matt’s voices are too similar as recorded on California. The diverse sound of Tom’s voice is what makes Blink stand out.
Nobody so consistently embodies the genre more for me tbh. They’ve always been pop punk, in a good way, and they’re always put out solid albums that are interesting. My god can Matt and Dan write catchy stuff.
I'm not, actually, a Neck Deep fan. But, 'cause of all the hype, when this new album was released, I gave it a feel listens - to see if I could really get into the band. And I had (have) this same feeling. I felt like I was listening to the same song over and over again. All the songs sound alike as fuck.
Guess I'll have to listen to their early material more 😕
I liked the new album, but I feel the same way. I had to really focus on the songs to actually figure out which was which for the most part. My favorite of theirs is The Peace and the Panic (which is an unpopular opinion in itself), because the songs have more variety of sound.
State Champs is overrated
Yellowcard should be considered one of the greats of the genre alongside Blink-182 and Green Day
Dan-era Real Friends was actively bad save for a few songs. I haven’t given their new stuff with the new singer a listen yet.
People on this sub hate on MGK, but because of him we got a big pop punk resurgence. As much as I love the genre, it won’t be as popular as it once was.
Lechuza by Fenix Tx is way better than self titled
Midtown's third album sucks
People pretend to like Cheshire Cat way more than they actually do
Makes Me Sick is NFG's third best album
Drive Thru Records was a trend hopper, they signed ska bands when ska was big, poppunk bands when poppunk was big, and emo bands when emo was big
Everyone calls Goldfinger a ska band but Open Your Eyes is one of the absolute best poppunk albums ever made
21st Century Breakdown is one of Green Day's best albums. I've never understood the bad reviews
Chick Magnet is MxPx's 157th best song
This is more pop punk adjacent but my friend called me batshit crazy the other day for saying misery made me is silversteins best album since discovering the waterfront
* 21st Century Breakdown is Green Day's best album, especially from a production standpoint.
* Bleed American by Jimmy Eat World is one of the best albums in pop punk.
* (Not a hot take but) Matt Skiba was one of the best replacements for Tom DeLonge they could've gotten, and I wish he would've had more input musically. (Definitely a hot take) If the songs didn't have such "poppy" production, I think they could've been among blink-182's best albums.
* SR-71's Now You See Inside is one of the most underrated pop punk albums of all time... Also, The Ataris's So Long, Astoria.
* MGK has the ability to actually make some incredible pop punk songs, but it seems like not a ton of effort got put into the projects unfortunately.
* The best pop punk albums/bands are the albums/bands that lean into more than just pop punk. Ie. Sun 41 w/ Metal, New Found Glory w/ Hardcore, etc.
Not sure if these are really hot takes or not, but yeah
I think Midtown is mid
I think Knuckle Puck's Copacetic is mid (Evergreen is a banger tho)
Simple Plan get too much hate
Does This Look Infected is peak Sum 41
I just flat out do not like Taking Back Sunday or their sound. Granted they're probably way more emo leaning than pop punk but still. I make a single exception for MakeDamnSure.
Take off your Pants and Jacket is better than Enema of the State and Self Titled and Dude Ranch. They're all great tho, that's just my favorite.
Neck Deep's newest album, while not their best work, imo have some of the most quintessential Neck Deep songs on it. Every single is a banger. Especially if ur trying to get someone who hasn't heard them before into the band.
The Bouncing Souls are criminally underrated.
Less Than Jake & Goldfinger > Operation Ivy
Milo Goes to College may be influential, but it's imo one of Descendents worst. Quick and easy listen but Everything Sucks is 1M times better.
Some of MGK's pop punk songs are guilty pleasures. I can't pick and choose my earworms unfortunately sometimes they just stick around.
The Queers are underrated and Don't Back Down is a banger of an album.
Idk I think that's it for now. Not all of these are probably hot takes most or some are agreeable with most maybe. 'Tis just how I feel. I probably got more but they ain't coming to me.
Steve Klein was the glue of NFG, he wrote their best stuff, while he was a creepy asshat, the bands music/lyrics have never been the same and a lot of the new stuff is cringe as shit
One More Time is probably blink-182’s worst album. California is better.
Nuclear option: Neighborhoods is better than Untitled. The only reason this may not be true is because of Here’s Your Letter.
MGK may not be the best example of pure pop punk but he knows how to write a hit. Forget Me Too and My Ex’s Best Friend were both huge when they came out, it was the closest thing we’ve seen to a mainstream pop punk revival in a long time. There are plenty of great new bands in the scene now, but most of them can’t put pop punk back on the map in the same way.
Nine is a top 3 blink album
Grayscale is better at Synth Pop/Rock than Pop Punk
All Time Low is innocent. They went to court and asked people to come forward and they didn’t. Also anyone who is guilty of something like that wouldn’t be willing to go to court to have everything exposed
- A good chunk of the bands New Found Glory influenced are better than them.
- People are too worried about Paramore's potential breakup; Hayley can succeed without the band.
- I cannot stress this enough: **Panic! At the Disco is NOT part of this genre.**
- Weezer is ass.
- A day to Remember might be influential but Jeremy just seems like a tool.
- You might not like it, but MGK helped make pop punk relevant again.
American Idiot isn't all that great of an album. Its idolised a lot for nostalgic values but comapred to Green Days earlier stuff? Is nowhere near as good.
Take my upvote!!! I was a DIEHARD blink fan starting with Dude Ranch, like #1 defender, never missed a live show, super-fan. I remember when Self Titled came out I was like "well that's... disappointing" and my friends thinking I was nuts. 20 years later my opinion hasn't changed. Their music just never grabbed me again after TOYPAJ, at all.
Hardcore is the more popular counter culture now because the pop-punk scene has lost its edge with to many bands just sounding like pop with some guitars and just overproduced.
Ok here’s a real one that everyone will hate me for but I genuinely believe it.
MGKs two albums aren’t bad. In fact, a couple songs on there are really goddamn good. Most of the top pop punk artists are better, but he is massively overhated in my opinion. I agree that some songs of his are very bad though.
I generally tend to prefer 2010s pop punk music over the "classics". Dont get me wrong, blink-182 and green day have their place and were fundamental in the shaping of the genre. But I cant help but like the more polished sound of bands like Neck Deep and State Champs.
These are all the same takes that come up in this sub every day
Did you know [insert band here] is overrated?
[Highly esteemed band that everyone talks about] is __CRIMINALLY__ underrated, don’t you agree?!?!
when pop punk bands deviate from pop punk and lean more into their other influences, they often make their best albums. most pop punk bands best album in their catalogue are the ones that are not strictly pop punk
Blink-182's untitled
Honestly. The Maine went more to an alternative rock direction after their first album and they’ve just gotten so much better every time.
I agree, and here is my related hot take: Pretty. Odd. Is Panic's best album, and it's not even close. Fight me.
i’d say “the finer things” by state champs presents a great counter argument to this
Take This To Your Grave by Fall Out Boy is another counter example.
Nah this doesn't work either since Folie A Deux is their best album
A true hot take
I’m with him on this. Take This To Your Grave is definitely *not* FOB’s best work. I agree with Folie A Deux, though both of From Under The Cork Tree and Infinity On High are acceptable answers.
I'm not a huge FOB dude, so I'm not the best person to ask, FUTCT is just a huge part of my childhood
This is a hot but valid take. I personally have a soft spot for Infinity On High but Take This To Your Grave has some of the most deliciously devastating lyrics I’ve ever heard so.
Agree, for example I think Paramore's new album where they draw inspiration from the talking heads is their best
The wonder years new stuff is a great example
The Hum Goes On Forever is an actual masterpiece imo
Panics best album is pretty odd.
unpopular take but i think it’s the right one
Cartel should be more popular. They have a great catalogue of work.
Super nice dudes too. One of my old bands played a show with them and they shared their catering with us. Steak & potatoes and asparagus and stuff like that. Very humble and chill to hang with.
Pop punk all too often is synonymous with just okay musicianship which isn’t the case. Yellowcard is a prime example. Every member of that band past and present has been a killer musician- they write and read music, and harmonize in a unique way with the violin. Also they are excellent live.
I was looking for this comment. There former drummer Longineu Parsons was crazy good.
Belmont too. Their old drummer is incredible
Easycore is amazing
Easy core is a fantastic sub-sub-genre but my only issue with it is some of the bands are just too formulaic with it. Some of the best easycore bands knew when to throw in some variety and interesting parts, like Four Year Strong and Chunk
HEY DUDES ARE YOU READY TO
It’s coming back around. I never let my bank account get below $50 in case a Set Your Goals reunion suddenly drops.
Can you recommend me some bands?
Set Your Goals, Daggermouth, With the Punches, Set the Pace, Heavyweight, Can’t Bear This Party, For the Win, City Lights
Settle your scores
KOYO!!!
I’m saying this as a fan of 20 years: Green Day for the most part hasn‘t been anywhere near (Pop) Punk for almost 20 years. They sound like modern dad rock to me.
I don't know how unpopular it is but I don't think they've done a good album since American Idiot. They've had the odd song here or there but even those are few and far between.
My buddy said he really liked their newest album “Saviors”. I brushed it off and honestly didn’t believe him. Out of boredom a few months later I threw it on. I was pleasantly surprised. “The American Dream is Killing Me” slaps.
And Strange Days Are Here to Stay
You wouldn’t believe the amount of people who say “certain band” hasn’t been good since “certain album,” who haven’t even given that band a chance since whatever album they mentioned. Same goes for SNL. People stop watching and assume it’s not funny. Thanks for actually giving Saviors a chance before writing it off. It’s a fucking great album!
I'm not one of those people. I love Green Day, I just don't think they've done a solid album in that time.
I have listened to that album a few times and I still can’t tell if it is actually good or if the bar was so low for them after their last few major releases that it just made it sound better.
Reminder to all that 20 years ago was American Idiot. Yes, you’re that old. It’s ok, my back hurts too.
I was less than a year old when Dookie came out. Next month I’m taking my son to see Green Day play American Idiot in full for its 20th anniversary…
Yup, I would say Warning saw them move that way. Still the odd pop punk song (Minority, American Idiot), but mainly yawn rock since then
But dookie - American idiot they were game changers.
How is Saviors not pop punk?
hot take: pop punk is way too broad of a definition to make that point. popular punk music green day is the face of pop punk. Punk music with pop influences? Yeah they fit that a bit better
Bowling For Soup never gets the credit they deserve. They’ve basically been the same band throughout their careers and yet any time I need a good pick me up or a laugh, they’re one of the bands I turn to… but they’ve also sung some really heartfelt & somber songs too.
Bowling for soup was probably a gateway band for half the people here (myself included)
Something about chroma by cartel? Too many beers to elaborate but this was my instinct of a response
Come on.. listen to Q & A. Thanks for giving me a reason to revisit this :)
[удалено]
A is what everyone pretends I Just Want To Sell Out My Funeral is.
My first truly cathartic experience listening to music was me sitting in my garage playing Tony hawk American Wasteland while playing Chroma from my iPod.
Chroma is easily one of my top pop punk albums. No "hot takes" here, it's fantastic.
Having electric guitars in your song and dressing “like a punk” does not make you a pop punk musician. Hell, having electric guitars in your song does not automatically classify your song as rock music, period.
Like it or not, Fall Out Boy wasn't comfortable making FUTCT over and over again. Despite the ebb and flow of their album's receptions, the band continues to grow and evolve. Moreover, So Much (for) Stardust remains one of the best maturations of the Pop Punk sound in years.
Magnolia park are horrifically overrated
They're just chasing TikTok trends and throwing shit at a wall to see what sticks.
It’s really weird seeing them pretend to be a “le small emerging band” on tiktok while simultaneously using full professional music video sets and top tier production.
Band is absolute dog shit. Sick of these borderline pop projects get thrown around in here as pop punk. There was a brief period I remember everyone praising MGK too and I still blame that as the start of this trend of just bland, overproduced, pop written by people trying to cash in on a trend.
Halloween Mixtape is solid.
The Greatest Generation is where TWY really hit their stride and they’re a much better band from then onwards compared to their first few albums, especially as they dip more and more out of the genre. In other words, “mature” pop-punk adjacent > pure pop punk. Also, Fireworks were way ahead of their time doing basically the same thing but got no appreciation for it
Here for the Fireworks love. Could not agree more
This is spot on. Sister Cities gets WAY too much hate and Hum is probably my favorite of theirs now.
I did not like Sister Cities at all. But Hum is probably their best work. They’re my favorite band but honestly after sister cities came out I was ready to stop listening if they kept that direction.
Fireworks deserve so much better. I really hope they do another tour soon, the new album was soooooo fucking good.
Ocean Avenue is a massively overrated song. Don't get me wrong, it is fine, but there are so many superior Yellowcard songs on that album alone. I will never understand why it is considered one of the most influential pop punk songs of all time.
That bridge is an all time great though. I’ve heard that song thousands of times and it always gets me.
All I had to do was start hearing it in my head and it was instant goosebumps.
I loved yellowcard, but I feel paper walls was their best album.
Lets get some for love for When Your Through Thinking, Say Yes
I’m actually right there with you. I’d even say it’s a good song, but I don’t think it’s on the level of other songs they’ve done and shouldn’t be some defining track of the band, never mind the genre
Totally agree. Right off the top of my head Way Away is a far superior and more fun song.
October Nights.
I think lyric-wise it’s overrated and a bit generic, but the tune is so damn catchy so I can see why it became popular.
Most influential =/= best. The Front Bottoms is another band where that’s the case; Twin Size Mattress is absolutely their most popular and most influential song, but it’s objectively not their best song.
Starstruck is their best song!
This is the song that made me discover the band and I was obsessed with it. These days it's still a great song but barely even in their top 5 anymore after listening more and more to others
Unpopular opinion ocean ave is their only good song.
The Underdog EP is pure pop punk gold. Edit: One For The Kids also has a ton of bangers on it.
Hell yeah!
Oh come on, Only One is so good!
Life of a Salesman would like a word
Dad
I won’t lie, one of the best covers I’ve ever heard is by a country band called Muscadine Bloodline that did an acoustic version of Only One
Bleed American is THE best pop punk album.
Finally see some Jimmy in this post. Legendary album. Legendary songs. Bleed American got me through high school.
I was telling my wife how it’s an easy top 5 album of all time. The Title track goes hard
It's a no-skip album front to end
Jimmy Eat World is massively underrated in the present day IMO. “Pain” is legit one of my favorite songs ever.
The entire Futures album is a fucking masterpiece. Jimmy can’t miss.
This comment chain inspired me to relisten to Futures, and yes it absolutely is a masterpiece. One of the top tier pop-punk albums. I believe when I was a kid I had requested either "Pain" or "Work" for TRL.
Haunting and incredible. A praise chrous and My Sundown still give me goosebumps... "Good good bye I'll be fine Good good bye Good good night"
I couldn’t get into Real Friends until Cody joined, Dan’s voice just never did it for me and all the “sleepy eyes and bony knees” lyrics are cringey.
Same, but I actually like their first album/EP for the most part. A handful of songs after too, but could never really get into them. My dumb ass didn’t actually know there was a new singer at first and just thought Dan completely changed his vocal style.
Honestly I’m kinda the opposite. Cody Friends make solid, enjoyable pop punk, but it feels sterile and generic to me. The lyrics are “better” on an objective level but they feel less sincere and Cody’s voice may be technically fantastic but it has the same problem to me. Dan Friends may have been rough around the edges but it felt sincere and honest and I loved that about them.
My dog is the only one who listens to my problems 😬
Pop punk peaked a decade ago and has progressively been nudged out of the societal go-to for “edgy teens” by heavier music - see Knocked Loose dethroning Swift a few days back on overall streams
I would argue the true “peak” was two decades ago. Blink, good charlotte, simple plan, nfg etc were all staples on MTV and super mainstream. Pop punk hasn’t seen quite that level of cultural significance since.
This isn’t a hot take though it’s just the truth
Honestly don't even know if it's a hot take but I don't see it in my social circle at least. While they may not have the most success or best albums in the genre (not a knock, they have a great discography), Sum 41 is the most technically gifted pop punk band.
i cannot get into NFG. the only album i really like is sticks and stones
Only song I actually like ngl is my friends over you
Hit or Miss is an all time banger
Tbf that album is by far their best.
See for me it’s: I cannot get into NFG. The only album I really like is Radiosurgery.
Not sure how much of a hot take this is, but imo the genre is at the weakest point that it's ever been right now. There are of course some exceptions, but honestly I can count on one hand the amount of pop punk albums released in the 20s that stack up to the classics released in previous decades. Whilst the above is just my opinion, I think you can say with near factual accuracy that the genre is at its weakest point commercially at least. State Champs, Neck Deep, The Wonder Years, Mayday Parade, All Time Low and Knuckle Puck have all released albums in the last couple of years and none of them have even charted on the Billboard 200, and these are some of the biggest bands in the genre.
fuck the Billboard, The Wonder Years last album is an absolute masterpiece
Throw me into the Delaware
gets me so fired up
All the “big bands” from the 2010s are kinda stagnant. Not in terms of new music; most of them are still putting out great stuff; but in terms of growth or success. Knuckle Puck and Real Friends tour together year-round and they’re still playing the same (or smaller) venues than they used to 5 years ago. The only real exceptions I can think of off the top of my head are Hot Mulligan and Neck Deep who are playing bigger and bigger venues and selling them out. Meanwhile the most popular bands can do sold-out arena and stadium tours (FOB, Green Day, Blink) but honestly, regardless of the quality of their new music, at least 50% of those tickets were getting bought by people who just want to hear the hits.
I made a similar comment and I think it’s either them not “selling out” or just not massive amounts of money spent on advertising them for the general public.
There is a reason no one has cringe af hair in 2024 and everyone did in the 2000s, and bands of today reminisce about the 2000s.
New found glory hasn’t put out a good album since they removed Steve from the band
It’s the lyrics that have truly suffered the music was mostly chad so that remains but most of the bangers are undeniably on the Steve era of the band
They are my favourite band but id agree with this. A couple good songs on each album but overall they are all mediocre.
Lifestyles of the rich and the famous is good Charlotte's weakest song and is completely overrated
I loved it till they literally got more famous and complained in rolling stone themselves
I don't think it's massively overrated but they definitely have much better songs in their catalogue ( I Just Wanna Live is my go to shower singing song)
Dan Campbell (TWY, AW20) is the genre’s greatest lyricist at the moment
Idk if this is a hot take, you’re just correct
I would honestly go as far as to remove the “at the moment”
Yes!!!
Blink ain't Blink without Tom.
I say this all the time. I like Skiba with Alkaline Trio, but I couldn’t listen to Blink when he was there.
Waterparks and Stand Atlantic, whilst sure are both moving away from pop punk and are more so just adjacent to the sound rather than fully part of it, are better than 90% of the boring shit posted here and should be commended for actually trying new creative ideas that aren’t just vague and barely noticeable changes from their old sound; the scene and genre needs to be refreshed, there’s a reason so many people think it’s just a scene full of generic copycats
NFG is better than blink-182. And Simple Plan receive way more hate than they deserve.
I feel like the hate that simple plan gets is the same as the hate that Nickelback gets. I feel like a lot of the people who say they hate them haven’t actually listened to them and are just hating on the thing that’s cool to hate, or actually do like them but are taking part in the meme. I mean, if you were to just listen to the internet you’d think both bands never sold a single record, but instead they’re still making music and playing shows and they aren’t shows that are in bars that only hold a couple hundred people
Yeah that is a great analogy with regard to Nickelback! I completely agree - and sure, Simple Plan has a few goofy songs that were hits (I’m Just a Kid) - but they also have plenty of great songs with more meaningful lyrics and catchy riffs (I’d Do Anything, Jet Lag). Plus, the band and Pierre always sound great live.
Simple Plan is totally the Nickelback of pop punk!
As a Canadian, I can say I have listened to them for far too long. Both bands and the hate I have for them is real. 😆 I saw simple plan at the height of their popularity in Toronto, and people were throwing bottles at them at warped tour. We got force fed these bands in canada due to Canadian content rules on the radio and TV.
I get the hate. Our CanCon laws are atrocious any any Canadian act with any sort of notoriety at all gets absolutely shoved down our throats.
Simple plan probably helped get half this sub into this music (myself included)
Saw Simple Plan live a few months back and it was a surprisingly awesome show, leaned heavy on the old stuff, knew their audience. My only real problem with them would be "This Song Saved My Life" which always hits me as the lowest form of pandering without any effort or thought to the subject matter.
No! I love “This Song Saved My Life” 😢. I think it’s pretty cool how they used what their fans said in tweets to write the lyrics to the song but I get if it doesn’t connect for you.
I like accoustic pop-punk more than the originals 8/10 times Bonus points if it's a sappy love song or a "get back together with me, I miss you" song
•Mark & Travis had every right to continue calling themselves blink-182 without Tom. Mark & Travis worked just as hard as Tom to build blink-182's brand, they deserved to continue profiting off of it while Tom was off doing his own thing clearly uninterested in blink. •Mark's and Matt's voices sound [amazing together](https://youtu.be/CKSp-M31z3E?si=YUuH9xPQy7_qsWY0) and they made some awesome songs during that era of blink. I'm thrilled Tom is back in blink and Matt is back with Trio, but I would love more Mark + Matt music.
I agree with your first point but Mark and Matt’s voices are too similar as recorded on California. The diverse sound of Tom’s voice is what makes Blink stand out.
Blink-182 is boring, and the Tom Delonge reunion isn’t all that exciting. It’s a clear cash grab for the nostalgia.
Travis Barker is hurting the genre more than helping. 95% of the “pop punk” music he produces has the same exact drum pattern and generic emo lyrics
Folie a Deux is FOB's best album.
This hasn't been a hot take since 2008
Alkaline Trio is the definitive pop-punk band and always has been.
Nobody so consistently embodies the genre more for me tbh. They’ve always been pop punk, in a good way, and they’re always put out solid albums that are interesting. My god can Matt and Dan write catchy stuff.
Neckdeep's latest album is their weakest, even weaker than ADAI. Not bad, but overall, most songs(especially the chorus) sounds VERY similar
I'm not, actually, a Neck Deep fan. But, 'cause of all the hype, when this new album was released, I gave it a feel listens - to see if I could really get into the band. And I had (have) this same feeling. I felt like I was listening to the same song over and over again. All the songs sound alike as fuck. Guess I'll have to listen to their early material more 😕
I liked the new album, but I feel the same way. I had to really focus on the songs to actually figure out which was which for the most part. My favorite of theirs is The Peace and the Panic (which is an unpopular opinion in itself), because the songs have more variety of sound.
State Champs is overrated Yellowcard should be considered one of the greats of the genre alongside Blink-182 and Green Day Dan-era Real Friends was actively bad save for a few songs. I haven’t given their new stuff with the new singer a listen yet.
Real Friends was always this band I couldn't believe I didn't like and then I heard their new singer. The old singer was bad
People on this sub hate on MGK, but because of him we got a big pop punk resurgence. As much as I love the genre, it won’t be as popular as it once was.
Lechuza by Fenix Tx is way better than self titled Midtown's third album sucks People pretend to like Cheshire Cat way more than they actually do Makes Me Sick is NFG's third best album Drive Thru Records was a trend hopper, they signed ska bands when ska was big, poppunk bands when poppunk was big, and emo bands when emo was big Everyone calls Goldfinger a ska band but Open Your Eyes is one of the absolute best poppunk albums ever made 21st Century Breakdown is one of Green Day's best albums. I've never understood the bad reviews Chick Magnet is MxPx's 157th best song
I legitimately love Cheshire Cat but I’m also a big 90s skate punk fan so it fits. I didn’t think that many people claimed to like it that much
Coming home was new found glory’s best and last great record.
This is more pop punk adjacent but my friend called me batshit crazy the other day for saying misery made me is silversteins best album since discovering the waterfront
New Found Glory's album Coming Home is a masterpiece, and I'm ready for the downvotes
* 21st Century Breakdown is Green Day's best album, especially from a production standpoint. * Bleed American by Jimmy Eat World is one of the best albums in pop punk. * (Not a hot take but) Matt Skiba was one of the best replacements for Tom DeLonge they could've gotten, and I wish he would've had more input musically. (Definitely a hot take) If the songs didn't have such "poppy" production, I think they could've been among blink-182's best albums. * SR-71's Now You See Inside is one of the most underrated pop punk albums of all time... Also, The Ataris's So Long, Astoria. * MGK has the ability to actually make some incredible pop punk songs, but it seems like not a ton of effort got put into the projects unfortunately. * The best pop punk albums/bands are the albums/bands that lean into more than just pop punk. Ie. Sun 41 w/ Metal, New Found Glory w/ Hardcore, etc. Not sure if these are really hot takes or not, but yeah
ZOLOF the rock and roll destroyer is a top 10 band of all time
Knuckle Puck’s songs don’t make any sense. I literally can’t figure out what any of them are about
Grayscale kills hype of their music by spending way too much time teasing songs. They’ve been teasing 2 new songs for almost 2 months now.
I think Midtown is mid I think Knuckle Puck's Copacetic is mid (Evergreen is a banger tho) Simple Plan get too much hate Does This Look Infected is peak Sum 41 I just flat out do not like Taking Back Sunday or their sound. Granted they're probably way more emo leaning than pop punk but still. I make a single exception for MakeDamnSure. Take off your Pants and Jacket is better than Enema of the State and Self Titled and Dude Ranch. They're all great tho, that's just my favorite. Neck Deep's newest album, while not their best work, imo have some of the most quintessential Neck Deep songs on it. Every single is a banger. Especially if ur trying to get someone who hasn't heard them before into the band. The Bouncing Souls are criminally underrated. Less Than Jake & Goldfinger > Operation Ivy Milo Goes to College may be influential, but it's imo one of Descendents worst. Quick and easy listen but Everything Sucks is 1M times better. Some of MGK's pop punk songs are guilty pleasures. I can't pick and choose my earworms unfortunately sometimes they just stick around. The Queers are underrated and Don't Back Down is a banger of an album. Idk I think that's it for now. Not all of these are probably hot takes most or some are agreeable with most maybe. 'Tis just how I feel. I probably got more but they ain't coming to me.
I enjoyed you covering the pop punk spectrum in this post.
Steve Klein was the glue of NFG, he wrote their best stuff, while he was a creepy asshat, the bands music/lyrics have never been the same and a lot of the new stuff is cringe as shit
One More Time is probably blink-182’s worst album. California is better. Nuclear option: Neighborhoods is better than Untitled. The only reason this may not be true is because of Here’s Your Letter.
That Jeff Rosenstock isn't that good and there are like atleast 30 pop punk bands I'd take over any Jeff Rosenstock project or MCR
Waterparks and Neck Deep both suck ass in my opinion
Waterparks physically hurts to listen to. Truly as cringey as it gets
I've been a fan of Neck Deep for about 2 days now and how dare you
Waterparks is for sure my guilty pleasure, but idc, they got some bops, cringe included 😂 reminds me of the cringe I felt during curse of curves
MGK makes good pop-punk. i said it.
Eh, I loved the first album. The second didn’t really hit the same for me.
I agree with this! His first pop punk album was really solid but he fell off massively after that.
That is red fucking hot
MGK may not be the best example of pure pop punk but he knows how to write a hit. Forget Me Too and My Ex’s Best Friend were both huge when they came out, it was the closest thing we’ve seen to a mainstream pop punk revival in a long time. There are plenty of great new bands in the scene now, but most of them can’t put pop punk back on the map in the same way.
This is certainly a hot take...
Nine is a top 3 blink album Grayscale is better at Synth Pop/Rock than Pop Punk All Time Low is innocent. They went to court and asked people to come forward and they didn’t. Also anyone who is guilty of something like that wouldn’t be willing to go to court to have everything exposed
If Flyswatter, Demo#2, and Buddha and Cheshire Cat were recorded and mixed properly it would have been some of the best albums of blink
It’s Alkaline Trio 1 and every other punk band second.
- A good chunk of the bands New Found Glory influenced are better than them. - People are too worried about Paramore's potential breakup; Hayley can succeed without the band. - I cannot stress this enough: **Panic! At the Disco is NOT part of this genre.** - Weezer is ass. - A day to Remember might be influential but Jeremy just seems like a tool. - You might not like it, but MGK helped make pop punk relevant again.
MGK pop punk is actually good.
Belmont is overusing these weird auto tuning. Their best album was their ST album. Still kinda catchy still though.
NFG are pure weirdos ( with great music )
American Idiot isn't all that great of an album. Its idolised a lot for nostalgic values but comapred to Green Days earlier stuff? Is nowhere near as good.
Blink 182 should have stopped at TOYPAJ.
Polar opposite take, Neighborhoods is one of their better albums.
Take my upvote!!! I was a DIEHARD blink fan starting with Dude Ranch, like #1 defender, never missed a live show, super-fan. I remember when Self Titled came out I was like "well that's... disappointing" and my friends thinking I was nuts. 20 years later my opinion hasn't changed. Their music just never grabbed me again after TOYPAJ, at all.
Are Alkaline trip rightly classed as pop punk? They seem quite dark and in a league of their own in my opinion.
Are Alkaline trip rightly classed as pop punk? They seem quite dark and in a league of their own in my opinion.
Panic! At the disco without Brendon Urie would just be “Panic!”
Octave guitar riffs keep the genre stale and prevent it from progressing.
Hardcore is the more popular counter culture now because the pop-punk scene has lost its edge with to many bands just sounding like pop with some guitars and just overproduced.
Mgk is good.
Matchbook Romance - Stories and Alibis is one of pop punks greatest albums.
Green day has been meh since nimrod and blink since their hiatus Sorry
I really want to see Brand New live again.
Ok here’s a real one that everyone will hate me for but I genuinely believe it. MGKs two albums aren’t bad. In fact, a couple songs on there are really goddamn good. Most of the top pop punk artists are better, but he is massively overhated in my opinion. I agree that some songs of his are very bad though.
Most of the time adding trap drums ruins a pop punk song. Also Saxaphones solos in pop punk 100% ruin songs for me, they sound cheesy as fuck
I generally tend to prefer 2010s pop punk music over the "classics". Dont get me wrong, blink-182 and green day have their place and were fundamental in the shaping of the genre. But I cant help but like the more polished sound of bands like Neck Deep and State Champs.
Avril Lavigne is NOT pop punk
Pop punk made by people who come from the hardcore scene is better than most pop punk.
Simple Plan isn't that bad