Five Favorite Pop-Punk Albums
Words and Picks by Annette Schaefer
Even as a young child, I was always kind of an oddball. I didn’t really fit in well at school and I never really could figure out who I was; I was even trying new styles just about every week. When pop-punk music came into my life in middle school in the form of my favorite band, Green Day, I finally seemed to find my place. Pop-punk music has played a pretty essential role in my life and these are some of the albums that I’ve enjoyed the most over the years.
The Swellers – Good For Me
The Swellers are one of my favorite bands in the alternative scene right now. Their music is full of the aggression that punk music requires and yet still is catchy as all get out! This album is pretty much the epitome of their overall sound. The songs are loaded with awesome melodies and relatable lyrics about growing up and leaving things behind. I went through a tough time in my schooling right after my freshman year of college, so I just listened to the song “Better Things” on repeat and it always made me feel better. “The Best I Ever Had” and “On The Line” were also amongst my favorite songs to belt along to.
Less Than Jake – Anthem
I know Less Than Jake has strong ska influences in their music, but I would say at their core they are a pop-punk band. I went through a major LTJ obsession in the summer of 2009 and my favorite album of theirs to listen to was “Anthem”. It was the first LTJ album I had ever bought, primarily for the songs “The Science of Selling Yourself Short” and “She’s Gonna Break Soon”. This album lives up to its name by being made up of fun and energetic anthems. Seeing them at Warped Tour that year and listening to this album, defined my summer.
All Time Low – Don’t Panic
I’m not going to lie, “Don’t Panic” is by far the best All Time Low album to date. In my opinion they’ve always been a band that puts out solid music, but their latest album takes the band to a whole new level of awesome. This album is just as fun and witty as any All Time Low record, but it is somehow significantly more mature and aggressive. It’s even better considering this is their first album after breaking away from their major label and the pretty much made the whole things by themselves. This album really reaches out to me and where I’m currently at in my life especially with tracks like “Somewhere in Neverland” and “So Long and Thanks For All the Booze.”
Fall Out Boy – Take This To Your Grave
Aside from Green Day, Fall Out Boy is one of my all time favorite bands. They were one of the bands that were an important part of my self-discovery. I might not have been introduced to FOB through Take This To Your Grave (I was more of a From Under The Cork Tree kid), but it’s definitely one of my favorite albums, in fact, “Chicago Is So Two Years Ago” is my favorite FOB song. Pete Wentz said on the DVD of “My Heart Will Always Be the B-side to My Tongue” that “TTTYG” is suppose to be an album that you can listen to without skipping any tracks, and he’s absolutely right. I’ve been listening to this album for seven years and I’m still not sick of it and I’ve still never skipped a track.
Green Day – Warning
I still can’t decide what my favorite Green Day album is, but “Warning” is certainly a top contender in my book. This is their first album that the band seems to take a big musical risk on. These songs are a little more low key than their predecessors and take a turn towards folk and pop. This album really expanded Green Day’s abilities as songwriters especially with songs like “Macy’s Day Parade” and “Waiting.” They also played around with a variety of instrumentation on this album with the addition of instruments such as the mandolin, the harmonica, and even the baseball bat. “Warning”, while it was greatly under-appreciated was the first time anyone really saw Green Day grow as a band and it’s just full of amazing songs.
