Good Riddance

    Even as Green Day was involved in their commercial decline in the late 1990's, they produced popular music that resulted in platinum albums. 1997's Nimrod, a double platinum release, was the most diverse of these albums. It featured elements of southern rock, their classic pop punk sound, and even metal in the song "Take Back". However, one song catapulted the album to success and took pop punk to proms, weddings, and graduations. That song was the acoustic ballad, "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)".

    Billie Joe Armstrong wrote the song in 1997 as a response to his girlfriend's departure to Ecuador. It is noted for having a sarcastically warm tone while basically telling this person "good riddance". A song completely driven by Armstrong's acoustic guitar, the two and a half minute epic describes a turning point in someone's life and the memories that they will leave behind wherever life takes them. This makes it a fantastic graduation and wedding song, and has therefore become one of the most popular songs ever written. The song has multiple themes that can involve death, relationships, life in general, and even punk rock. Punk was about battling the normalities of society, and therefore, according to Mike Dirnt, "it was the most punk thing we could have done". While the song gave Green Day a larger taste of mainstream success, the song ultimately opened a new world to all of pop punk. The ballad was no longer looked at as untouchable, and many bands used it as an opportunity to mature and continue to improve their music and expand their audiences. Many songs, such as Paramore's "The Only Exception" and blink-182's "I Miss You" have since become classics, showcasing how "Good Riddance" singlehandedly opened the door for a new opportunity and changed the genre forever.

REFLECTION: Try to read or recall the lyrics in "Good Riddance". What themes do you take out of it?

CITATION:

Green Day song meanings: Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) - GeekStinkBreath.net. (n.d.). Green Day fan site - GeekStinkBreath.net. Retrieved April 25, 2012, from http://www.geekstinkbreath.net/greenday/song-meanings/good-riddance-time-of-your-life/


(2010, December 10). Behind The Music Remastered [Television broadcast]. New York City: VH1.

The Second Wave Sound

    We've already examined the original sound of pop punk (see the post with the analysis of "Burnout" if you have not), but before determining how today's music is different, we must first examine the sound of the second wave. These bands served as a bridge between the old and new, and typically provided a sound geared towards speed and energy with humorous lyrics. Two of these songs will be looked at in this post, both conveniently on blink-182's Enema of the State album. First, the faster, energetic opening track, "Dumpweed", followed by the classic "What's My Age Again?" that served as a good example to the mainstream side of late 90's pop punk.
    "Dumpweed" is the first chronological track by the band to feature Travis Barker, and he makes his presence known from the start. The song is just over two minutes long, and is extremely fast, driven by Barker's insane ability behind the kit, a powerful Mark Hoppus bass track, and a technically sound, rather complicated guitar riff from Tom DeLonge. DeLonge takes care of the vocals, using his unique vocal tone to introduce the first verse very well. The lyrics tell the story of a man who needs to get rid of his girlfriend, using lines in the chorus such as "She's a f****** nightmare" and "I need a girl that I can train" to express that his girlfriend is a problem to him. This shows the humor that blink was capable of while conveying a sense of being serious, which contributes to the passion and energy of the song. The speed of the song and the drumming complexity is what generally stands out among listeners, but the song "What's My Age Again?" displays that blink-182 also had the melody to be a pop punk icon.
    "What's My Age Again?" tells the story of an adult who still acts like a child. Mark Hoppus sings, and describes the adult's night with his girlfriend and how he basically ignores her to watch television. While it is not as fast as "Dumpweed", the song is a very melodic hit that was actually the first single from the album. The song has extremely humorous lyrics that give a vivid image of this person's experiences, and following a slower middle portion, Hoppus caps the song off with the question, "What's My Age Again?", basically showing that the man can't help but be immature. These two combine to form the late 90's pop punk sound. Energetic, funny, and melodic, these are the ways that bands of this era manipulated their music to keep the genre alive and well. 


REFLECTION: Try to think of another song by blink-182 or any other band that fits into this late 90's to early 2000's category. How does that song further express the elements of the wave's music?


(Song analysis done by listening to and memorizing lyrics and instrumental tracks)


CITATION: Blink-182 | Bands & Artists | Rock Sound - New Music First. (n.d.). Rock Sound Magazine Online | Rock Sound - New Music First. Retrieved April 21, 2012, from http://www.rocksound.tv/artists/article/blink-182
  

Linkin Park

    The late 1990's saw the explosion of a new genre evolved from a combination of 80's metal and hip-hop. This genre, known as nu-metal, featured a straightforward, but powerful, sound that captured millions of people across America. Bands such as Limp Bizkit, Korn, and System of a Down built strong followings with their heavy songs that featured many of pop punk's essential themes and humor. The leader, though, was a group who came onto the scene in 2000, known as Linkin Park.

    Linkin Park was a unique band in that it was the first to feature a dual vocal combination consisting of a rapper, Mike Shinoda, and a singer, Chester Bennington. Their vocal chemistry served as the spark that lit up the band's flame, which quickly led to a contract with Warner Bros. Records. Their 2000 debut album, Hybrid Theory, became a chart topper and exposed the world to a whole new musical style. How does this relate to pop punk? Two reasons: 1. Linkin Park and many other nu-metal bands wrote songs about similar themes as pop punk songs and were often very angry, and 2. Nu-metal became popular right as the second wave of pop punk became a known commodity, and therefore served as a legitimate rival to the genre. Linkin Park was soon an arena headliner while still maintaining a middle-class mentality, which has only helped to increase their fanbase through kind treatment of their fans. Their 2003 release, Meteora (in all honesty, Meteora is my personal favorite album by any artist all time), continued their success, going multiplatinum. What this basically means is that bands like Linkin Park have been an important factor in confirming the fact that pop punk has actually played the sidekick in most cases to other genres, and that it has needed to adapt massively in order to stay alive. This is why the modern genre is so different from that of the early 1990's. The world is complex, as is music. Every genre and band feeds off of each other and adjusts to each other, and this is what pop punk and nu-metal have done to survive and thrive in American society.

REFLECTION:

Can you think of any other genres that may have caused pop punk to adjust for survival? If so, which ones?

CITATION:

Tyrangiel, Josh. "Linkin Park Steps Out." Time. Jan. 28 2002: n.p. SIRS Renaissance. Web. 14 Apr 2012.

The Original Sound

    The evolution of the pop punk genre cannot be described without describing first what it sounded like. As what has been previously mentioned, punk rock and post-punk were key influences of pop punk, although the earlier two were more gritty and intense. As classic punk dissolved, however, a three way fork in the road was established. A large group of bands in the 1980's went to hardcore punk, which was even more intense than 70's punk, featuring bands such as Black Flag and Bad Religion. Other groups shifted to a more pop-oriented sound that was often danceable and became a driving force in popular 80's music. Pop punk came right in between, taking the hard-edged classic punk sound and adding more pop melodies while still bringing intensity to the studio and stage. In order to describe this, we will break down the opening track of Green Day's Dookie record, "Burnout".
    "Burnout" is the prototypical early 90's pop punk song. It clocks in at around 2 minutes and jumps to the first verse in about two seconds. It features a simple but powerful guitar track throughout and lets bassist Mike Dirnt be heard, with a catchy bass line that adds to the melodic side of the genre. The lyrics are geared towards teenage aggression, a popular theme in the genre, expressing its punk side. After the second chorus of the song, a build-up sequence comes, indicating some sort of sped up and frenzied portion. What comes is actually a drum solo from drummer Tre Cool, that is used as a means of energizing listeners and fueling this teenage anger made famous by the 70's punk bands. The song serves as a solid outline for the classic pop punk sound, featuring elements of both parts of the genre and expressing themes about loneliness, anger, boredom, and personal relationships. These lyrics and the fast and powerful sound behind them is what catapulted the first wave of bands to commercial success, and what set the tone for all of the bands that followed.


REFLECTION:
Can you think of another song similar to "Burnout" that clarifies the sound that took pop punk to the top in the early 90's? If so, what song?


CITATION:


Lamb, �. (n.d.). Punk Pop Music: A Guide. Top 40, Latest Songs, New Music, Charts, and the Best In Pop. Retrieved April 2, 2012, from http://top40.about.com/od/popmusic101/