In the second sock drawer of my middle school vanity, there’s an original iPod color. Pink as ever and filled to its five-gigabyte brim, it sits there- a lost relic- patiently waiting for the right pair of hands to pick it up and to hit shuffle. The pair of ancient headphones haphazardly tangled and plugged in would shake to life, unapologetically blasting Green Day, Blink 182, Panic! At the Disco, Linkin Park, and, of course, My Chemical Romance.
As you can see, middle school me was pop punk. Fearlessly pop punk. We’re talking striped arm warmers, knee high converse, safety pin earrings, a pair of headphones by her side, and a whimsically bad attitude. If you met me now, I promise you, you would never guess that I spent a few formative years of my short life head banging and begging my parents to let me dye my hair. But, if you took a quick look at my Spotify, my big pop punk secret would be as obvious as a wannabe rocker bragging about that “Lincoln” Park concert he went to last week. (We all know you’re new here, buddy).
That’s right everyone. I still un-ironically listen to pop punk music. I love a good distorted electric guitar, a whole lot of drumming, and a catchy as heck hook. I cried on the phone to my brother when he told me he got tickets to the very exclusive Green Day concert at Webster Hall a few weeks ago, and sing in the shower to Blink 182 more often than not. I happily endure the eye rolls I sometimes get when I get passed the aux chord on long car rides, and I relish in the feeling of listening to Blink 182’s “All the Small Things” with the windows rolled down. There’s no better feeling in the world, I promise!
If you, like me, can’t seem to get over My Chem’s break up, or fall into momentary sadnesses thinking about the change in Blink 182’s lead man, then I have some news for you: that’s awesome. Some of our peers and family members may scrunch their eyebrows tight when we pop our headphones in, or when we roll the windows down to give the world a taste of our pop punk favorites, but who gives a hoot! They’re all probably “bored to death and fading fast” any way! We’re rooted in our awesome nostalgic tastes! So lace up your Dr. Martens and head out into the world with your head held high, proud of your music taste, proud to be un- ironically, very seriously, pop punk.