As the name implies, pop punk is punk rock that's catchy enough to be played on mainstream radio. It owes as much to power pop as it does to punk, and the genre often blurs lines with emo and skate punk as well. Lyrically, pop punk songs tend to be about teenage angst and lament, relationships, and the suburbs. And for some reason, a lot of pop punk lead singers have trouble pronouncing common words correctly. Seriously, "you" is pronounced "yoo," not "yauo."
There were a ton of big pop punk songs throughout the '00s, so trying to narrow it down to ten anthems was a task, and I tried, but once I got down to twelve I couldn't cut any more, so you get two bonus tracks. As always, I kept it to one song per band or artist. I tried to be objective, but I also favored songs that I like more than others. To keep it above the level and let you know all the songs I considered, I put in an honorable mention. I just went in alphabetical order by artist.
1. "The Rock Show" by Blink-182 (2001)
Of course there was going to be a Blink-182 song on this list, but choosing between this and "First Date" was a tough call. Both are great songs and both are pop punk anthems, but I like "The Rock Show" slightly better than "First Date," so there you go.
2. "Sugar, We're Goin' Down" by Fall Out Boy (2005)
True story. One of my co-workers grew up in the northern suburbs of Chicago and was a bassist in some high school and college bands that primarily played hard rock and metal. He knew a couple of the guys who would go on to form Fall Out Boy, and he was invited to jam and kind of audition for an as-yet unformed band. When he asked what kind of music they played, they said "pop punk," to which he replied, "I don't play pop punk." He went on to finish college and go to law school. The band eventually got Pete Wentz to be their bassist and became Fall Out Boy. This one is probably their most well-known song, and it's certainly a pop punk anthem.
3. "The Anthem" by Good Charlotte (2002)
Good Charlotte was immediately recognizable because they had identical twins Joel and Benji Madden in their band. They broke onto the scene with their celeb-hating song "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous," but let's not kid ourselves, "The Anthem" is the song to include on a list of pop punk anthems.
4. "American Idiot" by Green Day (2004)
The godfathers of modern pop punk, Green Day is also one of the best rock bands of the past 30 years. Their 2004 album American Idiot was massive, and the title track summed up the frustration of living in the second Bush era.
5. "The Middle" by Jimmy Eat World (2001)
"The Middle" is one of the true anthems of the 2000s, regardless of genre. It's a great pop rock song about not getting yourself down and not giving up.
6. "Sk8er Boi" by Avril Lavigne (2002)
Canadian pop star Avril Lavinge fooled us with her debut single "Complicated," which was more of a traditional pop song. But she was really a rocker at heart, and her second single, "Sk8er Boi" -- abysmal spelling aside -- showed the world her pop punk chops.
7. "Welcome to the Black Parade" by My Chemical Romance (2006)
Blending emo and pop punk, My Chemical Romance was one of the more successful bands of the wave of pop punk in the second half of the decade. "Welcome to the Black Parade," from their 2006 album Black Parade, starts off with a parade march drumbeat and a slow pace, building up to when the song really kicks in and urges us to "carry on."
8. "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" by Panic! At The Disco (2005)
The song title is great, and the lyrics are interesting, as the song's narrator is describing overhearing a bridesmaid at a wedding telling a waiter that the bride is a whore. To which the narrator responds, in one of those choruses that gets in your head and doesn't leave, "I chime in with a / 'Haven't you people ever heard of / Closing the goddamn door?'"
9. "Misery Business" by Paramore (2007)
"Misery Business" is a vitriolic screed written by lead singer Hayley Williams about hating on the girlfriend of a guy she was interested in, but then who eventually became her boyfriend and who she got to tell about how much his ex-girlfriend sucked.
10. "Right Now" by SR-71 (2000)
One of the first pop punk anthems of the 2000s came from SR-71, who named themselves after the legendary supersonic U.S. Air Force plane because off the band members' parents were in the Air Force. "Right Now" is a great song about being in a relationship just for the sex and hating yourself and your mate for it, but still putting up with it for some reason (well, one reason) for a while until you've finally had enough. "She may not be Miss Right / She'll do right now." It's a sentiment many of us can relate to. Interesting tidbit: "1985," which was popularized by Bowling For Soup (and is in the Honorable Mention section below) was originally an SR-71 song.
11. "Fat Lip" by Sum 41 (2001)
Canada's Sum 41 came out of the gates strong with their debut album, 2001's All Killer No Filler. "Fat Lip" was, at least in my mind, an instant anthem, combining pop punk licks, a professed love of Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, and kind of hip hop-influenced choruses. The song also got a nice bump by being featured in American Pie 2 in 2001.
12. "Ocean Avenue" by Yellowcard (2003)
Yellowcard's "Ocean Avenue" is certainly one of the all-time pop punk anthems. While the whole song rocks, the choruses are a little more subdued, before busting into that anthemic chorus -- "If I could find you now / Things would get better" -- with a nifty electric fiddle (yes, fiddle) underlaying it. Despite the fact that the song seems to clearly be about a relationship and pining for a lost love, it's actually about the band's move to California from Florida and longing for home.
Honorable Mention: "Dirty Little Secret" by All-American Rejects; "Dear Maria, Count Me In" by All Time Low; "Flavor of the Weak" by American Hi-Fi; "1985" by Bowling for Soup; "My Friends Over You" by New Found Glory; "Face Down" by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus; "Addicted" by Simple Plan; "MakeDamnSure" by Taking Back Sunday
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