From 1999-2007 the kids of America enjoyed the musical phenomenon known as ‘pop punk’. Back then, the songs on the radio were by Fall Out Boy, Paramore, My Chemical Romance, etc. It was ‘top 40’ music. I found this phenomenon in 2006, when I was 12 going on 13 and had just arrived at a brand new middle school, in a super small town. I was the ‘new girl’ in a crowd of kids who had known each other since kindergarten and were going through their hormonal stage. Needless to say, it was a bit of a mess. In the midst of the mess, I had my ‘emo’ stage, and please do not act like you don’t know what I am talking about. While I didn’t necessarily wear all black and thick-raccoon eyeliner, my music taste would make you think I did. The play lists on my first generation iPod nano included all the classics:

1. Note To Self- From First To Last
2. MakeDamnSure- Taking Back Sunday (and all of the ‘Tell All Your Friends’ album tbh)
3. I’m Not Okay (I Promise)- My Chemical Romance (smiling thinking about the video for this one)
4. Emergency- Paramore/ entire of the ‘All We Know Is Falling’ album
5. All That I’ve Got- The Used
6. Voices- Saosin
7. Anything Yellowcard ever wrote
8. You Had Me at Hello- A Day To Remember
9. Anything Mayday Parade ever wrote
10. 10. Swing, Swing- All American Rejects
11. 11. In Too Deep- Sum 41
12. 12. I Write Sins, Not Tragedies- Panic! At The Disco
13. 13. Sugar We’re Going Down, Thanks For the Memories, Dance, Dance- Fall Out Boy
14. 14. Addicted- Simple Plan
15. 15. Here (In Your Arms)- Hello Goodbye
16. 16. The Mixed Tape- Jack’s Mannequin
17. 17. Be My Escape- Relient K
18. 18. Anything that Blink-182 ever wrote
19. 19. Anything Green Day ever wrote

…I have to stop myself there because I could go on forever, I LOVED this era of music. Needless to say, when Summer 2016 came through and Blink-182, A Day To Remember, Good Charlotte, Sum 41, Jimmy Eat World, All Time Low, and Taking Back Sunday all released new music, I was the happiest I’ve been in ten years. Who I really need to thank for this happiness is Mark Hoppus, Travis Barker and Matt Skiba (formerly Alkaline Trio), the latest members of Blink 182. On September 2, 2016 I was standing in the middle of Hartford, CT Xfinity theater listening to Blink 182’s classic song “What’s My Age Again,’ live. The kicker here is, this song came out in 1999, I was SIX, and there I was, actually 23 and belting out ‘Nobody likes you when you’re 23!” My six-year-old self would have never believed it.

Anyway, being at that concert I realized that pop punk is back, and we should all be thankful for it. This music is REAL. It is actual people playing drums and guitars, no machines to enhance them. It is real vocals, not digitized versions of vocals. They are singing raw, genuine lyrics about the vulnerable parts of life, not what its like to be ‘in da club.’ So really what this music is going to help the people of 2016 do, is get back in touch with our emotions, like we used to be. Sing out those lyrics that make your heart wrench because they are proof that you are not alone. They are proof we don’t always need to hide how we feel and act like we aren’t sad or emotional sometimes. So, if you’re ready to get a little EMO here is all the new stuff that I think is awesome:

1. Left Alone- Blink 182
2. Bored to Death- Blink 182 (P.S Steve Aoki remixed this and it is so lit)
3. Life Can’t Get Much Better- Good Charlotte
4. War- Sum 41
5. Opinion Overload- Simple Plan
6. Same About You- A Day To Remember
7. Forgive and Forget- A Day To Remember
8. Negative Space- A Day To Remember
9. Something’s Gotta Give- All Time Low
10. 10. You Can’t Look Back – Taking Back Sunday
11. 11. Sure and Certain- Jimmy Eat World
12. 12. Bang Bang- Green Day
13. 13. The Five of Us Are Dying- My Chemical Romance