Punk Rock Bands

"Senses Fail’s debut album, Let It Enfold You, introduced some of the best post-hardcore songs of the 2000s."

"The Used are kings of the 2000s emo scene."

"Chiodos were hugely integral to post-hardcore in the 2000s."

"The grandaddy of them all, Rites Of Spring arguably kicked off the entire [post-hardcore] movement with their sole album. With the hardcore scene in their hometown of Washington DC flourishing but becoming increasingly thuggish, they stepped away and changed things up, keeping the breakneck punk pace but displaying their own vulnerability and fears in the lyrics and whipping in something the genre was sorely missing: proper tunes."

"There’s a good argument to be made that no album had a more profound impact on the development of pop punk than [Milo Goes to College]. It was firmly rooted in the hardcore scene and played with the same rawness, speed, and intensity as early Black Flag, [...] but the Descendents added in bright, catchy melodies through Milo Aukerman’s bratty, snotty delivery, and basically invented pop punk in the process. And it wasn’t just the sound of pop punk that Milo Goes to College paved the way for; it was the lyrical content too. With songs about hating your parents, wanting girls to like you, being a loser, and a hint of social criticism, Milo Goes to College laid out what would be the primary concerns for a large majority of pop punk bands to come. Just about every major pop punk band has sung the Descendents’ praises."

"Senses Fail has remained at the fore of the commercial hardcore scene since issuing their 2004 debut, Let It Enfold You. Mainstays of the Billboard 200 and U.S. indie charts, the band has released a string of acclaimed albums."

"["Repeater"] was one of those times when a guitar intro made history. The title track on Repeater not only is a standout piece from Fugazi’s debut album—it also gave a start to a new era of post-Revolution Summer hardcore. [The song's] guitar opening says it all: The new hardcore just became more inventive, emotional, and catchy."

"To save hardcore, Fugazi had to destroy it and build something new from what scraps could still be salvaged. By 1986, Minor Threat frontman Ian MacKaye was bored and frustrated with the violent, pig-headed masculinity prevalent in hardcore scenes across the country. He found kinship in the arty introspection of Rites of Spring, whose singer-guitarist Guy Picciotto and drummer Brendan Canty joined the fold of MacKaye’s next band. With these new members and bassist Joe Lally as collaborators, MacKaye paired slower and more rhythmically supple arrangements with an unrelenting commitment to his DIY, straight-edge values and the revolutionary spirit at the heart of the genre."

"A Static Lullaby [capture] metalcore’s heavy tendencies while staying rooted in post-hardcore through clean melodies and classic punk riffs."

"Rip out the table, We need room to move. In a life unstable, You're so easily amused. Anywhere you hang Yourself is home, Throw in a tape, fix the tone.Someone take the wheel And I don't know where we're going. Anybody say what you feel, Back home I guess it's still snowin'."

"Stop at a light that shine bright blue And where you've been is still in view. You stop at nothing at your first chance, Now it's nothing like when it began. When it began, When it began, When it began.Long ago, or yesterday, The queen sits quietly as the jester plays. She plays off with their heads and on with my pants. Oh and it was something, when it began. Oh when it began, When it began, When it began."

"Well she's kind of like an artist Sittin' on the floor... And she's kind of like a movie Everyone rushes to see And no one understands it... Well she dances alone in nightclubs Every other day of the week... She closes her mouth to speak and Closes her eyes to see"

"In fall, you knew how much it cost. A trouble doll Around your neck when you lost. You wouldn't make a sound, But I could hear your little heart pound And I watched your feet slip off the ground.Merry go round in dreams, Writes 'em down, it seems. When she sleeps, she's free, Merry go round in dreams."

"The Replacements embraced cheesy rock as much as they embraced hardcore punk, they embraced sloppy noise as much as they embraced tear-jerking beauty."

"I'm the boy they can't ignore, For the first time in my life, I'm sure. All the love sent up high to pledge Won't reach the ledge."

"Cerebral rape and pillage in a village of his choice, Invisible man who can sing in a visible voice. Feeling like a hundred bucks, exchanging good lucks face to face, Check-checkin' his stash by the trash at St. Mark's Place.And children by the million sing for Alex Chilton when he comes 'round, 'round. They sing, "I'm in love, what's that song? Well, I'm in love with that song.""

"Lights that flash in the evening Through a hole in the drapes. I'll be home when I'm sleeping, I can't hardly wait."

"God, what a mess, on the ladder of success Where you take one step and miss the whole first rung. Dreams unfulfilled, graduate unskilled, It beats pickin' cotton and waitin' to be forgotten.Wait on the sons of no one, bastards of young. Wait on the sons of no one, bastards of young. The daughters and the sons."

"Well, a person can work up a mean, mean thirst After a hard day of nothin' much at all. The summer's passed, it's too late to cut the grass, There ain't much to rake anyway in the fall. And sometimes I just ain't in the mood To take my place in back with the loudmouths. You're like a picture on the fridge that's never stocked with food. I used to live at home, now I stay at the house."

"And if it's just a game, Then I'll break down just in case. Hurry up, (hurry up) we're runnin' in our last race.Well, I laughed half the way to Tokyo, I dreamt I was Surfer Joe. And what that means, I don't know. A dream too tired to come true Left a rebel without a clue. And I'm searching for somethin' to do."

"How young are you? How old am I? Let's count the rings around my eye. How smart are you? How dumb am I? Don't count any of my advice.Oh, meet me anyplace or anywhere or anytime. Now, I don't care, meet me tonight. If you will dare, I might dare."

"Here comes Dick, he's wearing a skirt. Here comes Jane, y'know she's sporting a chain. Same hair, revolution. Same build, evolution. Tomorrow who's gonna fuss?And they love each other so Androgynous. Closer than you know, love each other so Androgynous."

"Brag about things you don't understand, A girl and a woman, a boy and a man. Everything's sexually vague. Now you're wondering to yourself if you might be gay.Your age is the hardest age. Everything drags and drags. One day, baby, maybe help you through."

"If being wrong's a crime, I'm serving forever. If being strong's your kind, I need help here with this feather. If being afraid is a crime, we hang side by side At the swingin' party, down the line."

"You are so plastic you could be a Barbie Doll. You walk you talk just like them all."

"It's a holiday in Cambodia / where you'll kiss ass or crack."

"It's a holiday in Cambodia / It's tough, kid, but it's life."

"You still think swastikas look cool? / The real Nazis run your school. / They're coaches, businessmen, and cops / In a real Fourth Reich, you'll be the first to go."

"It's the suede/denim secret police / They have come for your uncool niece."

"For many, ["Dammit"] was the introduction to pop punk guitar playing. It's not the most advanced riff to play, but you just had to learn it, so that means it deserves honourable mention for the influence it has had on aspiring guitar players."

"No discussion of pop punk can take place without mention of blink-182."

"[The band's fourth album] Take Off Your Pants And Jacket [is] a masterclass in pop punk writing."

"Yeah I I saw your ghost tonight. The moment felt so real. If your eyes stay right on mine, My wounds would start to heal."

"Blackjack and architect, Let's drink ourselves to death. The crimes of everyone Passed down from father to son. Hopeless and destitute. Destroyed my gratitude. Your strongest lines of defense are all just self-inflicted wounds.You seemed so sweet at the start but the start's all wrong. You say you speak from your heart but your heart's all gone."

"With all of this I know now Everything inside of my head It all just goes to show how Nothing I know changes me at all Again I wait for this to change instead To tear the world in two Another night with her, But I'm always wanting you."

"I swear that I can go on forever again Please let me know that my one bad day will end. I will go down as your lover, your friend. Give me your lips and with one kiss, we begin.Are you afraid of being alone? Because I am, I'm lost without you. Are you afraid of leaving tonight? Because I am, I'm lost without you."

"Save your breath, I'm nearly Bored to death and fading fast. Life is too short to last long. Back on earth I'm broken, Lost and cold and fading fast. Life is too short to last long."

"Where are you and I'm so sorry I cannot sleep I cannot dream tonight. I need somebody and always This sick strange darkness Comes creeping on so haunting every time. And as I stare I counted The webs from all the spiders, Catching things and eating their insides. Like indecision to call you And hear your voice of treason. Will you come home and stop this pain tonight? Stop this pain tonight."

"Because I fell in love with the girl at the rock show She said "what?" and I told her that I didn't know. She's so cool, gonna sneak in through her window. Everything's better when she's around. I can't wait 'til her parents go out of town. I fell in love with the girl at the rock show."

"When you smile, I melt inside. I'm not worthy for a minute of your time. I really wish it was only me and you. I'm jealous of everybody in the room. Please don't look at me with those eyes; Please don't hint that you're capable of lies. I dread the thought of our very first kiss, A target that I'm probably gonna miss."

"So here's your holiday. Hope you enjoy it this time, you gave it all away. It was mine, so when you're dead and gone, Will you remember this night, twenty years now lost? It's not right."

"Don't waste your time on me you're already The voice inside my head (I miss you, I miss you)."

"Fate fell short this time, Your smile fades in the summer. Place your hand in mine. I'll leave when I wanna."

"Hello there, The angel from my nightmare, The shadow in the background of the morgue, The unsuspecting victim of darkness in the valley."

"I never conquered, rarely came. 16 just held such better days. Days when I still felt alive. We couldn't wait to get outside. The world was wide, too late to try. The tour was over, we'd survived. I couldn't wait 'til I got home To pass the time in my room alone."

"And that's about the time she walked away from me. Nobody likes you when you're 23. And are still more amused by TV shows. What the hell is ADD? My friends say I should act my age. What's my age again? What's my age again?"

"All the, small things True care, truth brings I'll take, one lift Your ride, best trip Always, I know You'll be, at my show. Watching, waiting, Commiserating.Say it ain't so, I will not go. Turn the lights off, Carry me home."

"Everyone wants to call it all around our life with a better name. Everyone falls and spins and gets up again with a friend who does the same. Everyone lies and cheats their wants and needs and still believes their heart. And everyone gets the chills, the kind that kills when the pain begins to start."

"We're falling faster than we can fly Forgotten seconds out on Sunset Drive. And I hold on tight but not enough to hold you back."

"And when I feel like giving up, like my world is falling down, I show up at 3 A.M., she's still up watching Vacation. And I see her pretty face, it takes me away to a better place, andI know that everything, Know that everything, Know that everything, Everything's gonna be fine."