News you may have missed! (5/22/20)
The scene can only go mainstream again if women lead
Happy Friday, everyone! I hope you’re doing well. Things are getting exciting over here at All Punked Up. We recorded our first All Punked Up Podcast episode this past Wednesday. I think it went really well especially for our first go at it. Be on the look out for when we release that episode sometime next week.
We also launched a new Weekly Recap series on our YouTube channel. This series sums up the news from around the scene from the previous week, so be sure to check that out. I was super impressed with what the team put together for that.
Also, we’re now on TikTok, so be sure to follow us over there. I hope that link works. If it doesn’t, our handle is @allpunkedup.
We have a few other platforms we’re setting up account on so we’ll be sharing those with you soon.
Finally, Random Thoughts is back for this week! Today, I tackle the idea that in order for the scene to make a comeback, women need to lead the way. And it’s going to take these three specific women. Be sure to check that out below.
So with that said, let’s get to the news!
News you may have missed…
APU writer, Nicole, shares 10 emo stereotypes we’re all guilty of
OP-ED: My Chemical Romance have a perfect opportunity to release new music
Neck Deep announces exclusive preorder through Target for next album
Machine Gun Kelly’s video for “Bloody Valentine” stars Megan Fox– watch
Hopeless Records announce at-home acoustic experience livestream
The Hella Mega North American Tour has been rescheduled to 2021
APU writer, Brittnee, shares 5 amazing albums you might have forgotten about
With independent venues at risk of closure, you can learn how to #SaveOurStages
ICYMI: Last week’s news summed up in one video
Random Thoughts…
Saving Pop Punk (and Rock): These 3 women are needed
I’ve had this idea for a Random Thoughts piece for a long time. I just haven’t gotten around to writing it. We all know that the pop punk genre is far away from its heyday. I remember the days of when blink-182 and Green Day was in their prime. They were leading the way and knocking down doors for all the bands after them. Pop punk and rock were staples on the Top 40 radio stations. But like all music cycles, the pop punk genre faded away from mainstream popularity and it’s left a void for all of us. However, this is just what music does: it’s a cycle. Right now mainstream is focused on pop and rap. That’s ok, but I feel like this trend has been going on for way too long. It’s about time that the music cycle turns over to a fresh brand of listening.
Back in one of the October 2019 newsletters , I wrote about how I thought that the scene and pop punk was making a comeback. I followed that up the next week with proof we were on the right track. Then the next week, I said “yes, I’m right, the scene is definitely making a comeback” after My Chemical Romance made their return. To summarize some of those posts, I basically saw that Waterparks and All Time Low were being played on SiriusXM's Hits 1 channel (a top 40 station). That means someone is trying to push the scene back. I heard these songs in rotation for a couple of weeks; however, they never quite caught on and soon fell off. But this did provide a spark for the scene’s comeback. Even though I still feel like pop punk is so close to returning, it seems like it’s having a hard time getting up to the top of the hill. But, why?
Here’s why. Right now, look who is dominating the music charts. It’s pop and rap, but look closer and you’ll see it’s women. Women are leading the pack in mainstream music. So what does this mean? It means that in order for pop punk or the scene in general to make a comeback we need to push the scene’s women forward. So which women? I have an idea. The women who can help bring the scene back to the forefront are Halsey, Hayley Williams and Bonnie Fraser (Stand Atlantic).
I know you’re thinking: Tyler, WTF, Halsey ain’t pop punk or scene-related. Hear me out when I say: she very much is. Halsey used to listen to pop punk and the scene music back in the day. She’s mentioned that so many times. She’s had ties to making music with Bring Me the Horizon. Her song “Nightmare” definitely has some rock vibes which you can’t deny. There was also the song she had with Travis Barker called “11 Minutes”. Finally, her song “3AM” off her recent album Manic could easily be considered “pop punk af”. Halsey is definitely a rocker through and through. And with her dominance on the pop charts, she could be the one that could turn the page for the scene. So Halsey, drop some more rock songs please.
Perhaps the recent news about Paramore’s next album going back to the Riot! days pushed me to get this though out. However, the news ended up being completely false as Hayley said she never insisted that this was the direction that Paramore would go on the next album. She also didn’t say Paramore wouldn’t go that route. We do know that their is discussion among the members of what sound they want to make. Could you imagine if they do go more of the Riot! route though? That’s means more of a rock sound, people. I think it’s safe to say we all miss Paramore’s classic sound (although the more recent stuff is solid), but IF, and I know it’s a big IF, Paramore goes more rock, this too, could be huge for the scene. And we all know Hayley’s presence in the scene and mainstream could easily stick.
So those two women, Halsey and Hayley, could/should lead the scene back to the top, or at least open the door. Once that door is open, the group that could/should walk through next is Stand Atlantic who is led by Bonnie Fraser. Guys, if you haven’t heard of Stand Atlantic or haven’t heard their songs, please do yourself a favor and turn them on right now—especially if you love pop punk. If any band is doing pop punk right, right now, it’s Stand Atlantic. They have no problem coming up with a song that makes you want to sing-a-long, no problem coming up with guitar riffs you want to learn to play, no problem coming up with tracks you want to hear over and over again. That’s why they need to be on this list.
This is my plan and what I think needs to happen in order to bring pop punk (and rock) back to the mainstream. Bringing it back to the top. You bring back a pop form of rock in a poppy saturated mainstream world, it then opens the door for rock in general. With women atop of the pop charts now, it seems so obvious that women in the scene need to lead this charge right now.
13 songs All Punked Up was digging this week…
If All Punked Up made an album for this past week, these are the songs that would be included on it. These songs could be old or new, maybe even unrelated, but they all traveled through APU team members’ headphones this week.
“Pyramid of Salt” — The Wonder Years
“Dear Future Self” — Fall Out Boy
“How Big is Your Brain?” — Super American
“Bottom of the Ocean” — blink-182
“I Don’t Need You” — Asking Alexandria and Grace Grundy
“Tide” — Bearings
“Guys” — The 1975
“The Lighthouse” — The Used
“Bloody Valentine” — Machine Gun Kelly
“This Life I Have” — The Wrecks
“Don’t Overdose and Drive” — Happy.
“Volcanic Love” — The Aces
“Beer & Wine” — Mosbey
If you’re interested in listening to this “album”, we’ve got the playlist created over on Spotify here. Feel free to give it a listen. Maybe go ahead and just subscribe to the playlist while you’re at it. This same playlist will be updated weekly with new songs.
Thank you so much!
As always, thank you so much for reading and being a subscriber! If you have a friend who may be interested in this weekly newsletter, feel free to forward them this email and they can sign up here or by hitting the SUBSCRIBE button below!
Cheers,
Tyler Winters, Founder
All Punked Up