Take a walk with me down memory lane, back to 1993-1997. This is the golden age of alternative music. Green Day and Our Lady Peace are at the top of their games. Everyone is enjoying music made by bands who play their own instruments and write their own songs.
Then, something happens around 1997 that sends music into a downward spiral. I'll tell you what - those goddamn Spice Girls. With their success, record companies begin producing crappy pop groups left and right. We're forced to suffer years of Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears clones and their stranglehold on the charts. No matter how much genuine music fans protest, teeneyboppers, with their vast numbers and parents' credit cards, will always be in the music purchasing majority. I can't even begin to describe how awful this time was for me, a kid who's been an alternative music fan since her primary days. For years, while giggling girls my own age gathered around the latest pop releases, I would be the only one standing around in the alternative section of the CD store, except for maybe a twenty-something with a green mohawk, a million piercings, and a leather jacket with "Punk's not dead" in studs. (True story! This was long before pop-punk was a huge fashion statement, and twelve year-olds were attempting to dress like this. Being barely out of primary, I was naturally scared to death of him.)
I suffered a few years of this, before finally giving up on music ... forever. Well, not really, just for two or three years. But trust me, two or three years without music is a long time.
Then, one cold December night, way back in 2001, I was chilling at a party. Someone kept playing Take Off Your Pants and Jacket, one of Blink-182's CDs, the entire night. I didn't really pay attention, but the songs stuck in the back of my head, in a subliminal sort of way. Anyway, there must've been something wrong with the insultation in the house or something (it's never really been made clear) because about halfway through the night, everyone was coughing and choking for no visible reason. Our only option was to run outside. Unfortunately, it had snowed for the first time that year sometime during the party, so without any warm clothes, we started freezing to death. We didn't really notice though, and had a big snowball fight. But snow turns to water, which just freezes more. So by the time I was back home, I was half freezing-to-death and half numb. Worst of all, my lungs felt like crap for the entire weekend. So, I spent a lot of time sitting around trying to remember what normal breathing felt like. I couldn't get the Blink-182 songs out of my head, and heard a couple over the radio while I spent time doing nothing. At this point in time, I had a really crappy '96 Acer computer that would freeze up if you tried to download things, could no longer install programs, and broke every other month. I had no hope of ever getting Napster or a similar program at this stage of the game, so I couldn't download the Blink songs I liked.
That Christmas, I ended up with a few gift certificates for CD stores. I had largely forgotten about Blink, and I had no idea what to buy with them. While carousing through the CD store, thinking maybe I would spot a band from the heydeys of alternative, I spotted Take Off Your Pants and Jacket, and the crazy night of the party came back to me. I had nothing else to buy with the gift certificate, and they're non-cash-redeemable, so I thought "What the hell," and picked up the CD.
I thought it was awesome, and enjoyed every track. Maybe Blink isn't exactly the definition of talent, but after three years without music, I thought it was pretty great. I surfed Blink message boards and made notes of what bands I should check out. That March, I got a new computer, and hoarded mass amounts of Blink and other pop-punk band MP3s. Even using the crappiest dial-up connection ever couldn't stop me.
I spent most of 2002 checking out pop-punk bands, like Sum 41, New Found Glory, Good Charlotte, Simple Plan, etc. The only pop-punk I really listen to now is Blink-182, Sum 41, and a bit of Good Charlotte, and I'm a bit ashamed at some of the crap I listened to, sort of like how obsessive third-wave ska fans (and eventually, I'm willing to bet, obsessive emo fans) are ashamed at all the crap they listened to. But hey, if not for them, I would've never found great older punk bands.
While hanging around a Blink-182 message board, (it's now full of kids who bought a Thrice CD and think they're hardcore) someone mentioned the opening lyrics to the Sex Pistols' song "Anarchy in the UK." (I am an antichrist / I am an anarchist) While home sick in grade four, I had watched a documentary on the Sex Pistols, simply because I was too sick to get up and change the channel. After all these years, those opening lyrics were still stuck in the back of my head. So, I downloaded the song on a total whim, and loved it.
So began my love of 1977-era punk. Since then, I've become interested in many more bands, like the Misfits, The Clash, the Ramones, the Dead Kennedys, etc. Pop-punk was like a gateway drug, to help me get into more interesting, lesser known stuff. While there are some pop-punkers who are just doing it because it's a trend, I think there are some who genuinely love the music, and have the potential to get into harder stuff and keep the scene going.
Anyway, I need to get back to my original point. Music today is better than it was before. Oh sure, punks might complain that their culture is being sold out, and I agree with that to an extent. Bands have been complaining about punk being nothing more than a fashion statement now since the '80's, it's just that now, it's hit the preteen market. Okay, it is really annoying to see little ten year-olds talk about being rebellious punks while they listen to watered down crap like Avril Lavigne, I'll admit to that one. It's even more annoying when they buy that cool Dead Kennedys patch you were waiting in line for to "freak out the preps," not even knowing that it's a band. (Gah, I'm still pissed about that one.) But let's face it, for the most part, they aren't really stealing punk culture - they're listening to bands you'd get beat up for admitting you like around most punks that were never considered part of this sacred underground culture. The chances of actual punk shows being completely overrun with spiky-haired jocks and their cheerleader girlfriends is slim to none. By the time they're old enough for their yuppie parents to let them attend, the next fad will have moved in, and all these fashioncore kids and their pop-punk bands will have gone under. A few pop-punk bands who were courteous to the older fans, and realize that they're only this popular because they were in the right place at the right time, might stick it out, but other bands, like Sum 41, who act like they're the greatest thing to happen to the mainstream, and seem to insult their fans in every interview (seriously), well, their days are numbered. The strange thing is, these arrogant bands don't seem to notice that they only have so long to rake in preteen dough before they're stuffed in the discount bins of used CD stores worldwide.
But still, I'd rather see little girls dressed like little Avril Lavigne clones than little Britney Spears clones. Abercrombie and Fitch marketing thongs to primary-age kids (I'm not making this up) is just wrong. When I was their age, I was too busy playing with trucks and making things out of cardboard to wear tank tops and hip-hugger jeans while attempting to get boys to like me. And I was their age only seven years ago! This is really another rant, but I'd like to suggest to parents allowing their seven year old kids to dress like high school seniors that child molestation rates have been dramatically rising ever since little girls dressing like hookers became acceptable. This is the main reason I'd rather see little kids posing as punks than dressing like the latest teen idol. I mean, if people want to dress in skimpy clothing, so be it - it's a free country. I just think that people dressing this way should have some idea of what it means. Kids that age really know nothing about sexuality, no matter how much they pick up from their parents and the media.
I'd also rather have kids looking up to groups playing their own instruments and writing their own songs, than overproduced crap written by some old guy in a business room, and delivered by a teen idol with a plastic smile and perfectly choreographed dance moves. Besides, as I said before, these pop-punk kids might even use it to get into harder music.
To end this crazy rant that went all over the place, I'd like to reiterate that music is better today than it was before. With any luck, music done by a real person will continue to grow in popularity, until we're back to the days when you didn't need connections and a good PR rep to become a superstar - just talent and dedication. Good night!