Substream Magazine maturity and confidence to write in clichés. Pop punk bands are most certainly aware of the criticisms of their songs but they continue to produce music that falls into this stereotype. They are confident in their ability to overcome the stigma attached with corny lyrics. In addition, they have confidence that their fans will keep enjoying the scene for what it brings to the table rather than getting bogged down by outside judgment. Don’t get me wrong, when pop punk bands are just starting out, their songs tend to be full of hackneyed lyricism. But skilled bands can take the clichés that are essential to pop punk and use them to grow lyrically and thematically. Take a look at the career of The Wonder Years, a sextet from Philadelphia currently on top of the pop punk world. Their debut album, Get Stoked On It!, was a goofy record chock full of pop punk stereotypes. On the album’s eighth track, a screamo gem from guest vocalist Mikey Kelley makes an appearance: “We stand so tall / We live above this world / We are so fucking invincible.” This is a perfect example of clichéd lyrics, extolling the bonds of
friendship while simultaneously putting on a confident, positive face. As The Wonder Years grew, so did their songwriting abilities. Their sophomore record, The Upsides, is all about what the title suggests—it is an album brimming with positivity. There is another level to the lyrics, though, as Campbell takes the clichéd glass-halffull mentality and explores the roots of that mindset—a dark, creeping depression he is trying to cover up. With The Upsides, The Wonder Years demonstrate how the triteness of pop punk can be used to thematically explore new avenues. The band demonstrates maturity by taking a cliché and using it to their advantage instead of flinging it aside to pursue a holier-than-thou songwriting approach. The Wonder Years have kept maturing but they have not left behind their pop punk beginnings. There are still clichés on their most recent album, No Closer to Heaven. The first lines of the LP are a choral chant of the repeating phrase “We’re no saviors if we can’t save our brothers.” This refrain pops up several more times throughout the album and echoes the previously
mentioned pop punk stereotypes. Even with this line as a central theme, the album is their most wide-ranging by far. It touches on issues as heavy and mature as classism, racism, and child abuse. The band uses clichés to anchor their album in familiar themes for fans, which enables them to tackle larger ideas that generally wouldn’t fall into a pop punk song. Lyrics from The Wonder Years and Man Overboard show how themes that many think of as cliché can work in the modern pop punk scene. These patterns should be celebrated in pop punk music, not derided. When looking at Man Overboard’s lyrics, you see a band that is aware of the clichés in their songwriting. Their self-awareness has let them build a career and actively tap into the basic emotions of their fans. The Wonder Years show us that clichés are not an anchor holding bands back from growing, but they can be an integral part to the process of growth itself. Clichés actively add to the value of the genre, enabling it to cement itself in the minds and hearts of fans.
SPRING 2016
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