Pop punkblew up in the 1990s, but there was more to the genre than its two biggest stars—Green Day and Blink-182. Thecommercial success of 1994’sDookieushered in a punk rock gold rush while taking Green Day out of basement clubs and into arenas. With 1999’sEnema of the State, Mark Hoppus, Tom DeLonge, and Travis Barker came together to run naked through the streets,TRL,theBillboardcharts, and our hearts. But, between these important pop-punk milestones, it’s easy for some tooverlook the hidden pop punk gemsthat the decade had to offer.
Of course, pop punk didn’t start withDookie.The Ramones' use of poppy song structures influenced generations long after they said, “adios amigos”(Ramones-core is considered a pop-punk subgenre). The Buzzcocks’Singles Going Steadyis a must-have. And while the Misfits aren’t “pop-punk,” they paired horror and sing-along choruses to great success (with The Jasons carrying that bloody torch today). The early ‘80s brought speed and anger, but the rise of the melodic hardcore sound from bands ike Bad Religion, The Mr. T Experience, and Dag Nasty laid the foundation for pop-punk of the ‘90s.
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1Screeching Weasel
My Brain Hurts(1991)
Three years after Screeching Weasel shifted from hardcore punk to a more melodic sound onBoogadaboogadaboogada!, the Chicago band cemented their identity with 1991’sMy Brain Hurts. The group—Ben Weasel (vocals), John Jughead (lead guitar), Dan Vapid (rhythm guitar), and Dan Panic (drums) with Dave Naked on bass—recorded what would become some of their signature songs:“Slogans,” “Veronica Hates Me,” “Fathead” and “Kamal’s Too Nice”(as well as a cover of Johnny Nash’s “I Can See Clearly”).
Subsequent albums would see the band refine the sound (and see Vapid switch from guitar to bass), butMy Brain Hurtsis a great place to startwith SW—Rolling Stoneevennamed it one of the best pop punk albums of all time. SW continues to tour with Ben Weasel, with the only original member left. Depending on youropinionof him and his controversies, you can catch them live or putMy Brain Hurtson repeat.
2Pansy Division
Undressed(1993)
One of pop punk’s defining characteristics is that it’s full of songs about being in love. Pansy Division’s debut album, 1993’sUndressed, is just that, with charming poppy tracks like “Boyfriend Wanted,” “Bunnies,” and “Fem in a Black Leather Jacket.” For those who think punk has to be completely radical and subversive,hearing guitarist Jon Ginoli sing “Rock & Roll Queer Bar” is the most punk thing ever.
In ’93, homosexuality was still considered taboo in America. “We wanted to have joy,” said Ginoli when discussingUndressed’s 30th anniversary (viaHollywood Life). Pansy Division wanted to “present the joyful side” of being gay instead of discrimination, the AIDS epidemic, and the other forms of oppression the LGBTQ+ community faced. “I wanted to sing about the things that I hadn’t heard being sung about,” said Ginoli, “and present them in a very life-affirming way at a time when a lot of people’s lives were being taken just because they were trying to love somebody.”
3The Muffs
The Muffs(1993)
Rising out of the ashes of 1980s garage punk band The Pandoras, Kim Shattuck and Melanie Vammen recruited Ronnie Barnett and Chris Crass to form The Muffs.Their self-titled debut in ’93 was a multifaceted pop punk sound.Shattuck has a grunge-esque snarl in the album opener, “Lucky Guy.” There are flourishes of alternative on “Everywhere I Go” and “Baby Go Round,” and pure punk fury on songs like “Big Mouth.”
Rising out of the ashes of 1980s garage punk band The Pandoras, Kim Shattuck and Melanie Vammen recruited Ronnie Barnett and Chris Crass to form The Muffs.
The Muffs would find success later in the ’90s with their cover of Kim Wilde’s “Kids In America,” which was featured on theCluelesssoundtrack. They’d release a few more albums that decade (all worth checking out) before taking a brief hiatus at the start of the 2000s. Sadly, Kim Shattuck died in 2019 after a two-year battle with ALS.
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4NOFX
Punk In Drublic(1994)
The same year that Green Day put outDookie,NOFX released their fifth album,Punk In Drublic.It’s their most commercially successful album, but for a band that went their entire 40-year career without signing with a major label, does that even matter?
Punk In Drublicremains NOFX’s best album.
Starting as a hardcore band, NOFX shifted towards a melodic sound towards the end of the ‘80s.Punk In Drublicis when they locked in and found the right balance between apathy, sincerity, and silliness. From Orthodox hardcore muscle-heads (“The Brews”) and punker-than-thou posers (“Punk Guy”) to family alienation (“Fleas”) and religious quandaries (“Happy Guy”)—not to mention their most popular song, “Linoleum”—Punk In Drublicremains NOFX’s best album, even though they thinkSo Long And Thanks For All The Shoesis better.
5Smoking Popes
Born To Quit(1994)
During their initial success, Green Day would mention Chicago’s Smoking Popes in interviews and had the band open their show at the Vic Theater on theDookietour. Shortly after, the band signed with Capitol, which re-released their second album,Born To Quit. Their song “Need You Around” was played on alternative radio, and their music appeared on the soundtracks forClueless, AngusandTommy Boy.
“The fact that [Born to Quit] ended up being caught up in that ’90s alternative rock movement and everything that went along with it felt surreal,” frontman Josh Caterer toldIllinois Entertainer. Caterer’s crooner-esque vocals float above the energetic punk song from Eli Caterer (guitar), Matt Caterer (bass), and Mike Felumlee (drums), eschewing the bratty singing commonly associated with the genre.Smoking Popes pulled a Taylor Swift in 2024. WithBorn To Quitstill with Capitol Records, Smoking Popes re-recorded the album and released it as a live session.
6Descendents
Everything Sucks(1996)
In 1982, Descendents releasedMilo Goes To College, right as lead singer Milo Auckerman…went to college. The band endured its first of many hiatuses as Milo pursued his studies, and the group returned in 1996 withEverything Sucks, their first album in nearly a decade.
“I was getting a little frustrated with my life doing science, there was something missing. That something was obviously music,” Aukerman toldLollipopmagazine in ’96. Powered by the radio single, “I’m the One,”Everything Suckshad Descendents embrace melodic hardcore again—but this time with angsty songs about workplace drama, running out of coffee, and getting old.
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7The Bouncing Souls
The Bouncing Souls(1997)
With Green Day, The Offspring, NOFX, and Blink-182 based in California (and bands like Smoking Popes and Screeching Weasel calling Chicago home), pop punk might come off strictly as a Midwest or Southern California sound. Such isn’t the case with The Bouncing Souls. New Jersey’s favorite sons debuted in the early ‘90s with a handful of EPs (later collected onThe Good, the Bad and the Argyle) and released their debut LP,Maniacal Laughter,in ’96. But their self-titled album in ’97 is when they started to pick up steam.
New Jersey’s favorite sons debuted in the early ‘90s with a handful of EPs.
Featuring the enchanting “Say Anything” (which packs a lot of emotion into 1:16) and the anthem, “East Coast! Fuck you!,”Bouncing Souls' songs are short and sweet. They’d flesh their songs out at the end of the decade withHopeless Romanticand 2001’sHow I Spent My Summer Vacation, but ifyou want the nexus of pop and punk, this is it.
8Sarge
The Glass Intact(1998)
Sarge’s second album,The Glass Intact,is a lovely showcase of ‘90s rock. With a pop-punk base, Sarge—guitarist Elizabeth Elmore, bassist Rachel Switzky, and drummer Chad Romanski—incorporates sounds of alternative rock, Riot grrl, and East Bay punk/emo (think Jawbreaker’s24 Hour Revenge Therapy). The songs are a bit longer and a bit deeper.
“Elmore’s guitar playing is about angles and flurries of noise, about obstructions that trip you up or sharp turns you make without thinking,”wrotecritic Greil Marcus in 1998. “You never know when the apparent pop song Sarge is playing will turn cruel—when the fun of their music will come clean, when the fun will turn out to be a matter of softening up someone in the song for revenge. Elmore keeps you guessing, and she can make you nervous.”
9Lagwagon
Let’s Talk About Feelings(1998)
Though pop punk was a year away from asking “What’s My Age Again?,” some in the genre were ready to grow up. Lagwagon’sLet’s Talk About Feelings(their fifth album released in six years) continued their melodic sound but saw them shift away from some of the stereotypes of the pop punk genre. AsConsequence’s2008 reflection on the album states, “there isn’t a single tune on here that bitches about girls” onLet’s Talk About Feelings.
The band also employs sound clips from movies likeJacob’s LadderandWelcome To The Dollhouse, and closes with “Owen Meany,” a song that references John Irving’s title character fromA Prayer For Owen Meanyand—get this—begins with a cello arrangement. It shows howpop punk can expandits sound beyond the malls and skate parks.
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10The Lillingtons
Death By Television(1999)
At the end of the ‘90s, pop punk was at a crossroads. Some bands blew up (Good Charlotte, Sum 41,Avril Lavigne, Jimmy Eat World, etc.) while others got weird, like The Vindictives’ concept albumHypno-Punko, andDeath By Televisionby Wyoming’s The Lillingtons.
The Lillingtons’ first album, 1996’Shit Out Of Luck, was typical pop punk, with juvenile subjects like girls, high school and genitals. The band (Kody Templeman, Tim O’Hara, and Cory Laurence) shifted their lyrical and sonic focus withDeath By Television. The band recorded about retro sci-fi elements while sticking to a strict “verse-chorus-repeat-end” song structure that distilled pop-punk down to its core elements.
Something about it clicked with audiences, and the band enjoys a loyal following to this day. The Lillingtons are mostly inactive due to other commitments (Kody is now part of Teenage Bottlerocket). But they still come back from the void every once in a while.
