As long as there are Millennials on this earth, there’s a good chance pop-punk from the 2000s will last long after the bands have broken up, fallen out of favor, or gone on to that big skate park in the sky. Here are just three songs out of so many that will last long after their makers die.
“Dirty Little Secret” by The All-American Rejects
The All-American Rejects released “Dirty Little Secret” in 2005 as the lead single on their second album, Move Along. That album jettisoned them to the mid-2000s pop-punk/alt-pop mainstream, and they found huge success on the radio. The trajectory that started with “Swing Swing” continued with “Dirty Little Secret” and “Move Along”, and they just kept going with “Gives You Hell”.
All-American Rejects have since cultivated a distinct nostalgia factor that puts them in the same camp as The Killers and Foo Fighters. “Dirty Little Secret”, like “Mr. Brightside” and “Everlong”, will likely outlast The All-American Rejects, whether we’re talking mainstream success or the cruel march of time.
“I’m Just a Kid” by Simple Plan
“I’m Just a Kid” was Simple Plan’s debut single, released in 2002, and that pretty much cemented its relevance. To come out swinging with a sentiment like “I’m just a kid / And life is a nightmare” and still be relatable decades later is a feat many have attempted but few have achieved. And Simple Plan did it on an album titled No Pads, No Helmets…Just Balls.
The single was included on the soundtrack for the 2002 movie The New Guy, a teen comedy about a high school loser who gets expelled in order to reinvent himself at a new school. The plot is goofy, but the soundtrack is strangely badass, as are the cameos. But the timelessness of “I’m Just a Kid” lives on beyond cheesy 2000s movies, and it will continue as long as teenagers exist.
“Sweetness” by Jimmy Eat World
“Sweetness” was released in 2001 on Jimmy Eat World’s fourth album, Bleed American. The album that gave us “The Middle” also gave us “Sweetness”, which is arguably the better song. No, it doesn’t have the blatant “keep your chin up” sentiment of “The Middle”. But “Sweetness” will surely outlive Jimmy Eat World, mostly because it may have already.
If you grew up listening to pop-punk on the radio, you’ll recognize “Sweetness” from its first note. But if there was no follow-up, the name Jimmy Eat World probably escaped you. Essentially, you know the song, but not the band (yes, this is a personal problem). Does that mean “Sweetness” has outlived Jimmy Eat World? Perhaps, for a select few people in the same boat. But more accurately, it has transcended its makers to become an entity completely out of time and genre.
Photo by Michael Loccisano/FilmMagic
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