With the release of 5 Seconds Of Summer’s debut album in the US, we’ve had a whole lot of pop punk on heavy rotation in the Fangirls office.  Drums that pack a punch, whining guitars in the solo and breakdown, vocals that are hardly polished, and lyrics that you cling to when your parents say you can’t dye your one sided buzz cut leopard print. They just don’t understand you!  But these classic pop punk bands sure do.  One of us was part of the main target audience for this golden era of pop punk (or “mall rock” as some like to classify it) and it’s a genre that still heavily influences musicians all around the world whether they admit it or realize it.  Without further adieu, we bring you this week’s Friday Five: Influential Pop Punk Bands

Good Charlotte – “Girls & Boys”
Hailing from Maryland, Good Charlotte were the darlings of TRL for a short period.  They brought pop punk to the masses and are generally written off for being “too mainstream” but they were just plain good at writing catchy songs.  The hand claps are still one of our favorite parts of this song.

Blink-182 – “What’s My Age Again?”
No matter where your music genre loyalties lie, we’re pretty certain that you can still sing the words to this without them in front of you.  And it’s probably a safe bet that this video is the reason your parents outlawed MTV in your house.  Blink-182 confirmed that they are working on a new album while Mark Hoppus tends to his personal farm in London (we don’t understand it either – he’s too pop punk for us.) What’s his age again?

Sugarcult – “Memory”
Aahhh! Melodic pop punk at it’s finest. Sugarcult have made it onto our list of “albums we probably couldn’t live without” and this song was the reason we picked up the album in the first place.  If only pop punk could sound like this again…we’d be in 7th heaven!

Green Day – “Basket Case”
If you’re not familiar with Green Day, where have you been for the last 25 years?! They don’t quite appeal to the parents and their fans are still OK with it.  Green Day made arguably some of the most timeless pop punk albums that bands still try to emulate to this day!

American Hi-Fi – “The Art Of Losing”
Some fans may remember this song being in the Lindsay Lohan remake of “Freaky Friday” but pop punk enthusiasts will argue this song was really influential in the genre.  The drumsticks rapping on the edge of the kit make this song stand out and if you’re playing “Guess This Song” – it shouldn’t be too difficult to recognize this one classic right off the bat!  “The Art Of Losing” has the elements that make a great pop punk song – gang vocals in the chorus, lyrics about not fitting in, and the guitars really chugging along punch this song into overdrive.