Pop Punk On the Rise?

MTV’s TRL has been featuring punkish rock bands performing live all week under the banner of “Spankin’ New Bands Week.” They’ve already run through the Donnas (if ten years is “spankin’ new”), The Used, Simple Plan, New Found Glory, and tomorrow Good Charlotte storms the stage. I don’t know Simple Plan, but I like all the others well enough, as do other Blogcritics apparently. The Donnas are discussed here and here; I played the Used a few times on my radio show; New Found Glory here and here.

With teen-pop fading, is punkish rock the Next Big Thing, or at least the next thing? The NY Times’ Kelefa Sanneh thinks that horse may be coming around on the carousel again:

Like the pop acts that came before, these bands are known for straightforward tunes, energetic performances and teen-friendly lyrics. The band members generally seem friendlier than rappers, more wholesome than R&B singers, hipper than country stars, more fun than divas and more cheerful than their heavy-metal counterparts. If some of these bands score smash hits and if MTV stays supportive, punk rock just might become the new teen pop.

Makes sense to me: good, charging, melodic, unpretentious punky rock is evergreen. Another sign: my 11 year-old niece, who until recently preferred pop-country and teen-pop, now likes Good Charlotte and Jimmy Eat World.

If MTV holds to this agenda I may be able to watch it again, maybe – some hopeful signs as we enter the new year.