My Brain Hurts - What We Hate - top 50 "pop" punk records


http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/50-greatest-pop-punk-albums-w508222
I remember we drove Ben's malibu to the west suburbs of Chicago to play in one of our parents' basements, to start learning the new songs for our reforming the band, under the blanket of following our passions and being a bit more melodic. I called it Melodic Punk then, there was no term "pop punk" yet. Ben showed us the basics for What We Hate, I chose to play an octave higher than Vapid, thought it would give it more desperate energy, which is what Ben and I talked about alot, playing beyond our capabilities, neither of us were very good guitar players at the time. And this helped to give it that feel. Ben wrote the easy melodic solo for the opening, but I decided to play this wanky weird hammery thing when the song kicks in after Vapid plays the rhythm guitar part at the start.  And as soon as the band began rehearsing this song with the pieces in place that day, behind Panic's drumming for the first time... FUCK! It was magical. I felt it then and still feel it to this day when I listen to this song.
 

My post in Facebook has opened many conversations, and this was one of my responses which I feel hits what I think about mainstream outlets and any forms of promotion, advertisements, and social network recommendations and criticism:
 I never let magazines dictate what I listen to, not even zines, for me it was always word of mouth, listening to what friends were excited about. Also, and almost more importantly, following band's family trees and their influences. That to me is such an important thing that people just don't seem to do. To me a true music lover is equivalent to an historian, anthropologist, and sociologist. Anything less and you are just a person who listens to music. Which is OK. And I have become more of the second than the first, and so when I see lists like this, I don't have a problem with them. To me it is not made for music connoisseurs, it is more for the common person who likes music, but has other interests that dominate most of their time.

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