If you are a part of this alternative scene, whether you are a fan of theirs or not, you will know The Wonder Years. They have formed in Pennsylvania in 2005 and have exploded to the eyes (and, mostly, the ears) of the world in 2011 with their album Suburbia, I've Given You All and Now I'm Nothing. Now, they are among the big bands of the scene and they have become a staple name thanks to their brand of "realist pop punk". I suppose "realist" means that in their lyrics, you are far more likely to find big life questions (Passing Through a Screen Door is a terrifyingly accurate representation of my life) and mental health issues dealt with and talked about than anything about prank calling your girlfriend's mum à la blink-182 or passing out on someone else's floor due to one too many alcoholic beverages, All Time Low style. Not that there's anything wrong with that. I'm not here to praise The Wonder Years and throw All Time Low in the sea - I love them both.

In September, after their first Paris show, I had a chat with Joe Taylor, vocalist from Knuckle Puck, and we mentioned that one time The Wonder Years played the French capital to thirty four people including fourteen paying customers, and how they had been trailblazers for bands like them.

Quite simply put, The Wonder Years are the reason why we have Knuckle Puck and Neck Deep and State Champs and Light Years and Roam and As It Is and Trash Boat and WSTR and all these pop punk bands. (The Story So Far are responsible, too, I mean, Roam literally named themselves after one of their songs). They have been a revolution in a genre that slowly but surely was heading towards thirty-somethings playing greatest hits shows to nostalgic people and occasionally releasing the odd album once every five years to prove everyone they weren't dead. The Wonder Years (with The Story So Far and Man Overboard in tow) breathed new air into pop punk and gave it a well-deserved second life, made it thrive again, threw it on top of the world one more time.

Being fully aware of this, whilst I was watching The Wonder Years and allowing them to break my little heart, I ended up with one big question : how did we go from a band like The Wonder Years and their raw, intense emotion to pizzas and khaki shorts?

I mean, it's no legend.
Watch Roam and they will tell you to go see their merch guy to get their album on vinyl whilst jumping about the stage in khaki shorts.
Rock Sound have interviewed Neck Deep and asked them what the most pop punk pizza topping was.
Go to any pop punk show and everyone will be wearing a plaid shirt and Vans, and those who aren't are very likely to don tie-dye t-shirts instead.

But why did we decide to reduce a genre on the way up to pizzas, vinyls and outfits? I mean, it's 2007 all over again when all these bands with no discernible genre to speak of (also known as My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy or Panic! At the Disco pre-Beatles era) were only defined by their members wearing eyeliner and sporting fringes and too much hairspray.

We fucked up with My Chemical Romance and the like. We really did. I now found myself twice in 2016 already having to explain to a grown adult in his thirties that no, emo didn't mean black hair, Bullet For My Valentine and self-harming. (Yes, a grown man in his thirties genuinely asked me if emo meant people who cut their wrists). We also probably fucked up in letting blink-182, Good Charlotte and other Sum 41 be defined by American Pie, red cups and frat parties. Are we going to let pizzas and khaki shorts ruin pop-punk for everyone? In ten years, will I have to explain to someone that no, pop punk doesn't mean eating too much pizza in your basement whilst dreaming of getting out of your hometown and that it was, in fact, a genre that was made thriving by a group of six guys from Pennsylvania?

The thing is, pop-punk is a very interesting and volatile genre. 

In 2014, the UK was graced with the Pop Punk's Not Dead tour, fronted by legends New Found Glory who had brought with them The Story So Far, State Champs and Candy Hearts. All of these bands qualify as pop punk, but they also make you realise how wide a genre it is. The Story So Far are at the gnarlier, angrier end of the spectrum with Parker Cannon shouting about his anger. They are raw, they are intense, they are uncompromising, they are sincere, and this is why people like them. At the other end of the spectrum, you have Candy Hearts, fronted by Mariel Loveland and her delicate voice. She sings of broken hearts and depression in a tender way, in a bittersweet way. They are just as sincere as The Story So Far, but in a much different way. And this is just an example.

Bearing this in mind, why have we decided that reducing these bands, their sincerity and their creativity to pizzas and a type of shorts was a good idea? Why do we refuse to give credit where credit's due? The worst part of these clichés is that, basically, we have forced them on the band ourselves - we as in the listeners, the fans, the press, maybe. It's not like pop punk is in the charts and it's the haters that have decided that it wasn't worth more than Domino's and Vans. It's us. When we reflect on how pop punk is only defined by pizza, we need to remember that we have brought it on ourselves.

I mean, there's nothing wrong with pizza and with laughing off the way we all dress at pop punk gigs. Jarrod Alonge does it pretty well and his Every Pop-Punk Vocalist video is one of my favourite things - I even own a Sunrise Skater Kids t-shirt myself. I'm the type of person that likes laughing at the things I love, for reasons I cannot really explain. But I also don't want good, talented bands to be defined by these clichés that some people WILL believe are true - purely because it could be damaging for them. Just like blink-182 became "that band for immature kids" and My Chemical Romance became "the band for people who cut their wrists", I don't want The Story So Far to become "the band for people who hate their ex-girlfriend". By all means, let's all laugh at this idea that we all love pizza and wear khaki shorts. But let's not let it define a genre that is thriving and full of talented people, let's not let it ruin what these bands are building. 

Let's give credit where credit's due.

Whether we like them or not, The Wonder Years have changed the face of this scene for the best. They have inspired bands, they have allowed them to go out there and play shows and tour, they have opened the door for so many bands after them, and I, for one, refuse to let this be reduced to a dish and an item of clothing I don't even wear.