“Anaconda Sniper,” Title Fight

Title Fight, like the best pop punk bands, define themselves not by complex instrumentals or virtuosic vocals, but rather through their ability to distill the maelstrom of the teenaged psyche into three-minute bursts of energy. The biting power chords of “Anaconda Sniper” punctuate simple cries of ill temper that could be transcripts of conversations between any two high schoolers.

“You’re Not Salinger. Get Over It,” The Wonder Years

The Wonder Years are a much smarter pop punk band than most might give them credit for. With their imaginative song structures and use of multiple vocal melodies, they use the familiar brush of suburban frustration to create tracks that are at once genuine and ingenious. When they rally for the climactic gang vocal at the end of the song, there is an undeniable crackle of energy as they shout, “Chin up, and we’ll drown a little slower.”

“Ocean Avenue,” Yellowcard

I remember Yellowcard for two things: “Ocean Avenue” and convincing me that violins could be cool. The chugging, syncopated rhythm of the guitar and the charmingly nasal narrative paint a picture of a young love against the world that struck a chord in my predictably lovelorn teenage heart. It never got realer for my 15-year-old self than the lyric “We’re looking up at the same night sky / We keep pretending the sun will not rise.”

“Swing Swing,” All-American Rejects

Everything important about this song is summed up in the line, “Do you know what it feels like, being alone?”

“Best of Me,” The Starting Line

Pop punk bands are not very diverse in their tales of romance—they either believe unflinchingly in the promise of love, or they believe unflinchingly that they were the victim of a heartless transgression executed by some icy she-devil. “Best of Me” is a dazzling example of the former, championing the type of positivism that all but requires naiveté to thrive.