Rather than having to pick a new band once I reached the end of a playlist on my three-and-a-half hour drive to DC today, I opted to listen to an old favorite of mine -- MxPx. There's enough of their stuff on my iPod to last me the trip here and probably a good chunk of the way back, too. MxPx brings me back to the few things I enjoyed about middle school -- one of those things being how important music was to me back then.
Getting to MxPx (among other lesser known bands) was a process for me. In fifth grade, when Good Charlotte came out with "Girls & Boys" and "The Anthem," I quickly became obsessed. At the highest point of my obsession, I had 146 pictures of them on my wall (yes, I was obsessed enough to count them), and for Halloween, I went as a "Good Charlotte stalker." ("No, I'm not a rockstar -- I'm a Good Charlotte stalker.") I started looking into bands associated with Good Charlotte, starting with Mest and Something Corporate. Though these two bands were of two very different styles, both appealed to me immensely. These were bands that Good Charlotte toured with and were friends with.
I then got the idea to listen to bands that inspired Good Charlotte. My favorite of the band, Billy Martin (guitarist), was a big fan of Silverchair. Although they were on a hiatus at the time of my arrival on their face scene, I attached myself to the records they had released and hoped for another one. What was great about Silverchair (and still is) is that everything they come out with sounds different, the only real constant being Daniel Johns' rich voice. They eventually came out with a new album and I got my hands on it as quickly as I could. One song made it to be played occasionally on rock stations, but their popularity has not yet extended beyond that (unless you count their music on the soundtracks of The Cable Guy and Godzilla).
The twins of Good Charlotte, Benji and Joel Madden, were fans of MxPx. Benji has a copy of MxPx's "punk kid" design tattooed on him somewhere (his leg, I believe?) and this intrigued me enough to try to find some MxPx. I started with their newer stuff, not yet able to handle the more raw stuff that came out earlier. (Which, for the record, is not all that raw at all.) For a while, MxPx was coming out with a new record every year, and not just with eleven or twelve songs. For the most part, MxPx tends to record records with closer to eighteen or nineteen songs. I got a hold of their live album because it had the most variety on it and fell in love with their finale song, "Punk Rawk Show." It's still one of my favorites, and I listen to it sparingly so that I don't ever become bored of it. And, if you're wondering, the live version of that song is way better than the studio recording.
After MxPx, I went further back. I got into Rancid, which was a little bit more rough, and the Clash. I listened to a little bit of the Sex Pistols and a little big of Iggy Pop. In the meantime, I was begging for the latest and most popular (though I'd never admit to its popularity at the time -- I was too much of a hipster) including Avril Lavigne, My Chemical Romance, and New Found Glory. I don't listen to any of those bands anymore. (Occasionally I'll listen to Avril Lavigne's new stuff, but I never really enjoy it, it's just background noise.)
And I think that's what I'm trying to get at. I don't listen to Good Charlotte anymore. I wore them out long ago. Yet even though I listened to MxPx just as frequently and for almost as long, I still listen to them. I still listen to Silverchair and Something Corporate (and Andrew McMahon's other band, Jack's Mannequin). I listen to all of these bands because they're good at what they do. They don't just play things that are catchy, they play things that are interesting. They use clever turns of phrase in their lyrics and even more thought-provoking phrases and riffs with their instruments.
A lot of people give young kids just getting into music a hard time. When I was listening to Good Charlotte, I had a lot of people say to me, "You know that's not real punk, right?" At the time, I didn't really accept that, though I realize it now. But even more importantly, now I realize it doesn't matter. It was a gateway band and that is good enough for me.
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