3 Essential Pop-Punk Songs for Tough New Beginnings - VICE
New beginnings and starting over can be tough, no matter the situation. But since we know music is a great motivational tool, here are three pop-punk songs that hit all the right notes when it comes to moving on. Starting over is rough, but at least pop-punk will always be there.
Neck Deep released their second album, Life’s Not Out to Get You, in 2015, soon after their debut in 2014. At this point, the band decided to make music a full-time endeavor, quitting their jobs and dropping out of college. In a way, it makes sense that a song about new beginnings and starting over would appear on this album.
“Smooth Seas Don’t Make Good Sailors” has a bit more depth than just being a pop-punk track about new beginnings. However, the overall theme touches on changing your perspective on life in order to grow and change. If you’re starting out on a new life journey, it helps to have a positive yet still realistic perspective. Not everything is nice and fine all the time, but a negative point of view, no matter what, isn’t going to help.
“On My Own” appeared on New Found Glory’s 2014 album Resurrection, which was the band’s first album after parting ways with guitarist Steve Klein. This song seems to allude to that situation, thematically dealing with moving on from a toxic person. In a way, the album was New Found Glory’s way of starting over after Klein left following sexual misconduct allegations.
Probably not something the average person will be dealing with, but New Found Glory channeled the uncertainty of that time into their album. According to vocalist Jordan Pundik, speaking in 2014, “It’s a record lyrically talking about going through the situations and coming out stronger, dealing with them and rising above those things.”
“Even If It Kills Me” is the title track from Motion City Soundtrack’s 2007 album, and it explores more of a repetitive starting over. It presents a situation where anxiety is holding the speaker back, making him start over all the time. Day after day, there’s another challenge, another hurdle to overcome. But this song offers a little bit of a reprieve from the struggle.
The speaker is determined to keep going “even if it kills me”. In the third verse, there’s a line that rejects using the word “never” as a way to hold yourself back. “I’m not saying that I’m giving up / I’m just trying not to think / As much as I used to / ‘Cause never is a lonely little messed up word / Maybe I’ll get it right someday”. Overall, this is a great song for getting through one-off start-overs or chronic new beginnings.
