10 Punk Bands That Fans Say Aren’t Punk

2023-12-16

Image of the rock band Green Day.

Green Day – Author Anne Erickson, Photo via Ken Schles

Every time I do a best-of list about the punk genre and include Green Day, I brace myself for the negative comments. It’s like clockwork. The second anyone claims that Green Day is a punk band, punk fans go nuts. I totally get that Green Day isn’t a classic punk band in the tradition of Ramones or Dead Kennedys. But, their roots are really punk. I mean, they formed in a garage as teenagers and signed to Lookout! Records in the late 1980s. The came up in the Bay Area punk scene. They even formed their own punk label, Adeline Records, in Oakland, California in the 1990s. Regardless, there are simply some punk bands that fans say aren’t punk, and Green Day is one of them.

Aside from Green Day, what bands are often labeled as punk that punk fans simply reject being in the genre? Read on for 10 of these bands, and let me know what you think via email at anne@audioinkradio.com or Facebook here.

10 Punk Bands That Fans Say Aren’t Punk

The Offspring

The Offspring formed in Garden Grove, California, in 1984. Their music has an undeniable punk core, mixing punk rock, hardcore and even stake punk, but many fans don’t consider the Offspring punk. Why? Well, hits such as “Come Out and Play” and “Self Esteem” definitely don’t have that raw punk sound that’s associated with the genre. The Offspring are just too mainstream for many punk fans, and that lands them on this list.

Blink-182

Blink-182 got together in Poway, California, in 1992. While they were a big part of that punk scene, many fans don’t consider them punk at all. But, if you look at the history, the band spent years releasing music independently and touring before breaking big. They eventually signed to MCA Records and became radio darlings. Punk fans usually think they’re too pop and commercialized for the punk scene.

Fall Out Boy

Unlike many of the bands on this list, Fall Out Boy didn’t get together in California. They formed in a suburb of Chicago. They also formed way after most bands on this list, in 2001. The band was a large part of the Chicago hardcore punk scene, but when they broke big, they had a notably more pop sound. These Warped Tour vets aren’t considered punk by most punk purists, but that’s their basis.

Sum 41

Sum 41 broke out of Canada in the mid-1990s with a high-energy skate punk sound. They hit the mainstream pretty quickly, signing to Island Records 1999 and releasing their first EP, “Half Hour of Power,” in 2000. Their debut full-length, “All Killer No Filler,” really took them to superstar status, though. They’re another band considered too popular and too “new” to be punk.

Good Charlotte

The Madden brothers put together Good Charlotte in 1995, and the band quickly gained a large following. In 2002, they broke through to the mainstream with their sophomore album, “The Young and the Hopeless,” and the hit track, “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.” They’ve always been very pop with just a dash of punk.

Green Day

Of all the bands on this list, Green Day probably gets the most hate from punk fans, but that’s because they’re the most popular. If you ask the average person on the street to name a punk band, a lot of them will say, “Green Day.” Billie Joe Armstrong and the crew truly came up in the 1980s and 1990s Bay Area punk scene, but the band’s mainstream success has made them less than popular with punk purists. However, Green Day made punk music mainstream, and for that, I personally believe we should thank them.

Paramore

Paramore are from the same school as Fall Out Boy, as the band came up on Pete Wentz-related Fueled by Ramen records. Lead vocalist Hayley Williams has become one of the biggest names in pop-punk, but calling her, and Paramore, punk is a bit of a stretch.

Jimmy Eat World

This is a tough one. Jimmy Eat World came up in Mesa, Arizona, in 1993. They’re lumped into a bunch of different musical categories, including emo, power-pop and pop-punk. Jimmy Eat World are truly statesmen of the emo genre, but when it comes to punk, not many would never consider Jimmy Eat World “punks.”

Bowling for Soup

Bowling for Soup got together in Wichita Falls, Texas, in the mid-1990s and are considered an important part of the pop-punk story. While the “Girl All the Bad Guys Want” band has a punk basis to their music, few punk diehards would consider Bowling for Soup real punk.

Simple Plan

Simple Plan, like Sum 41, are Canadian pop-punk favorites. The group formed in the late-1990s and proved an important part of the punk scene in Canada. But, their music is very pop-oriented. So, many punk fans wouldn’t consider them punk in the least bit.

Check out our list of the best punk songs of all time here.

Anne Erickson
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Posted by Anne Erickson | Alternative, Features, Music, Rock