Teenage angst memories releasers

Hop on a time machine back to pop-punk ’00s 🚀🕰🤘

Hey,

Today I come to you with a pop-punk flavored playlist. It’s mostly a mix of teenage rebel vibes, like Avril Lavigne, Paramore, My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy, Simple Plan, Good Charlotte, Sum 41, Blink-182, or Placebo. But in the end, it also steps further into punk rock, nu-metal, and grunge with bands like Green Day, Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park, or Nirvana.

If you want to hop on a time machine back to the early ’00s and go straight to the Midweek Crisis #15 playlist, click here: Spotify / YouTube. And if you want to know what inspired me to choose this topic, stay with me.

Do you remember the hyperenergetic kid from the hit "Whip My Hair”? In 2010 it was a debut single of 9-year-old Willow Smith, daughter of Hollywood stars Will Smith, (“Man in Black”, “I’m A Legend”), and Jada Pinkett Smith (“The Matrix” series). This headbanger exploded in the media 💥. Some critics claim that it sounds like "Lil Mama meets Rihanna". As always, when something is THAT expressive, it polarises the audience, who either will love it or hate it.

“Whip My Hair” is about staying true to yourself and shaking haters off. It’s a “schoolyard friendly” tune, which for sure went down in music history.

It’s worth mentioning that Willow’s mum, Jada Pinkett Smith, was the founder and lead vocalist of Wicked Wisdom, the nu-metal band created in 2002. Jada has been a fan of Metallica and Guns N’ Roses since she was a little girl. As she said herself once in an interview:

“I would always look at Axl Rose and say, "Why aren't there any chicks out there doing this now?" I always wanted an opportunity to get out there and rock out”

Wicked Wisdom turned out to be a huge success, sharing stages with Tool, and Britney Spears. The band even landed a slot on Ozzfest, which was back then a crazy popular, heavy metal & hard rock festival 🤘. It guaranteed them exposure on a massive scale.

Willow has the love for hard rock in her bones. Sometimes she accompanied her mum on the band's tours and became the number one fan of Wicked Wisdom. One time in a “Red Table Talk” episode she said:

“Wicked Wisdom was lit. This is the music that I grew up around. My mother was a superwoman, she was a rock star, warrior, and nurturer all in one. So unapologetically badass”

Check out what Willow made for Mother’s Day for Jada. It was epic! Three months before the day she secretly reunited with Wicked Wisdom’s band members and rehearsed the “Bleed All Over Me” song, her favorite tune performed by her mom. On the day of Jada’s birthday, she performed the song with members of Wicked Wisdom in front of her mom. It must have been priceless for Jada to experience a surprise live concert organized entirely by her loving daughter.

I haven't followed Willow’s career since her debut in 2010, and I was pleasantly surprised to find out she’s a pop-punk vocalist now. When I stumbled upon her “Lipstick” performance video, it made me speechless ✨. I was impressed by her boundless, pure vocals and this strange, magnetic energy of hers. She nearly screams, hopping on different vocal heights. But it’s perfectly balanced on the edge of unbearable noise.

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Immediately after hearing “Lipstick”, I reached for lifE, “lately i feel EVERYTHING”, WILLOW’s 4th album. WILLOW with her powerful, echoing vocals gave me a 00’s emo-ish, punk rock vibe. She’s delightfully maneuvering between alternative music, alt-pop, and pop-punk, hitting the emo undertones.

I was absolutely thrilled to find out she made a collab with Avril Lavigne the so-called “Pop Punk Queen” herself, and Travis Barker, the famous drummer for the rock band Blink-182. It's like Willow Smith has just dug Avril (37) and Trevor (46) out of their cryogenic chambers, and they’re joining forces to bring pop punk back to life 🔥. It’s shocking how they both haven’t changed a bit since the early ‘00s. Just take a look:

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It must have been awesome for WILLOW to work with one of her childhood idols. Canadian superstar, Avril Lavigne, is considered to have “paved the way for female-driven, punk-influenced pop music in early 2000”. Her iconic first album “Let Go” will turn 20 next year! And this month, after 2 years of silence, Lavigne came back with a single “Bite Me”.

"Sk8er Boi" superstar had a huge impact on music and teenager style back then. Her characteristic look was copied by the masses. Avril’s characteristic long, straight hair, dark eye make-up, tank tops, camo cargo pants, punk plaid pants, cravats, and corsets inspired teenagers all around the world 🌐. She wears a contrast of black and pink like nobody else. Lavigne’s not afraid to put together a tulle dress, and combat boots. She’s a “Pop Punk Queen” after all 👑.

We’re now looking at a pop-punk resurgence. WILLOW and Avril are true leaders in bringing back the music and fashion of the early 2000s. Millennials, like myself, are nostalgic, falling back in love with pop-punk music. And the new audience is discovering and experiencing it in a whole new way. The lyric themes in this kind of music are covering the topics of loneliness, anxiety, rebellion, growing up, acceptance, yearning, abandonment. They’re universal subjects for torn up inside people of all time. It’s perfect timing for this comeback, considering the global pandemic and its toll on us 🦠.

The last thing I want to share with you is a last year’s project you might not have heard about. Just before the COVID-19 panic in March 2020, Willow Smith and her boyfriend Tyler Cole announced their performance for The Geffen Contemporary at the Museum of Modern Art in Los Angeles. They called it “The Anxiety. A personification of the emotional spectrum within the human mind through performance art”. It was also live-streamed on Twitch. They were trapped in a glass box for 24 hours, showing 8 different stages of anxiety. The couple wasn’t able to speak to each other. They could only grunt or scream in a primal way. The viewers could see their affirmations written on walls and cardboards.

It was done to raise awareness about anxiety, and partly to promote "THE ANXIETY", Smith and Cole's new album. Check out their astonishing live performance of “Meet Me At Our Spot”, my favorite track from the album. This one brings back memories of my many teenage, magical night rides, listening to music at full volume 🌃✨🎶.

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Have a dope day and enjoy the MC#15 playlist:

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Stygi