It's a genre which I think will always have a ready made market if it continues to tweak its image to appeal to the next generation of emotional teenagers and over zealous scene kids.
Technically, there are many incompetent pop-punk bands, the likes of Good Charlotte and Boys Like Girls come to mind, however moving away from the straightened hair and soppy movie soundtracks, there are bands who play a similar style of music with undeniable talent.
One need only listen to Jimmy Eat Worlds 'Clarity' to see how truly exceptional bands of this style can be, when focused on creating music. However, despite creating a fantastic album, JEW (Kinda weird abbreviation) were released from their label due to the record being a commercial flop, therefore they moved into a poppier, more mainstream sound in order to maximise profits and commercial success.
I can't honestly sit back and criticize any musician for wanting to make as much money as possible, as I would do the same thing had I been in their position, however it's the success of those bands who are not technically competent and perhaps as a result of a more dumbed down approach, more commercially successful that creates a stigma with many 'educated' listeners with this genre.
As earlier highlighted by another member, The Thermals are another really good example of what pop-punk can be.
To answer your point directly, I do not think pop punk is dying, bands in this genre seem to have a life cycle. You can't have longevity when your gimmick revolves around being young and hip. I.E. Blink 182 cannot be freshfaced youngsters who sing about first dates and skateboards in their middle age, a factor which I believe makes their re-emergence ridiculous.
There will continue to be more pop punk bands emerging from the woodwork as older ones fade out, because as I highlighted earlier, there is a definite market for their product.
|