Pop Punk's Not Dead CD

When Dave Parasite says pop-punk's not dead, well, he means it. But we're not talking about what passes for the genre in the mainstream, what with all the faux-hawks, clothing endorsements and MTV spring break specials. Nope, there remains a healthy underground bubblegum-punk scene that doesn't seem to realize there's more to life than Queers colored 7"s and a ratty old pair of Chucks. This is a compilation for those punks, or as Parasite so eloquently puts it in the liner notes, the geeks -- "those hopelessly single guys and gals who revel in listening to other guys and gals sing catchy songs about being hopelessly single." That might sound pretty emo on paper, and maybe in essence it is, but there's absolutely nothing upsetting about any of these tracks, which are all basically speedy variations on three chords and the notion that the cute girl in the black-rimmed glasses and Ramones T-shirt will never go out with you. For a person who never gets tired of that theme, it doesn't get much more fun than this roundup of bands. Stellar performances are brought from all corners of the globe -- the Manges in Italy, New Jersey's the Ergs, Mach Pelican over in Australia, Belgium's Janez Detd., Japan's the Wimpy's, and the Travoltas in the Netherlands, to name a few -- and with 30 songs in barely over an hour's time, it's clear these bands are nothing short of economical. But that doesn't mean there's any shortage of spirit, humor and just good-natured fun, and relatively younger acts like Delay and the Leftovers bring in strong cuts to appear alongside pop-punk elders like the Queers, Parasites and Squirtgun. Topped off with very fitting artwork courtesy of the infamous Mitch Clem (of punk web comic Nothing Nice to Say fame), Pop Punk's Not Dead is too fun of a listen for anyone with a penchant for simple and haplessly charming pop-punk to miss. ~ Corey Apar