Pop punk is used for two separate subgenres of punk rock music: the kind typically found on Lookout! Records, which stray very little from the three-chord formula that The Ramones pioneered, as well as a newer subgenre of melodic, more emotional punk, which includes by bands like NOFX and Unwritten Law. Some bands, like Green Day and Screeching Weasel, bridge the gap somewhat (Green Day was originally on Lookout!)

Lookout! records has a long history of traditional Ramones-style punk. When hardcore began becoming popular, this type of music was termed "pop punk" because, while much of the punk atitude was the same, it had a much catchier, less angry sound. The connection between Lookout! pop punk and the Ramones is very strong, and is seen not only in their musical style but in their attire, Ramones references in songs, and the fact that several of the bands have covered entire Ramones albums. Well known Lookout! pop punk bands include The Mr. T Experience , whose newer work has branched off into indie pop; The Groovie Ghoulies, whose songs are usually about monsters; Censored page, who sound like a combination of The Ramones and The Beach Boys; and The Lilingtons , who like to sing about high school and comic books.

The other, newer subgenre to be called punk originated with bands like NOFX and Lagwagon, and became popular with the band blink-182. It is sometimes known as So-Cal punk , or skate punk. This kind of punk is generally considered by fans of most other punk genres to be a sellout of the original punk ethos, similar to how nu metal is viewed upon by the metal community. However, its musical style can be traced directly to the Lookout! bands which preceded it, and from there to The Ramones. Many of the current crop of So-Cal pop punk bands cite these bands as important influences in their own music. Some bands in the Pop punk scene however, notably NOFX and Pennywise, profess a love for American hardcore bands such as The Misfits, Black Flag.

So-Cal pop punk really came in two waves. The biggest success stories of the first wave of American pop punk have been Green Day, blink-182 and The Offspring. All of these bands share a similar sound that includes thrashy guitar choruses, chuggy verses and radio-friendly melodies. Some of the bands, however, have incorporated uncommercial elements in their music such as swearing and American Pie style humour. The second wave of So-Cal pop punk took advantage of the success won by the previous wave of bands and many new but similar bands were formed including Bowling For Soup, Sum 41, Good Charlotte. These bands have increasingly gained mainstream popularity through MTV and other outlets.

Pop punk is somtimes associated with the label Emo. Emo is a form of Hardcore punk that places emphasis on emotion instead of the usual politics. Pop punk is associated with emo because of bands like the Get Up Kids who sing about emotional things and occasionally use odd time signatures and the like borrowed from the more hardcore origins of emo. This association is a very common misconception .

Another common misconception is that bands like Less Than Jake and Reel Big Fish are pop punk bands. They are originators of the ska punk genre, which is more influenced by English Two-Tone bands like Madness and The Specials.

A couple of Flemish pop punk bands are Nailpin , Silverene and Flatcat

Many Australian punk rock bands could also be considered pop punk, such as 28 Days, Area-7, Bodyjar, Eskimo Joe, Frenzal Rhomb, Grinspoon, Jebediah, Jet, Killing Heidi, Lash, The Living End, Magic Dirt, Motor Ace, One Dollar Short, Powderfinger, Spiderbait, Sunk Loto, Superheist and The Vines.

List Of Recognised Pop Punk Artists/Bands

• Alkaline Trio
• The All-American Rejects
• American Hi-Fi
• Blink 182
• Bowling For Soup
• Dashboard Confessional
• Fenix Tx
• Flatcat
• Gob
• Goldfinger
• Good Charlotte
• Guttermouth
• Jawbreaker
• Jimmy Eat World
• Lagwagon
• Avril Lavigne
• Lawrence Arms
• Lit
• Me First & The Gimme Gimmes
• Mest
• Millencolin
• MxPx
• My Chemical Romance
• Nailpin
• New Found Glory
• No Use For A Name
• NOFX
• Not By Choice
• Osker
• The Offspring
• Pennywise
• Rancid
• Relient K
• Rise Against
• Silverene
• Simple Plan
• Spiderbait
• Sum 41
• Unwritten Law
• Yellowcard

Punk rock | Punk genres
Anarcho-punk - Crust punk - Gothic rock - Hardcore - Horror punk - New Wave - No Wave - Oi - Pop punk - Post punk - Riot grrl - Ska punk
Anti-folk - Death rock - Psychobilly - Two Tone
Other topics
DIY - Punk pioneers - First wave - Second wave - Punk cities - Punk movies - Skinhead - Skinhead films - Ska

Pop music

Boy band - Girl group - Traditional pop music - J-Pop - Bubblegum pop - Teen pop

Europop - Nederpop - Pop punk - Synth pop

Other topics

Cantopop - Pop Culture