PNKR's latest single can best be described as if New Found Glory's Sticks and Stones, and Simple Plan's, No Helmets, No Pads, Just Balls used to date 20 years ago, got back together and had a musical offspring.
Summer 2019 is right around the corner and you all know what that means; time to break out the early 2000s Pop-Punk playlists! Regardless of how timeless they are, instead of listening to the same songs over and over again from Blink-182, Sum 41, New Found Glory, Yellowcard, Simple Plan and Good Charlotte, lets direct the spotlight to someone different.
April 16 will see the release PNKR's latest single, "The Words You Read." The song features Ben (PNKR) on vocals & bass, Save Face & Love on Acid guitarist Phil McGarry on lead guitar, Matt Cedzidlo on rhythm guitar and Kyle Levinsohn on the drums. The music video features Ben, the main songwriter, sitting on a rooftop with snow falling down, reciting the lyrics which pop up beside him throughout the video. The song opens up with a catchy lead guitar riff followed by trademark distorted Pop-Punk power chords followed up with a palm-muted verse; every ingredient for a classic Pop-Punk anthem. "The Words You Read," is a true belter that you and you friends can scream the lyrics together in the car with the windows down on a beautiful summer day!
Check out the music video to, "The Words You Read," below!
The lyrics deal with growing up in a small town, being in high school and having a crush on someone that never quite knew you, leading one to assume that it was never meant to be. Even as time went on, things changed, but the feelings stayed the same, even when they never found a way to compromise or fix their problems. Now, the memories are just the words that you read.
PNKR, is Ben’s stage name for all things music related. Ben is a Pop-Punk enthusiast that took his appreciation for the genre to the next level. Ben not only writes and records his own music, but he also runs an extremely popular Instagram page entitled: @ThePopPunker with over 85,000 followers and counting! The Pop Punker is a collective page dedicated to all things Pop-Punk related with features such as song of the day, music videos, covers, memes, giveaways, and an end-of-year awards poll voted on by the fans! Last years Pop Punker Awards spawned across five major categories: Best Music Video, Best New Artist, Best Lyrics, Song of the Year and Album of the Year! Who were the winners? Check out the page and find out!
Pop-Punk as a genre has been been criminally neglected by mainstream outlets since the mid 2000s when bands started experimenting with darker, more alternative music. While true Pop-Punk fans still stayed loyal to the genre and their favorite bands, their labels and promoters, did not. Pop-Punk in my honest opinion was the last revolutionary era of rock music that we as a society had experienced before Rap and Hip Hop had taken over and have since dominated pop culture for the past fifteen years. Bands like Blink-182, Sum 41, Yellowcard, New Found Glory etc. all played pivotal parts throughout out our teens and even today! How often does it occur when you go out to a crowded bar on the weekend where the DJ cranks out a set consisting entirely of our favorite Pop-Punk classics and the entire place goes nuts with everybody screaming the lyrics to, "All The Small Things," "Fat Lip," "My Friends Over You," "Ocean Avenue," "The Anthem," etc. I could go on for hours!
Ben has truly done quite a remarkable job at focusing in a concentrated field to write about while also attracting and maintaining a dedicated fan base where tens of thousands of followers actively interact with on a daily basis; it's something that every blogger/freelancer wishes to achieve someday. The Pop Punker is an online community where people can interact with each other, listen to their favorite songs, stay updated on their favorite artists and have a few laughs with memes and other quality, related content, the social media equivalent of Emo Night, if you will. The Pop Punker is a true Pop-Punk community page run by a true pop punker himself!
Ben has written and recorded two, six song EPs over the years and just as you imagined, they truly captivate that authentic Pop-Punk feeling we all know and love. Ben also has his own website highlighting everything from his social media pages as well as having his own online shop consisting of t-shirts, sweaters and hoodies with his iconic logo on it, even pop sockets!
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