Someone has to say it: A lot of things from the ‘90s just don’t hold up by today’s morally complete standards. Except of course for skate punk, which is a tiny little mini-genre that was the bridge between hardcore and pop punk. Somehow, after all these years, skate punk still sounds and looks fresh. That being said, here are the top 30 skate punk songs from the 1990s that aged way better than anything else to come out of that decade. (Listen to the playlist while you set up your new World Industries deck with a Flameboy graphic that’s 7.67″ wide)
30. Good Riddance “Weight of the World” (1996)
A lot of fashion from this decade just doesn’t stand the test of time. There are simply too many trends to name here. However, if you wore Vans, had a Jonathan Taylor Thomas haircut, and listened to Good Riddance: Congratulations, you made it through with limited embarrassing photos.
29. Diesel Boy “Titty Twister” (1996)
“The Net,” “Hackers,” “The Lawnmower Man.” Movies about computers, the internet, and the cyber world in general just look like crap today. It’s like they had no idea that technology would one day evolve into big tech and social media giants controlling and forcing us to look at a six-inch phone screen all day in between looking at our 50-inch TV screens at home and 16-inch laptop screens at work. Luckily, you can play Diesel Boy on all these.
28. Ten Foot Pole “My Wall” (1994)
In 1995, if you wanted to have a full-on discussion with your friend about Ten Foot Pole or bands on Epitaph Records you had to use something called a landline phone. Not only that, you had to remain in your house to use this device that didn’t even have TikTok on it. This is the stuff of nostalgic nightmares.
27. No Use For a Name “Justified Black Eye” (1995)
Not to mention, you actually had to write down your friends’ phone numbers on a piece of paper or, worse yet, memorize them. That is not what your brain is for. It’s for consuming skate punk bands like No Use For a Name and that’s it.
26. Guttermouth “End on 9” (1994)
If you wanted to research anything, you had to physically show up at a location called a library and touch a book. Gross. My iPhone 5 has all the information you need, like that Guttermouth is from California. Do libraries even have a Wikipedia section?
25. Frenzal Rhomb “Punch in the Face” (1996)
In 1999, Budweiser launched a marketing campaign that featured a bunch of dudes saying “whassup?” to each other over the phone. People across the nation started to mimic it instead of listening to Frenzal Rhomb. This trend lasted seemingly years and could still be heard today from the most out-of-touch uncles out there. This is the actual reason conservatives should’ve boycotted Anheuser-Busch products.
24. Satanic Surfers “Worn Out Words” (1999)
In the ‘90s, the internet literally came through your landline phone. You had to manually dial it up and it would make a bunch of weird beeps and boops before finally connecting you to your favorite Satanic Surfers chat room. It was a different time back before the internet was all around us, in our pockets, and slowly rotting us from the inside out.
23. Unwritten Law “Obsession” (1994)
Try making a Spotify playlist with an Unwritten Law song in the ‘90s. Almost impossible. You had to painstakingly tape a cassette from another cassette by pressing physical buttons on a stereo. Dragging and dropping was just not in the cards back then.
22. Hi-Standard “My Sweet Dog” (1997)
But then again, you also had CDs. Oftentimes, you couldn’t test out the compact disc before buying them. As a result, a lot of people had unwanted Spin Doctors CDs because they kind of liked “Two Princes” before listening further and slowly realizing they wasted 25 bucks at Borders Books. Luckily, you were fine if you bought any Hi-Standard or skate punk CD.
21. Me First and the Gimme Gimmes “Country Roads” (1996)
Remember Alanis Morrissette’s “Ironic”? That aged just fine. But the people that were like, “Well, actually, that’s not what irony means” aged like shit. Thankfully they’re all dead today. I don’t think these kinds of people could’ve handled Me First and the Gimme Gimmes covering this track.
20. Tilt “Old Skool Pig” (1998)
At some point, a bunch of financial nerds wanted to invest in a small stuffed toy known as Beanie Babies. They thought for sure it would make them millionaires. Clearly they were wrong. Instead, they should’ve invested their time listening to Tilt and other Fat Wreck Chords bands. You would’ve come out just as broke in the end.
19. Gob “Soda” (1995)
Let’s face it, the pinnacle of CGI entertainment back then was something known as “Dancing Baby,” which was a 3D-rendered, diaper-wearing infant cha-chaing to the beat of “Hooked on a Feeling.” Sure, the digital effects in “Jurassic Park” still look sick, but we cannot ignore the damage this baby did to computer-generated graphics for years to come. Gob still rules though.
18. The Offspring “All I Want” (1997)
The Offspring’s “All I Want” had an accompanying music video that they occasionally played on MTV. As we all know, MTV no longer plays music videos because they wanted to give Rob Dyrdek a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week time slot. Clearly, MTV didn’t age well because there is simply no way to watch this music video or Pauly Shore nowadays.
17. Screeching Weasel “Slogans” (1991)
Anyone remember baseball? In the ‘90s major league players used steroids to hit balls really far. People lost their shit every time a dude with veiny forearms cranked a homer. As a result, the MLB commissioner said none of these players are allowed in the hall of fame. I guess homeruns did not age well. Screeching Weasel isn’t in any hall of fame either. Crock of shit.
16. Propaghandi “…And We Thought That Nation-States Were a Bad Idea” (1996)
The political skate punk band Propaghandi takes a lot of stands for worthy causes. Back in the ’90s the he Vice President was Al Gore and his wife Tipper took a stand against “offensive” music and formed the PMRC, who tried to ban a bunch of songs, like a Mötley Crüe one. Banning hair metal isn’t the worst idea, but not because your wiener kid can’t handle it.
Continue Reading:
1 2