22 Pop Punk Songs That Somehow Work at Weddings
1. All The Small Things – Blink-182
The unofficial national anthem of people who still say "they don't make music like they used to."
2. Sugar, We're Goin Down – Fall Out Boy
Nobody knows the words.
Everybody confidently invents them.
3. Misery Business – Paramore
Still one of the greatest "everyone suddenly loses their mind" songs ever written.
4. The Middle – Jimmy Eat World
Optimism in song form. The musical equivalent of your nicest mate giving you a hug.
5. Ocean Avenue – Yellowcard
Features a violin, making it approximately 14% more sophisticated than the average pop punk song.
6. Fat Lip – Sum 41
Maybe wait until Grandma's gone home.
7. Dear Maria, Count Me In – All Time Low
If you've ever shouted "I GOT YOUR PICTURE..." across a sticky nightclub floor, congratulations.
You're old.
8. Dance, Dance – Fall Out Boy
Appropriately named.
Helpful.
9. My Friends Over You – New Found Glory
Three chords. Endless serotonin.
10. The Anthem – Good Charlotte
For everyone who once thought black nail varnish was a personality.
11. Stacy's Mom – Fountains of Wayne
It's stupid.
It's perfect.
12. Since U Been Gone – Kelly Clarkson
Yes, it's pop.
No, I won't be taking questions.
13. In Too Deep – Sum 41
A dancefloor classic disguised as a song about making poor decisions.
14. What's My Age Again? – Blink-182
Judging by most wedding dancefloors...
Still a mystery.
15. Gives You Hell – The All-American Rejects
Therapeutic screaming for all ages.
16. Welcome to the Black Parade – My Chemical Romance
This isn't a song.
It's a legally protected national event.
As soon as that G note lands, every former emo within fifty metres instinctively faces north and prepares for battle.
20. I Write Sins Not Tragedies – Panic! At The Disco
Half wedding reception.
Half Victorian theatre production.
21. Hands Down – Dashboard Confessional
Not one for launching the dancefloor, but later in the night, arms around your mates, shouting every word like your life depends on it...
Absolute magic.
22. Cute Without the 'E' (Cut From the Team) – Taking Back Sunday
Those opening guitar chords should come with a health warning.
The moment they hit, every former scene kid instinctively points at the nearest person and prepares to scream:
"YOUR LIPSTICK, HIS COLLAR..."
It doesn't matter that you're now thirty-seven, have a mortgage and spent the afternoon discussing table centrepieces.
For the next three minutes, you're back in a sweaty academy venue with £4 doubles and questionable hair.
One word of warning...
You can't play twenty of these back-to-back.
Unless your entire guest list met on MySpace.
The secret to a great wedding isn't turning it into an emo club night (tempting though that is). It's dropping these songs in at exactly the right moments. One or two can ignite a dancefloor. A well-timed run of three or four can create absolute chaos.
The best weddings are the ones where your dad is dancing to ABBA, your mates are screaming Taking Back Sunday, your aunt somehow knows all the words to Misery Business, and nobody quite remembers how any of it happened.
That's the sweet spot.