#it's kinda funny that i got their videos in my recommended now that rt is over and i havent watched them in 4 years

[spacemilkbag]

dealing with the lack of dnf by watching ah and rt compilations

[wienners]

🌻

HI im in a way better mood and the prompt is to talk about whatever you want so im gonna type about philly band The Wonder Years for a few paragraphs before i go back to working today xoxo.

SO TWY WAS A BAND I STARTED LISTENING TO IN I think 2015?? right as No Closer To Heaven was coming out? The thing is they’ve been around since around 2009 (im not fact checking but their first big album was 2010) so its really fun to meet fans of them who also started listening in THEIR high school years even if their high school years was like, 2011 when mine were 2015. ANYWAY i think theres a lot of reasons theyre my favorite Big Name pop punk band. If anyone reading knows them youve likely heard them bc This Song gets recommended every time on spotify pop punk radio. The upsides turned ten years old this year and I wanted to see them play it all live we just have this playlist :( 

Personally, when youre in the middle of a gender/sexuality crisis all high school i kinda didn’t relate to pop punk thats only songs about exes?? but i did relate to these songs about a bunch of dudes that are friends and trying to figure out their lives and hate their school because “the homophobic bullshit thats somehow okay just because you didnt mean it that way” (i wont pretend to be above tropey pop punk, as if i didnt listen to the story so far like on loop last week) And TO BE fair, the wonder years only have one main song directly about an ex and it fucking rules.  The reason I was so into pop punk was because of a friends of mine from high school, and i REALLY associate other groups w those friends but TWY I found all on my own, which sometimes makes it a bit closer to your heart.

One of my favorite songs by them is about ex friends, Cul-de-Sac aka  “I thought my kids would call you uncle”. Side note there’s a lot of songs by TWY about losing a friend to death Cul-de-sac isnt one of them. Its less of a “im letting go” in agony because you HAVE to, but an “im letting go” of “im better off without this person, even if we were so close I thought we’d never be alone when we were friends”.  Every time ive had a falling out w someone ive listened to it and had a good cry. And their songs about losing a person to death are brutal. 

Theres not a lot of twy interviews but the best one that exists is the singer Dan Cambell playing with achievement hunter? It’s SO funny like dan doesnt know AH and AH doesnt know the wonder years so its just people kicking the shit playing madden. I have no idea how this connection even happened it was like TWY manager knew a guy at RT or something? either way it was the best thing to happen to 16 year old me who loved both of them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8v5K61IcvPk  to get a really good idea of how their live shows are just watch this especially the singing along at 3:53. 

I was at this show in the video also! It was the first time i saw them and ill say it a bitch cried. I went w a friend who did not know how moshing worked and hung w their friend near the back. I was just. Alone in a pit of people I didnt know for the opening band for this song  and it was the first time i like THREW my body into a circle of sweaty people at 17. I fell and randos pick you back up on your feed.

THE SECOND TIME I SAW THEM THEY PLAYED CUL-DE-SAC and I thought they wouldnt play it live. I tried to crowd surf and didnt realize there was a pit already opening? so i got a concussion hitting my head and some randos escorted me to the bar to get ice while the rest of the song played out klsdjflsk. I also lost my glasses in the pit during Screen Door, and after freaking out for a minute, two REALLY burly men tapped my arm and gave me my VERY twisted glasses WITH the lens popped out. It was a miracle? like that shit never happens.

Also heres a shirt from them that dead ass is star wars lyricstuck fanart i own it and its the SW shirt i will wear (outside of the darth maul shirt i ordered last week actually nevermind) 

just more notes on like, pit culture and punk shows in general i think the philly scene in general needed a pop punk phase to stay alive if that makes sense? Older punk scene shows ive been to like, ive heard horror stories about the 90s scene getting more violent and shows getting shut down. 00s emo/warped tour and younger people getting into punk scenes and live shows allowed an environment in shows to create space and be more mindful of younger new fans.

Wonder years shows are still organic, like the oldest fans are in their 30s who have known them since warped tour. Which allows just a mix of 30+ burly dudes who have known them since warped tour to be protective and control the pits of younger people who are falling down. NOT TO SAY THERES NOT BAD SHIT at shows like this, (2010s pop punk shows have a litany of issues but this aint about that) but twy shows specifically just felt safe as the angsty 17 year old girl that i was. AND it was a gateway to local band shit im into now.