Descendents

Next time your elitist friend starts bagging on pop punk, use Descendents to knock him off his high horse with ruthless efficiency. Following in the wake of The Ramones and Buzzcocks, the act brought the then-embryonic pop-punk sound to the left coast, injecting tales of downtrodden lonely hearts into the grit-and-hooks foundation of pop punk acts, inadvertently setting the agenda for generations of fluff-punk wannabes. Unlike so many of their predecessors, the Descendents were about more than heartache and melodies: The Descendents are unabashedly alienated and angry alongside their heartache. Although age, lineup changes, and on-again-off-again reunions sapped some of the band’s initial power, it remains one of punk’s most revered older statesmen.

Updated 01/18/2012