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Blink 182 Pose For A Portrait In Los Angeles
This is Blink-182 in the Cheshire Cat era—it's their first album proper, after they released Flyswatter. This was taken in 1996, a year before their landmark Dude Ranch, but this photo's most notable for its inclusion of their original, and best, drummer Scott Raynor.
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brand new 2001
Remember when emo style revolved around thrifted little-league baseball team t-shirts? Jesse Lacey sure does. This photo's from 2001 or so, right around when Brand New released their Your Favourite Weapon on Triple Crown Records. It was the most pop-punk album they had, and it's also the last time they would share a label with acts such as 25 Ta Life and E-Town Concrete.
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fall out boy 2001
This Fall Out Boy photo goes way back to 2001, when the band was still best-known for their Simpsons-referencing band name, their Lifetime worship (ha!), and the band members' previous affiliations with hardcore acts like Arma Angelus and Racetraitor. Pete Wentz, in the hardcore-scene parlance of the time, would've been dubbed fashioncare. Fighting. Moshing. Good hair.
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get up kids 1997
This dorm room shot of the Get Up Kids is from 1997, and while it's not their earliest shot—the Kansas emo band formed in 1995—it's dated to the time of their first LP, Four Minute Mile. Matt Pryor looked the same then as he does now: Like your punk-rock English teacher.
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goldfinger
Though we can't date this Goldfinger photo—it's likely from around their first album or their sophomore, Hang Ups—you can tell it's an early shot, because, like.... What the hell is that goth dude doing in the photo? Why does he have no hair aside from a soul patch? Is he accessorizing with a CANE? Was he Goldfinger's answer to Wes Borland?
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green day_1991
Green Day's roots trace back into the late '80s, when they formed as Mother's Children. This photo—complete with Mike Dirnt's luscious locks—is from 1991, likely taken after their debut album, 39 / Smooth/
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mxpx 1993
Bremerton's finest formed in 1992, so this photo was taken roughly a year after they formed. This still's from an early interview, and go ahead and guess: What do you think they're talking about? Biblical hermeneutics? How to debate pro-choicers? The collected works of C.S. Lewis?
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new found glory 1999
In 1999, when New Found Glory cut their first LP, Nothing Gold Can Stay and its still-hit single "Hit or Miss," they looked the same as they do now: They still rocked hardcore band tees and Dickies shorts. The only differences? They've gotten a little wider, a little more tattooed, and Jordan Pundik starts to resemble Quentin Tarantino more with every passing year.
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nofx 1987
This NOFX photo was taken from 1987, from an outdoor show shot in Oregon. Cut your hair, Fat Mike, you damn hippie.
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nofx 88
This NOFX live shot supposedly dates back to 1998. We can't confirm the exact date of its origins, but here, Fat Mike isn't yet fat—and it likely comes from the Liberal Animation era.
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paramore 2005
Paramore have essentially been in the spotlight since their inception, so it wasn't hard to find early images. This one comes from 2005, and Hayley Williams looks like an absolute baby—also, why are they sitting on a couch on someone's lawn?
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saves the day
This photo was taken from OntarioMusic, and were we to guess, it came from a show at Toronto's JCC. We're estimating that this photo comes from STD's Can't Slow Down era. It was their debut album, and it was when the band was best-aligned with hardcore—note, for example, the bleached blonde hair and mega-tight tee, all hallmarks of the mid-'90s straight edge scene.
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sum 41 1998
This Sum 41 photo is, surprisingly, as we remember the band. (Good thing, too, as we'd prefer not to remember Deryk Whibley as a bloated, drunken mess.) This comes from their Half Hour of Power era, which should come as no surprise—this photo looks like the "Makes No Difference" vid.
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taking back sunday
Long Island emo-pop troupe Taking Back Sunday still tour to this day. But in their earliest days—were we to guess, this photo dates back to the Tell All Your Friends era—they displayed all the emo tropes of their time: Namely, sweaters, sweaters, and more sweaters.
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the ataris 1997
This photo's taken from an Ataris bedroom jam; it's from 1997, right around the time they released their Anywhere But Here LP, which had, surprisingly, a Jawbreaker cover. Kris Roe's the dude in the back who, shockingly, resembles a modern-day Gamestop employee.
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the offspring 1992
Here's a clip of the Offspring from the Wally George show, who, oddly enough, was a conservative pundit who, in the video, snaps their debut LP in half, which had a song called "Kill the President." Noodles—who back then, should've easily been 30—picks up George's script, rips it up, then gets escorted off the premises. PUNX.
Punk rock, and especially pop-punk, is supposed to be a young man’s game—but it’s rarely that in practise. After all, plenty of punk bands now tour well into their 40s—NOFX, for instance, are well into 30s as a band. The Other F word is a film about pop-punk dads. And, like, how old is Noodles from the Offspring? 75? Either way, many pop-punk might not be young anymore, but there was a time when they weren’t sagging bags of faded ink. Here, we document our favourite pop-punks in their earliest days.