Thursday 13 February 2020

Top Tens: Colin's Top Ten Punk Rock Love Songs


Commercialised love day is tomorrow. Whilst we're not really into the day itself, we do appreciate a great love song. I'm also really struggling to come up with ideas for top ten so it all fits. Following on from Robyn's top ten punk rock love songs from a couple of years ago, Colin has decided to share his own.

Aerial Salad – Romance?
Aerial Salad's brand new single from their upcoming new album, Dirt Mall, asks the question ‘do you want romance?’. It's about wanting to offer a girl something different from the usual way that "lads" would attempt to attract a girl – old school romance and a heavy dose of respect. It's a sweet song with a great message, trying to prove that not all men are dicks.

The Apers – Moonlight Kisses
Dutch punks The Apers wrote the loveliest of love songs on their final album Confetti On The Floor. On the track, Kevin Aper sings about being blown away by the kisses from his loved one. How they make him feel better and how he couldn't do without them. In the world of pop punk, every song seems like it's about getting dumped so this happy and positive song proves to be a breath of fresh air.

Big D & The Kids Table – We Can Live Anywhere
I think that this is one of Big D & The Kids Table's best songs and it makes me sad that I've never seen them play it live. It shows the softer side of the Boston ska punk legends. It opens with a sexy sax riff, before David McWane begins to croon his way through a song about home being anywhere you want it to be as long as you're together. It's so lovely that it's almost sickening but also always puts a massive smile on my face. As someone who has moved towns to live with the person they love, I relate to the song hard.

The Bouncing Souls – Favorite Everything
New Jersey's Bouncing Souls have never shied away from the soppy love song during their long and illustrious career. In 2019 they topped the soppy league table with the song Favorite Everything. On the song, Greg Attonito sings about how his partner is the best and lists plenty of reasons why. I can remember seeing them live last year and singing along with this song and directing it at Emma. Given that we were with our friends and public displays of affection are gross, she wasn't keen on this. She's such a punk.

Descendents – Nothing With You
I think it's every punk rock geek’s dream to hang out with the girl or guy they like and do literally nothing but have the best time. Those times doing nothing are the best times you can have with people. Milo brilliantly describes what we were all yearning for when we were growing up and now it happens I treasure the moment even more.

MakeWar - Tiger Lili
You might not have expected a band with the name MakeWar to write a love song, but they did – and it's bloody good. On Tiger Lili, Jose Prieto has written a love letter to his partner thanking them for helping him through the tough times and just making life better whenever you spend time together. This is a song straight from the ‘Colin & Emma’ playlist. Before I met Emma, I was going through one of the hardest times in my life and Emma came along and things all seemed to get better and fall into place. When I first heard this song, I got a lump in my throat at just how hard I related.

Masked Intruder – Heart Shaped Guitar
The first song on this list that's a duet. Technically it's only half a love song as Intruder Blue sings of his love for Maura Weaver (Mixtapes/Ogikubo Station) while she sings about her repulsion for him. This repulsion really serves as a way to make Blue's lyrics even more sweet and make you almost feel sorry for him and his unrequited love. We've all been there, except without the balaclavas.

New Town Kings – Grabbed My Hand
Colchester ska heroes the New Town Kings wrote this beautiful song back in 2014 about how life really gets started when you meet somebody you love. It shows the band venturing off into a newer style that came after Dabs Bonner joined the band. Another song that's oozing with positivity, I have to imagine it's been a few people’s first dances at their weddings.

The Skints – Lay You Down
Let's be frank, this song is about the s-e-x. The Skints are at their poppy ska finest on this bouncy number where Josh sings a song about wanting to get a girl into bed. It's forward, there's no denying it, but Josh has a cheeky charm that allows him to get away with it. It's also a catchy track that you can't help but sing along with and grin like a fool.

Teenage Bottlerocket – I Found The One
With lyrics such as "the star of all my wet dreams" and "I'm so horny that I don't know what to do, and now my balls are turning blue" Teenage Bottlerocket give a crude and humorous take on what it's like to fall for someone and wanting to ask them out. Despite the rude lyrics (sorry if you're reading this, Mumma C), Teenage Bottlerocket manage to come across as being pretty endearing and sweet on this song. They probably shouldn't, but they do.

This top ten was written by Colin Clark.

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