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Weekend Earworms: Alkaline Trio’s Punk Perfection

An estimated 92% of us experience earworms. Despite the annoying times we can’t get a chorus or a hook of an overplayed pop song out of our heads, getting a really good earworm stuck can be one of the best things, ever. We here at Nerdist are dead set on bringing you those types of songs—even if only for the weekend. So shove this into your grey matter!

Greetings you wonderful earworm enthusiasts and welcome back to the column in which I arbitrarily choose music to share with the world and hope no one calls me on the fact I have no discernible taste or expertise on the subject matter. I mentioned a few weeks ago that I recently brought an iPod back to life which has further bolstered my tendency to never share any new music. This week is no different but there is a bright side, it’s all about Alkaline Trio!

“Help Me”

I might be a little biased but Chicago punk band Alkaline Trio is, to me, a band that has and will continue to stand the test of time. A sound that’s quintessentially American punk rock for a modern era. Nothing can take away from the pioneers of the genre in the ’70s and ’80s, but there are few better examples of what can be done with that foundation than Alkaline Trio. This entire article is going to turn into a love letter if I’m not careful. Let’s just do another song.

“Calling All Skeletons”

Opinions of their best song are likely incredibly varied, but this one has always been my favorite. I might just be a sucker for break-up songs but would rather not think about how that reflects on my relationship history. You may have at some point in your lives had to deal with the pain of coming to terms with a breakup and it’s summed up beautifully in the song and especially its chorus “I’ve grown to love your disappearing acts, Do one more pretty please.”

“Mercy Me”

Can you even name a bad Alkaline Trio song? I certainly can’t. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever heard a bad opinion of the band. There seem to only be die-hard fans and people who just understand that Alkaline Trio is fantastic. Should you ever find someone who doesn’t like them, you have the full backing of the internet (I speak on its behalf now) to tell that person that they are absolutely wrong.

“Private Eye”

While there was hope for a new album back in July of 2015 when Dan Andriano told Fuse “We need to make a new record, pretty much. We’re gonna go to England and play some shows with NOFX, do a couple festivals this fall, but it’s time for us to make a new record. But I’m doing some Emergency Room stuff and I’m not sure what Matt’s gonna be up to with the Sekrets, if he’s gonna tour on that, but I think by early next year we’re gonna be recording another record,” it doesn’t bode well that he made no mention of lead singer Matt Skiba joining Blink-182 after Tom DeLonge left the band. However there is still hope to see them every now and then.

What are your favorite Alkaline Trio songs? Think I can somehow weasel my way into that Chicago show? Let me know in the comments below!

Image: Alkaline Trio

Blake Rodgers writes for Nerdist from Chicago, IL where he lives happily with his Guinness World Record for High Fives. You can be his pal by following him on Twitter (@TheBlakeRodgers)

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