Pop punk and emo music certainly had their moment in the early 2000s and 2010s, with the Vans Warped Tour traveling music festival paving the way for many of the genres' greatest acts. One such act was All Time Low, who played the tour a total of six times, and has been announced as a headliner for the Washington DC and Orlando, Florida legs of the 30-year-reunion Warped Tour this year. Vocalist Alex Gaskarth led his band to notoriety, refining the emo and pop punk subgenres and heavily blending the two.
Their nine studio albums have all enjoyed varying levels of success, five of which peaked in the top ten of the Billboard 200 chart. They have also recorded two re-releases, one being a ten-year anniversary tribute to their breakout album, Nothing Personal, and one a tribute to their overall impact as an artist, entitled The Forever Sessions - Vol. 1, implying that there could very well be more where that came from. In their two decades, they have certainly put out a breadth of influential work, to say the least. Here are ten songs which define that influence perfectly.
1 Dear Maria, Count Me In
So Wrong, It's Right (2007)
So Wrong, It's Right was All Time Low's first album released with a major record label backing them, and "Dear Maria, Count Me In" was the album's lead single. One of the single most electrifying pop punk songs to date, not many choruses hit harder than this one; there is simply nothing quite like singing "I got your picture, I'm comin' with you / Dear Maria, count me in / There's a story at the bottom of this bottle / and I'm the pen," alongside thousands of strangers.
One of the single most electrifying pop punk songs to date, not many choruses hit harder than this one.
It isn't very common for a song to begin with its chorus, which likely played a role in making this one so iconic. On top of the lyrics, however, this song was one of the last to truly benefit from the MTV era. The music video aired on the network constantly, and when All Time Low did an MTV Unplugged EP, this song was the closer. Suffice it to say, "Dear Maria, Count Me In" not only did wonders for All Time Low's career, but for the entire pop punk genre as well.
2 Backseat Serenade
Don't Panic (2013)
Part of what set All Time Low apart from other emo or pop punk bands were their catchy yet creative, easy-to-sing-along-to lyrics. "Backseat Serenade" is a shining example of that lyricism. Even with the subtle changes from chorus to chorus, fans could still follow the words and get them right almost without fail. The beauty of it is that the lyrics themselves would not immediately make a ton of sense in any other context, but as an All Time Low song, "Backseat serenade / Dizzy hurricane / Oh God, I'm sick of sleeping alone," is sheer poetry.
Though it wasn't included in the six-track MTV Unplugged EP, they did record an acoustic version of "Backseat Serenade" for the extended version of the album, Don't Panic: It's Longer Now!, and it is certainly one of their greatest acoustic tracks. Alex Gaskarth's raspy vocals have always stood out to me, making the lyrics feel even more authentic and raw.
3 Therapy
Nothing Personal (2009)
To be a teenage girl who was a fan of All Time Low in their prime was to be an avid of Tumblr, and to be a part of those two demographics meant that the song "Therapy" was one of the greatest tracks to grace your young ears. I hearing this song for the first time and immediately picking up my guitar and looking up the tabs for it on Ultimate Guitar, then teaching myself the intro riff and practicing it until I had it down.
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"Therapy" was never released as a single, but that didn't slow its popularity in the least. Where many of the band's biggest hits had emo elements in their sound, they were a pop punk band first and foremost. This song was one that didn't beat around the bush or sugarcoat anything - the lyrics tackled issues of mental illness and what it's like to struggle head on. This is a song which made so many of their fans feel seen when they otherwise hadn't.
4 Somewhere In Neverland
Don't Panic (2013)
Perhaps the never growing up Peter Pan trope is low-hanging fruit, but sometimes the lowest-hanging fruits are the sweetest. That is certainly the case with "Somewhere in Neverland," where Alex Gaskarth sings some timeless lyrics which deeply resonated with All Time Low fans back then, and possibly do even more so today. It's the reason Peter Pan was a massive Disney success, and why so many artists have used similar tropes for decades after Peter Pan's release.
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The faster beats and major-keyed guitar make the overwhelming feeling of this song more positive than nostalgic or sad, despite the nature of the lyrics feeling a little duller, like, "Say goodbye to the halls and the classes / Say hello to a job and the taxes," for example. By the time the chorus rolls around, this is a song that just makes you want to jump around and dance, forgetting about the worries presented by your job or taxes, and just belt out, "Wendy run away with me," in unison with Gaskarth.
5 ing Sunday
So Wrong, It's Right (2007)
Potentially their earliest emo hit, "ing Sunday" touched on similar themes in the lyrics as "Therapy" did, and many other emo punk songs by other artists at the time. As a fan, you can tell this is a song that the band is proud of, as they've released it over half a dozen times throughout their discography. Originally a duet with Juliet Simms, the way her vocals compliment Alex Gaskarth's as they sing about regret, addiction, and feelings of loneliness and longing just scream classic emo.
As a fan, you can tell this is a song that the band is proud of, as they've released it over half a dozen times throughout their discography.
The first All Time Low album I ever had in my library was their MTV Unplugged EP, long before my phone became the device I used for listening to music, and I this song just blew me away. They've sung the duet with a number of different female vocalists, but regardless of who it is, by the time their part rolls around at the bridge, it is chill-inducing every time.
6 If These Sheets Were States
Don't Panic (2013)
Where All Time Low's lyrics are always clever, even when they don't make sense, this is a song with lyrics that do make sense, and are still just as clever. I thinking the chorus of this song was absolute lyrical genius when I heard, "If these sheets were the states / And you were miles away / I'd fold them end over end / To bring you closer to me" for the first time.
Yet another track which was not released as a single, "If These Sheets Were States" still became a staple of All Time Low's live shows, and had fans singing "I'm lost in empty pillow talk again" at the top of their lungs. It was a simple, sweet love song about overcoming the inherent hardship of a long-distance relationship, an integral track on what would become regarded by many as the band's magnum opus.
7 Six Feet Under The Stars
So Wrong, It's Right (2007)
The title of this track is the perfect summation of this song's overall sound; a play on a typically very morbid phrase to make it sweet and romantic instead. This song tells the story of a man who is hopelessly in lust with a woman who he believes to be far out of his league. The lyrics are raunchy yet heartfelt, and the result is an adorable ballad which endears us to the man in the story.
Alex Gaskarth references specific streets and landmarks in the lyrics, which, even if we're unfamiliar with them, makes us love the story even more. Every line of this song is increasingly endearing, though at the start of the chorus, when Gaskarth sings, "Meet me on Thames Street, I'll take you out / Though I'm hardly worth your time," the heart-eyes are showing for sure.
8 For Baltimore
Don't Panic (2013)
"For Baltimore" is the lead single from Don't Panic, and between the music video and the acoustic version, this song was an instant classic in its own right. With All Time Low forming in Towson, Maryland, this track, as the title implies, was also an ode to their city and their roots. When a band releases a song devoted to their city, it is almost always a hit, especially within the city itself, but also nationwide, as everyone appreciates an ode to an artist's roots.
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Not only is this song an ode to Baltimore, but it's also an ode to youth. The chorus exemplifies what it's like to be young with your whole life ahead of you, but also what it means to really enjoy that youth:
I don't wanna say goodnight
The city comes alive, when we're together
Why can't Thursday last forever
I don't wanna say goodnight
I've never been so sure
Just do it for the memories
Do it for Baltimore
Listening to this song, it's nearly impossible to ignore the nostalgia it invokes. To fans and non-fans alike, the lyrics remind us of the best times that life has to offer.
9 Something's Gotta Give
Future Hearts (2015)
After Don't Panic, it seemed the band had hit their ceiling. They showed no signs of stopping when it came to releasing new music, but as both they and their fans got older, it was unlikely that anything else they released would reach the same level of greatness as Don't Panic. Future Hearts was released in 2015, with "Something's Gotta Give" as the lead single with lyrics that addressed some of those feelings of getting older and aging out of their niche.
Alex Gaskarth sings, "I'm feeling like a nervous wreck / Living on my last paycheck / I'm a cliché in a song / And everybody's singing along," and it's hard not to feel for them. Not only that, but roughly a decade after their first album's release, this is a song with lyrics that are relatable, and speak to what their fans are dealing with at this point in their lives.
10 Lost In Stereo
Nothing Personal (2009)
The third and final single from Nothing Personal, "Lost In Stereo" is the song everyone hopes and expects to bang their heads along to at an All Time Low concert. A track about the ever-popular theme of unrequited love, it's no wonder this song was so successful within the pop punk and emo landscape. The chorus is quick, catchy, and upbeat, after a hardcore shift from the verse, marked by a distinct guitar chord transition.
"Lost In Stereo" is the song everyone hopes and expects to bang their heads along to at an All Time Low concert.
The verses have a bit of a softer feel, as Alex Gaskarth's vocals have a more sing-songy tone at first. Then, the sound shifts. Alex Gaskarth takes a breath between the verses and the chorus, and then launches right into the lyrics, "She's dancing alone, I'm ready to go 'cause she's so / Lost in stereo, lost in stereo." The repetition of the song's title just rocks, hard, and it truly never gets old in true All Time Low fashion.