The Offspring is a more influential band to punk rock than Blink 182

More irrelevance: "I look forward to discussing music with you after this debate, if you're interested. " -- haha, sure. I'm fine with that. Anyway, back to the debate. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ <"Though not everyone might be able to sympathize with a authoritarian government, pretty much everyone, at some point in their life has considered their parent a dictator which is why they are relate able. They take these big concepts and make them easier to digest for younger people, so that at a later point they will (hopefully) be able to grasp the full scope of the concept. "> I think going from lyrics about the state of the government to lyrics about teenage angst issues (such as struggles with mom and dad) is a rather large leap. The connection between the two made by my opponent seems to be very general, and therefore, weak. The more general you are, the easier it is to make comparisons -- but not necessarily valid ones. The lack of specifics docks them merit. For example, Bob Dylan was known for his politically inspired lyrics, and so are the Dead Kennedys -- but despite that, their lyrical stylings and the concepts shared within them greatly differ; Dylan often wrote philosophical, ambiguous lyrics (such as Blowin' in the Wind), whereas the Dead Kennedys were very satirical; they often wrote from the viewpoint of their intended targets (ex: Kill the Poor. ) So, while Dylan and the DK's both have the general connection of politically inspired lyrics, that doesn't mean the ideas, concepts, etc. , are similar. It's the same thing with Bad Religion and Blink-182 -- both of them seem to promote rebellion (to a degree), but they're still different. As I talked about earlier, Blink-182's lyrics often deal with the problems one faces while growing up, whereas Bad Religion write more intricate lyrics (broad use of metaphors, imagery, and a relatively extensive vocabulary) about social consciousness. <"With Blink - 182's influence they have helped to mold the punk genre and its sub genres. Though the resolution states Punk, pop - punk is a part of punk and therefore I believe it is relevant to this debate. "> I believe my opponent to be incorrect -- yes, as I stated, they're related -- but that doesn't mean contributing to one equates to contributing to the other, nor does it mean it's relevant. .. all music is in *some* way related, but that doesn't make all music relevant to the debate. Making a contribution to one aspect of music won't necessarily reflect in another aspect of music, such as being influential to the pop-punk scene, and being influential to the punk rock scene; you can have influence in one, but have very little in the other. That is why I believe Blink-182's influence over the pop-punk scene to be irrelevant. Just because pop-punk and punk rock are related doesn't mean that contributing to one equates to contributing to another. <"As I illustrated in my constructive, "Enema of The State" went on to sell 15 million copies making it one of the biggest punk acts of all time. Not to mention, the Offspring did veer from their Punk Rock ways with "Pretty Fly For A White Guy" which in the opening line they steal from Def Leppard with the quasi - german, "gunter glieben etc. ""> While the Offspring did abandon their punk rock roots, I do believe that Blink-182 had done the same thing by the album "Enema of the State. " They had a pre-packaged, big record label image, and completely lacked the "do it yourself" attitude which is prominent throughout punk rock music. Albums such as the Offspring's "Smash" didn't share those qualities -- they released it from an independent label, and they. .. well, did it themselves, to be succinct. Anyway. .. As the resolution, does, indeed, state, the debate is about the Offspring's and Blink-182's influence over punk rock -- showing that one band is more influential in pop-punk doesn't mean they're more influential to punk rock. My opponent hasn't shown Blink-182 to be more influential to punk rock, and not only that, but the argument I initially made in favor of the Offspring being more influential hasn't been rebutted, and therefore, still stands.