Day After Day #278: DVP

Day After Day is an ambitious attempt to write about a song every day in 2024 (starting on Jan. 4).

DVP (2016)

I've been writing the majority of these posts about music from many years ago, but that's not to imply that I don't listen to current rock music. For the last 11 years, I've been putting together a weekly radio show and most of those episodes include an hour of new music. One of the bands that I've really grown to love is PUP, a punk-pop act out of my hometown Toronto.

Originally called Topanga (after a character on the old sitcom Boy Meets World), the band was formed in 2010 by bassist Nestor Chumak, guitarist Steve Sladkowski, drummer Zack Mykula and singer-guitarist Stefan Babcock. As the group's sound got heavier and punkier, they decided to change their name to PUP, which was an acronym based on a quote from Babcock's grandmother; she said playing in a rock band was a "pathetic use of potential."

The band released their self-titled debut in Canada in October 2013, later signing to SideOneDummy and re-releasing it in the U.S. in April 2014. A heavy touring schedule with bands like the Hives, the Menzingers, Lemuria and Cayetana helped generate buzz for PUP, which then played at the Reading and Leeds festivals in the U.K. and Riot Fest at Chicago and Toronto. The group specializes in sarcastic lyrics, big riffs, gang vocals and catchy hooks.

The group's second album, The Dream is Over, came out in May 2016; the title was a quote from Babcock's doctor after examining the singer's damaged vocal cords. The lead track on the album, "If This Tour Doesn't Kill You, I Will," starts off quietly before erupting in punk fury halfway through and it segues right into the album's first single, "DVP," named after the heavily congested highway that runs through Toronto.

"Your sister thinks that I'm a freak/She's been ignoring my calls, we haven't spoken in a week/I get so drunk that I can't speak/Yeah, nothing's workin' and our future's lookin' bleak, and I said/Three beers and I'm so messed up/Get drunk and I can't shut up/She says that I drink too much/I'm fucked up and she hates my guts/She says I need to grow up."

The song hurtles along as Babcock continues to chronicle his bad decisions.

"I'm drivin' fast to get away/Doin' 180 on the Don Valley Parkway/Yeah, I'd be better off dead/I don't give a shit, I just don't wanna die, and I don't wanna live, I said."

Babcock has expressed some regret about the song glorifying bad habits, but he said he still loves the song. Certainly it's not the first song about immature behavior; it's definitely a cautionary tale, at least for those of us who have moved on from such hijinks.

"Three beers and I'm so messed up/Get drunk and I can't shut up/She says that I drink too much/Fucked up and she hates my guts/I just don't know what to do/I'm still fucked up over you/She says that I drink too much/Hawaiian red fruit punch/She says I need to grow up."

The band released a fun lyric video for the song, with the lyrics running over clips from classic videogames. The Dream is Over hit #82 on the Billboard 200 and performed well on several other Billboard charts, including topping the Heatseekers Albums chart.

In the years since, PUP has released two more albums and an EP, all of which are excellent. The most recent is 2022's The Unraveling of PUPTheBand, a concept album about a band named PUP that was falling apart. Somehow I still haven't seen them live, which is something I plan to rectify the next time they come through town. The band doesn't take itself seriously, which is part of its appeal, but it still rocks furiously. PUP is one of the best groups going right now.