In our continuing series Hopp on Pop, Mark Hoppus, bassist for Blink-182 and renowned record producer, has been sharing his favorite acts, culled from his incessant pursuit of all that rocks.

While previous entries have focused on newer acts like pop-punk upstarts We the Kings and British buzz bands like Two Door Cinema Club and Mumford & Sons, this week Hoppus looks into his own musical past and picks a classic album that influenced his career.

Check out this week’s retro version of Hopp on Pop below, and come back to SPIN.com every Wednesday for Mark’s latest post!Click here to browse all of Mark’s previous picks.

Be sure to follow more of Mark’s opinions and exploits via Twitter and on his blog! And check out Mark’s 8 Favorite Albums of 2009!

SONIC YOUTH’S DAYDREAM NATION

ALBUM INFO:
Released in 1988 on DGC Records.

THE BASICS:
This album marked a new direction for the NYC noise rock band, who tempered their string-mangling methods with a softer touch, and, in doing so, “limned the line between mainstream and alternative,” as Greg Milner wrote in SPIN‘s 100 Greatest Albums issue (from July 2005), in which Daydream Nation earned the No. 14 spot. “It was a sprawling container for all our band contained,” explained guitarist Lee Ranaldo.

WHY THEY MATTER:
“In the tradition of the Velvet Underground, Sonic Youth combine punk rock, the New York art scene, and sheer noise. It’s abstract expressionism in music,” Hoppus says.

WHERE HOPP HEARD IT FIRST:
“In the small California town where I grew up, there was a single record store. I had just discovered punk rock and wanted to hear everyhing I could.Every week I’d go in and ask about new bands. Someone suggested I check out the new Sonic Youth album, Daydream Nation. Nothing has been the same since.”

WHY THE ALBUM STILL ROCKS:
“There’s no simple three-chord punk rock here: Guitars as paintbrushes. Strange tunings. Amps stabbed and melting down. Frenetic, pounding drums. Rewriting the ‘rules’ of music. Two decades later this album is more cutting-edge and creative than most music written since.”

HOPP’S TOP TRACK:
“Teenage Riot”

WATCH: Sonic Youth, “Teenage Riot” Live on Jools Holland, 2009https://www.youtube.com/embed/A_XiXv9Y210

FIND OUT MORE:
sonicyouth.com