If you’re not into the punk rock scene, you may not know the best-known trio of blink-182 just released their first album in more than a decade (and let’s face it, if you didn’t know that, this is probably not the blog post for you, but you’re welcome to read on for educational purposes).
In preparation for this release from Tom DeLonge, Mark Hoppus, and Travis Barker, I went back in time (in my mind) and tried to listen to blink’s complete discography with the ears of each era. In doing so, I made some interesting (to me) observations and came to the following conclusions…
Punk doesn’t (necessarily) thrive on vocals
Buddha, blink’s first album (not counting their Flyswatter demo, which you can find on YouTube), came out in 1994, three years before auto-tune even existed, and it shows. Buddha has a solid teenage garage band feel, with seriously pitchy vocals that are (perhaps mercifully) a bit drowned out by the guitars and drums. Not much improved with Cheshire Cat (1995), which includes spoken banter, impersonations and random “tribal” sounding vocalizations, or Dude Ranch (1997), which has literal screaming in it (but not like screamo bands), although it sounds like they did have a bigger budget for those albums.
Punk does thrive on irreverence
Do I enjoy listening to young (or middle-aged) men sing about masturbation and getting drunk? Well, no, not really. But enjoyment isn’t exactly the point of lyrics like that and song titles like “Dick Lips” and “Dumpweed” (Dude Ranch and Enema of the State). Anyone who rhymes “she’s so important” with “I’m so retarded” (“Apple Shampoo,” Dude Ranch) isn’t trying to appeal to anyone who considers themselves an intellectual. Consider, though: how many of us have wanted to do something (at some point) because someone told us we couldn’t? There’s something to be said for raw honesty and uncensored language, however immature.
Chemistry (can) make or break a band
I don’t know how fans felt when Matt Skiba “took Tom’s place” (as if), but it seems like, if anyone could gracefully enter and exit a band like blink, Skiba was the guy for the job (his band Alkaline Trio is definitely in a similar lane). Still, the fact that Tom could return for One More Time (2023) have it sound (almost) as good as their peak self-titled album from 20 years ago speaks volumes of the relationship(s) between Mark, Travis, and Tom. Whatever the drama during their “hiatus” in the mid-2000s (during which Tom formed Angels & Airwaves, as well as Box Car Racer with Travis, while Mark formed +44 with Travis also) and Tom’s departure in 2015, these dudes are true friends and that benefits the music.
You don’t have to like every song (or album) to be a fan
Any self-respecting band with any sort of longevity is going to experiment over the years in an effort to find “their sound” and develop as musicians. In The Mark, Tom, and Travis Show (2000), blink’s only live album, one of them thanks the people who “were here before Enema of the State” (1999), because that album marked the band’s jump into the “mainstream” (it sold 15 million copies worldwide). I don’t fault the band for recognizing those who liked them “before they were cool.” But to the fans who criticized this transition, which evidently ran counter to their ideas of “punk,” I have to say…get bent.
Take Off Your Pants and Jacket (2001) marked a more polished sound for the band, and Untitled/Self-titled (2003) showed an increasing “maturity” (yes, even as it opened with “Feeling This,” which someone I know once described as “pure teenage fuck fantasy”). Self-titled also shows influences from the emo scene, not least of all because it includes vocals from Robert Smith of The Cure (I challenge you to find a more emo band, despite starting before the term/genre existed).
During the post-self-titled tour break, as many fans know, Travis was seriously injured in a plane crash, which most people credit as the motivating factor in bringing the band back together. The resulting Neighborhoods (2011) has more of a rock vibe with a touch of post-hardcore (which I think was Tom’s doing), and the later indie EP Dogs Eating Dogs (2012) follows in those footsteps.
Then in comes Matt, who prompted an even bigger shift. California (2016/17) has a markedly more canned vibe, and feels a bit recycled, like blink pirated their own stuff, as well as others; there’s a lot of oohs and whoas and na-na-nas that, while not absent from the super trio’s work, seem like filler. This carries into Nine (2019), which brings back the post-hardcore sound, but is more imitative/reminiscent of bands like Pierce the Veil, Hawthorne Heights, and Red Jumpsuit Apparatus.
blink’s sound also evolved with their later single work (2019-2020), when they collaborated with “artists” (to use this term charitably) as diverse as XXXTENTACION, The Chainsmokers, and Lil Wayne (WHY?! Well, because they can, for one, and two, $$$). If a band is making music with other bands—even if they’re vastly differently in style/genre—their sound is bound to take on a few similarities here and there; that’s not a bad thing, but fortunately they’ve returned to a more trademark sound with One More Time.
[Nostalgia] covers over a multitude of sins
There’s something to be said for music that brings you back to your formative years. Although I didn’t really know any blink aside from a few tracks from self-titled, Enema of the State, and Dude Ranch at the time, I grew up on Avril Lavigne, Yellowcard, Relient K, Green Day, Linkin Park, Fall Out Boy, and Good Charlotte. Middle and high school were 2003 to 2010 for me, and the punk and emo scenes really flourished during that time. (This is also the time I took up snowboarding; not skating, but close, right?). So, even though most people know me as a particularly responsible person, there’s a little punk patch on my heart. And despite growing up in Alaska, California skate punk just screams summer to me—the ones where I didn’t have a job and June-August was just about having fun and being a crazy teenager. Of course, adolescence is also everyone’s peak angsty period, which might explain why punk and emo resonates with my generation so much; it was thriving when we were at our most obnoxious.
In Conclusion…
Punk’s not dead! And blink-182’s latest album, One More Time, is one for the books. Is it earth-shatteringly original? No. Cliché? Yes, a bit (we all know “You Don’t Know What You’ve Got” until it’s gone). Does it still bring a smile to my face and make me want to dance and also cry a little bit? Absolutely. Go have a listen, punk.
P.S.
Here’s my current ranking of blink-182 albums (not including EPs or compilations), followed by my current ranking of tracks on the new album (based purely on how much I enjoy listening to/singing each of them right now):
- blink-182 (self-titled/untitled)
- Neighborhoods
- One More Time…
- Take Off Your Pants and Jacket
- Enema of the State
- California
- Nine
- Dude Ranch
- Cheshire Cat
- Buddha
One More Time…
- One More Time
- Dance with Me
- Fell in Love
- More Than You Know
- Anthem Part 3
- Blink Wave
- Terrified
- When We Were Young
- You Don’t Know What You’ve Got
- Other Side
- Edging
- Childhood
- Bad News
- Turpentine
- Hurt (interlude)
- Turn This Off!
- Fuck Face
Caitlin M.S. Buxbaum 