HAPPY 20th BEERDAY COOLEST BAND EVER! BLINK182!
Well, it's a little bit too late but somehow I'm gonna post this anyway.
This post is 100% dedicated to Blink 182 to celebrate their two decades of existence in music industry. They're my favorite band, figures that inspire me, music that I grew up with and always will grow up with (since I'm a raw 17 years old at this moment). But I ain't gonna talk about how awesome they are, how cool is Tom DeLonge, how sexy is Travis. No. I'm gonna write a little review and stories from their previous albums, their past artworks and of course their fresh yesterday's project, Neighborhoods, in my own words for sure.
Let's just start.
1. Buddha (1994)
This debut album was a bomb in pop punk journal. The guys recorded this album independently. Despite its modest popularity, due to the lack of sophisticated media at the time, this album contains a number of songs that in the future will be one of their biggest hits. Song like Carousel, which was their first hit single, succeeded to catch so many youngsters ears. The intro of the song was a beautiful bass solo played by Mark. This solo remains famous until now, so many fans try to cover this bass solo time to time.
However, my favorite song in this album was Strings. The song was considered short, it's a 2 minutes duration song. The song only contains repetitive 4 major chords that was played wildly through the entire song. There's no guitar solo or something that commonly makes people think that a song is great, but the simplicity in it, and of course, the meaningful lyric. Even though it's short, this song's really telling people something. Here's a piece of Strings lyric:
"I would do anything and that's
What scares me so bad
Don't want to live my life alone
Don't want to go back to what I had
Don't want to spend my life without
All those special things
Don't want to walk around being tied to
Anyone else's strings"
Over all, Buddha was composed with this typical kind of song with different kinds of stories. But just like most of pop punk albums in the 90's, this album will tell you stories about stupid things, silly humors even a little bit of freak romance and friendzone-tales. But don't worry, you'll never know what a group of cheese-odored youngsters can do in a set of 4 major chords songs until you hear this album.
2. Chesire Cat (1995)
We still can find few songs from Buddha in this album, like Carousel, Strings, Romeo and Rebecca, but also some of their new songs like the future hit M+M's and Fentoozler.
After listening to the entire album, you'll figure out the pattern that the guys used to make their album sounds interesting. You'll find out that the songs that they put in the earlier tracks are mostly their serious themed song, the easy to be understood ones, but when we reach like, the 6th track, the song will be turned into joke-fueled song with little parts of Tom talking shit with Mark. For some people, especially haters, those joke-fueled songs are crap and meaningless, but for me those are interesting. Those song makes me laugh everytime I listen to them, and I know that the guys try to tell us "Why so serious?".
Over all, the album was interesting and suitable for those who need a little smile through a hard day.
3. Dude Ranch (1997)
To be honest, this is my favorite album of Blink 182 after all. We can find the music sounds a little bit different from the previous albums. I can't precisely point my finger on how this album sounds like, but I think the guitar riffs of most of the songs in this album sound a little bit more organized and the songs it self really ear-catching.
And of course my favorite Blink 182 song was in this album. Their biggest 90's hit, Dammit. For me Dammit was Blink 182's biggest leap. By this song, the band reached their golden years. This song was played in so many other bands' show. Even I experienced it my self. There are two concerts of other bands that I attended played this song. It shows that so many pop punk juveniles are influenced by this song and feel good playing it on stage.
Not only Dammit. Hits like Josie and Pathetic was born in this album. And the guys still using their distinctive songs pattern in this album. The last tracks still composed of a set of humor-fueled refreshing songs.
On the other hand, this album was Scott Reynor's (drummer) last piece. In 1998, Scott was resigned. Scott left the band in the middle of their Dude Ranch tour. From so many information that I have heard, Tom and Mark kicked him out of the band because of his bad alcohol habit. But if you hear a different information about this, just tell me, of course if you know where I am.
4. Enema of State (1999)
This is Blink 182's first album after Scott Reynor left the band. They replaced him with the famous Travis Barker. Travis put so many different materials in Blink 182's music. We can hear it in most of Enema of State's songs.
There are no more 4 major chords wild strumming anymore. The song mostly filled with harmonized Tom's guitar pickings and Mark's deep bass riffs. No more crazy-trashy sounds in this album.
If you want to distinguish the difference, you can listen to Josie and What's My Age Again side by side. You'll agree then. Lol
However, this album received so many good reviews from the public. This is the starting point when Blink 182 hit the mainstream market. Their league got wider, their market went worldwide. MTV started to play their videos every hours.
I can't tell you that this album was a crap. I admit that this album was great. The songs are good to listen to. We cannot judge something is bad when it changes right?
And this album shows me that member replacement was not a big obstacle for Blink 182. They made it a challenge, and they actually won!
5. Take Off You Pants And Jacket (2001)
This album sounds almost similar with the previous Enema of State. But it turned a little bit harder with faster rhythm like what we can find in many songs in Dude Ranch. Emotional song like "Stay Up Together For The Kids" was one of the hit tracks from this album. Another hits from this album was First Date and The Rock Show.
Even though almost sounds the same, I still think that Take Off Your Pants And Jacket was still better than Enema of State. We can hear that heir music music was developed, and so was their skill.
6. Blink 182 (2003)
I'm a little bit worried about this album. For me this album wasn't one of their bests. They're losing a little bit of pop punk power and energy. Maybe we can say that the lyrics sound more mature and serious, with a number of sappy love songs in it. They weren't that sappy, but I guess no more energy.
There are two kinds of songs in this album. The hard songs with catchy guitar strumming and metaphorical lyrics like "Violence", "Down" and "Asthenia" and slow songs with Tom's modified guitar chords strumming and dramatically romantic lyrics like "I Miss You" "Always" and also "I'm Lost Without You".
Overall, for me this album contains a total different kind of music. Maybe the guys didn't wanna create the same music over and over again and they were trying to show their fans that they aren't kids anymore. They are all grown ups, and no longer a group of 16 years old teenage boys who sings about aliens and getting a blowjob from their grandfather. LOL.
7. Neighborhoods (2011)
This is their latest album and their first after the big reunion. I guess I don't have to write about the hiatus in this post because everyone of you already know. Right?
Well, after a big shock of news that Travis just had a plane accident and unfortunately broke his arm, Tom and Mark assembled together at the hospital where Travis was hospitalized, that was the first ever face to face interaction they had had after at least 3 years of not seeing each other at all. Well, miracle happens. When they met that day,they decided that they will reform Blink 182 and agreed that the band deserves to be continued. And Tadaaaaaa, this album was born.
I can't say too much about this album. Actually I'm not disappointed at all. This album wasn't the album that I will actually like the first time I listened to it but this album deserves a little bit more credits of appreciation.
It's not dude ranch, it's not Take Off Your Pants, it a little bit more sounds like the previous Self-Titled but sounds harder and more serious, brasher. Some of the songs have a tendency to sound like the general 90's punk songs. Well, I was expecting a slow-downed album with boring tracks and songs about love and stuffs, but it wasn't.Gratefully.
My favorite tracks of the album is Wishing Well. And of course MH4.18.11. Well MH is actually a little bit underrated, but for me, the song is awesome even though actually it doesn't sound like Blink at all.
But the bottom line is, Blink 182 worked hard and gave all their bests for this album and you can't deny the fact. And for me it's ridiculous for people to expect that Neighborhoods will sound like and as good as Enema of States or Take Off You Pants.
In some stages of life you know that you have to change and you're not a teenager anymore, and what people think about is not important anymore. It's about do the best you can, because you're in your late thirties and you've got a family, you're not singing about girls anymore, you're not singing about getting drunk and wasted anymore, it's about life. No matter how far you run, you have to face it. And this album teaches me that.
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Well, that's it folks. Now you know from the reviews above that my love for Blink 182 is undying and they always have a place in my heart and in my head no matter how grown up I am. Because they grow up too. And I'm seeing my self 10 years from now attending their sold-out show in an 10.000-cap arena, they're in their tour of their 10th album and in their early Fifties and still rocking it. LOL.
I Love you forever Tom, Mark, Travs.
