Posted in: Rock by Chambo on October 22nd, 2008 | 18 Comments
I can still recall the day my mates and I stumbled across the catchy teen punk sound of Mark, Tom and Travis. Their ridiculously amusing toilet humour lyrics coupled with sexual slogans and vulgar animal acts. We were teens, bordering on punks ourselves. Yep, those were the days.
In actual fact it wasn’t Mark, Tom and Travis then, it was Mark, Tom and Scott and the band was simply known as Blink when they released their first album Buddha in 1993 until a ridiculous threat of legal action from some other nobody band forced them to add the 182 on the end.
Anyway the band shot to fame in our small town with the onset of the skate movement of the late 90’s in NZ and a famous beer advertisement which used the single “Dammit” from the bands third album Dude Ranch as their catchy tune. Dude Ranch debuted in 1997 and alongside other punk bands such as Pennywise, Bad Religion, No Fun At All, and The Offspring, Blink-182 gained cult hero status.
They had the perfect sound for the teenage summer of scorching hot days, great music, beer, and not a care in the world. And that’s the way it was. Blink-182 were the penultimate punk band; in our eyes anyway. Dude Ranch was legend and so someone, whose parents had some cash, bought the previous album Cheshire Cat, more out of respect for the band than the list of tunes which encompassed it.
You can decide for yourself whether this was the last act of true punk music from the hardcore lyricists, because in 1999 came the release of their new album Enema of the State, a new record label (MCA), and an element of mainstream success. The songs ranged from new pop maturity in “Adam”s Song’, to catchy pop tunes with the same crazy lyrics in “What”s My Age Again?’, to songs of their roots which included “Alien”s Exist’ and “Dumpweed”. Upon its release my mates and I worshipped it and even snubbed Dude Ranch for a few months to thrash the new disc and learn all of the lyrics of every song by heart. I think it even matured us to a certain extent especially when learning and relating the lyrics of “Adam”s Song’ to the suicide of a 17 year old teen who hung himself in his garage while listening to the song.
As I left my teens and reached for the big wide word, so I left my favourite band of my youth years even as they bought out the ever increasing mainstream albums, Take Off Your Pants and Jacket in 2001, and the self titled album in 2003. Don’t get me wrong, I bought the albums and so did most of my mates but it just wasn’t the same. New lyrics, new genre, new friends; how could Blink-182 ever retain their status as the influential teen punk band of the 90’s? They couldn’t, simple as that. The new albums were great but now everyone had had discovered our great music secret of our youth and we were no longer youths.
For Mark Hoppus, Tom DeLonge and Travis Barker, the mainstream success seemed to eventually fuel multiple disputes and rifts within the band. Travel, family pressures, career exploration, and ultimately fame ensured the end was near for the punksters from Poway, California aptly named Blink-182. Because that’s what it seemed like for us, a “blink” and then it was over. Age it seemed had found the fast track to adulthood. What’s my age again?
Dammit – Dude Ranch (1997)
Adam’s Song – Enema of the State (1999)
Lost in Arizona October 22nd, 2008 at 11:39 am
Ah, this brings back many memories from my start into college. Darn, I’m old..lol. Love the song dammit. Still have to crank it up everytime I here that tune. Good one RJ.
RJ Evans October 22nd, 2008 at 2:26 pm
Yeah – the memories!
)
Allison West October 22nd, 2008 at 4:36 pm
This is another great article Rhys! Love your writing style!
Lauren Axelrod October 22nd, 2008 at 5:37 pm
I love this band. It makes me want to throw dishes into the wall and scream on the top of my lungs, wait I do that now without music. lol
Chris Stonecipher October 22nd, 2008 at 7:34 pm
I never heard of this band, but my wife has fond memories of this band. There is a song they sing that she doesn’t know the title but she said it goes like “all things….”
Thanks for sharing!
Chris
Glynis Smy October 23rd, 2008 at 1:52 am
Oh dear I remember 1970’s punk…. I don’t know these but DH does, it’s more his style. Interesting article, thumbs up.
RJ Chamberlain October 23rd, 2008 at 3:47 am
Chris, the song your wife is thinking of is All The Small Things from their album Enema of the State. Probably was their most popular song. Got the most TV and radio time. Thanks for your comment. Thanks a lot everyone for your words.
Juancav October 23rd, 2008 at 8:08 am
I didn´t know them ,I found them in You tube and they are spectacular Enema´s drum fantastic.(videos,here,are not available)
Rj Chamberlain October 23rd, 2008 at 2:44 pm
Videos in this article do work. Thanks
Bridget October 24th, 2008 at 2:18 am
Great article, one love letter I have (from a long time ago) includes lyrics from blink. They were not my style to begin with, but, they grew on me!
Leafygreens08 October 24th, 2008 at 8:48 am
Good job with the videos! I enjoyed this article!
C. Jordan October 25th, 2008 at 9:03 am
Inspiring article that brings back earlier parallel memories.
Liane Schmidt October 25th, 2008 at 6:40 pm
Vote for Obama!
Jesse Striewski November 14th, 2008 at 6:54 pm
Damn good job RJ. That’s cool you’re from the same town as them. I know how you feel about them changing. I’m from the same town as Against Me! (even went to high school w/ their original drummer) and held their music very dear to me. Now that they’d had some success, their music disappointes me…
Joie Schmidt November 21st, 2008 at 9:35 pm
I LOVE “Adam’s Song” – - I wish they were still performing – I love their music – great article!
Blessings.
Sincerely,
-Liane Schmidt.
RSkyline January 17th, 2009 at 10:15 pm
Blink 182 is my favorite band of all time. The have got me through a lot of rough times in my life and have been there for all the good ones too. It was Tom Delonge who inspired me to pick up and play guitar and I haven’t stopped since. I even have my own Delonge strat. I was lucky enough to meet him at an Angels & Airwaves show and thank him for all he has done with music, with out him, and Blink I don’t think I would be here right now.
Ben Pearce January 30th, 2009 at 2:13 pm
Great article. Were a good band, their live album is pretty outrageous!
Mark Gordon Brown April 22nd, 2009 at 1:26 pm
Music is something I really am passionate about, people should really try to listen to a variety of music. This is a terrific introduction to the band!