Blink-182

[Kotowboy]

So if a band isn't technical they suck ?

[SebastianPratesi]

I don't think he said that (he just stated his opinion), but I agree with you. I like both Yes and the Ramones, which are polar opposites. Each of them does something great which the other doesn't. I guess that's the cool thing about listening to music - just as it is with food: you don't need to choose just one thing you like.

Plus, it also depends on what you've heard from that artist. Blink has many songs which differ from their most known, poppier hits. You have "All The Small Things", but you also have "Adam's Song" on the same album. In Neighborhoods you have the sexy "Snake Charmer" and the super aggresive "Heart's All Gone" back to back.

[Kotowboy]

bands like this, coldplay, oasis etc... all sound the same to me...

Coldplay Blink 182 and oasis all sound the same ?

You need better ears...

[Stadler]

Sorry but i cannot think of anything positive to say about blink 182.... heard their music and sounds like baby drool to me.... bands like this, coldplay, oasis etc... all sound the same to me...

As i am someone who listens to DT, Rainbow, Yes, Rush, Van Halen etc... thesr bands just do not make the cut

Uh...  Blackmore is my favorite musician of all time, I've seen Yes almost 15 times, and have been a DT fan since Images and Words was first released in 1992...

And Oasis is in my top five favorite bands.   Honestly, I don't know how you listen to DT and Yes - both MASSIVELY influenced by the Beatles - and NOT like Oasis.     There are a lot of pop bands that sound the same, but Oasis, Coldplay and Blink are NOT three of them. 

[Kotowboy]

And Oasis is in my top five favorite bands.   H

I'm just listening to the B sides from Chasing Yesterday. Not bad. Very Beatles. Very Country.

[SebastianPratesi]

Funnily enough: in a Blink forum I visit frequently, there's this "Blink-182 General Discussion Thread" in which a forum member once said that Oasis is far more popular than Blink, so for a while the discussion revolved around Oasis, and now there's a running joke in that forum about it being an Oasis forum. Ha!

[SebastianPratesi]

New album came out today, and it's available on their official YouTube channel
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLeKpZI54gF0vrXYqZ10FwcPDXXzqvmGLD

[twosuitsluke]

Giving it a listen now. I must admit I wasn't particularly hyped for it but I have always been a big Blink fan. I love Matt Skiba and Alkaline Trio but wasn't sure how he'd fit in to Blink, so far the answer seems to be perfectly. I think I'll give it a few more listens and see how it holds up.

[SebastianPratesi]

Giving it a listen now. I must admit I wasn't particularly hyped for it but I have always been a big Blink fan. I love Matt Skiba and Alkaline Trio but wasn't sure how he'd fit in to Blink, so far the answer seems to be perfectly. I think I'll give it a few more listens and see how it holds up.

Good for you! It's completely the opposite with me - I was waiting for this album a lot, and thought it would blow my mind, but I listened to it yesterday and nothing stood out. It's got the sound of 'TOYPAJ' (my favourite Blink album), but none of the songs is particularly strong to me. Whereas I was surprised with how much I liked some 'Neighborhoods' songs on first listen ("Ghost On The Dancefloor", "This Is Home", "MH 4.18.2011").

[twosuitsluke]

I really liked Neighbourhoods, it was a little bit more experimental and less formulaic I guess. I thought Kings of the Weekend stood out as a good song after first listen, and the single (can't remember the name). I'll see how it holds up on multiple listens.

[Kotowboy]

I really love Take Off Your Pants and Jacket... Perfect pop rock songs and pristine production.

I've heard three songs from California and they're really dull in my opinion.

[Lax]

I've been surprised because my wife, as a long time fan, thought that neighboorhood was correct but not great, and today she's over-loving the new album.
Our opinion = Back to typical blink sound and style 95% - Creativity 5%
It's so typical, I don't know if on the long term it will replace old hits that are imo more memorable

[SebastianPratesi]

I've been surprised because my wife, as a long time fan, thought that neighboorhood was correct but not great, and today she's over-loving the new album.
Our opinion = Back to typical blink sound and style 95% - Creativity 5%
It's so typical, I don't know if on the long term it will replace old hits that are imo more memorable

I don't think there is any "long term" when it comes to Blink. They still are one of my 3 favourite bands, but even I have to admit that it's unlikely that they'll have the same popularity as they did ~15 years ago. There's no way these new songs will become 'classics', no matter how catchy or creative they might be.

To me, at this point, they are a band like Tears For Fears (which I also like). They were huge at one point, and 15 years later they still released new music, but they keep touring on their old hits only, and only play 2 or 3 recent songs live.

Blink has been doing the same for the last 5 years. There are many Neighborhoods and Dogs Eating Dogs songs which they've ignored since their releases. Which is a shame, because there is some great stuff on those if you ask me ("Snake Charmer", "This Is Home", "When I Was Young"...).

Having said that - I've been listening to the new album a bit more, and now I'm liking it There are many catchy songs/sections, Travis has some amazing parts (such as the "Los Angeles" intro), and it soungs like a band having fun again, after almost 15 years of a more 'serious' approach. Maybe that's why I'm reminded of TOYPAJ. I think having the 5 Seconds Of Summer producer on board might help them with the younger audiences as well.

[Kotowboy]

The pitch correction on this album is ridiculous.

Track 1 doesn't even sound like humans singing.

Love that they kept in Travis' mistake though.

[SebastianPratesi]

Just uploaded an instrumental cover of "Roller Coaster". Hope you like (or laugh at) it

https://youtu.be/a61Ouvd_5WE

[twosuitsluke]

The lyrics are cliche as all hell but damn, if the video doesn’t just give you a roundhouse kick right to the nostalgia…

https://youtu.be/fSKQRDq3RkM?feature=shared

[Stadler]

The lyrics are cliche as all hell but damn, if the video doesn’t just give you a roundhouse kick right to the nostalgia…

https://youtu.be/fSKQRDq3RkM?feature=shared

Who could have thought that I'd be choking back tears to a Blink-182 song.   For whatever reason that song just hit me.

[twosuitsluke]

The lyrics are cliche as all hell but damn, if the video doesn’t just give you a roundhouse kick right to the nostalgia…

https://youtu.be/fSKQRDq3RkM?feature=shared

Who could have thought that I'd be choking back tears to a Blink-182 song.   For whatever reason that song just hit me.

I mean, I love Blink-182, have so many fond memories linked to the band, friendships made due to the band and they were one of my gateway punk bands. I got pretty much all the references in the music video and it hit me damn hard. I guess it’s powerful enough even without all the attached nostalgia. Glad you enjoyed it Stads.

The lyrics are actually pretty damn cringey, and the song would’ve been better with a heavier section, like Stay Together for the Kids, but I’ll take it.

[cramx3]

Pretty emotional song

[twosuitsluke]

Pretty emotional song

How hard are you crying?

[cramx3]

Pretty emotional song

How hard are you crying?

  nah Im good, sadly not the biggest fan to get all the references in the video.  Song was good though.

[Stadler]

Well, I just knew the plane crash and I know Mark Hoppus battled cancer, but still.  I'm a sucker for those honest expressions of caring. 

[twosuitsluke]

This new song got me checking out some of their old videos. The singles from their self-titled were so influential for me, especially Feeling This and Always. I basically dressed like Tom in the Feeling This video for like a year

The Always video was really cleverly shot, check it out for those who’ve never seen it…

https://youtu.be/CvtJVku_mJw?si=9adhQgyKWGMZ1shq

[Anguyen92]

Man, the song is what it is and no one ever is going to think Blink 182 is Shakespeare when it comes to lyrics, but they got the point through, especially with the music video where I recognized some of the settings of locations they used from old music videos (Stay Together for the Kids, After Midnight, etc.).  Maybe this time around, they won't let things fall apart like the first two times they broke up.

[TheHoveringSojourn808]

Sorry but i cannot think of anything positive to say about blink 182.... heard their music and sounds like baby drool to me.... bands like this, coldplay, oasis etc... all sound the same to me...

As i am someone who listens to DT, Rainbow, Yes, Rush, Van Halen etc... thesr bands just do not make the cut

i see what you did there

[Jamesman42]

The lyrics are cliche as all hell but damn, if the video doesn’t just give you a roundhouse kick right to the nostalgia…

https://youtu.be/fSKQRDq3RkM?feature=shared

I liked this a lot. Thanks for sharing.

[TheHoveringSojourn808]

the new blink 182 song is good. the video is perhaps a bit too cheesy for me but it wasn't bad

[faizoff]

That was really good. I've only casually listened to them over the years but that track and video was really cool.

[faizoff]

Found a comment on reddit giving some context about the track, good to know I had no idea about most of the stuff other than the plane crash.

I feel like if you didn’t grow up with this band, it won’t hit the same, so here’s some context.

This iteration of blink-182 went on “indefinite hiatus” suddenly in 2005, a couple of years after releasing what is widely considered their best record. At the time, they were legitimately one of the biggest bands in alternative rock. The split was, to put it mildly, messy. Reportedly, Tom (the guitarist) wanted to take a half year off to spend time with his family, but afterward wanted more time to explore other creative endeavors, and Mark (bassist) and Travis (drummer) were understandably frustrated that Tom kept delaying his return. Eventually it led to Tom just leaving. He’d spend the next few years researching aliens and starting the band Angels & Airwaves, and eventually it would come out that he was struggling with an opiate addiction at the time after getting prescribed Vicodin for a back injury a few years prior. Mark and Travis formed a side project called +44. Those of us that grew up listening to them in our formative years were gutted, but we tried our best to enjoy the new music instead.

A few years later, in 2008, Travis and DJ AM were in a plane crash. Out of the six people on board, they were the only survivors. Travis nearly didn’t make it - he was in intensive care for weeks, had several surgeries and blood transfusions. To compound things, not even a year later, DJ AM overdosed on hard drugs that he started using again due to the PTSD from the crash. This led to Tom reaching out to reunite with Mark and Travis, and they got back together to record a new album and go on tour again in 2009. However, the album was more akin to their side projects, and the reunion didn’t really last - Tom wound up leaving again at the end of 2014. The vibe just wasn’t the same within the band - nobody was really on the same page, everyone had different priorities and visions of what they wanted to do musically, and they fought a lot behind the scenes.

Mark and Travis had enough and decided to just replace Tom with Matt Skiba of Alkaline Trio, and they recorded a couple of albums together, while Tom went back to doing his own various media projects and getting UFO hearings in front of Congress. He also went through a pretty nasty divorce in 2019.

Then, in 2021, Mark was diagnosed with stage 4 lymphoma. He went through intense chemotherapy treatment and eventually came through, announcing he was cancer-free at the end of that year. The whole ordeal was enough to bring them back together again as friends first without the pressure of being bandmates at the same time, and Tom rejoined the band again near the end of 2022.

So now, this song - it hits us who have been fans through all of this differently. We understand the context. It isn’t just sentimentality for nostalgia’s sake, its real. It’s cathartic and raw and emotional and a long, long time coming. It’s a song for us, and more importantly, it’s a song for those three men, finally agreeing to be brothers again and be real with each other. It’s essentially a love song for each other.

Hug your local blink-182 fan because they probably cried a lot today.

[TheHoveringSojourn808]

Found a comment on reddit giving some context about the track, good to know I had no idea about most of the stuff other than the plane crash.

I feel like if you didn’t grow up with this band, it won’t hit the same, so here’s some context.

This iteration of blink-182 went on “indefinite hiatus” suddenly in 2005, a couple of years after releasing what is widely considered their best record. At the time, they were legitimately one of the biggest bands in alternative rock. The split was, to put it mildly, messy. Reportedly, Tom (the guitarist) wanted to take a half year off to spend time with his family, but afterward wanted more time to explore other creative endeavors, and Mark (bassist) and Travis (drummer) were understandably frustrated that Tom kept delaying his return. Eventually it led to Tom just leaving. He’d spend the next few years researching aliens and starting the band Angels & Airwaves, and eventually it would come out that he was struggling with an opiate addiction at the time after getting prescribed Vicodin for a back injury a few years prior. Mark and Travis formed a side project called +44. Those of us that grew up listening to them in our formative years were gutted, but we tried our best to enjoy the new music instead.

A few years later, in 2008, Travis and DJ AM were in a plane crash. Out of the six people on board, they were the only survivors. Travis nearly didn’t make it - he was in intensive care for weeks, had several surgeries and blood transfusions. To compound things, not even a year later, DJ AM overdosed on hard drugs that he started using again due to the PTSD from the crash. This led to Tom reaching out to reunite with Mark and Travis, and they got back together to record a new album and go on tour again in 2009. However, the album was more akin to their side projects, and the reunion didn’t really last - Tom wound up leaving again at the end of 2014. The vibe just wasn’t the same within the band - nobody was really on the same page, everyone had different priorities and visions of what they wanted to do musically, and they fought a lot behind the scenes.

Mark and Travis had enough and decided to just replace Tom with Matt Skiba of Alkaline Trio, and they recorded a couple of albums together, while Tom went back to doing his own various media projects and getting UFO hearings in front of Congress. He also went through a pretty nasty divorce in 2019.

Then, in 2021, Mark was diagnosed with stage 4 lymphoma. He went through intense chemotherapy treatment and eventually came through, announcing he was cancer-free at the end of that year. The whole ordeal was enough to bring them back together again as friends first without the pressure of being bandmates at the same time, and Tom rejoined the band again near the end of 2022.

So now, this song - it hits us who have been fans through all of this differently. We understand the context. It isn’t just sentimentality for nostalgia’s sake, its real. It’s cathartic and raw and emotional and a long, long time coming. It’s a song for us, and more importantly, it’s a song for those three men, finally agreeing to be brothers again and be real with each other. It’s essentially a love song for each other.

Hug your local blink-182 fan because they probably cried a lot today.

i am that redditor

[ProgMasterMind92]

i personally liked blink-181 better but these guys are pretty dope successors!

[twosuitsluke]

@HoveringSojourn, very well put. I love coming across DTFers in the wild on Reddit

The height of my Blink obsession was the release of their self titled. When the band spilt I wasn’t as devastated as some because it came at a time when I started discovering so much new music. I kinda left them behind at that point. I didn’t really click with +44 or Angels and Airwaves, so kinda shrugged and thought “well I’ve got their older albums”.

When they reformed I was travelling and remember exactly where I was when I downloaded and listened to the album. I LOVED Neighbourhoods, and although it was a bit different, I was glad to have Blink back.

When they fell apart again I just resigned to the fact this was how it was going to until they officially called it a day. I was hesitant when they kept going with Skiba, but I love Alkaline Trio and thought he did a really good job. California was ok, but I thought the album that followed it was atrocious.

Anyway, it’s been a journey (and the new video really reminded me off that) and I agree that the new single is completely for the fans. It felt like a real farewell, and maybe that’s exactly what this album will be. Tom has had his issues for years and maybe they all know they’re destined to split again, so why not go out in a high?

[Adami]

Just listened to the song again.

The lyrics are good, mature, and meaningful.

However, the vocal processing/autotune is just super distracting. Still, I can respect the song a lot.

[faizoff]

Found a comment on reddit giving some context about the track, good to know I had no idea about most of the stuff other than the plane crash.

I feel like if you didn’t grow up with this band, it won’t hit the same, so here’s some context.

This iteration of blink-182 went on “indefinite hiatus” suddenly in 2005, a couple of years after releasing what is widely considered their best record. At the time, they were legitimately one of the biggest bands in alternative rock. The split was, to put it mildly, messy. Reportedly, Tom (the guitarist) wanted to take a half year off to spend time with his family, but afterward wanted more time to explore other creative endeavors, and Mark (bassist) and Travis (drummer) were understandably frustrated that Tom kept delaying his return. Eventually it led to Tom just leaving. He’d spend the next few years researching aliens and starting the band Angels & Airwaves, and eventually it would come out that he was struggling with an opiate addiction at the time after getting prescribed Vicodin for a back injury a few years prior. Mark and Travis formed a side project called +44. Those of us that grew up listening to them in our formative years were gutted, but we tried our best to enjoy the new music instead.

A few years later, in 2008, Travis and DJ AM were in a plane crash. Out of the six people on board, they were the only survivors. Travis nearly didn’t make it - he was in intensive care for weeks, had several surgeries and blood transfusions. To compound things, not even a year later, DJ AM overdosed on hard drugs that he started using again due to the PTSD from the crash. This led to Tom reaching out to reunite with Mark and Travis, and they got back together to record a new album and go on tour again in 2009. However, the album was more akin to their side projects, and the reunion didn’t really last - Tom wound up leaving again at the end of 2014. The vibe just wasn’t the same within the band - nobody was really on the same page, everyone had different priorities and visions of what they wanted to do musically, and they fought a lot behind the scenes.

Mark and Travis had enough and decided to just replace Tom with Matt Skiba of Alkaline Trio, and they recorded a couple of albums together, while Tom went back to doing his own various media projects and getting UFO hearings in front of Congress. He also went through a pretty nasty divorce in 2019.

Then, in 2021, Mark was diagnosed with stage 4 lymphoma. He went through intense chemotherapy treatment and eventually came through, announcing he was cancer-free at the end of that year. The whole ordeal was enough to bring them back together again as friends first without the pressure of being bandmates at the same time, and Tom rejoined the band again near the end of 2022.

So now, this song - it hits us who have been fans through all of this differently. We understand the context. It isn’t just sentimentality for nostalgia’s sake, its real. It’s cathartic and raw and emotional and a long, long time coming. It’s a song for us, and more importantly, it’s a song for those three men, finally agreeing to be brothers again and be real with each other. It’s essentially a love song for each other.

Hug your local blink-182 fan because they probably cried a lot today.

i am that redditor

Very cool! thanks for all the background info.

[TheHoveringSojourn808]

oh man, i'm sorry guys. what i meant there was a metaphor. for those who might not be familiar with the term, a metaphor is a figure of speech where you say one thing to represent something else, to create an analogy or comparison. it's like saying the world is a stage, or time is money. you're not saying the world literally becomes a stage, or that time can be spent like cash; it's just a way to describe things differently. so, when i said "i am that redditor," i wasn't claiming to be the actual redditor behind the blink-182 post or anything like that. i was simply trying to express a strong connection or similarity between me and the original poster of that blink-182 post. i thought their post had some great info, and i tend to share detailed reviews and insights here too. it was a way to say, "hey, i feel a kinship with that redditor because we both put effort into our posts." trust me, if you found THE hovering sojourn in the wild on reddit, you'd really feel it deep down in your soul

sorry for the confusion friends!