The best of Blink
"We used to play music together, and we decided we're gonna play music together again." With those words at the Grammys on Sunday, Travis Barker announced that Blink-182 have reunited. Although they were never the most groundbreaking of rock bands, Blink could always be counted on for quality pop hooks and a great sense of humor. With all the Axl Roses of the world, we need artists that don't take themselves so seriously.
In honor of Blink getting back together, here's a rundown of my favorite 8 Blink songs.
8 FAMILY REUNION
This one is included merely for its gratuitous obscenity.
7 MAN OVERBOARD
"Man Overboard" was the one studio track on Blink's live album The Enema Strikes Back. This is one of those songs that makes me want to be a drummer. Travis Barker rips it up.
6 ADAM'S SONG
A serious song about overcoming suicidal thoughts. "Adam's Song" was an early sign that Blink had more to them than just fart jokes.
5 WHAT'S MY AGE AGAIN?
This song gave Blink 182 its first taste of mainstream notoriety. The lyrical theme of immaturity was easy for many to relate to.
4 FALLEN INTERLUDE
The final album Blink-182 recorded together, 2003's self-titled effort, was a major step forward artistically. The toilet humor was gone, replaced with respectable lyrics and incredible musicianship. One of the best examples of this was "The Fallen Interlude," a 2-minute mostly instrumental track showcasing Barker's drumming skills.
3 DAMMIT (GROWING UP)
"Dammit" was Blink's first hit single, and probably still their most well known. The song begins with that instantly recognizable riff. Notably, the video features some dude named Scott on drums, as Travis hadn't yet joined the group.
2 I MISS YOU
Another one from their self-titled album, "I Miss You" was an acoustic track featuring a stand-up bass and jazz brushes. It's a love song that contains a lot of dark imagery, with lines like "We'll have Halloween on Christmas" and "Webs from all the spiders, catching things and eating their insides." The video is equally haunting. And it's fun to sing on SingStar Karaoke.
1 ALL OF THIS (featuring Robert Smith)
This collaboration with The Cure's singer came out of left field but remains one of their best songs. It's the one I can't stop listening to. There is no video for this song. The clip below is a video montage made by a fan.
There also exists a video of Blink playing this song live with Robert Smith which is pretty amazing, but the sound isn't great quality - see that here.
2 comments:
Great list, Scott. This was definitely one of my high points of the Grammys. I think Tom and Mark's solo projects were respectable, but I think there was something missing from each. I like the irreverent, fun dynamic that happens when you get Blink together--their self-deprecation lends me to call them the "Jackass" of rock bands, in the best way. But I too liked their move to more introspective lyrics and well-thought-out musical arrangements. Maybe they can give us the best of both worlds on their return. Here's hoping they get on the bandwagon for Warped 2009!.
I'm not quite clear on why they split in the first place - I know Tom was upset with their direction, but I don't know whether he wanted the music to be more serious or less serious. I guess we'll find out.
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