blink-182

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Blink-182

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Blink 182 has been subjected to more critical abuse than any band in the past 5 years. Punks said they had sold out and reviews by critics were seldom without a phrase along the lines of "no-talent juvenile clowns". This CD is a beautiful example of how wrong they both were.

The first thing you should know about this album is that it is not a punk album. This is a rock album. If you are looking for three chord bubblegum pop punk, this album is not for you. And, as I'm sure you already know, if you're searching for an album to talk down to people about because they haven't heard of it, this is not for you either. If you are looking for an album filled with vulgar jokes, this album is not for you. There is not one joke on this album, and you can count this album's obscenities on one hand. This album is for music lovers. Blink 182 went to great lengths to make this album an honest and musically accomplished work. In the jewel case's insert, every song has at least two of the band members talking about how the song was written, how the song was recorded, or what the song means to them. A real treat on this album is Robert Smith of "The Cure" doing vocals on the song "All of This" (How many "Enema of the State" fans do you think have heard of "The Cure"?). The most important aspect of this album is that Blink 182, although changing their way of making an album, has not sacrificed what Blink 182 does best. The songs are still honest insights on teenage emotion. Possibly one of the most amazing transitional aspects of this album is the way the songs stay with you, not in the catchy way Blink used to, but in a more intriguing way. Each song is very distinct, and you will not find yourself confusing them, on your stereo or in your head.

I don't think it's fair to say Blink 182 grew up. The subject matter of their songs has not changed and the message has not changed either. Blink has simply chosen a more mature and musical way to present their messsage. This album is Blink 182's magnum opus to date, but I wouldn't be suprised if this was just the beginning of a new Blink.

After growing up, through my teenage years, with Blink rocking my earphones and getting more of the same catchy tunes I always loved with "Take Off Your Pants And Jacket", I eagerly awaited the release of their new self-titled album, released in 2003.

The first song "Feeling This" was released before the album here (in Australia) and sounded, surprisingly a little different, but still rather similar to their usual, powerchord driven, choruses.

But when The album arrived and i finally got to listen through it, I was upset to discover that my all-time favourite band was not, and probably never again would be, the same Blink 182 I had loved all my life.

This was especially evidenced, when I got to track 4, "Violence", which, during the chorus, begins to build up to, what one would think, is going to be a predictable powerchord, only to plummet to a strange chord which just doesn't seem to fit.

I know this is only one song, but it is a taste of things to follw.

The songs on this album show glimpses of the band's old style, but, overall, sound like a different band is playing.

I realise, that to many people this is a good thing, as Blink's previous offerings were "too similar" or "too immature".

But surely, this is why we love them. People should listen to other bands, if Blink doesn't suit their taste.

I think Blink should have stayed with their old style; kept pleasing their loyal audience, mostly pubescent teens like me, and left the serious stuff to the other bands...

But it's not all bad.

Even though songs like "Violence" are different, they're not that bad, I just prefer Blink's old style more.

Don't get me wrong. This CD is still great, just not what I was hoping for.

There is no real "terrible" song to be heared on it and, on the upside, there are a few absolutely fantastic tunes.

I absolutely love "Stockholm Syndrome", Travis Barker shows his incredible skill and originality, while the guitars hammer out and make this song my equal favourite on the CD.

Equal favourite, that is, with "Always", which has an absolutely awesome riff, which actually reminds me of some of Blink's older stuff (I did say there are snippets of this album that are similar to classic Blink), which is certainly a good thing!

The aforementioned "Feeling This" is catchy, as is "Down" and "Here's Your Letter" reminds me of the good old days.

The CD ends with the wonderfully haunting "I'm Lost Without You", which always brings a tear to my eye, alerting me to the fact that I really will be lost without Blink 182, in my view, the greatest band, at least for a troubled teen, the world has ever known.

I would probably not reccommend this CD to die-hard Blink fans, unless they are open to new stuff, but to someone into an alternative kind of rock, this would be a good choice.

All i can say is, "Dammit! Well I guess Blink is growing up":(