On Blink-182, Growing Up and Life

When I first heard, “Dammit” I thought it was the best song ever. I annoyed my family, my friends and all of the people in my life by having it as my ringtone and on the CD’s in the family car. I made mix CD’s for everyone I could think of. It became my life, and soon after, so did Blink-182.
Blink 182, as I am sure many of you all can attest to, had a profound and incalculable effect on my life in the most positive way (I hope) ever. Their music took me in with open arms when I myself struggled with the many troubles of childhood and normative behavior. Their riffs and teenage anthems led me on a path to music of a similar type- New Found Glory, Fall Out Boy, Taking Back Sunday, etc- and their catchy melodies and slick riffs were my orientation to become a part of an extremely inclusive and welcoming musical community for which I will never forget.
And when their self-titled album came out, (which is right about the same I started listening to them) I became even more enamored with them than I was, buying everything Blink and posting it all over my room, my myspace page, my journals, my shoes.
But, beyond my creepy obsession, that album is an incredible work of art, and one that showcases that Blink-182 was not just the punk band they limited themselves in the albums before to be. Even more than that, it also dictated what Blink-182 could have become, something that crosses many genres, something that is controversial, thought-provoking, almost intimate.
That all came to an abrupt halt when, in Feb. 2005, Blink-182 took what they called an “indefinite hiatus.” The exact details are still not yet known, but what we do know is that when Blink-182 got back together, in 2008, after a harrowing and tragic plane crash that drummer Travis Barker was a part of; it seemed as maybe Blink-182 could play music together again.
Their album after reuniting, Neighborhoods, played in the similar vein of their self-titled with thought-provoking lyrics and alternate chord progressions showcasing that Blink-182 was not ready (or ever going to again) to return to their old crappy punk sets and instead decided to push for courageous boundaries.
Recently, as again I’m sure many of you have heard, Blink-182 has had some….troubles publicly.
To recap, on Jan. 26, 2015, CBS radio reported that Tom DeLonge is no longer a member of Blink-182. This was, well it was not incredibly shocking. It may sound cynical but Blink-182 had been seemingly dragging their feet since their reunion. It’s been about six years since they got back together and Blink-182 had only released one album and one EP. In addition, a few of the members a couple of months ago were taking pot shots at each other on twitter. To put things in perspective, Fall Out Boy, since their comeback in early 2013, has released two full length albums and an EP.
Anyways, later on during that same day (Jan. 26, 2015), Tom Delonge posts through his instagram that he did not ‘quit Blink-182’ and all of this hoopla was over some sort of miscommunication or misunderstanding.
Further, later on during that day, Mark and Travis open up to Rolling Stone and ripped into Delonge in a publicly documented interview.
The next day, Delonge posts on his facebook wall a letter, written for the fan base, detailing basically that he, allegedly, never quit the band and has just had many other musical complications surrounding him recently.
Later on on this same day, Hoppus gives an interview to Alternative Press reiterating the struggle and frustrating nature of the entire endeavor so far, again saying that Delonge has been wholeheartedly hesitant to record music/do anything with Blink-182.
I’m sure there will be more to this story, but right now this is all we have to go off of.
Hoppus has continually repeated the idea that he wants to be a part of Blink-182 for as long as he can and Barker seems to have similar enthusiasm. Delonge on the other hand, seems hesitant at best.
To summarize: the future of Blink-182 does not look good. It does not look good at all.
There is something oddly sobering and sad about this public spectacle. Maybe it’s just me and my spoiled youth but I can’t help but feel upset that three figures who I idolized and cherished as a child are now bickering amongst each other like schoolchildren. It’s almost as if childhood (mine, at least) is now officially over.
You can blame whoever you want, take whoever side you want, do whatever you need to do to have faith in music again but it all comes to a sad realization that Blink-182 is probably over. And even if they come back again, will they be able to make music together? How could you make music with a person that is upset with you? How could you tour with this animosity towards each other?
It’s sad, but it’s more likely than not, true. Blink-182 might continue to exist but most probably it will be without at least one of the founding members.
And if this is the end of original Blink-182 I implore everyone to forget the last few weeks, to forget the public bickering and arguments. I urge everyone to remember their hilarious onstage presence, their musical charisma, their keen sense for melody. I know I will.
I will always be Blink-182 for life. I will always listen to their albums, even the new ones they may make.
I will always remember listening to “First Date” before actually going on my first date (cliche, I know). I will always remember headbanging to the powerful, urgent “GO,” and I will always remember watching the music video for “All The Small Things” maybe 1000 times and laughing my butt off after each one with my childhood friends.
However, possibly the most important memory I will have in regards to Blink-182 is when I was driving to college orientation for the first time with my mom. My mom never switched out her mixed CD’s that I gave her and a few years before this I made one with a few songs from Blink-182 and Valencia. After switching the songs and listening, we arrived at “Feeling This,” a song that at that time had been out for nearly a decade.
During the song, I remember thinking about what I can’t wait to be apart of at college, and what I can do now with my new-found freedom. And then I started thinking about what I wanted to do with my life, basically coming to the conclusion that I had next to no idea at that time.
And then, near the end of the track, we were approaching my new home for the next four years and I started crying.
My mom, noticing the tears, asked, “David, why are you crying?”
I responded with, “I don’t know.”