The Legend of 182: A Blink to the Past

Zach Fraser

Published: Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Blink-182

For those who have been living under a rock for the past 15 years, you might not have heard the name “Blink-182”, but for the rest of us, the band’s name probably strikes a chord somewhere in the memories of our youth. So let’s take a journey down Nostalgia Lane and relive the wondrous years of “Blink-182” to better appreciate the future of the most talked about band of 2009.

“Cheshire Cat” (1994)
“Blink-182” had released a number of demos in years prior that would later be re-released, but technically speaking, “Cheshire Cat” is the band’s first studio album. An album that is punk to its core, the CD highlights the sounds that would define “Blink-182” for the rest of their career. Immature jokes, quick ballads and up-tempo songs are all common ground on their first release. Although the album is unpolished (as most first albums are), “Cheshire Cat” is an album that is overall a good first release that paved the way for the band’s future.

“Dude Ranch” (1997)
“Dude Ranch”, the second studio release from Blink, saw the band start to receive more attention with roughly 1.5 million copies sold. The album’s most popular single, “Dammit” gave Blink a touch of commercial success and showed the band’s promising future. Other key tracks on the album are “Pathetic” and “Josie,” which are entreatingly catchy. Even though the album wasn’t necessarily considered their breakout album, most die-hard Blink fans swear by “Dude Ranch’s” sound as it separates the early years of Blink from their more commercial years.

“Enema of the State” (1999)
After original drummer Scott Raynor was asked to leave the band, Travis Barker stepped in for his first album with “Blink-182”, “Enema of the State”. An album that most people will forever remember as the album that catapulted “Blink-182” into the mainstream, their third studio album resulted in huge commercial success for the band with singles like “What’s My Age Again?”, “All the Small Things” and “Adam’s Song.” All three songs resulted in extremely successful music videos that saw an enormous amount of airtime on MTV’s prominent TV show “Total Request Live”. “Enema of the State” further strayed away from the raw punk sounds of their earlier demo’s such as “Flyswatter” and “Buddha” and stepped in the direction of their signature pop-punk sound that defined a generation and paved the way for bands for years to come.

“Take Off Your Pants and Jacket” (2001)
A clever play on words, don’t you think? If the title didn’t give it away, this album followed in the footsteps of inappropriate and crude jokes that are just downright hilarious. Songs like “Happy Holidays You B******” are strikingly offensive and, yet, addicting and enjoyable. “Take Off Your Pants and Jacket” was yet another successful release for Blink with singles. “The Rock Show”, “First Date” and “Stay Together for the Kids” all received huge amounts of radio play.

“Blink-182” (2003)
Blink’s fifth studio album saw a departure from the pop-punk sound of their previous two releases and showed a more mature side to the group. Although different, the album was received well by critics and most fans. Songs on the self-titled “Blink-182” showed more meaning in the lyrics and experimentation with different instruments. “Feeling This”, “I Miss You”, “Down” and “Always” were the four singles chosen from the album, which scored a huge success on radio and TV station. “Blink-182” was the last studio release before the band announced their indefinite hiatus in early 2005.

“Sixth Studio Album” (Summer 2009)
As confirmed recently at the 51st annual Grammy’s, “Blink-182” has made their heavily anticipated return to the music scene and plans to record new material and tour in the summer of 2009. “It’s not really a reunion,” said singer/guitarist Tom DeLonge in a live video feed Sunday night. “It’s a continuation…we are picking up exactly where we left off.” The band, which took nearly a four-year hiatus, is currently working on their sixth studio album with a release date set for sometime later this year.
Comments