Blink-182 (album)

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Blink-182
Blink-182 cover
Studio album by Blink-182
Released November 18, 2003
Recorded May - July 2003 at The Rubin's House, Conway, Rolling Thunder and Signature Sound
Genre Punk Rock
Alternative Rock
Length 49:23
Label Geffen Records
Producer(s) Jerry Finn
Professional reviews
Blink-182 chronology
Take off Your Pants and Jacket
(2001)		 Blink-182
(2003)		 Greatest Hits
(2005)


Blink-182 is an un- or self-titled[1][2] album by the band of the same name and their last full-length record before an ongoing hiatus. It was released through Geffen Records on November 18, 2003 (original working title Use Your Erection I & II, which was a pun on Guns N' Roses Use Your Illusion albums). It is said that this album represents a "revamped" and "mature" Blink, infusing experimentalist elements into their usual pop-punk sound, inspired by lifestyle changes (Mark, Tom and Travis all became fathers before the album was released) and side-projects (Box Car Racer and Transplants). At almost 53 minutes long, it is Blink-182's longest studio album. The album includes guest vocals by The Cure's Robert Smith on the track "All of This". Unlike previous records, this album contains no joke songs. The album sold over 5 Million copies.[3] The album was well-received by critics,[4] who called it "an unexpected and welcome maturation."[5]

Contents

[edit] Smiley face logo

To support the new album, Blink-182 created an entirely new logo. Thus, the smiley face was born. This logo somehow seemed to reflect the band's new, darker style. There have been complaints that the new logo is a take from Seattle grunge band Nirvana's smiley face logo. If you look closely where the right eye meets the head line it makes an H.

According to Barker the origin of the Smiley face logo came from him and some of his designers from his own personal clothing line. He wanted to brand an icon for the band. "It just had to be a cool kind of happy face but I wanted arrows. You know, like the Jam were my favorite band, they always had arrows in their logos and stuff. It was just kind of inspired by pop-art."

[edit] Track listing

  1. "Feeling This" – 2:53
    • Lead vocals: Tom Delonge & Mark Hoppus
  2. "Obvious" – 2:43
    • Lead vocals: Tom Delonge
  3. "I Miss You" – 3:47
    • Lead vocals: Mark Hoppus & Tom Delonge
  4. "Violence" – 5:20
    • Lead vocals: Tom Delonge (some Mark Hoppus)
  5. "Stockholm Syndrome" – 2:42
    • Lead vocals: Mark Hoppus (some Tom Delonge)
  6. "Down" – 3:03
    • Lead vocals: Tom Delonge (some Mark Hoppus)
  7. "The Fallen Interlude" – 2:13
  8. "Go" – 1:53
    • Lead vocals: Mark Hoppus (some Tom Delonge)
  9. "Asthenia" – 4:19
    • Lead vocals: Tom Delonge
  10. "Always" – 4:12
    • Lead vocals: Mostly Tom Delonge
  11. "Easy Target" – 2:20
    • Lead vocals: Tom Delonge & Mark Hoppus
  12. "All of This" – 4:40
  13. "Here's Your Letter" – 2:55
    • Lead vocals: Mark Hoppus
  14. "I'm Lost Without You" – 6:22
    • Lead vocals: Tom Delonge

[edit] Bonus tracks

  1. International Bonus: "Anthem Part Two" (Live in Chicago)
  2. UK Bonus: "Not Now"
  3. Japan Bonus: "The Rock Show" (Live in Chicago)
  4. Australian Exclusive Tour Edition Bonus: "The Rock Show" (Live in Minneapolis)
  5. Australian Exclusive Tour Edition Bonus: "I Miss You" (Live in Minneapolis)

[edit] Trivia

  • "Feeling This" was written by having Mark Hoppus and Tom DeLonge go into separate rooms without talking to each other. When they came out they realized they had both written about sex. When they put it together, the song represents the lustful side of sex in the verses, the passionate side in the bridge, and the romantic side in the chorus.[6]
  • In the beginning of "Feeling This", you can hear the line "Get Ready for Action" which is a quote from Captain America.
  • "Feeling This" made its debut in the video game Madden NFL 2004 under the name "Action".
  • Travis plays with one brush and one stick on "I Miss You" and his performance is looped. Likewise, the bass and snare drum tracks on "All Of This" are consistent throughout the song. The drum track for the verse on "Down" is consistent, while the choruses are not.[6]
  • Towards the end of Violence, Mark speaks a few lines very quietly behind Tom's repetition of the chorus: "Who'll stand by your side? So watch my eyes. Watch 'em turn while you go change. Curtains down. When all their skill was cut, and I bled. There were forces of John Jones. I can't make you happy. It seems all I ever do is try. You could never cut me deep enough to leave a scar. So take this gift. It's something to save".
  • The Fallen Interlude is Blink-182's first and only instrumental song, if you do not count the repeated lyrics "Down, Down, Down. Pick me up I've fallen" towards the very end of the track.
  • NASA transmissions are played before the start of "Asthenia," a song about an astronaut battling loneliness. The line "Should I go back?" is adapted from the song's original title "Shoulda Got Caught", which was originally about a similar topic to "Down". "Asthenia" underwent many changes on topic and lyrics from the start to finish of recording.[6]
  • According to Tom Delonge, "This song is about one thing only, an astronaut sitting in a space capsule about the size of a car, floating above the earth. He's contemplating if even coming back or not will make a difference on such a negative place. A song about the loss of hope. A term was coined for the breakdown of life in space and it is called Asthenia, the name of the track."
  • Some guitar parts on "Asthenia" were recorded through a 1960s era Leslie speaker that had it's tube dying out and glowing purple.[6]
  • Four bass guitars are being played over the outro of "Always."[6]
  • "Easy Target" and "All Of This" are both about a character named Holly. Both songs share the same guitar melodies, though the first is faster.
  • Robert Smith sings the verse vocals on "All Of This" on the album. Mark sings them in most concerts (excepting when Robert and his band, The Cure, are also performing).
  • Had the band not announced their hiatus, "All Of This" would have been the fifth and final (not to mention longest) single from this album.
  • "I'm Lost Without You" is the band's longest song ever. Including the drum solo at the end, the track clocks in at 6 minutes and 22 seconds.
  • Videos were made for "Feeling This", "Obvious", "Violence", "Stockholm Syndrome", "Down" and "The Fallen Interlude" and can be seen on the enhanced CD version of the album.
  • Mark sings only the chorus vocals in Feeling This, Down, and Easy Target. He sings only the verse vocals in I Miss You and Violence. He sings most of Stockholm Syndrome. He sings all of Go (except the "GO!"s) and Here's Your Letter. He sings All of This in concerts.
  • Tom sings only the verse vocals in Feeling This, Down, and Easy Target. He sings only the chorus vocals in Stockholm Syndrome, All of This, and Go. He sings most of I Miss You. He sings all of Obvious, Violence, Asthenia, Always, I'm Lost Without You, and Not Now.
  • The intro to "Violence" features a sample of "Theme from Ironside" by Quincy Jones.
  • An interesting point to note is that the CD color is different on the edited and unedited versions. On the unedited version, the CD is pink, while the edited CD is blue.

[edit] Singles

  1. "Feeling This", the album's first single, was released in October 2003.
  2. "I Miss You", the second single, was released on 26 January 2004.
  3. "Down", the third single, was released on 2 June 2004.
  4. "Always", the fourth single, was released in November 2004.

[edit] References

  1. ^ MTV report preceding the album's release. mtv.com.
  2. ^ Album discography. blink182.com.
  3. ^ Timeline and discography. rockonthenet.com.
  4. ^ blink-182 by blink-182. Metacritic. Retrieved on 22 August, 2006.
  5. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. blink-182 Review. All Music Guide. Retrieved on 22 August, 2006.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Blink-182 Song Meanings. PunkDisasters.com. Retrieved on 22 August, 2006.
Blink-182
Travis Barker | Tom DeLonge | Mark Hoppus
Scott Raynor
Discography
Studio albums: Cheshire Cat | Dude Ranch | Enema of the State | Take off Your Pants and Jacket | Blink-182
Demo tapes: Flyswatter | Buddha
Live Albums and compilations: The Mark, Tom, and Travis Show (The Enema Strikes Back!) | Greatest Hits
Videos and DVDs: The Urethra Chronicles | The Urethra Chronicles II: Harder Faster Faster Harder | Riding In Vans With Boys | Greatest Hits
Related articles
Box Car Racer | Transplants | +44 | Angels and Airwaves | Expensive Taste
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