Buddha (album)

Buddha is the third and final demo by the American punk rock band Blink-182. It was self-produced by the band, and was released in 1993 through Filter Records. It contains songs from Blink-182’s earlier demos and from their debut album Cheshire Cat. The album was one of the few Blink-182 albums released with the band name as Blink. An album entitled Buddha Promo was also released, but it is believed to be unofficial and fan-made.

It is currently the only Blink-182 demo commercially available and sold. It was originally released on cassette, and a remastered version was released through Kung-Fu Records on October 27, 1998 with a slightly different track listing. This version uses the corrected name Blink-182.

Background and recording

After being expelled from Poway High School, future Blink-182 guitarist Tom DeLonge attended Rancho Bernardo High School where he became friends with Anne Hoppus. DeLonge often expressed wanting to be in a band, so in August 1992 Anne introduced him to her brother, bassist Mark Hoppus, who also wanted to be in a band.^[1] Already having jam sessions with drummer Scott Raynor. The three played for hours in DeLonge's garage, showing each other songs they had previously written, and writing new songs together. One of these songs would eventually become what is now "Carousel".^[2] The three began playing together and called themselves Duck Tape, until DeLonge thought of the name Blink.^[2]

The band practiced constantly, which angered Hoppus's girlfriend.^[2] She told him he had to choose between the band and her, so he left the band just as it was starting. DeLonge then informed Hoppus that he borrowed a 4-track from a friend and he and Raynor were using it to make a demo tape. Upon hearing this, Hoppus decided he would leave his girlfriend and return to the band. The demo tape, titled Flyswatter, was released in 1992 in limited quantities. The demo was recorded in Raynor’s bedroom live; no mixing was used in the recording. It was released on the fictional Fags in the Wilderness Records – a joke label created by the band.

Soon after, a new recording, simply titled Demo #2 surfaced, and featured re-recordings of Flyswatter tracks. Many of the songs recorded on the first two demos can be found on Buddha. Buddha was eventually recorded over three rainy nights on a 24 track recording system at Double Time Studios in San Diego, California, according to the remastered CD's liner notes.

Release

Buddha was originally released in 1993 through Filter Records, a company headed by Hoppus' boss. It was released on cassette with no title and a picture of Maitreya Buddha on the front. According to Mark Hoppus, only about 1,000 copies of the cassette were made. One of the most mysterious aspects of Buddha is its release date. Although the liner notes on the later reissue say it was recorded in 1995, this information appears to be false. One reason why the release date could be 1993 is that Blink-182 recorded it just six months after the band was formed.^[3] For a while, Allmusic claimed it was recorded in 1995 while it was released in 1994 (The website now says it was recorded in 1994).

After a remix and remastering, Buddha was re-released on CD, vinyl, and cassette on October 27, 1998 through Kung Fu Records. Different cover art and a different track listing were used for the re-release, omitting original tracks "Degenerate", "The Family Next Door", and "Transvestite". Two bonus tracks were added to the reissue that were not on the original pressing of the demo – a cover of the Screeching Weasel song "The Girl Next Door". The cassette and the original vinyl version are now both out of print, but Kung Fu Records re-released a new version of the reissue of Buddha on vinyl on December 21, 2009.^[4] A picture disc version was commercially available at Hot Topics in the United States.^[5][6] A digital version of the album was released for online music services (iTunes and Rhapsody) by Kung Fu Records in 2007. The major albums by the band were released previously onto the services in 2004.

Since the re-release of Buddha in 1998 by Kung-Fu Records, the label has placed several of the tracks on obscure compilation albums released by the label. "Don't" and "Carousel" can both be heard on No Stars, Just Talent (1999), and "The Girl Next Door" on Mixed Martial Arts, Vol. 1 (2007).

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Mark Hoppus, Tom DeLonge, and Scott Raynor. 

• Note: tracks 9, 14 and 15 do not appear on the remastered version.

• Note: tracks 13 and 14 do not appear on the original version

• "Time", "Point of View" and "Reebok Commercial" originally appeared on the self-released demo Flyswatter and later on Blink-182's Demo #2.
• "Carousel", "T.V.", "Strings", "Fentoozler", "Romeo & Rebecca", "Sometimes" and "Toast & Bananas" later appear on the band's debut album Cheshire Cat.
• "Degenerate" originally appeared on Blink-182's Demo #2 and would later appear on the band's Dude Ranch album.
• The rest of the tracks are exclusive to Buddha and have never appeared on any of Blink-182's studio albums.

Personnel

• Mark Hoppus - bass, vocals
• Tom DeLonge - guitar, vocals
• Scott Raynor - drums

References

External links

• Buddha on The Internet Music Database