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Blink-182 (album)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Blink-182 | |||||
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| Studio album by Blink-182 | |||||
| Released | November 18, 2003 | ||||
| Recorded | January - October 2003 at The Rubin's House, Conway, Rolling Thunder and Signature Sound | ||||
| Genre | Pop punk, Alternative rock | ||||
| Length | 49:23 | ||||
| Label | Geffen | ||||
| Producer | Jerry Finn | ||||
| Professional reviews | |||||
| Blink-182 chronology | |||||
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| Singles from Blink-182 | |||||
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Blink-182 is a self titled[1] or untitled[2] album, by the band of the same name and their last full-length record before an ongoing hiatus. Recorded under the working title of Use Your Erection I & II (a pun of Guns N' Roses' Use Your Illusion albums), the album was released through Geffen Records on November 18, 2003. The album includes guest vocals by The Cure's Robert Smith on the track "All of This".
At almost 50 minutes long, it is Blink-182's longest studio album. It is said that this album represents a more "mature" Blink than been having seen in the past,[3] such as not having the album contain any toilet humor or joke songs. It was somewhat of a departure from their previous musical atmosphere, the album was described as a "self-meditation on romantic decay."[citation needed] Mark Hoppus, the bassist for the band said in an interview with MTV Album Launch, that the desired effect of the album was for people to listen to it and say "Wait a minute...that's Blink-182?" The band infused 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).
Despite having very high airplay from radio and music video channels, the album sold 313,000 copies in its first week debuting #3 on the charts in the United States, which was less than their previous album Take off Your Pants and Jacket, which sold more than 350,000 copies in its first week and topped the charts. It was also met with mixed reviews from critics and fans.
Contents |
Recording and writing sessions for this album lasted from January - October 2003, making it the longest time blink-182 has ever spent recording an album.[citation needed] Most notably, finishing up the album was extremely stressful for all of the members of blink-182. While they initially took their time writing songs, they only completed the final mixes minutes before the record label's deadline.
Mark Hoppus' favorite songs on the album are said to be "Down" and "Stockholm Syndrome". He has also cited "Stockholm Syndrome" as one of the most personal songs he has written, along with various other Blink-182 and +44 songs.[citation needed]
Due to many contradicting sources, the name of this album (or lack there of) is hotly debated among fans. Drummer Travis Barker recently announced that the album was actually untitled but fans still speculate. Some believe that the album is self-titled, citing sources like the band's official website and many online stores, such as Amazon.[4] Others believe the album is untitled citing direct quotes from the bandmates themselves or from other interviews.[5]
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, mature style. There have been complaints that the new logo is a take from Seattle grunge band Nirvana's smiley face logo.[citation needed]
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."[citation needed]
Several unofficial music videos were shot for the album, all taking place in the one small room, or by using a selection of clips from Blink-182's live shows or trip to the Middle East. and incorporating shots of the bands members simply miming the songs. These videos did not receive airplay, or were they realeased as single, they were simply bonuses on the normal and tour editions of the album. Unofficial music videos were made for the following songs:
Feeling This, Obvious, Violence, Stockholm Syndrome and Down / The Fallen Interlude.
- "Feeling This" § – 2:52
- "Obvious" † – 2:43
- "I Miss You" § – 3:47
- "Violence" † – 5:20
- "Stockholm Syndrome" § – 2:41
- "Down" † – 3:03
- "The Fallen Interlude" – 2:12
- Instrumental
- "Go" ‡ – 1:53
- "Asthenia" † – 4:19
- "Always" † – 4:11
- "Easy Target" § – 2:20
- "All of This" – 4:40
- Lead vocals: Robert Smith & Tom DeLonge
- "Here's Your Letter" ‡ – 2:54
- "I'm Lost Without You" † – 6:20
† = Lead vocals by Tom Delonge
‡ = Lead vocals by Mark Hoppus
§ = Lead vocals by both
In the very beginning for "Feeling This," you can hear Captain America's catch phrase, 'get ready for action!' Also, this song was on the Madden NFL 2004 soundtrack, only it was titled "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]
The intro to "Violence" features a sample of "Theme from Ironside" by Quincy Jones.
During the bridge section of "Violence", Mark speaks a few lines very quietly behind Tom's vocals. There are many fan interpretations of what is being said, although no official transcription has been given. One of the most common translation, albeit not a official one, is "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 to some place safe".
In the pregap of "Stockholm Syndrome", Joanne Whalley is reading letters that Mark Hoppus' grandfather wrote to his grandmother in World War II.[6]
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". 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 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. "[6] Some of the guitar parts were recorded through a 1960s era Leslie speaker that had a tube dying out and glowing purple.[6]
On the track "All Of This", a girl named Holly is used. In past interviews, Holly was actually Tom's first girfriend who left him for his older brother. The lines "Use me Holly", refer to her only going out with him in order to get closer to his brother. There is also another story as to the name "Holly" involving the band talking to one of their techs while on tour. The story was of the tech's first crush. She asked him over to her house and he rode his bicycle as fast as he could to get there. When he got there, Holly and her friend jumped out of nowhere and sprayed him with a hose.
Some of the best sounds, according to the band, is Tom's guitar riff before the drums kick in about 50 seconds into Asthenia. Also, there's two drum solos going off each other for the last 45 seconds of I'm Lost Without You. Also in I'm Lost Without You, Tom's singing into a rotating microphone, making it sound like he's underwater. Travis's favorite part of the CD is how unbelievably easily he did the drums at the beginnig of Easy Target.
- "Not Now"
- "Anthem Part Two" (Live in Chicago)
- "The Rock Show" (Live in Chicago)
- "The Rock Show" (Live in Minneapolis)
- "I Miss You" (Live in Minneapolis)
Album
| Year | Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | The Billboard Top 200 | 3 |
| 2003 | Top Internet Albums | 3 |
| 2003 | Top Canadian Albums | 1 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | "Feeling This" | Modern Rock Tracks | 2 |
| 2004 | "I Miss You" | Billboard Hot 100 | 42 |
| 2004 | "I Miss You" | Modern Rock Tracks | 1 |
| 2004 | "I Miss You" | Top 40 Mainstream | 15 |
| 2004 | "I Miss You" | Top 40 Tracks | 25 |
| 2004 | "I Miss You" | Adult Top 40 | 24 |
| 2004 | "Down" | Modern Rock Tracks | 10 |
| 2005 | "Always" | Modern Rock Tracks | 39 |
- ^ Album discography. blink182.com.
- ^ MTV report preceding the album's release. mtv.com.
- ^ All-Music review of Blink-182. allmusic.com.
- ^ Blink-182's CD on amazon.com. amazon.com.
- ^ MTV report preceding the album's release. mtv.com.
- ^ a b c d Blink-182 Song Meanings. PunkDisasters.com. Retrieved on 22 August, 2006.