My Age Again: An Argument For (And Against?) Blink 182.

Trust me when I say this, I'm jealous of your generation. Oh, you know which generation I'm talking about. The generation that was about 14 when the Beatles invaded America. The generation that were on their way to being seniors in high school when the summer of love hit. The generation who danced during Woodstock, and cried after Altamont. Look, I'm happy to be in my early-mid 20 phase right now. At this point, from a life standpoint, everything is perfect. But, from a music standpoint, my generation has suffered. We're in a weird spot. I mean, sure we can claim Nirvana, The White Stripes, and Radiohead (Not a fan, but I'll take 'em), but even that is flawed. Nirvana, who knows where their acclaim would lie if Cobain was still with us. I know that's an argument for another time, but think about it. The White Stripes are pretty much just a one man show. A showcase for Jack White to show everyone how incredible he is, and as big of a fan as I am, the talent balance in that band makes it hard to dodge the bullets. Here's another example. Rolling Stone has the immortals (100 greatest artists of all time), and while that list is flawed, of the 100, only SIX artist would fit into my generation's scope (counting artists who made their biggest impact post-1989): Nirvana at 27, Dr. Dre at 54 (although I'd argue that his work with N.W.A. and The World Class Wrecking Crew was very, very impactful, and that was pre '89), Radiohead at 73, Eminem at 82, Tupac at 86, and Nine Inch Nails at 94. So, what does that tell me?

I don't know if music is getting worse. I don't think so. I'm not one of those grumpy folk that is complaining that every genre of music is slowly dying out, and I truly don't feel that way. I just think that we 20-somethings are missing that amazing musical moment in our lifetime. Sure, we all remember the first time we heard Nirvana. And most of us remember where we were when we found out about Kurt's body being found. But if you take away Nirvana, are we totally lost? I would say no, but the new exciting thing in our generation has also been hip-hop. Which a.) we can't totally claim because the roots of hip hop were laid down way before I was even thought of, sometime in the 70's. And, b.) is quite possibly the most polarizing musical genre there has ever been, therefore it's phenomena isn't as widespread, or widely accepted as britpop, arena rock, etc. But, just when it seems as though all hope is lost, there's Blink-182.

I'll pause so that people reading this can take the time to stop laughing, and to possibly clean up the beverage that they spit out on the screen while laughing.

Done? OK, look...Blink 182 first off gets no respect, but I know why. They fed off of a genre (pop-punk) that never got respect, but they made it into an artform. It may have been hard to take them seriously to some, but I think they personified owning up to what you were, and living inside of your boundaries. You listen to the first 2 Blink albums (Cheshire Cat, Dude Ranch) and you tell me you aren't at least a little impressed. The first of the two was made when Travis Barker wasn't even in the band. Barker is possibly one of the greatest living drummers, because he drums like the greats still would if they were alive. He hits the drums as hard as Moon, but keeps rhythm like Bonham. Blink never claimed to be great musicians, but they were a tight band at the very least. With mainstream success comes mainstream hate. Did I totally like Enema of the State? No, not really...but it's one of those rare situations (I call it "The Nelly Effect") where your worst album(s) holds your best song(s). Adams Song is moving, deep, and I think it showed growth from the general potty humor that Blink usually put out. Potty humor that was again revisited on their best album, which was titled Take Off Your Pants and Jacket. By any measure that's a classic album. Well, by any measure of my generation. And here we are again. We may be whiny, but that's because we want you to get us. We dig why you dug the Beatles and even Jefferson Airplane...why can't anyone get why we dig Blink-182? we dig them because while they're not our Beatles, and Tom DeLonge ain't Brian Wilson, we need them. They remind us even now of a time when WE were 12, or 13, and our summer vacations consisted of going to a pool, or playing until it was dark (yeah, that's not dead either). And most of us remember when we heard they broke up. I was coming back from soccer practice in my 2nd year of college, and a friend told me. We went to her dorm room, and happily looked back on all of the good memories that their music triggered. It wasn't about them being geniuses (although I would argue that they could be seen as such from a melodic standpoint) in the same way the Wilson, Spector, or McCartney were geniuses, it was about for us, living in the moment with a soundtrack that they always offered. And it seemed like there was always a song that fit every moment.

Their side projects show their range. Boxcar Racer is my favorite. They made only one album in 2002, a year before Blink split, and it remains a favorite album of mine. Other sides like +44, The Transplants, and Expensive Taste also delivered big, and spanned different genres and styles. Angels And Airwaves breaks my heart a little bit. I have to admit it. I mean, their first album was OK, but it's not the same at all. Delonge has gotten to the point where he takes himself so seriously, that you wonder if he can make anything real or passionate anymore. Musically, he's talented enough to be anything he wants to be, and he chose aVa, which I can't fault...I think most of us just never wanted our hero to grow up. It works for some people, I suppose...my friends went to Warped Tour last week, and described the scene when aVa hit the stage. One said it was like you were in church. People stopped moving and just went to the stage and sat in silence while they played, jaws dropped. Sure, that's great, but that's not what I want out of my former Blink members. Forgive me for coming down on Delonge for trying a new musical direction, it's not that, it's just (Yeah, I saw the Dark Knight, and it was awesome...) "Why So Serious?". And then there's the argument of influence. Look, Blink influenced a whole heap of bands. Problem is, not all of them are good. OK, not many of them are good. Sum 41 was decent for about a month or 2, and the list of Blink copycats goes on. Without Blink there's no one offs like Cartel, Hit The Lights (Ohio natives!!! sweet!!! ummm....kind of...), and the like. BUT there's also no first Taking Back Sunday album (Classic.), there's no Fall Out Boy, who will be appreciated more 10 years from now, and despite the Beatle influence on it, there's no Panic At The Disco record to drink the kool-aid over. They made pop-punk what it is now, for better or worse. I mean, I'm not usually one to scream influence for influence's sake, but in this case, I have to. I'm biased, I can't help it. This is a band that we 20 somethings can relate to. A band that we hold on to, because it's all we have that's not attached to Nirvana. And when Tom Delonge gets tired of this spiritual awakening, and gets them back together (because he will), We'll all be a little older, but we'll still tune our ipods in and have them as the soundtrack to our generation.