Blink-182 (album)

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Untitled

Blink-182 is the self titled[1] or untitled[2] fifth studio album, by Blink-182 and their last full-length record before an ongoing hiatus. 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 features four singles; "Feeling This", "I Miss You", "Down", and "Always". It is said that this album represents a more "mature" Blink than 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."[4] Mark Hoppus, the bassist in 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).

The singles received 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. Although some criticized the change in musical atmosphere, the album was met with a positive reception from both critics and fans. Most notably Rolling Stone magazine, which gave it 4 out of 5 stars. [5] To date it sold 2.4 million copies in US and around 3.5 million worldwide. However, their record label Geffen Records didn't certify the record double platinum in the USA.

Production

Recording and writing sessions for this album lasted from January to October 2003, making it the longest time Blink-182 has ever spent recording an album.[6] 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.

The album was released as an Enhanced CD, featuring some of the band's self-made videos, including "Down/The Fallen interlude", "Stockholm Syndrome", "Obvious" and "Violence". They were all shot in one small room, or by using a selection of clips from Blink-182's live shows or trip to the Middle East, and incorporate shots of the band members simply miming the songs.

Album title

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[7]. Others believe the album is untitled citing direct quotes from the bandmates themselves or from other interviews[2]. The original announced title for the album was Use Your Erection I & II, a parody of the Guns N' Roses album Use Your Illusion[8]. This album name was actually never considered, as it was a joke Barker made to "get a rise out of people"[9].

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.[10]

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."[10]

Track listing

All songs written by Mark Hoppus, Tom DeLonge and Travis Barker, except where noted.

  1. "Feeling This" – 2:52
  2. "Obvious" – 2:43
  3. "I Miss You" – 3:47
  4. "Violence" – 3:52
  5. "Stockholm Syndrome" – 2:41
  6. "Down" – 3:03
  7. "The Fallen Interlude" (instrumental) – 2:12 (Hoppus/DeLonge/Barker/"Jacken")
  8. "Go!" – 1:53
  9. "Asthenia" – 4:19
  10. "Always" – 4:11
  11. "Easy Target" – 2:20
  12. "All of This" – 4:40
  13. "Here's Your Letter" – 2:54
  14. "I'm Lost Without You" – 6:20

Lead vocals by Tom DeLonge on tracks 2, 4, 6, 9, 10, 14
Lead vocals by Mark Hoppus on tracks 8 and 13
Lead vocals by both Hoppus and DeLonge on tracks 1, 3, 5 and 11
Lead vocals by DeLonge and Robert Smith on track 12

International Bonus

UK Bonus Tracks

  • "Not Now" † – 4:09
  • "Anthem Part Two" (Live in Chicago) - 3:45

Japan Bonus Tracks

Australian Tour Edition Bonus Tracks

Track Details

"Feeling This"
Main article: Feeling This

"Feeling This" was the first single from the album. The song (erroneously listed as "Action", a title the band never used) was included on soundtrack for the video game Madden NFL 2004.

"Obvious"
This song was meant to sound like "Failure meets Led Zeppelin meets The Police".[11]
"I Miss You"
Main article: I Miss You (Blink-182 song)

"I Miss You" was released in March 2004 as the second single from the album. It was their most successful single of all time, reaching the #1 spot on the Billboard Modern Rock Chart and being certified platinum after selling over 200,000 copies.[citation needed]

"Violence"
The intro features a sample of "Theme from Ironside" by Quincy Jones. A video was made for the track but never released.
"Stockholm Syndrome"
This song is about paranoia, being afraid of the outside world and about being convinced that people can hear your thoughts.[12] The intro features Joanne Whalley reading letters that Mark Hoppus' grandfather wrote to his grandmother during World War II.[12]
"Down"
Main article: Down (Blink-182 song)

The third single from this album. The song peaked at #10 on the Billboard Modern Rock Chart.[citation needed]

"The Fallen Interlude"
This track was produced by Sick Jacken and the few lyrics were sung by Menno.
"Asthenia"
The intro features NASA transmissions. 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."[13] Some of the best sounds, according to the band, is Tom's guitar riff before the drums kick in about 50 seconds into Asthenia. This was recorded through a 1960s era Leslie speaker that had a tube dying out and glowing purple.[14]
"Always"
Main article: Always (Blink-182 song)

"Always" is the fourth and final single from the album.

"Easy Target"
This song is based around the story of one of the band's techs first crushes. Allegedly, the girl, who was named Holly, invited the band tech around to her house on a date. The tech rode his bicycle there as fast as he could, but upon arriving, Holly and her friends jumped out and sprayed him with a water hose. The tech went home, embarrassed and humiliated.[15] The story has also been brought up in past interviews, where allegedly, the girl Holly was actually Tom's first girlfriend, who left him for his older brother.[citation needed]
"All of This"
Main article: All of This

"All of This" was supposed to be the fifth single from the album, if the band didn't go on hiatus. On this song they collaborate with one their biggest inspirations: The Cure's frontman Robert Smith. The song was recorded on two continents, as Robert Smith recorded his part in England.[16] Holly was actually Tom's ex girlfriend 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.[citation needed]

"Here's Your Letter"
This song is about people's inability to communicate with one another and how words and explanations only confuse the issue.[16]
"I'm Lost Without You"
There are two drum solos layered on top of each other during the last 45 seconds of this song. Tom sings into a rotating microphone, which makes it sound like he's underwater.[15]

Charts

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

References

  1. ^ "Album discography". blink182.com.
  2. ^ a b "MTV report preceding the album's release". mtv.com.
  3. ^ "All-Music review of Blink-182". allmusic.com.
  4. ^ Entertainment Weekly. "Review of Good Charlotte album". Retrieved 2008-01-23.
  5. ^ "Rolling Stone review of Blink-182". rollingstone.com.
  6. ^ "MTV report about the recording". mtv.com.
  7. ^ "Blink-182's CD on amazon.com". amazon.com.
  8. ^ "Blink-182 LP Gets Title From GN'R, Gloom From Robert Smith". mtv.com.
  9. ^ "Interview with Travis Barker". mtv.com.
  10. ^ a b Gibson. "Band Branding 101: The Logo". Retrieved 2008-01-23.
  11. ^ Barker, Travis (2003). Blink-182 (Media notes). Geffen. pp. p.2. {{cite AV media notes}}: |format= requires |url= (help); |pages= has extra text (help); Unknown parameter |bandname= ignored (help)
  12. ^ a b Hoppus, Mark (2003). Blink-182 (Media notes). Geffen. pp. p.4. {{cite AV media notes}}: |format= requires |url= (help); |pages= has extra text (help); Unknown parameter |bandname= ignored (help)
  13. ^ DeLonge, Tom (2003). Blink-182 (Media notes). Geffen. pp. p.5. {{cite AV media notes}}: |format= requires |url= (help); |pages= has extra text (help); Unknown parameter |bandname= ignored (help)
  14. ^ Hoppus, Mark (2003). Blink-182 (Media notes). Geffen. pp. p.5. {{cite AV media notes}}: |format= requires |url= (help); |pages= has extra text (help); Unknown parameter |bandname= ignored (help)
  15. ^ a b DeLonge, Tom (2003). Blink-182 (Media notes). Geffen. pp. p.6. {{cite AV media notes}}: |format= requires |url= (help); |pages= has extra text (help); Unknown parameter |bandname= ignored (help)
  16. ^ a b Hoppus, Mark (2003). Blink-182 (Media notes). Geffen. pp. p.7. {{cite AV media notes}}: |format= requires |url= (help); |pages= has extra text (help); Unknown parameter |bandname= ignored (help)


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