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Blink-182 (formerly known as blink)
is a Southern-Californian pop punk band that was formed in 1992 by Tom Delonge
and Mark Hoppus. Along with Green Day, they are credited for starting the
post-grunge pop-punk revolution.
* * * *
History
Blink-182 is made up of three
members: Thomas (Tom) Matthew DeLonge on guitar, Markus (Mark) Allan Hoppus on
bass, and Travis Landon Barker on drums. The band is known for playing catchy
melodies as well as for their satirical toilet humour. Blink-182 are unusual
amongst punk rock bands for playing up-tempo songs in a major key, with
prominent major-chord harmonies that are usually digitally mixed to provide a
much cleaner sound than most other punk/rock recordings, which generally employ
distortion and a ragged analogue mix to achieve the opposite effect. The lyrical
content of their songs is often humorous and uplifting.
In 1992, when Hoppus moved to San
Diego, California and was thinking of starting a band, he was introduced to
Delonge. They decided that they needed to look for a drummer, and DeLonge
discovered Scott Raynor at his school who played drums. After considering a
number of names (such as Duct Tape) the band agreed to call themselves just
'blink. This would later have the numbers 182 added onto the end to avoid legal
conflicts with an existing Irish band called blink (see below).
Early Demos and Cheshire Cat
Towards the end of 1992 blink
released an EP known as Flyswatter. This demo was recorded using a boom box in
Scott's bedroom, which explains the poor sound quality. Before the end of the
year, the band released another demo cassette known as Buddha. Around 1,000
copies of this were produced by Cargo Filter Records. In early 1994, blink
released their first full-length album, Cheshire Cat, released on Grilled Cheese
Records. The album contained many new versions of songs that had appeared on the
Buddha demo.
Shortly after the release of
Cheshire Cat, blink were threatened with legal action by a techno band in
Ireland of the same name. In order to avoid a lengthy lawsuit, blink added the
numbers 182 to the end of their name. Although there are rumours as to why these
numbers were chosen (for example, that it is the number of times Al Pacino
utters the word “fuck” in Scarface, or that they represent Hoppus' ideal
weight), all the band members but one have made it clear that the numbers were
picked at random. In one interview, Travis stated that the '182' was the U.S
radio codeword meaning 'homicide'.
Dude Ranch
After moving to Encinitas,
California, the band recorded the album Dude Ranch with producer Mark Trombino.
The album was a hit, and two singles from it ("Josie" and "Dammit") rose to the
top of the U.S. airplay charts. In 1998, the band met a slight setback. Raynor,
who had a serious drinking problem at the time, was reportedly asked to leave
the band and go into rehab, although there are also reports that he decided to
leave to go to college and earn a degree. Whatever the explanation, he left
midway through a U.S. tour. He was replaced by Travis Barker, who had been
playing with support band The Aquabats.
Enema of the State
In 1999 the album Enema of the
State was released. The CD was successful, propelling the band to pop punk fame,
and gaining a large amount of airtime on MTV and Total Request Live(TRL). This
was largely due to the commercial success of the songs "What's My Age Again?",
"Adam's Song", and "All the Small Things". They sold 7.5 million copies of the
album worldwide, which made it their best-selling album up to that point. The
sound on Enema of the State was rooted in the same genre as earlier punk-rock
bands such as NOFX, Green Day, and The Offspring, but it was more accessible to
the mainstream, with a punky-feel. Many original fans felt that the band had
strayed from their punk rock roots.
Take off Your Pants and Jacket
2001 saw blink-182 continue their
commercial success, recording Take off Your Pants & Jacket (the strange title
was a punning reference to masturbation), which followed the same basic formula
of "Enema of the State". In 2001, Blink-182 appeared on the cover of CosmoGirl,
and won a Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award. Tom Delonge and Travis Barker were
involved in side-projects The Transplants and Box Car Racer, bands which
explored other musical styles.
In 2002, bands such as Good
Charlotte, New Found Glory, and Simple Plan began following the same route as
blink-182, marking the expansion of the pop-punk genre. Mark Hoppus participated
in the making of Simple Plan's debut album, No Pads, No Helmets...Just Balls.
Untitled album
The band released their untitled
fifth album on November 18, 2003. Described as a self-meditation on romantic
decay, the record featured the hit singles "Feeling This", "I Miss You", "Down",
and the 80s-influenced "Always". Travis Barker has confirmed that the band left
the album untitled (rather than self-titled) to represent a whole new blink-182.
It showcased a style of music deeper than anything blink-182 had done
previously, but still got a good deal of play on pop stations and MTV. Critics
have deemed their sound similar to that of The Police and U2, although members
of the band claim they took most of their influence from The Cure, whose front
man Robert Smith had appeared on "All of This". Listeners called the riffs
heavier and the lyrics profound. A tour with No Doubt was very successful in the
summer of 2004.
Hiatus
2005 was set to be a busy year for
blink. In the midst of a European tour, Geffen records had them scheduled to
release another album, as well as a fifth and final single from the untitled
album. However, on February 21, 2005, the band announced that they would not be
able to play at the "Music For Relief" Tsunami benefit show in Anaheim,
California due to 'unexpected circumstances'. The following day it was stated on
the band's official website that they would take an indefinite break in order to
spend more time with their close friends and loved ones. The statement has since
been removed.
Band member Travis Barker confirmed
during a recent interview on KROQ that they are taking a rest from their normal
activities, and that they are focusing on some alternative projects: DeLonge
will continue directing music videos, Hoppus will be producing records, and
Barker will be busy with the Transplants and this summer's Warped Tour. In
addition to this, the beginning of 2005 marked the premiere of Barker's own
reality TV show, called "Meet The Barkers". In a similar fashion to previous MTV
reality TV shows (such as "The Osbournes") "Meet The Barkers" features all the
members of the Barker family in their day-to-day activities.
In an interview held with MTV News,
Mark Hoppus announced that he and Travis Barker were working on a side-project
called Plus 44, that Carol Heller (of So-Cal punk band Get The Girl) would be in
the band, and also that a CD release is expected in Autumn 2005. In a recent
interview with 'Drum! Magazine' Travis Barker stated that the band 'probably,
most likely' will make a new record in January 2006.
* * * *
The
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URL of Original Article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blink_182
Date Article Copied:
July 11, 2005
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