Blink-182 (album)
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| 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 | Alternative rock, pop punk | ||||
| 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 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 hits; "Down", "Always", "Feeling This", and charting at #1, "I Miss You". 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 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).
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]
Contents |
[edit] 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", "Feeling This", "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.
[edit] 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].
[edit] Smiley face logo
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]
[edit] Track listing
All songs written by Blink-182, exept where noted.
- "Feeling This" § – 2:52
- "Obvious" † – 2:43
- "I Miss You" § – 3:47)
- "Violence" § – 3:52
- "Stockholm Syndrome Dialog" (pregap hidden track) – 1:28
- "Stockholm Syndrome" § – 2:41
- "Down" § – 3:03
- "The Fallen Interlude" (instrumental) – 2:12 (Blink-182, Jacken)
- "Go!" § – 1:53
- "Asthenia" † – 4:19
- "Always" † – 4:11
- "Easy Target" § – 2:20
- "All of This" ∆ – 4:40
- "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 Hoppus and DeLonge
∆ = Lead vocals by Delonge and Robert Smith
[edit] International Bonus
- "Anthem Part Two" (Live in Chicago)
[edit] UK Bonus Tracks
- "Not Now" † – 4:09
- "Anthem Part Two" (Live in Chicago)
[edit] Japan Bonus Tracks
- "The Rock Show" (Live in Chicago)
[edit] Australian tour edition Bonus Tracks
- "The Rock Show" (Live in Minneapolis)
- "I Miss You" (Live in Minneapolis)
[edit] Track Details
- Feeling This
- "Feeling This" was the first single off the album. An early version of the song, titled "Action" on the game (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".
- I Miss You
- "I Miss You" was released in March 2004 as the second single from the Untitled 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. "We can live like Jack and Sally if we want" and "We'll have Halloween on Christmas" lines, in the first verse, are references to the "Nightmare before Christmas" movie.
- Violence
- The intro features a sample of "Theme from Ironside" by Quincy Jones. During the bridge section, Mark speaks a few lines very quietly behind Tom's vocals,"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. It's somethin to save"
- Stockholm Syndrome
- According to Mark Hoppus, this song is about paranoia, being afraid of the outside world and about being convinced that people can hear your thoughts.
- The Intro for this song is in minus time on the CD before the song begins, when ripped onto a computer it appears at the end of the song "Violence". In the intro Joanne Whalley is reading letters that Mark Hoppus' grandfather wrote to his grandmother during World War II.
- Down
- The third single from this album. The song peaked at #10 on the Billboard Modern Rock Chart.
- The Fallen Interlude
- This track was produced by Sick Jacken and the few lyrics were sung by Menno.
- Go
- The most up-tempo song of the album, which, according to the liner notes, is deserved to be played loud.
- Asthenia
- NASA transmissions are played before the start. It's 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." 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.
- Always
- "Always" is the fourth, longest and last single of this album. It was also the last video the group shot together. The song is heavily influenced by 80's music.
- 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. 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.
- Travis's favorite part of the CD is how unbelievably easily he did the drums at the beginning of this song.
- All of This
- "All of This" was supposed to be the fifth and final single for Blink-182's Untitled 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. 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
- 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. Aside from Tom backing him up in the chorus, Mark Hoppus sings the entire song almost solo.
- 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.
[edit] 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 |
[edit] References
- ^ Album discography. blink182.com.
- ^ a b MTV report preceding the album's release. mtv.com.
- ^ All-Music review of Blink-182. allmusic.com.
- ^ Entertainment Weekly. Review of Good Charlotte album. Retrieved on 2008-01-23.
- ^ Rolling Stone review of Blink-182. rollingstone.com.
- ^ MTV report about the recording. mtv.com.
- ^ Blink-182's CD on amazon.com. amazon.com.
- ^ Blink-182 LP Gets Title From GN'R, Gloom From Robert Smith. mtv.com.
- ^ Interview with Travis Barker. mtv.com.
- ^ a b Gibson. Band Branding 101: The Logo. Retrieved on 2008-01-23.
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