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Box Car Racer (2002) is an album by Box Car Racer, a side project of Blink-182 members Tom DeLonge and Travis Barker. It is the lone album from the defunct project. It tells a story in which a boy sees a vision of the future; the world is to be destroyed by an over-zealous government. The boy and a group of outcasts travel far away to escape destruction. The boy also falls in love with one of the outcasts. It has been suggested that this story is continued in Angels & Airwaves' album We Don't Need to Whisper. The only problem with this theory is the fact that in "Elevator" the boy jumps off a building and kills himself, which is the final song on the album followed up by an instrumental with no more story unfolding.
The bassist for Blink-182 and +44, Mark Hoppus, provided guest vocals on "Elevator" as did Tim Armstrong and Jordan Pundik, of Rancid and New Found Glory respectively, on "Cat Like Thief".
[edit] Track listing
- "I Feel So" – 4:29
- "All Systems Go" – 3:15
- "Watch the World" – 3:52
- "Tiny Voices" – 3:28
- "Cat Like Thief" – 4:20 (featuring Tim Armstrong, from Rancid, and Jordan Pundik, from New Found Glory)
- "And I" – 3:12
- "Letters to God" – 3:17
- "My First Punk Song" – 1:04
- "Sorrow" – 3:27
- "There Is" – 3:16
- "The End with You" – 3:11
- "Elevator" – 2:45 (featuring Mark Hoppus)
- "Instrumental" – 1:58
- "I Feel So (Piano Intro) - 3:35 (Japanese bonus track)
- "I Feel So (Instrumental) - 4:30 (UK Hidden Track)
[edit] Personnel
[edit] Additional notes
- Tom said that he often sees Box Car Racer misspelled as Boxcar Racer on the internet.
- In interviews, Tom DeLonge has remarked that recording sessions for the album were difficult for him, due to the fact that he was experiencing severe back pain at the time.
- On the inside spine on the Box Car Racer CD case, the words "'Chaos often breeds life, when order breeds habit.' Henry Brooks Adams (1838-1918), The education of Henry Adams, 1907" are written. The quote is the same as the one tattooed around Travis Barker's neck.
- On the back of the CD insert, in faint text, the coordinates "LN W 13 01 1", which means longitude west 13 01 1 degrees. Without the latitude, however, it is impossible to pinpoint an exact location on a globe. If you put the coordinates 'LN W 13 01 1' on Google Earth, it will take you to Manhattan, New York, which is most likely where the story takes place.
- In the CD insert, the song "Cat Like Thief" is referred to as "Don't Leave Her" when stating Tim Armstrong had provided additional lyrics.
- At shows the band played a cover of the song "Mandy", which was written by Scott English and made famous by Barry Manilow.
- DeLonge has said at concerts that "Elevator" was written about the events of September 11, 2001.
- The humorous "My First Punk Song" pays tribute to early hardcore punk bands that inspired DeLonge, such as Black Flag, and is one of the only recordings to step away from the album's original storyline. It also is played by Tom DeLonge and his newest band Angels & Airwaves on their 2008 North American and UK Tour
[edit] Charts
| Year |
Chart |
Position |
| 2002 |
The Billboard 200 |
12 |
| 2002 |
Top Canadian Albums |
7 |
[edit] Singles
| Year |
Title |
Chart |
Position |
| 2002 |
I Feel So |
Modern Rock Tracks |
8 |
