Ok kids. Gather round, because Uncle Patrick has another story to tell. Heh, no, it's not an Arthur story. Oh, STOP CRYING! It's nothing like that; it's a story about a boy, a boy who in grade eight liked a band called Blink 182. Ah, yes, you kids remember them, the band that everyone loved, three crazy kids running around in the buff, terrorizing the town, and singing about girls and love. My, we said, they're singing about what we're going through! The age difference of a good 10-15 years, of course, did not come into question.
Well Blink 182, let me tell you something, I'm not that same 13 year old boy anymore, and surely to god you can evolve a bit! Oh, don't tell me that by making the guitar riffs a bit sadder and the lyrics a bit more personal that you can win me over, because you can't. Case in point: Mark sings about fights he had with his mom, please, how ridiculous is it to have a thirty year old man singing about conflicts he had with his mom when he was twelve. The mental image I get is a grown man yelling at his mother and running up to his room in tears. But, I digress.
The new album from the kings of TRL pop punk really exposes how shallow the band is. Some argue that this was done after they went mainstream, but at least with Enema of the State, and Take off Your Pants and Jacket (get it?), it was new and unexplored for the masses who had not heard such a band, and surely not one that is as popular as Blink is; but this? This is just simple, uninspired, whiny, and frankly pathetic.
The astoundingly lame lyrics come out in full force in the song âDown'. "Pick me up now I need you so bad (Mark proceeds to say âdown' 40 times, I counted)/it makes me so/your vows of silence fall all over/the look in your eyes makes me crazy/I feel the darkness break upon her".
Profound.
Faster songs like Stockholm Syndrome make for a better listen, but you just can't overlook lyrics like "I wish I could explain myself/my words escape me/it's too late to save me/you're too late". I mean c'mon, he rhymed me with me, but unfortunately it's songs of that calibre that save the album from being utter crap.
Blink is simply riding on the coattails of the emo fad, and riding it straight through the doors of MTV offices. It's all just too blatant and forced to be enjoyed. Musically, this album is not horrid, but it's still just more of the same Blink formula. Lyrically, this album is drivel. Sadly though, what do they care what I think? This album is going to sell more copies then your Mom's brownies at a bake sale, so why bother. It may suck, but it's just what the pre-pubescents are looking for. Well, maybe this wasn't a total waste of time. I can always make some copies and sell it outside the elementary school.