If you ask any Blink-182 fan how they’re doing, they’ll say the past month has been a true ordeal. Whether you like it or not, lead guitarist and vocalist Tom DeLonge has taken an “indefinite hiatus” from the band and there’s nothing anyone can do. The most traumatic part of it all however was seeing the three-piece fight so bitterly, almost like the carefree and infectiously happy pop-punk group from our childhoods never existed. It is vital to remember then, that once upon a time that very band did exist. And with 1998 seeing the departure of former drummer Scott Raynor in a fashion not unlike DeLonge, that band used their low point on June 1st 1999 to catapult them to their most critically acclaimed album to date, Enema Of The State.
Racking up over a massive 15 million record sales and producing some of their biggest singles, Enema Of The State is Blink-182’s third studio album and the first with both major label MCA Records and new drummer Travis Barker. The new partnerships are heard throughout the album, with the noticeably slicker and fuller sound than predecessor Dude Ranch blending sublimely with Barker’s fast-paced drum beats and punk fills, creating the perfect mix of pop and punk that so many others have tried and failed to achieve. But even with a whole new world of state of the art studios and a potential army of producers and writers at their disposal, Blink made sure never to create an album that was anything more than simplistic. The album wraps up at a mere 35 minutes, a record that is short and concise and one that makes the immature lack of complexity of the band ring almost as clear as the songs do.
All of this is presented right from the start with the first track ‘Dumpweed,’ in which DeLonge becomes afraid and frustrated of ending a relationship that he knows needs to stop, leading to humorous and sometimes sexist remarks, one being “I need a dog that I can train”. However, the offence is never more than the representation of naive teenage problems that Blink seem to be able to empathise with, more so than a band of 15 year-olds ever could. By the time the second track ‘Don’t Leave Me’ comes to an end, Blink-182 have already consolidated Enema Of The State as the most necessary buy a teenage boy could make.
From here, the album does predominantly focus on spitting out message after message of the “dos and don’ts” of adolescence. It never seems repetitive, with every track bringing new humour and paving the way for Blink’s worldwide success with ‘All The Small Things’ and ‘What’s My Age Again?,’ songs that present such innocent immaturity with lyrics like “she took off my pants / but then I turned on the TV” that it is hard not to fall for their strange ignorant charm. The idea itself of being a pop-punk album makes even the most serious of youthful issues automatically light-hearted, with one exception: ‘Adam’s Song.’
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQlXrpmHtSY&w=740&h=422]
Whilst bassist Mark Hoppus was feeling lonely because he had no one to go home to after an exhaustive tour and being inspired by a suicide note he read, he penned a song that almost doesn’t fit with the album. With an unusually slow tempo and stripped-back verses that complement the serious issue of the contemplation of suicide, there is almost no influence of punk to be noted and instead the song uses the most production-filled chorus the album can boast to go against the simple verses. This, along with the subtle yet powerful word changes, from “16 just held such better days” to “tomorrow holds such better days”, solidifies the optimistic message that no matter how bad you feel, everything will be okay, in a way that you have to fight not to crumble every time you hear it. It may not be the most popular song on the album, but it is one that will touch your heart unlike any other Blink-182 song ever could. Bravo Hoppus, bravo.
As great as ‘Adam’s Song’ is, don’t let it detract from the kind of album Blink have created with Enema Of The State. Everything else about it, from the senseless happiness to the songs that have little meaning other than to the mid-teen in us all; it all screams not to be to be taken seriously. Even the story of the cover girl, whom unbeknown to the trio was a pornstar, represents the essence of the band perfectly: they were in their mid-twenties at the time of the release and it would not be a surprise to find out they didn’t even know what a pornstar is.
At the same time however, it never feels like they are rebelling against growing up. Rather, as the lyric “what’s my age again?’ will tell you, the heart of Blink-182 is their simple and pure incapability to even figure out how to grow up. Yes, Tom DeLonge may be missed over time, but our tears truly lie in the awful truth that Blink-182 will never be able to compose an album so true to themselves again.
Words by Ashley Moss
@ctrlAshLT