Blink-182 [ARCHIVED] Band • Page 1301

its almost like San Diego is less about the literal physical city and more about a feeling/nostalgia/recognition of a time that's passed, and the name San Diego is the symbol of that in a blink-182 song because yes, they're from there, but songs aren't always about the exact person singing the words experiencing the exact literal words they're singing

Alkaline Trio has songs where they talk about shitting the bed and lying in it. I think they have songs about vampires. The genuineness of Skiba singing about San Diego isn't something that registers at all because its almost like it's not literally about being from the physical city of San Diego and nothing else

 

That being said, stuff like Parking Lot, Kings of the Weekend, and Wildfire actually does feel disingenuous to me, or it rings hollow. Maybe just because the lyrics are largely really bad, but, particularly Mark's lyrics in those songs feel more like trying to inhabit a spirit he's quite far removed from at this point, rather than reflecting on or tapping into a real place he came from.

 

I find it interesting/funny how you didn't say: Did Tom really get abducted by aliens because the answer would have been yes and your point would have been moot.

 

And that's why I didn't say it lol

 

See I don't look at it that way because my past teenage self can relate to those hollow words, so I find it nostalgic in a sense (especially parking lot) if that makes sense

 

If anyone's going to complain about lyrics, at least complain about how Skiba sings "This song needs some fuckin personality" in 6/8.

 

Y'all are shitting on Matt for singing San Diego when there's the chance he just is singing lyrics Mark Hoppus, Patrick Stump, or John Feldman gave him. Just because Mark or Matt sings a part means they exclusively wrote it, its whoever they think suits the part better.

 

Yeah I don't care about lyrics being literal but I do feel like the Cali era songs lack the sincerity and charm of the past. Apart from Bored to Death. That song still rules.

 

I mean Mark has no chance of singing that chorus so it could even be just that. Either way, if the song is good who cares? Ugh haha.

 

I still skate multiple days a week and drink and do rowdy dumb stuff with my friends on weekends/during the summer and these songs for the most part do not tap into that part of me at all, the same way stuff on Dude Ranch and Enema did. In Parking Lot I think Matt's verse is fine lyrically, it's urgent and he's singing so passionately and a line or two is pretty solid but it still feels like a tribute and a love for that mentality, while Mark's verse is in the present tense and his delivery sounds so even tempered and he's singing in the present tense when I know he's 45 and probably hasn't touched a skateboard or hung out in a parking lot since 2001 and he's name dropping bands that are melancholy and sad in an upbeat and hard song, so that verse just doesn't work at all for me, haha. Then Kings of the Weekend is so vague, there's no specificity to match the rambunctious, punk rock spirit they're trying to capture, it's just generic stuff, there's no personality to it like there was in stuff like "Reckless Abandon", "Dick Lips", "Apple Shampoo", "What's My Age Again", and "the Party Song" (while acknowledging that song's retrograde gender politics). And "Wildfire"... again, it's just so vague and generic, "we won this war" and "I'll never change the way I live", it's a rallying cry but with no specific ideals behind it. Mark's verse doesn't work for me when it's about an idea of growing up (taking xanax, working for a paycheck, cheating on your girlfriend) when I know Mark hasn't had to worry about a paycheck the way most people have since probably 1998 and has been married for 15 years... he's not an underdog anymore haha. He's a rich Grammy-nominated dad. And that's cool, I'm sure he still has all sorts of complex thoughts and feelings that he grapples with every day, and when he writes about that sort of thing it's far more intriguing ("Cynical", "Bored to Death", "San Diego", everything on the +44 record) than some vague attempt to speak to a generation 20-30 years younger than he is. I'm not opposed to him writing about being a teenager: I think "San Diego" and "Teenage Satellites" are great, they just feel more genuine to me. They're about knowing they aren't those kids anymore and that they've changed and they're an examination on how formative those years were. That's dope.

If it still connects with people, more power to them and the band, maybe it's largely on me being too close to blink-182 and not being able to reconcile the rich white 45 year old guy singing about "winning the war". But it's a pretty big disconnect to me on those songs.

 

Do we know that's what he says?

 

A respectable opinion and a very good post. I wish more criticism posts were like yours as opposed to simply stating something is just garbage and leaving it at that. I applaud you. Also I can see where you come from in your POV without any doubt.

 

Yes Blink said it themselves

 

I forgot which one came from those sessions and which ones were other sessions with other artists now. Something about one of the choruses iirc was first thought up with Andrew.

 

Tom continues to tease what seems to be a Box Car reunion

 

People have said ALL of these things in this thread.

But luckily we've got someone rating the validity of others' criticisms.

 

Whatever happened to that WDNTW acoustic album, hes such a tease.

 

Yeah, that's WEIRD.

 

Probably never gonna happen, unfortunately.

 

....I was giving him a compliment on his post. It was well written. Nothing more or less, I wasn't rating the 'validity' of anyone's criticisms. I just said I could appreciate his post for how he explained his views. Well written, well thought out. Relax, man don't turn it into something it isn't :)

 

Same as new Box Car racer, fortunately.

 

Opinions, everyone's got em!

 

Right!

 

I mean look dude, it's clear you love this band. But people are allowed to not praise them for everything, whether they want to write a thesis backing up their points or come in and say "Wow this song sucks."

These guys are multimillionaires. They don't need internet white knights defending them or patting people on the head for "respectable opinions" as opposed to the opinions you clearly think are less valid because they're not backed up.

 

Look, I'm sorry if you are mistaking what I was trying to say. I never said people have to praise them for everything, heck I literally was just giving props to a post that said the exact opposite of that. I didn't say anyone's opinion is 'less valid' if it's explained or not. All I meant was that me, personally, can respect someone who takes the time to thoughtfully explain why something is bad. I'd say the same thing for someone who thinks it's good; I'll take "I like/hate it because..." over "ITSAWESOMELOL" or "it's garbage" any day.

Again, really, i wasn't trying to turn this into a thing. I gave positive props to a post of someone who took time to discuss something whether it be for the positive or a negative. I am sorry if something about that is grinding you; trust me I am one of the people that would love if this wasn't turned into a huge issue.