blink-182 Band • Page 477

Listening to songs on shuffle and Parking Lot came on. Got the itch and dived into the deluxe edition of California; it still blows my mind how much better these deluxe songs are compared to the OG album.

 

Seriously the bridge of Misery is one of the best things Mark has written and the chorus to Good Old Days with Matt doing the harmonies/Aghhhsss in the background is some of the catchiest shit blink have ever done.

 

i disagree. most of them are balls.

the only ones i go back to are parking lot, misery, sometimes wildfire, and sometimes 6/8.

listening to these deluxe songs right now because it's been forever. i hate how the distorted guitars just have no warmth to them whatsoever. they sound so icky.

 

good old days, long lost feeling, can't get you more pregnant, and bottom of the ocean are just completely unlistenable to me. don't mean anything has a catchy simple chorus that is enjoyable, but everything else about that song doesn't do it for me at all.

the main California album, i've come around to it a lot. there's only like 6 songs that i don't like.

the entire California album cycle bummed me out. they got Skiba and started working with Tim Armstrong, but they decided the songs sounded too much like old Blink and old Alkaline Trio (which sounds perfect to like 90% of the fanbase, i'm sure), and then they went to Feldmann and we got over 20 songs that are just ok, with a small handful of great ones thrown in. I thought them getting Skiba would have been perfect, but it felt like they barely used the guy on California. they could have gotten just about anyone, and i bet California would have still sounded 90% the same. you can hear Skiba's influence on songs like Los Angeles and 6/8, and he has a couple cool vocal moments, but overall, they wasted the opportunity of potentially matching something along the lines of Untitled's creativity and decided to go backwards and pretend like they could do Enema of the State again and without Tom. but instead we got a repetitive, watered down pop punk album that could have been made by any pop punk band. at least that's how i feel about it. haha. don't listen to me. and it's not Skiba's fault at all. the Alkaline Trio album that came out after California was pretty fuckin great.

 

I respect your opinion :)

Comparing these batch of songs on the deluxe side to OG, they're just so much stronger.

 

California was the closest this band came to dad rock

 

According to Mark, the first song they played was Anthem Part 2.

 

Sometimes I really wish Blink-182 would just say "fuck it" and pivot to something like Fat or Epitaph Records, record with Bill Stevenson, and just put out an album along the lines of the last couple Face To Face albums or something. Even for just one album, I'd love to hear that would sound. Like if Blink decided to make another Dude Ranch style album between DR and Enema, but as older more mature guys. That's an alternate universe I'd love to live in for just a day to hear what that might sound like.

 

Sounds perfect to me

 

It'd sound like Cali Deluxe.

 

I'm with @bradsonemanband on California. Considering all of the talent in the studio, the album is so incredibly bland from a songwriting and production standpoint, with very few high points that I rarely come back to. That said - I get it. They lost an integral member, got a very reputable guy in his place, and started working with Feldy. Playing it safe was the better move for the sake of the band continuing.

 

I think the closest they've gotten to something like this are "The Only Thing That Matters" and "Quarantine". I'm a fan of both of those, but most fans seem to hate them so who knows how that would go over lol.

 

Those are two of my favorites from that era too. Ha. Rabbit Hole too. Maybe we just have bad taste.

 

is The Only Thing That Matters that hated? i don't recall ever really seeing any criticism of that song, other than Matt's verse sounding maybe a bit too similar to a portion from a Reel Big Fish song. it's definitely one of my favorites too from California, just a simple fun quick song. Quarantine though i think i've listened to maybe 5 times total and am in no hurry to go back to it again any time soon.

 

The Only Thing That Matters + Rabbit Hole are probably my two favourites from California. Teenage Satellites might be a contender too.

 

San Diego, Bored to Death, The Only Thing, and Left Alone are the top 4 from California for me

 

Wow. Just listened to Only Thing That Matters and I like that more than anything else they’re doing on the last few records. But is that chorus/pre-chorus supposed to be a direct reference to Reel Big Fish’s All I Want is More?

 

“Hated” was an exaggeration (just lumped it in with “Quarantine”). I mainly meant that the song never really gets much love or is talked about by people who actually enjoy the album. And it doesn’t seem to do much for the anti-Skiba crowd despite the fact that it sounds the most like classic blink. More underrated than “hated”.

 

Has to be an homage. It’s too similar to not be deliberate.

 

Yes

 

Think the album is done since they rehearsing now?

 

Nah, they're going Neighborhoods vibe on this one.

Rehearsing with 2 guitar tracks recorded, album's about 2% done.

 

Tom posted a clip too. Looks like Dumpweed on the monitor

 

Album has to be turned in at the end of the month. It’s probably safe to say the album is done. If they decide to do anything last minute it’s going to be minimal.