:: Take Off Your Pants And Jacket

Blink-182

Seemingly in the blink (pardon the pun) of an eye, Blink-182 has become a global phenomenon with a catchy blend of punk/pop and potty-mouthed tasteless humour that is hooking in the young'uns by the truckload. The guys have stumbled on a winning formula and are milking it with the determination of a rabid Doberman on heat. “This is the hardest, fastest album we've done,” says vocalist Tom De Longe, who seemingly measures how good an album is by these Key Performance Indicators, which is probably fair enough 'cause that's how their audience probably rate it too. Lyrically, Blink-182 are sometimes still stuck in their mid teens ("Happy Holidays, You Bastard” is a fair enough example of this). Two songs stand out for me as rising above the rest, the catchy “First Date” and “Stay Together for the Kids” a gritty song about broken marriages. Apart from these, it's hard to pick out highlights as practically every song sounds the same. However, in their defence, Blink-182 is quite busy building an empire consisting of on-line retailing and clothing labels - artistic credibility will have to take a back seat for now. For fans of the band a book is due out in mid-September (“Tales from Beneath Your Mum”), chronicling the bands early years that is sure to feature more of their winning formula.
http://www.blink182.com