{"id":144595951,"date":"2024-05-15T13:35:31","date_gmt":"2024-05-15T13:35:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lazyandentitled.org\/?p=144595951"},"modified":"2024-05-15T13:35:31","modified_gmt":"2024-05-15T13:35:31","slug":"albums-i-loved-in-high-school-blink-182-enema-of-the-state","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lazyandentitled.org\/?p=144595951","title":{"rendered":"Albums I Loved In High School: Blink 182 &amp; &#039;Enema Of The State&#039;"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">&#8220;Nobody likes you when you&#8217;re 23&#8221; &#8211; Blink 182<\/h2><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The music we listen to between ages 13-18 literally imprints on our brains. Anything you listen to outside of that window? You might eventually like it more, but it won\u2019t make an impression like the stuff you jammed from middle school to high school.<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I have no idea if that\u2019s true, but I read that <em>they<\/em> did <em>studies<\/em> that concluded <em>something<\/em> like that once (<em>Cracked<\/em> article?) and it <em>feels<\/em> true. I can feel it in the way lyrics and guitar parts come flooding back into my memory, the way I\u2019ll pound out drum fills with my thumbs without consciously intending to do so while hearing something I haven\u2019t thought about for two decades.<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So here\u2019s the first in a series revisiting some records I liked in high school. <a href=\"https:\/\/shipwreckedsailor.substack.com\/p\/albums-i-loved-in-high-school-nofx?utm_source=profile&amp;utm_medium=reader2\">Last week was NOFX<\/a>, and I figure anyone with even a cursory knowledge of what I was like in high school is gonna be asking <em>when are you gonna do Blink 182<\/em> so we\u2019re doing Blink 182. Don\u2019t worry, I <em>will<\/em> eventually re-listen to something embarrassing, like Relient K or Slick Shoes.<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Dumpweed<\/strong><\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"01 Dumpweed - The Mark, Tom and Travis Show\" width=\"790\" height=\"444\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ATVENezF7-c?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>The <\/em>warm-up\/soundcheck song for any band, depending on the drummer\u2019s energy level. My band in high school added this to <em>so many <\/em>birthday party setlists, the kind of sets where we\u2019d have to play for an hour? \u201cDumpweed\u201d will be three minutes of that hour, as will Weezer\u2019s \u201cSay It Ain\u2019t So\u201d and the Oneders\u2019 \u201cThat Thing You Do.\u201d The intro riff is genuinely eye-popping creative. The band couldn\u2019t be bothered to play any more chords after that third one, though. Travis\u2019s drumming here is maybe the best illustration of why this band is nothing without him. <\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One time in high school, my mom heard this song and asked me, \u201cyou know you can\u2019t <em>train<\/em> girls, right, you know you don\u2019t talk about women that way?\u201d The amount of years my Blink 182 fandom has probably taken off of my parents\u2019 lives, dudes. <\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Don\u2019t Leave Me<\/strong><\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Blink 182 loves to give Mark the second song to sing, put the song in the key of A, B, or E, and have it be a perfectly serviceable song that everyone agrees is very far from the best on the record. These songs always stick out for one funny thing\u2014the juvenile expectations of a girlfriend on \u201cJosie,\u201d Mark claiming \u201cDon\u2019t Leave Me\u201d is \u201cabout [his] herpes\u201d on the live album, the weird Josie callback to \u201cOnline Songs\u201d without connecting it in any way to \u201cJosie.\u201d That said, \u201cdo you like Tom or Mark songs better\u201d is forever an open-ended question, at least for me. <\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Aliens Exist<\/strong><\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tom knew back in 1999 and all of you were too busy making fun of his lip ring and sideways hat and Dickies and silly one-pickup signature guitar to realize. Still a massive missed opportunity, not putting this song over the end credits of <em>Nope<\/em>.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Tom Delonge From Blink 182 Is Better At Aliens Than You\" width=\"790\" height=\"444\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/AxWWw_UUXJM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"> <\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Going Away To College<\/strong><\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Whoa whoa whoa, who put all this color and texture in the guitar chords? Is it my birthday, or did some play a sixth? <\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>What\u2019s My Age Again? <\/strong><\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On <em>The Mark, Tom, and Travis Show<\/em>, Tom kicks this song off by saying \u201cit\u2019s really hard to play.\u201d It kind of is! Do we think Tom knows what hybrid picking is?<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Dysentery Gary<\/strong><\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another genuinely creative intro riff. Some good and unexpected dynamic changes in this song. It\u2019s pretty awful, lyrically, like if you really listen to the lyrics, you take eight steps backward on the path to Enlightenment. THAT SAID\u2014easily the funniest track on the record. Which is, again, a horrifying statement if you listen to the lyrics. <\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Adam\u2019s Song<\/strong><\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fine enough song, but the best thing about not being a teenager anymore or having the Trump presidency happen is you no longer have to pretend it\u2019s moving or serious.<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>All The Small Things<\/strong><\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Maybe Blink\u2019s worst song ever, yeah I said it. <\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>The Party Song<\/strong><\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">MAYBE BLINK\u2019S BEST SONG EVER, YEAH I SAID IT. Incredibly stupid, singing it is kind of a party trick, another remarkably chauvinist set of lyrics, but\u2014idk, it makes me wanna go to a party. Or what 15-year-old me figured a college party would be, which was something like a Sum 41 or Chon video: a pool, a few bands, the homies, some women in bikinis, and, well, I was too into Youth Group to ever imagine farther than that. <\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"CHON - Waterslide (Official Music Video)\" width=\"790\" height=\"444\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/JQcp3UWQOmM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Mutt<\/strong><\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A really musically interesting song for being so simple. The three of them can really make interesting stuff happen within a pop framework if they actually try. The thing about music, though, is it\u2019s pretty easy to run out of stuff to say on an instrument if you don\u2019t really know it. They\u2019re far from the only band to reach this roadblock, but some of Tom\u2019s middle period guitar is the most reaching I can think of. <\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Wendy Clear<\/strong><\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Feels a touch like filler, but it\u2019s not so bad, as the chorus says. Like \u201cDon\u2019t Leave Me,\u201d it\u2019s not that this song is bad, because it\u2019s not. It\u2019s just the most <em>Key of C<\/em> song I can think of, and the key of C is the blandest key. <\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Anthem <\/strong><\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ahhhhh this song RULES. That cool groove at the beginning, then doubling the tempo (or whatever), the fact that this is called \u201cAnthem\u201d but there\u2019s not really anything catchy to yell at the top of your lungs, the prechorus bass line that I thought was the sickest shit I\u2019d ever heard until I saw Mark play it on a livestream and realized it\u2019s as simple as everything else he does (but nevertheless still sick), the fact that this song wasn\u2019t played live on <em>The Mark, Tom, and Travis Show<\/em> or at the <em>Take Off Your Pants And Jacket<\/em> tour show that I went to <em>but<\/em> the lead track off their next album was called \u201cAnthem Part II\u201d and had a bigger push to be a single but this song still never really got its due, the shoutout they give me in verse 2 (it\u2019s true, I passed out drunk at Tom\u2019s house in 1995 and they wrote on my face with lipstick), the fact that it might be Exhibit A in the \u201cwriting in the key of B is cool\u201d argument, and the fact that the lyrics feel half-assed and like the last thing they wrote but the song nevertheless still rips. <\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Look, what do you want me to say? Can <em>you<\/em> explain why <em>you<\/em> like anything about Blink 182? You can\u2019t, not without sounding kinda stupid. There\u2019s no non-embarrassing answer to the question \u201cwhat do you think of Blink 182?\u201d If you like them, you have juvenile taste. If you don\u2019t like them, you\u2019re a stuffy prude. If you\u2019ve never heard of them, you\u2019re either my five-year-old child or my grandparents.<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>What Scratches This Itch For Me Today:<\/strong><\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nostalgia is embarrassing, because do you really like music or were you just happier when you were 16? One answer is depressing. The point of looking back at records I liked in high school is to see where I am today, too. <\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are some good poppy bands out there. There was a stretch when, like, All Time Low and Cartel ruled the scene, and that was a dark time. Honestly, what gives me the same feeling as Blink now is Chon, specifically their <em>Homey<\/em> record. There\u2019s an ineffable Southern California skater goof to that record that captures what I always liked about Blink 182. It\u2019s fast, energetic music that makes you feel like the sun doesn\u2019t have to go down until later, that whatever you or anyone else is worried about probably isn\u2019t all that serious (going away to college can\u2019t be worse than alien probes, right?). One of these days we\u2019ll look at a San Diego screamo band I still love, but for me, the San Diego Sound is Blink 182 \u2192 Chon. Hey, I\u2019ve eaten fish tacos in Old Town, kayaked in the Pacific, contemplated moving there every Chicago April. <\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Verdict: I still like it. A lot.<\/strong><\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com\/public\/images\/00304dc9-86ad-41bc-beef-60998ecacc3c_220x220.jpeg\" alt=\"Enema of the State - Wikipedia\"\/><\/figure><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are still times when I jam this record and poppy outings like it from around the same time. Not often, but some. Post-<em>Take Off Your Pants And Jacket<\/em>, I think I\u2019ve listened to anything from Blink exactly once. That said, I get a big stupid shit-eating grin on my face whenever this record comes on. It\u2019s so fun! <\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It also came out when I was in 6th grade, and Brendan and I bought it and <em>Licensed To Ill<\/em> by the Beastie Boys at the same time at Sam Goody, and that\u2019s the domino that got us to Lazy &amp; Entitled. I can\u2019t believe I went this whole blog without telling the story of my dad taking Brendan and I to see Blink, New Found Glory, Midtown, and Mest at Starwood Amphitheater in Nashville, TN in 2001 (pre-9\/11). Ask me about it sometime. Blink came out with the word FUCK in 10-foot-tall flaming letters and played \u201cHappy Holidays You Bastard\u201d three times in a row. <\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Happy Holidays, You Bastard\" width=\"790\" height=\"593\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-KYOAw47O-I?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">My dad never even considered making us 13-year-olds leave, and that\u2019s called Good Parenting. <\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Are you coming to the house show later? <\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sorry you got an email,<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Chris<\/p><div class=\"subscription-widget-wrap-editor\" data-attrs=\"{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/shipwreckedsailor.substack.com\/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}\" data-component-name=\"SubscribeWidgetToDOM\"><div class=\"subscription-widget show-subscribe\"><div class=\"preamble\"><p class=\"cta-caption\">Thanks for reading shipwrecked sailor! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.<\/p><\/div><form class=\"subscription-widget-subscribe\"><input type=\"email\" class=\"email-input\" name=\"email\" placeholder=\"Type your email\u2026\" tabindex=\"-1\"\/><input type=\"submit\" class=\"button primary\" value=\"Subscribe\"\/><div class=\"fake-input-wrapper\"><div class=\"fake-input\"\/><div class=\"fake-button\"\/><\/div><\/form><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Nobody likes you when you&#8217;re 23&#8221; &#8211; Blink 182<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-144595951","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lazyandentitled.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144595951","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lazyandentitled.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lazyandentitled.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lazyandentitled.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lazyandentitled.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=144595951"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lazyandentitled.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144595951\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lazyandentitled.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=144595951"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lazyandentitled.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=144595951"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lazyandentitled.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=144595951"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}