96. Blink 182: Take Off Your Pants and Jacket
First things first, I want to state here and now, this is the only Blink album to appear on this list. This isn’t to say anything against Cheshire Cat, Dude Ranch or Enema of the State. They’re all fantastic albums, but in the next few paragraphs I’m going to explain my love of this album.
When I was starting Junior High I saw a music video on MTV. At this point I was already a Punk/Ska kid. I never dressed the part (I only tried dying my hair once and I never have been tattooed or pierced or skateboarded), but all the music I listened too was The Suicide Machines, Goldfinger and Green Day so punk wasn’t something new to me. But when I saw Dammit for the first time, was like hearing a completely new genre of music to me. The people performing looked like they were the same age as my cousins. Unlike all the other music at that time, these guys seemed like they could be friends of mine, sort of how I imagine kids in early 90‘s felt when they first heard Nirvana or Green Day in middle school.
By 8th grade Blink 182 went from a band that a few kids knew and enjoyed to a band that EVERYONE knew. I had become a very asshole-ish christian at this point so ‘inappropriate’ humor like that meant nothing to me (which actually means I thought it was hilarious but didn’t think I was allowed to admit it).
Then 10th grade happened, I was in my 2nd band (but first REAL band). We would practice 3 days a week after school at the local church and while I was still a bit of a ‘full of himself asshole’, I enjoyed hanging with my bandmates Matt and Nick. They were real punk rock kids who would play me stuff like Lagwagon and NoFx. The summer before classes started up Blink had released Take Off Your Pants and Jacket. I remember going to practice one day and Matt showing up with the CD and saying ‘You have to hear this song.’ It was then that he played me Reckless Abandon.
At this point there had been three singles off the album The Rock Show, Stay Together For the Kids and First Date. At the time I thought they were okay but ultimately forgettable songs but Reckless Abandon was undeniable massive to me. Tom and Mark were singing about the same types of crazy shit Matt, Nick and occasionally I would get involved in. I had never heard a song so simply sum up the high school experience for me. I finally gave into the power of Blink and bought the album.
A few of my older friends talk about how this was the ‘last blink album they bought’. It definitely was the point where poop jokes took a back seat to serious song writing (but you still had stuff like Happy Holidays, You Bastard and Shut Up). Tom and Mark at this point where in their late 20’s and there is a distinct nostalgia feel throughout the entire record. Songs like First Date, Roller Coaster and Reckless Abandon all clearly are pulled from high school memories, but you still have songs like Stay Together For the Kids and Story of a Lonely Guy that have a real seriousness to them.
At the end of the day though, I think your favorite Blink 182 is almost directly connected with the album you connected the most to high school. For me it’ll always be this album.
When he's not getting nostalgic on his favorite albums and movies he hosts the Saint Mort Show, Writes for Geekscape.net and tweets all day long. For his guilty pleasure this week he defended The Guyver.
<----- 97. The Leftovers: Eager to Please
95. John Reuben: Hindsight ----->
No comments:
Post a Comment