I know, I know. It’s a few weeks after the big news was announced. Blink-182 is getting back together with all the original band members. You might be thinking, wait, didn’t they release an album a couple of years ago? Or what do you mean by all the original members? Or you might be thinking why does it matter that Blink is getting back together? And while you’re right to think those things, let me explain to you why this retired pop-punk enthusiast is so excited for their return as the Blink that we all remember.
First of all, I know you know who Travis Barker is. He has been catching a lot of media attention over the past few years because of his recent relationship and marriage to Kourtney Kardashian. Just in case you didn’t know, he’s not a popular person because he is covered in tattoos, he married into the Kardashians or because he hangs out with MGK. He is popular because he has been the drummer of Blink-182 and other pop-punk bands since the beginning (technically, he’s not the ORIGINAL original drummer for Blink; however, he is the drummer on all the songs that we know and love today).
Mark Hoppus and Tom DeLonge met when they were teenagers and started a band. This band went on to win a battle of the bands competition. After winning this competition, they started to record demo after demo which landed them on a tour around the United States. This tour allowed them to share their sound across the nation in a very personal way. Places that were further away from California, the state where the band originated, were finally able to hear their pop-punk sound and songs that told a relatable and funny story.
After touring the country, they were picked up by the music label MCA (MCA managed many other popular bands at the time that we still know today such as Lynyrd Skynyrd and Boston). This music label helped them produce their second album Dude Ranch in 1997. It is also around this time that they pick up the drummer Travis Barker as their official drummer for the band.
After picking up Barker, DeLonge and Hoppus took the next step into stardom. By 1999 they started releasing albums and singles that have become the anthems that we know today. Albums such as Enema of the State were released which gave us songs like All the Small Things and What’s My Age Again? (personally, one of my favorites because of the verse: “I called her mom / from the payphone / I said I was the cops / and your husbands in jail). These songs and this album blasted them into stardom with multiple headlining tours with bands. Even while they were touring, they were still writing and recording songs. From 1999 to 2001 Blink-182 was in its golden age; releasing song after song and albums like Take off Your Pants and Jacket that topped the charts.
Unfortunately, all stars fade, and that is what Blink-182 started to do. By 2002, Blink-182 was very successful, but it wasn’t enough for the band members. In the years following 2002, the members of Blink started other small bands and passion projects. This arguably spread the members too thin, they were not able to maintain the magic that made Blink-182 so popular. They released another album in 2003 titled Blink-182 which allowed them to go on another tour, but it was no use. By 2005, Tom DeLonge announced that he would be leaving Blink-182, leaving the band and its fans in shambles.
After Blink-182 broke up, their side projects became their primary projects. Box Car Racer (DeLonge and Barker), +44 (Barker and Hoppus) and Angel and Airways (DeLonge) started to rear their head in the music industry. These bands also became very popular in their own right but considering the members, it seems as if these bands had almost zero chance of failing. They were created and manned by people who had already been heard around the world. Fans quickly adapted to and became fans of these bands because they were reminiscent of Blink-182. We all needed something to fill the Blink hole in our hearts.
Flash forward to 2009, the band announced it was getting back together. This is likely due to the fact that Travis Barker was one of two survivors in a fatal plane crash that happened in 2008. When something tragic happens, people tend to come together and unite. Once Blink announced this reunion everything was amazing and awesome. They were playing together again, but this time it was pure fun. They went on a greatest hits tour playing all the songs that put them on the musical map in the first place. They released another album in 2011 titled Neighborhoods which didn’t do as well as everyone was expecting.
This album and the trauma caused by Barker’s plane crash put a pretty heavy damper on the band. They weren’t meshing as well and international tours became much more difficult to plan and organize. This went on for years and tensions were high between the members. There were talks about kicking members out of the band; however, if they were to do that, it wouldn’t be Blink-182 anymore. By 2015, DeLonge left the band again, but he was replaced by another guitarist named Matt Skiba. In 2016, Hoppus, Barker and Skiba released an album titled California. This album was much cleaner and musically produced than the band’s previous albums, but this is how the band was staying relevant to the constantly changing music world. This album did incredibly well with songs like Bored to Death, She’s Out of Her Mind and California. The album California was their first album since 2001 that had songs top the charts. After this album was released, they went on a tour again (this was the tour that I saw Blink-182 for the first time. They were the first concert that I had ever gone to by myself).
Little happened with the band musically between 2016 and 2020. They released songs and rumored albums and tours. Some of these rumors turned out to be true with another album Nine being released. This album was more experimental than their others because it included other artists being featured in songs. Hoppus, Barker and Skiba were maintaining Blink-182 name in the music industry over these four years.
Everything comes to almost a screeching halt when Mark Hoppus announced that he was diagnosed with cancer. He announced that he would be taking time to focus on his health, but that he did have the love and support of every band member, including Tom DeLonge who had not been reinstated in the band at the time of this announcement. Luckily, Hoppus’s battle with cancer was difficult, but by the end of 2021, he announced that he had gone into remission and was cancer-free.
Much like Barker’s plane crash, Hoppus’s announcement of cancer sparked something within the band members. Blink-182 was not the same without all its original members. This leads us to this year. In 2022, Tom DeLonge announced that he was back in the band and that the Blink-182 that we know, and love are going back on tour. They are currently teasing a new album after the release of their first single to come out after their reunion Edging (released in October of 2022) and have announced an international tour for 2023.
Their new single Edging echoes their original sound that made songs like What’s My Age Again? and First Date. I’m really excited to see where Blink is going to go this time around. Getting back in touch with their roots and their original sound is incredibly exciting. This isn’t to say that California wasn’t a fantastic album (it was and it has some of my favorite Blink songs on it), it was just different. It wasn’t the classic Blink-182 sound that the diehards crave, it was something new that attracted so many more people and fans to their music. Saying that I am very excited that they are starting to sound like they did back in the early 2000s because I can’t wait to hear what their sadder or darker songs are going to sound like. I’m looking forward to a sad song that echoes the sound of Adam’s Song which is so sublimely heartbreaking. Ultimately, with all of the ups and downs of this band, I am really excited to see what the future holds for Blink-182. I am absolutely over the moon that one of my favorite bands of all time is back together, making new music and going on tour that I might have the chance to go to all within the next year!
Also, some credit should be given to Kourtney Kardashian. She has helped Travis Barker with his fear of flying following his accident. He is now able to fly again, hesitantly, but he is able to do so. This is a big reason why they are having a world tour in 2023 and I don’t feel as if that should be swept under the rug.
For a more detailed timeline with more accurate dates check out: https://planetradio.co.uk/kerrang/entertainment/music/blink-182-career/