![]() Non-album songs from that session like "Time to Break Up" and "Don't Tell Me That It's Over" are far superior, and far more in line with the rest of the album. Despite the popularity, it's not hard to tell how much those songs do lack in substance compared to the rest of the album. The angered Tom and Mark quickly wrote the substance-lacking "First Date" and "Rock Show" (respectively) as something of a "fuck you" to their manager, both of which made the album and indeed became massive singles. Legend has it that when the band showed the album to their manager, he told them it lacked any real singles (which is kind of ridiculous, considering that while TOYPAJ is ever so slightly darker and more "mature" than Enema, it was still some of the brightest, most sugary pop punk around in 2001). It's the lowest-ranking of the four because of some minor setbacks, and most of those setbacks weren't even fully the band's fault. The fact that TOYPAJ is only their fourth best album, and still an all-time classic of pop punk, speaks to just how unstoppable they truly were. ![]() blink-182 were unstoppable between 19, and their studio output at the time was nearly flawless. We've now reached the top four albums, just about any of which could be #1 depending on the day. Some diehards of blink's early material may balk at the idea of this ranking above Cheshire Cat, but given the circumstances, the turnout of Neighborhoods was more impressive. The late Jerry Finn's production is missed - and the self-produced album proved that the guys did have room to grow as producers - but Mark and Tom proved their pop smarts before they ever worked with Jerry, and the album has them sounding way more like a rock band than they do on the overly-polished California. ![]() They've also got those classic blink-182 melodies on every song. It has the synthy, spacey atmospheres that Tom further explored in Angels & Airwaves, but this time Travis' furious drumming and Mark's interest in rawer indie rock is keeping the album from sounding like Coldplay. The album has some of the heaviest riffs in blink-182's discography. Instead, it picked up right where their last album had left off, with darker, more experimental songs than their strictly pop punk period. Before its release, I was afraid Neighborhoods would be what California ended up being - a retread of their most popular songs. Neighborhoods, the first album blink-182 released since returning from hiatus (and their first after Jerry Finn's passing), turned out way better than I expected it would. In celebration of this band's work, here's a ranking of their albums from worst to best. Once they hooked up with Travis Barker, the best mainstream rock drummer of the past twenty years, they were an unstoppable power trio. Mark Hoppus and Tom Delonge are a truly special songwriting team, the kind you don't see all that often. blink-182 remain important, influential, and popular because their songs are built to last. It implies that they're a band you outgrow, a band you use to get to something better. They've been called a "gateway" band, but that's an unfairly backhanded compliment. blink-182 have endured more than many of their peers, partially because their influence can still be felt today in both mainstream and underground bands. Countless bands popped up that sounded like them, pre-existing bands reworked their approach to sound more like them, and a lot of these bands got very, very popular. After their massive 1999 breakthrough Enema of the State, the world changed. ![]() Even more so than Green Day, blink-182 were the single most important band in bringing punk to a wide millennial audience. ![]()
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