Product Review
On their 1997 release, Dude Ranch, juvenile hardcore-pop band Blink 182 tickled the funny bone with an assortment of dumb sex jokes, off-color artwork, and between-song skits, including one of a dog drinking from a freshly peed in toilet. So, two years down the road, have the band matured at all? One look at the cover of Enema of the State, which features cover art of a tarted-up blonde nurse donning a rubber glove, provides the easy answer. Fortunately, Enema supports the humor with strong musicianship. The songs are more dynamic and multitempoed than those on Dude Ranch, sounding like a cross between the Descendents and Fountains of Wayne. And unlike the glut of alt-rock releases that offer one or two memorable songs, Enema is flush with instantly memorable melodies and ear-pleasing harmonies. Good, dirty fun--no more, no less. --Jon Wiederhorn

Do you ever get tired of bands that spend more time telling you how good they are rather than showing you how good they are? You know, bands like Tool and Dream Theatre. Yeah, I get tired of them too. Their pretentiousness and unenlightened music combined with a condescending attitude of "If you don't LOVE us, you are a simple minded fool and our music works on so many levels that are simply beyond your feeble minded comprehension." Do you get as sick of that as I do? Because I get pretty sick of it. I GET the music, it's not over my head The problem is that it's droll, boring and insipid. The answer to too much of that type of rubbish is Blink 182. A band that takes themselves as serious as they should. Should I get into the argument, is this punk or not? I say it is. Why? Because punk has nothing to do with sound and everything to do with attitude. Blink 182 is pure punk with that attitude of theirs. They have the same irreverence and disrespect for authority and "the way things are done" as the Sex Pistols, just without the political angst. So yeah fenixmxpx, they're punk, even with that poppy sound. I guess I'm just not a big fan of stringent labeling of music in an effort to ensure that it fits nice and neat into a specific genre for marketing purposes. Right now Blink 182 is one of the best things that punk, or pop-punk if you just HAVE to be anal (maybe you should try some TOOL?) has going for it. And now, onto the music. First off, Travis rocks. The loudest and most frequent complaint I keep hearing about Blink is this misconception that they can't play their instruments. Travis is an awesome drummer. Not just an awesome punk drummer, or an awesome pop-punk drummer. Travis is an awesome drummer. He rocks. As for the songs, honestly, what can I say? Blink delivers just what they promise and when you cut right down to it, there really isn't much more you could ask for from a band. I don't think there are songs on here as good as "Dammit" from Dude Ranch, but there are still plenty of gems. "Adam's Song" really stands out as one of the best songs I've heard in years. The lyrics and music work extremely well together to set a mood of detachment, and it's almost creepy. The big singles, "What's My Age Again" and "All The Small Things" are great fun and not as easy to dismiss, lyrically, as some would like you to think. While they certainly aren't going to save the world (yeah, like Lennon's Imagine did...HA!.....) they aren't without meaning. Other songs on the CD that are really great, either for the strong rock music, or the wit and sense of humor displayed in the lyrics are "Dumpweed", "Going Away To College", and "Dysentery Gary". But I think the song that stands out as grossly under-appreciated on this album is "The Party Song". Sometimes a song just doesn't have to be `brilliant' to hit home for you and to make some real connection with you. Well, "The Party Song" does that for me, as absurd as that may sound. But the truth is some girls DO try too hard to impress with those things on their chest and the way that they dress and the things they suggest. Also, the song rocks. It really is a great CD, and some people just love to hate bands that have any level success. Its what makes those people cool, at least in their feeble little minds. Just because it goes Platinum, doesn't mean it's bad. Some people just can't bring themselves to like something (at least openly, I have no doubts that they are closet Blink fans) if they think that it makes them mainstream. They're trying so desperately hard to prove that they are underground or on the cutting edge, so they end up cheating themselves out of some really great stuff just because it's popular. But you gotta love a band like Blink 182. They do what they want to do, and if its popular and gets a good response, great. And if it doesn't, oh well. They'll still do what they want. Very cool band. Awesome drummer. Great CD. Comment | Permalink | (Report this)