Self Titled and Greatest hits

Ahh Blink-182's self titled album. Memories are just flowing back to me. I remember listening to this album in it's entirety one summer while I was home playing some games. I have a lot of memories tied to this album. First, it was the second Blink-182 album I ever listened and the first i bought (I wouldn't own Take Off your Pants And Jacket for another 2 years.....damn what the hell was I thinking waiting like that?!). I remember how my friends and I discussed how great this album was. For me it was everything I remembered about Blink amplified to a whole new level.

I know i said in my earlier reviews that Blink had a punk sound. I described it as such to give a newcomer a way to gauge what to expect from early Blink-182. With this album however, they established a new level of sound. I know that's redundant but try listening to Take Off Your Pants And Jacket and then listen to this album and you'll know exactly what I mean. I feel like this album was Blink beginning to grow up. It sounds radically different from their earlier works and yet retains that Blink quality. There are all sorts of new elements to it. Darker lyrics, more romantic lyrics, sounds of outer space which combine together for a truly unique blend that no one else can mimic (not to mention their new kick-ass smiley face logo that I cannot get enough of!!).

The most difficult thing i find when trying to discuss music is describing the sound. I mean how many different ways can you explain how a song sounds? For me it's damn near impossible. I tend to over-think things and this is no exception. I feel that the moment you label a band as something that you're indirectly limiting the amount of creativity and diversity from their records. For that reason I don't like to label music by genre or by anything really. Either I like it, love it, or hate it like the plague. As I said earlier, the only reason I even used the words "punk" or "pop punk" in my earlier reviews was to give newcomers an idea of what to expect. Anyway, I'm starting to ramble here......Blink-182's self titled album is by far one of their best simply because of the new level of sound and maturity they've established. I feel that everyone should listen to and give it a try if you haven't already.

OH I almost forgot to discuss their Greatest Hits album. There really isn't much that can be said about it. All it is is their popular songs put on a single album with a couple of bonus tracks. The bonus tracks are why you would want to get this album. "Not Now" is in my opinion one of Blink's truly unique songs in that you can kind of form a story while listening to it. You know whenever I think of their Greatest hits album it kind of makes me sad because it reminds me of how i felt when I found out that Blink-182 broke up...I think that just makes the album as a whole bittersweet to an extent. Anyway that is all i have to say on that.