10 Musical Shifts That No One Saw Coming

Part of the appeal of pop punk in the early days was just how innocent everything felt. Outside of the more emotional stripe of emo music coming down the pipeline, Sum 41 and Blink 182 felt like they were more suited for soundtracking a backyard pool party than someone being too emotional for their own good. So how the hell did the band known for their carefree party attitude turn in a heartfelt record like this?

Compared to what we were hearing off of Take Off Your Pants and Jacket, Blink 182's self titled feels like it's own unique beast, blending different pieces of pop punk with moodier styles like new wave and synth pop from back in the day. You can definitely hear the old band in there, but the guitars are a lot more crunchy on songs like Easy Target and the messages are a lot more angsty on songs like Always and All of This, which also features Robert Smith from the Cure on backing vocals.

Again, these are the guys who were known for running naked around California in one of their videos. What's even crazier is that it totally worked, with fans loving the new direction before the band eventually went on hiatus due to creative differences. Considering that none of them were on the same page during the production, it's a miracle that a record like this even exists.