14. Their Side Projects Are Better Than Most Other Bands
Whereas most bands couldnt come back from a few years away, blink-182 has proven time and time again their eternal popularity. Fortunately for the fans, thats given them the opportunity to spend time on various side projects, before, during, and after their hiatus, and theyre all amazing. Box Car Racer released a great record back in 2002 with appearances from Rancids Tim Armstrong and New Found Glorys Jordan Pundik, as well as Hoppus himself on the Tom DeLonge, Travis Barker, and David Kennedy collaboration. Then came Transplants first record later that year, giving Travis a chance to venture into music in a really different style to blink. The bands hiatus of course led to the creation of +44 and Toms Angels & Airwaves, the latter marking a significant shift from the kind of music blink had been making in their earlier years, and which has also led to Tom and co. collaborating on their first feature film, Love. Most recently Mark has started up the band Nothing and Nobody with producer Chris Holmes, recently adding Sarah Jones on drums. And all of that is just the tip of the iceberg when you start thinking about the multitude of songs and albums theyve featured on, produced, and/or remixed.
13. All Killer No Filler
A lot of bands just dont have what it takes to make a solid record you want to listen to from start to finish. The vast majority are best known for their singles for a good reason not just because theyre the most catchy or marketable, but because theyre the only good songs theyve got. blink doesnt have that problem. To throw in a reference to fellow genre-kings Sum 41, their albums are golden from start to finish. You hear that opening chord on Dumpweed and you know what youre doing for the next half-hour of your life. The same thing happens when the drums kick in on Feeling This, only its fifty instead of thirty minutes, right through the insane drum solo at the end of Im Lost Without You and the ridiculously cool UK bonus track, Not Now. And if its the crowd you hear going wild before Dumpweed kicks in, youre sticking around for Satan, the peanut butter joke and all the rest because The Mark, Tom and Travis Show just started and the next hour is going to be awesome.
Movie / TV enthusiast with a DVD and Blu-ray collection bigger than I'd care to admit. If anyone is offering creative / furniture solutions to house them, I'm all ears.
