4. Enema of the State - Blink 182 1999
That an album by three skater/surfer goofballs from San Diego, that have a fixation for toilet humor, gay, incest and bestiality gags, would actually mentioned as one of the most important and influential releases in modern music, is pretty profound, but, 'Enema of the State', is just, actually, really f**king good! Obviously it isn't the first time that Punk Rock surprised the world and made an impact, but bands like Green Day and Offspring, had a message, often commenting on our society and political issues that face the western world, in their own ways, but the sentiment was there. Blink 182, came from a much more middle-class, suburban background, and therefore, weren't going to fake that they (at the time) cared about anything other than problems with friends, the opposite sex, parents etc. General adolescence issues. The way that Blink 182 created a whole new sound and re-invented Pop-Punk was fresh and exciting, and although many have tried, no one has ever come close to being as good and refreshingly energetic, especially as they are here on this, their third album. Having built up the band's stature through exhaustive touring, on second album, 'Dude Ranch', they went gold with the help of the single 'Dammit', that was a hit in the U.S. but they remained relatively unknown elsewhere in the world. With Travis Braker, replacing original drummer, Scott Raynor, Singer/Guitarist, Tome Delonge and Singer/Bassist, Mark Hoppus, knew that they had to up their songwriting and playing, as Barker was incredibly talented at both drumming and arranging. Being fans of producer, Jerry Finn's work on the Green Day album, 'Dookie', Blink 182 hired him to produce 'Enema of the State', with a view to making their brand of fast, melodic punk rock, a bit more polished and ready for mass consumption. So compatible with Finn, that the band decided after recording, never to record with anyone else, and they haven't. Sadly, Finn died on August 21st, 2008, from a cerebral brain hemorrhage and followed by a massive heart attack, he was just 39 years old. The band were distraught, in particular, Mark Hoppus, who was inconsolable for a period of time, so close were the two. This was the record where Blink 182 perfectly captured the sound of everything they loved about Southern Californian Punk. They were huge fans of hard edged, melodic Skate-Punk bands like Pennywise and NOFX, but also, had the Pop sensibilities of Screeching Weasel and the Queers. The balance between, speed, aggression, melody and hooks, is spot on. That a large section of the Punk Rock community accused the band of selling out and being anything but real Punks, the band didn't seem to care. What they achieved with the album was open up Punk Rock to a whole new generation and if anything, made kids search deeper into it, discovering bands like Bad Religion and Rancid along the way. How can a band sell out, if they never really sold in? The 12 songs generally alternate between compositions from Delonge and Hoppus, but it was clear that Barker and Finn, had really added the extra ingredient that the two frontmen had been after before recording 'Enema of the State'. Mainly talking about life from a teenage persepctive, the songs are very relateable and now again the band even hit on serious notes like teen suicide in the very lovely, third single, 'Adam's Song'. The first two singles were huge hits, initially though. The Hoppus penned, 'What's My Age Again', was popular, but it was 'All the Small Things', that truly catapulted the band to mega-stardom, going top ten in most of the world, and even to number 2 in the U.K. The albums three videos were placed on heavy rotation as well. Musically, the band had some differences to Green Day, who they were inevitably compared too, being a three piece, playing catchy Pop infused punk and being from California. Blink had two lead vocalists and Delonge's guitar playing revolved alot more around riffs, than just power chords, which endeared the band to a a section of Rock and Metal fans. The album did have a negative result though, in that in the years afterwards, many bands formed, trying to be just like Blink, but with bands like All Time Low and Simple Plan, what you actually got was basically Boy Bands, with guitars. poseurs basically. Whereas Blink had come up through the Punk Rock scene and were respected by their peers, these bands had no ethos and credentials. Musically, they did have the melody and Pop sensibilities, but lacked the edge and speed that Blink displayed. They were really, Pop Rock bands, if anything, as opposed to Pop Punk bands. Bands like Sum 41, New Found Glory and Fenix tx, were bands that were a positive result of Blink 182, and understood what Punk Rock was about. Other artists such as MxPx, for example, that were an influence on Blink 182 benefitted, deservedly, from Blink's new found success, as fans started to look for bands similar to their new heroes. A wonderful album that is one of the most treasured by many different people, of varying ages and musical persuasions. It is still blasted out of car windows on summer days and is the soundtrack to many house parties, even by a new generation of teenagers.