Tom DeLonge hints at Blink-182 return
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Tom DeLonge’s favourite Blink-182 albums
Pop-punk legends Blink-182 are one of the most iconic bands of the post-Cold War era. Currently comprised of vocalist/bassist Mark Hoppus and drummer Travis Barker, with the status of frontman/guitarist Matt Skiba uncertain, it looks like there’s still life left in the band, but in what configuration, fans are waiting to find out.
Although the band might have maintained a large following in Skiba’s tenure, no one can deny that they’re not the same outfit without original vocalist/guitarist Tom DeLonge. The man with the high-pitched whine and catchy riffs, who famously left all the glory he had in music to go on a hunt for extra-terrestrials, is a missing piece of the crown jewels.
The lineup that included DeLonge was their most impactful, and between him, Hoppus and Barker; they instilled real energy into modern rock with their dynamic and incredibly infectious tracks. Drawing on the works of alternative legends such as Descendents, Dinosaur Jr., Ned’s Atomic Dustbin and Depeche Mode, the band established an instantly recognisable sound, a testament to their talents.
This wide assortment of influences infused the band with a substance many of their pop-punk peers could only dream of. This allowed them to flirt with styles outside their immediate realm, meaning they retained an authenticity that remains so influential to this day, 17 years after the classic lineup first decided to call it a day.
The band formed in the halcyon days of summer 1992, and things moved quickly. In 1994 they released their debut album Buddha, which resulted in them embarking on non-stop tours of the country.
They continued to develop and hone their craft, however, the personal tensions caused by almost constant touring and the success of their second effort, 1997’s Dude Ranch, caused Raynor to be relieved of his duties by Hoppus and DeLonge in 1998. They enlisted Barker as a replacement, who was then playing in The Aquabats, and he learnt their 20-song set in just 45 minutes before the show, and the rest, as they say, was history. They went on to become one of the most significant outfits of their generation.
The band released a string of classic records ranging from 1999’s Enema of the State to 2003’s Untitled, but for the three members of Blink’s classic lineup, choosing a favourite is an almost impossible task. In 2021, when DeLonge appeared on Hoppus’ Apple Music 1 show After School Radio, the duo discussed their favourite Blink-182 albums.
At one point, Hoppus asked DeLonge to name his favourite record they released, to which he replied: “That’s a really good question. God, there’s so many great things about all of them”.
DeLonge explained: “I really like, obviously the Untitled album in the sense of the exploration musically that we did there. But I also got to say, when we did Enema, it was like, I knew that we were doing something in the moment that hasn’t been done before.”
“But I also feel like, you go back to when you wrote ‘Dammit’ I remember I felt I went through a college course on songwriting. I never really thought of a song as such a simple structure, and it really informed a lot of decisions made later”, he concluded.
