Blink 182's "Up All Night"

If you are not familiar with Blink 182 other than 3 guys who put out songs in the late 90's and early 2000's about balls, wieners, and inappropriate jokes about your mom; than they definitely have been warranted a second look.

Recently the band put out a new single entitled "Up All Night" after an eight year hiatus consisting of feuding band members, fighting spouses, and a few side projects. (Mark Hoppus & Travis Barker's +44, an electronic tinged "Hoppus-song heavy" collaboration; Tom DeLonge's stadium rock Angels and Airwaves, as well as individual work such as successful producing careers from both Barker & Hoppus. The later producing records from Motion City Soundtrack most notably, and Barker remixing a slew of hip-hop songs.)

Understandably, many are very skeptical as to what a new Blink song will "sound like" given these many and varying paths each have chosen to take. However, it is also important to remind ourselves of the band's last effort, (Blink 182, 2003) which showed us that these guys do have the talent & the dedication to put out a legit rock record that still managed to keep you singing along; sans dick jokes.

All that being said, I found myself about as giddy as a 13 year old girl before a Justin Bieber concert, anxiously checking my phone for updates last Thursday night as to when I could listen to a new effort from the band.

After an initial listen, and just getting my boyish anxiousness out of the way; it was important to critique the song for what it was: a Blink 182 song. Markedly poppy, simple, but fuck! Fun to listen too.

Lyrics/Melody:

For something that's been hyped up for so long, I was kind of disappointed that the lyrics seem hastily put together and at some points fail to flow into each other. It gives the impression that Hoppus & Delonge are fighting for lead vocals on the song, with Delonge pushing himself to the front by stomping on Hoppus's last line in the verses to start the pre-choruses. Beside that fact the harmonies in the chorus are pretty cool and they flow nicely. The lyrics and melody are catchy and fun, but with pretty dark lyrics and a 'glass half-empty' mentality.

Song Structure/Production:

It seems like they are trying to be different just for the hell of it. Many of the parts are based in groups of 3's and 5's, (where a typical pop song would be 2's and 4's). This is great though. I like the fact that it's just a bit different and not everyone is going to pick up on that fact. The chord structures are of typical Blink 182 nature, employing the traditional "box" chord structure that makes a lot of pop-punk bands sound like they do. The verse's guitar hangs on the root while the bass plays along the structure, the chorus unites the guitar and bass (with a little lead guitar riff buried in the corner) , and the intro/outro riff is interesting but still plays along the same structure. Simple. But simple is right, if it isn't broken don't fix it; just make it a little more interesting and fun for us music geeks out there.

Mixing:

This the thing that both made me really happy, but also I was most skeptical about. It is ambitious and different. The thing that I noticed the most is that each band member seems to make themselves sound how they want, and not what would be a cohesive sound for the band. The pre-chorus lyrics (Delonge) are swimming in reverb while the rest of the song stays quite dry in comparison, the drums are very biting and are pretty much a copy/paste of what the drums sound like on Barker's solo album; which I am not a fan of. There is also some synth program or pad that plays through the intro/outro and choruses that is borderline annoying and very unnecessary. Also, the bass pattern in the verses does not play to the drums?! Come on. The thing I am the biggest fan of is Hoppus's conservative approach to his singing and bass playing (minus the verse pattern) in mixing and production that still lets us know that there is a sane ear left in Blink 182.

All in All Critique:

I think that this is a great song at face value. It is a simple, catchy, and more mature version of Blink 182 that I am very excited to see and hear more of. It shows every single part of where the band has been individually and as a whole, showcasing important values the members have learned through working in other projects. I've heard things like "it sounds too much like Angels and Airwaves/+44/Boxcarracer, not enough/too much Mark/Tom. I think it sounds like a stronger and healthier Blink 182; which is right where they need to be. Their new album "Neighborhoods" drops on September 27th, and I am super excited to hear what this band has been up too.

So check this song out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkoCkva-rBc