Year Of The Comeback: Blink-182 - Neighborhoods

This band. Yes, this band. They defined me from the moment I got Enema Of The State for my birthday. They were the voice for a growing smart-ass like myself. We just fit together. Even now, over ten years later, those albums just make me smile whenever I hear them. The music has never been brilliant, but it doesn't matter. It's just fun. Fun is all it aspires to be. And it is.

The Mark, Tom, & Travis Show will forever be a favorite no matter how old I get. And I wear that with badge with honor. As a 23 year old (that nobody likes) I am proud to say that I still love Blink-182, and for that reason, I was terrified when I heard Up All Night, the new single, and I didn't love it. It scared the shit out of me. It's not a bad song, but it's not a first single. It's not Dammit, it's not Feeling This, it's not The Rock Show, and is definitely not What's My Age Again?. I instantly feared the worst.

Neighborhoods has finally hit the shelves. The results are in. And it's not what I expected. I don't think it's what anyone expected. I'll admit I wasn't a huge fan of their self titled album in 2003, after hearing it some more I realize that it's a decent effort, I just wasn't into it at the time. It didn't catch my attention, and I kinda skipped through it.

But in the case of this new album it just feels darker. No more dick and fart jokes... At least not on the studio album, I expect that the live show is a whole different story (I look forward to that). The boys who went streaking have kinda grown up.

Nobody expects a Blink album to be a musical masterpiece, and it isn't. But it is surprising how much they've progressed yet kept themselves faithful to their musical style. From the opening drum beats and melodies you can clearly hear their distinct sound, and Ghost On The Dance Floor is a very nice first step back.

Right off the bat, you can tell that the album is carried by Travis Barker's beat heavy and diverse style, along with Tom DeLonge's and Mark Hoppus' joint vocal melodies. It's just like it's always been. Just musically better. The potty humor might be missed at times. It's not that they take themselves seriously, but we're just not in the 'porn stars on the cover' era anymore. And the music reflects that.

Travis easily steals the spotlight on another Blink album, the guy is as dynamic a drummer as you'll find these days. But Mark and Tom have really upped their game as well. It's not like he's carrying them around anymore. They're nothing spectacular, but they do what they need to do, they play to their strengths and they do it well.

The rest of the songs are spread pretty well in what is a mostly upbeat album. Some may be more memorable than others. Heart's All Gone and Snake Charmer come to mind as really interesting songs. While others like Kaleidoscope keep true to the Blink formula we all know and love.

My one true gripe with Neighborhoods is the album length; the deluxe edition clocks in at almost fifty minutes, with the regular version barely cracking half an hour. It may be the norm for a pop-punk album, but it shouldn't be. If you want to make two minute songs, then make more than fourteen of them. It's not very motivating to spend money on something that would keep my attention for less than an hour.

With this new album Blink-182 have once again proven that the pop-punk genre can mature and keep itself relevant. They may have (temporarily) moved on from their fun and crazy antics, and it's quite refreshing to know that they can. I can appreciate a band trying to reinvent themselves, and I think they did a great job.

Neighborhoods might not be the instant classic that Enema Of The State was to me... But that doesn't mean I can't enjoy it. It's almost a whole different band, and it should be. You can't do the same thing forever.

6/10

Chiko can rant too: When did children start deciding what Mainstream is?

It’s been on my mind for years now… This whole bizarre phenomenon that started with music and TV. These days we have Justin Bieber… But it’s been going on for a while now. Somehow 8-14 year olds end up deciding what music becomes popular, and to me, it makes absolutely no sense at all.

Sure as hell not the voice of my generation.

To be brutally honest, I blame Disney. Somehow they’ve found a formula where they put a musically oriented show on TV, produce it’s own music, and put it out there. It sounds pathetic, but it works. They’ve easily made billions (with a B) off of this plan. This has become the norm, to the point where I’m legitimately surprised at how many networks have shows revolving around musical acts. Channels like Nickelodeon have wholeheartedly jumped on the bandwagon.

I mean seriously, lets run down the “memorable” ones: Hilary Duff, her sister, The Jonas Brothers, Justin Bieber, Miranda Cosgrove, Miley Cyrus… At this point I lose count. I'm amazed to say that some of these acts are just so generic that they make the boybands look like Zep by comparison.

Also, I blame this “anyone can sing” trend for being the cause of people like Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, and Kim Kardashian suddenly deciding to put out songs or whole albums. This whole “so easy a caveman can do it” attitude is killing music faster than the internet.

"Oh yeah, my first single drops on iTunes next week."

Speaking of the internet. If we need proof that this phenomenon has reached an all time low, you need look no further than Rebecca Black. The fact that this little girl became such a viral hit dumbfounds me. The fact that she's such a (and I use this term as loosely as possible) hit proves that we have decided to reward the shitty with some sort of fame, and that seems totally ridiculous, at least to me.

I remember the days where mainstream music was actually decided by people above the age of fourteen. You needed to at least be slightly edgy to be recognized. When I bought my copy of Enema Of The State I did it not only because the album is awesome (STFU it is and you know it!), but because it felt cool, everyone who was older and cooler than me was listening to it, and of course, it grew on me.

Poop jokes and porn stars. Those were the days.

Then again, I might just blame that douche Simon Cowell for making American Idol, a show that in ten seasons has made one legit star. The fans seem blind to it, but in all honesty, has anyone other than Kelly Clarkson (not counting that other douche Ryan Seacrest) ever done anything significant after being in a black hole of a television show.

Okay, back on subject... What’s going on with youth today? And even worse… What’s up with teenagers? And seriously… People my age, listening to Justin Bieber, watching Hannah Montana… What the fuck is wrong with you people!? It makes no sense. Since when is music for infants hip? (did I just write the word hip?)

I’m just saying… If music needs a whole daily half hour on TV to advertise… It’s probably not that good.