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It's just not blink without Skiba.

Aw man…i‘d prefer for them to release a good record every 10 years over churning out paint by numbers overproduced forgettable tunes like this. They‘ve been on tour for years now. Nobody expects them to release new music as well. they should wait until they feel inspired again and turn in an absolute belter of a record. sure, i don‘t have to listen to the songs i don‘t like, but the good to trash song ratio in their catalogue is turning to shit.

Spoiler: next album will be just like Nine and everyone will act like it's somehow way different lol

I'm not putting it up on the same level as AP3, Turpentine, Terrified, etc.... But I think More Than You Know is a fucking banger. It sort of gets lost in the shuffle of the top tracks, but damn, that's the type of shit I never imagined we'd get in 23/24 after the Cali/Nine era. Carry on. *runs and ducks*

It really is hilarious how manic depressive the majority of this board it.

Had this song came out instead of Edging as the first track everyone would have loved it. It's objectively good as a modern blink song. I actually like it more than Edging, by quite a bit. Blink fans are weird af.

dude he slurped OMT and said it was life changing. They put out a couple of mediocre songs and now OMT isn't great and he picked only like 5 songs off of it to keep. that's a WILD pendulum swing.

Woof these new songs blow ass

Okay on second listen I actually think I hate both songs. They're like an AI caricature of what you'd expect the most generic post DED blink stuff sounds like. I loved OMT but they don't really sound like anything on that album, probably why AIMH was cut initially. Generic half baked, jarring melodies we've heard before on Cali/Demo Tapes. Overdone "remember when" song themes that they hit much better on other songs.

Love the All In My Head chorus. I feel like it's missing something though, which makes it feel unfinished. Same with No Fun. But like others have said, I'll take it over no new music at all. Just want the boys to solidify themselves again and go back to the studio after this cycle and feel like they can break new ground as band again.

so what i'm saying is i'm waiting for the dark, depth-filled song about mark suing his neighbors for planting a tree too tall.

Saw them last week in Toronto and they kicked ass. Caught the back half of the live stream here and it was fucking awesome. The crowd was giving 'er. Their live show right now is one for the books. Top notch.

I AM!! 😭♥️

I’m not crying, you’re crying 😢

Well this was really amazing. I love them 😭

I still can't imagine what it would have been like to get Anthem 3 right off the bat or even DWM, Turpentine. Hindsight, but that would have made the wait much better (or worse depending on your perspective?)

We used to get random 5 paragraph posts about how life changing OMT was. Middle of the night, drunk, pining for an ex lover type posts about how that album was the best thing since sliced bread.

Bonus songs can only really enhance an album, not make it worse. The original album Is still right there. Don’t like the deluxe version of California? Then click on the original non-deluxe in Spotify and listen to that. Problem solved.

how do BONUS songs change an album that you "loved?"

Yeah. I’m into both of them. Nothing world changing but just good, enjoyable songs.

Just listened. All in my head can go straight to the bin. No fun rules though. Just wish it got the full song treatment and didn’t feel unfinished. That intro is awesome don’t care what anyone says. If it was just synth noises I get it but it’s a full verse from Tom that sounds really cool. I just imagine Travis saying though okay you can have your artsy intro but that means you don’t get a bridge and final chorus because we have to keep the song under 3 minutes.

I definitely think there's something genuine about their lyrics from Flyswatter to Enema. Not saying they're "from the heart" or honest, but they felt genuine. The entire toypaj album feels sorta forced to me and I think self titled was trying to break away from that. I don't think they ever really could.

F.e. skate punk bands like NOFX or Ten Foot Pole never truly evolved/grew up. blink had their dark phases but I think that they have always been the same guys back from the Dude Ranch era. Life could give you some hard moments (back pain for Tom -> Box Car; end of blink -> Plus 44 for Mark) but when they end you still remain the same guy you was before (maybe a bit "battered and bruised" or "lost and disillusioned"). And I'm pretty sure that Mark wasn't that convinced about the Untitled phase, but preferred to follow the dark Box Car tone to keep blink together and acquiesce Tom's will to explore other musical Styles; or maybe he just embraced the dark tones after feeling deceived with the Box Car thing (the band itself talked about the "unexpected hardships of life" as the inspiration of the record), as it happened after with the +44 record. Tom, on the other hand, even in his "serious" phase with AvA gave me the impression of having forced a change in himself, of being someone he really wasn't, or at least wanting to evolve as an artist by rejecting his personality... but sometimes (f.e. in tour) the old same funny and goofy guy reappeared. Only after a long time did he re-embrace his identity and make peace with himself and with music. I therefore wouldn't rule out that Untitled was actually an anomaly for blink in their career rather than a natural evolution, and that today - also due to greater maturity - they prefer to face the same "unexpected hardships" by no longer depressing themselves and playing emo music, but simply laughing about it and not taking themselves seriously, because that's how they've always actually been.

i completely agree, which is why i feel so muted about the whole thing. don't get me wrong: i love MTYK, dance with me, bad news... but there's a clear focus on the past rather than the present. obviously not... but there was a freewheeling focus on the unorthodox across untitled, from its recording to subject matter, that is still visceral and fresh two decades on. that doesn't preclude simple or catchy, either -- there's hooks and handclaps all over aesthenia, or not now, but there's also deep songwriting with depth. +44 illustrated that mark was capable of the same artistic evolution. on neighborhoods and DED, tom's modernist delay-heavy guitar parts pushes the band into unexpected sonic territory (GOTDF, after midnight, pretty little girl, etc) and mark embraces the unusual (for better of worse: fighting the gravity is a swing and a miss, but i appreciate the spirit it evokes). that's a lot different than where the band has been the last ten years. the songwriting by committee approach, inviting others into what was once a insular artistic relationship between mark and tom, or potentially matt. the bland and predictable feldmann factory techniques. the industry machine pushing the band to collaborate with miley cyrus and the chainsmokers in a clear bid for relevancy. and even on OMT, the regressive focus on the past remains, from the production (how they strove to digitally recreate the sound of the mesa-boogie), to the songwriting (the staccato "remember this?" opening of anthem pt. 3, the "i miss yous" in the chorus of OMT, etc etc etc.)

one of my favorite observations about blink came from the writer nitsuh abebe, both from the new yorker and new york magazine: Their adolescent outlook, especially in the early years, occasionally found expression in spiteful breakup songs in which boys wonder what’s wrong with girls. “Enema of the State” included “Dumpweed,” a downright giddy farewell to a “nightmare” girlfriend, in which DeLonge sings, “I need a girl that I can train.” But many of Blink’s best songs endure because they turn inward: the lovelorn boy has sense enough to wonder what’s wrong with him. [...] The band’s great selling point wasn’t the scatological side of juvenilia; it was their tremendous sentimentality. And who’s more sentimental than adolescents? Blink-182 were generous enough to cater to that emotion without hauling out acoustic guitars and string sections to underline their sincerity. [...] Between songs about first dates and fighting parents, all the boyish jokes could seem like a pressure valve, the equivalent of two stunted guys who just hugged a few moments too long and now need to punch each other to relax.

The more I think about it, I think it was Mark that created the environment that makes me cringe when he does gross lyrics.. I'm into Turn This Off and think it's funny...but then this hits: When I first took you out for sushi on a date You took me home, I sadly pumped away On your stomach, face or ass It's your fault I came fast I don't think that he's built up enough credit to do the couch cum lyrics like this after he's been such a prude over the last several years. He interrupted and got pissed when Tom went crazy on stage during reunion, he started censoring blink songs live, he censored his Discord to the point of banning "fuck." He doesn't have the capital with me to be dropping these lines right now. It's not a me problem!

Always 2 steps ahead, my friend. The bartenders hate this one simple trick.

Oh hell yeah I had no idea this was happening! The stream sounds great!

Watching people realize they only liked OMT because they were tombots more than blink fans in real time

I don’t think he’s saying it ruins the album, it just adds clutter. Doesn’t really add anything of value. I agree. I’m not mad at all that the songs exist or that they choose to record them. Blink has enough good material for me to listen to at any given time. I just don’t see what these songs bring to the table, I doubt I’ll ever revisit them.

I’m with ya pal. Never thought I’d see the day you would make sense

How many times do I have to explain this? They clutter the album, add more generic fluff, making the prior generic/filler fluff less forgiving. Same thing happened with California - "Oh, This AGAIN?" I'm not as la la land as you guys are about where this new music = bEtTeR than none! Happy for ya'll but I much rather have quality than quantity for me. Maybe it's a little thing to you, but also in order to listen to this album, and what everyone perceives it as, I have to open up Spotify/whatever streaming service, and find 28 songs or whatever on this album, or have to swift through and play the original and just pretend it doesn't exist. But it does. That's the problem. There's now probably more mediocre/bad blink songs than quality timeless classics. I never thought I'd see that day. Like I said, give me California & OMT only and burn the rest of the discography in between it all/bonus tracks. If that's not possible, then give me Anthem 3, Turpentine, Terrified, maybe throw in another OMT or Cali song and free me from this factory prison.

Both California and OMT are excellent albums ❤️ The bonus songs have no bearing on anything. (Except for Cut Me Off that shit's a banger)

Wait I thought you loved OMT and it like changed your life? I'm confused

I'm taking Anthem 3, Turpentine, Terrified from the California-OMT eras and I'm out. Everything else has been mid to awful. I get songs like DWM, MTYK, Bored to Death are all fine and such, but with all the songs we have now they get lost. Those are the only tracks I hold onto dearly and couldn't live without at the moment.

Back in the day, deluxe editions were 1 or 2 unreleased tracks and live/acoustic versions of songs. Nowadays, bands are crapping out 5+ songs for their deluxe editions and you can really tell those songs should have never gone beyond the demo stage. But that's how the music industry is now. Gotta release 4 or 5 singles before the album drops then release an EP's worth of songs as a deluxe album

I’m surprised no one else is jizzing their pants about the Mark opening verse vocals on All In My Head. Those background vocals of “I got a sickening feeling” are prime Mark. +44/When your heart stops beating at least. If Mark can sing like this still I kind of wish he still would. I don’t really like the way he uses his voice as much these days, but he clearly still has it. While we’re at it, Anthem pt 3, Tom still clearly has it too. Wish they’d pull out a couple all timer songs instead of the party bumpers they’re on.

I really like them both tbh. I like the lyrics on no fun. Riff is a classic. All in my head chorus is pure gold.

The FLAC versions sound great on my cars speakers 👍

I don’t hear anything wrong with the transition into the first chorus. Don’t base assumption on those Twitter versions, they sound like shit compared to the Spotify ones.

As someone who wanted blink to keep progressing into darker territory, I can't lie about loving some of the recent more fun songs. Songs like Anthem Part 3, Dance With Me and Bad News are brilliant. Blink are still capable of writing the fun upbeat catchy music with honest lyrics. I can't get into No Fun & All In My Head though. They're not even close to the quality of the 3 songs I just mentioned. The TOYPAJ styled riff on No Fun and the chorus of All In My Head are great though. I just wish i could like the other parts of these songs

Still loving these songs this morning. Blink is a damn good time.

and clearly we just appreciate the different eras of the band. but i feel like the rich and successful should also be able to write about things that matter to them, which has happened in the post-fame era of the band. for me, the best songs the band has made come from a place that's real and genuine, and sometimes dark -- from family matters (generational divide, HISALP), broken marriages (here's your letter), forgotten friendships (no it isn't, san diego), snapshot, aspect-to-aspect autobiography (kaleidoscope), feeling washed-up (cynical), and depression (weatherman). hell, mark even wrote a song about typical rich-guy problems -- disagreeing with an HOA president by name on +44's lillian -- and imbued it into a meditation on feeling like you don't belong. hearing a 50 year old sing about "cum stains on the couch" just doesn't hit the same.

many of my posts over the years have expressed disappointment at the band regressing back to the standard pop-punk sound, one i thought the trappings of which they'd moved beyond. it started with some stuff on neighborhoods -- even if she falls, or wishing well even -- that i felt wasn't pushing the band to a progressive place i'd come to expect. california cranked that dial way past 11 with the most formulaic, botoxed songs i didn't even think they were capable of, and NINE was consequently confused with the way things turned out. cynical more or less outright admits mark felt washed: "you've said everything you'll ever say." but what i'm beginning to realize is that window of time that mark and tom were churning out more mature, arguably deeper songwriting -- BCR i guess, untitled, +44, hell, even some AVA -- came during like a 3-4 year period in the mid-00s. what if that maturation wasn't truly who they were, or what they felt comfortable with? as a fan then it excited me to see blink pushing into different sonic directions ... it felt representative of their development as musicians and people. but maybe they felt it was forced, or like a grown-up suit that fit too big. maybe stupid sing-song shtick is where they feel happiest. more power to 'em i guess.

It is a font, though I can't recall which off-hand.

Most bands that stick around multiple decades end up doing 1 of 2 things: they either stray so far from thier original sound that they alienate most of their OG fans or they become parodies of themselves trying to tap into nostalgia.

Which era of Tom's outfit are you gonna wear while you listen?

Something sounds wrong when All In My Head transitions into the first chorus. Too abrupt, almost cut and paste like...