Champ182

This is sooo awesome haha.

It's not. He was abducted by aliens and replaced by a rapidly deteriorating lookalike in 2005. The replacement's mission was deemed complete in 2021 and the real Tom was allowed to return to earth to get married, help his best friend conquer cancer, and return Blink 182 to its rightful place. We must enjoy our fleeting time with him until he is inevitably called back to the mothership someday.

Ah gotcha, I probably shouldn't opine on AVA because I stopped listening to them after like the second album haha. Sometimes I forget how much music they put out over the years.

I hear zero AVA in this song personally

Lyrically it's nothing to write home about but something about the chorus just hits the heartstrings haha. I love the melody, the Beach Boys-y "oooOOOO YEAH", the harmonies, Mark chiming in "WE fell!" I dunno! Nothing too deep, the chorus just really does it for me haha.

me too I think

Absolutely love this chorus

Haha it's a funny comparison between their production "issues" over the years (just my perception obviously): Dude Ranch - We care about the songs a ton, no need to get fancy in the studio. Neighborhoods - We don't know how to work together anymore and we don't feel comfortable spending time together so fuck it, good enough, just get it out. California - We are solely focused on being viewed as The Kings Of Pop Punk instead of has-beens, integrity be damned. One More Time - We care about the songs a ton, Travis is gonna make us sound modern, oops he pushed all the faders to 10 and it's due at the label in 5 minutes.

Hmmm I'm actually not sure what this means?

I wish OMT was mixed the way Part 2 was mixed. OMT is just so much harsher on the ears and I've never been able to have it on repeat the way I've craved, even though I love almost all the songs so much. Part 2 is more of a comfort listen I can throw on in the background or in the car because of that, and the songs themselves are just more "straight down the middle" for lack of a better phrase. It's Blink doing Blink things adequately, no more no less.

Yeah that's really the one thing I'm missing from their new "barely any press" era. I totally get why they don't want to mess around with morning zoo radio shows and spending entire days in a hotel room with journalists answering the same shit over and over, but I love hearing actual insights into their music and process.

Wtf? Why do you think he sucks? Hahah He's a music journalist, I think he co-wrote Laura Jane Grace's book? And he wrote an awesome book himself called "Sellout" a few years ago, which was about the late 90s-early 00s punk/emo boom. Perfect dude for Mark's project.

Hell yeah! Dan Ozzi is great as well, I think this will be fascinating.

Reminds me of the verses of Pretty Little Girl more than anything

Shoutout to Blink for being all-time great bridge writers. It's a rare gift!

Not sure about all time, but Anthem Pt. 3 and Turpentine have incredible bridges on the new album

There was even that part in the first Urethra Chronicles where an ear/nose/throat doctor is examining him haha. I think you're right that part of his body has always been a little fucked up.

Kinda different, but I'd definitely love to see something like this:

Anthem Pt. 3 Dance With Me One Night Stand Terrified One More Time More Than You Know Every Other Weekend When We Were Young You Don't Know What You've Got Blink Wave Bad News Can't Go Back Turpentine Other Side Childhood

I don't mind it much at all, I think the song rules overall and it's obviously one of their deepest darkest songs ever.

Just catching up here real quick: Dance With Me fucking rocks YDKWYG is great, but I agree the chorus is repetitive, and literally switching one different line in would have pulled it all together better. Ex) You don't know what you got/You don't know what you got/You don't know what you got til it's almost gone You don't know what you got/I wanna sail on a yacht/You don't know what you got til it's over (obviously not that actual line but something different right there haha) I have noooo idea how One Night Stand sounds like AVA? Olivia Rodrigo fucking rocks

Haha I love it so much! Reminds me of the Beach Boys.

Yeahhh hitting a little extra in that department for me unfortunately haha. I agree with everything you said, the songs have all gotten better with each listen. I love the elements they brought to the table overall, it feels very comfortable and I mean that as a compliment. I think Every Other Weekend, If You Never Left, and One Night Stand are probably the best "classic era" pop punk songs they've done since TOYPAJ. They don't sound forced, they don't sound gimmicky, they bring that melancholy new wave vibe, just solid, solid stuff.

Yeah I hear you, it feels "inbetween" albums/eras in the same was as DED, like they're dipping their toe into some things or stretching out some different muscles to see where they want to go next. Only this time we'll actually get to find out where they go next! (🤞)