Fahrenheit-182: A Memoir By Mark Hoppus (April 8, 2025)

[boxelder]

as an adult, it's easy to see jen's perspective that tom was missing out on significant, crucial portions of their children's lives. but at the end of the day, is this not what you signed up for? she had been dating/married to a musician for the better part of a decade, one that had been continuously on tour, more or less, since 1995. like ghent said, you think you would've hired a babysitter. or brought the kids on the road with you, like mark or travis tended to do. one could glean that that weird competition mark writes about was driven primarily by jen. maybe it was her distrust in the band that drove her, and thus tom, further away too.

it's easy to be parasocial about this stuff and make assumptions -- and i think it's also too easy and sexist to "blame the wife" when it's obvious tom is pretty quirky altogether. but it's just so weird now on the other side of this that tom seems like a changed man post-divorce. on the outside, it definitely feels like something toxic going on, so much so that we as fans picked up on it before mark ever even wrote the book.

[_Kyle_]

mark fails to mention when he quit blink because a girl told him to

[Ghost]

I can understand Jen, but she was married with a musician and she already knew too. It's a tricky balance for both having a new born. Anyways, one thing is that, and another the dorky level Tom was able to reach just by ghosting his own band mates two times through his management. That's just... I mean, not intelligent at all, so to say. Looks like that, pretty much and I can understand Mark being that hurt and reacting as he reacted recruiting Skiba for blink to keep going on. He and Travis handled the first round as pure classy gentlemen, then they god fed up with Tom and kept the machine going. Fair enough.

I'm on the second diary entry. I'm loving the book.

[dave900]

On 5/15/2025 at 5:31 PM, _Kyle_ said:

mark fails to mention when he quit blink because a girl told him to

I totally forgot about that, yeah that is a very good observation!  As someone here said earlier, we need Mark to release a deluxe edition with all the dirt that extra details that we the fans need! haha

[Just Good Chats]

alot of ppl are weirdos,

some of those weirdos happen to be 'famous" people 

them being famous and worshipped doesnt mean they are not weirdos

tom happens to be a weirdo, it doesnt mean his music doesn't matter, it doesn't mean he's never doing anything good for this world

so just something to keep in mind when thinking about tom, important to have nuisances

never felt that jen was a good person but i don't know her much prob for the best they split if she was controling and nasty to him

 

[Ghost]

Finished it this morning. I liked it. Pretty straight forward. I though he was going to tiptoe on the Tom affair, but he gives more detail than I thought. Not that much on the California-NINE era, and it feels like he's not that happy on how that las album was conceived.

And about the first breakup, now more than ever, I'd love to see the lost Blinkumentary footage. 

[AmonRaStMAGA]

Never heard of an athlete's wife demanding he quit to spend more time at home

[Knapppers]

Finished it finally. The section on Neighbourhoods was eye opening. Obviously we could all tell it wasn’t the best time, but to hear how dysfunctional it was is crazy. Mark describing how Tom was in the meetings with record label execs and how he was showing up right when shows started and flying out right after. Surprised that era even that lasted that long after reading all that. 

[boxelder]

16 hours ago, Knapppers said:

Finished it finally. The section on Neighbourhoods was eye opening. Obviously we could all tell it wasn’t the best time, but to hear how dysfunctional it was is crazy. Mark describing how Tom was in the meetings with record label execs and how he was showing up right when shows started and flying out right after. Surprised that era even that lasted that long after reading all that. 

yeah, that segment shocked me too. can't believe he was embarrassing them in meetings. and the stuff about the tour "breaking" their team was interesting too -- that they were so difficult to work with people who had spent years touring with them quit. i was glad he gave more detail on that era for sure.

[ManchesterAdam]

Maybe it was me being naive but I never thought the second breakup was so hostile. I had always assumed (and hoped?) that it was more Tom just losing interest so Mark and Travis decided to carry on. Was quite surprised to read how bad things really were behind the scenes.

[_Kyle_]

16 hours ago, ManchesterAdam said:

Maybe it was me being naive but I never thought the second breakup was so hostile. I had always assumed (and hoped?) that it was more Tom just losing interest so Mark and Travis decided to carry on. Was quite surprised to read how bad things really were behind the scenes.

Depends on who you ask in terms of being "interested" also. M+T went to Rolling Stone and openly speculated that Tom was disingenuous about the band since the reunion and only did it for the fame/money/opportunity and was essentially using it as a lazy payday. Still kind of blows my mind it got that bad and they had the balls to do it. I mean, why not? It was widely speculated in the fandom for some time. While refreshing in its honesty, it's pretty aggressive for them to do so openly in the press, unprecedent in the blink-verse. Just challenged his entire prerogative in the matter too.

Tom then hit back with a "Well Mark and I were just discussing kicking Travis out" and that was a misrepresentation of their talks according to Mark (letting Tom vent was as far as it went according to Mark). I don't see Mark leaving Travis out ever considering how big Travis is a member and how they both stonewall Tom in his ideas (this is really the overall problem with the band for Tom "I can't be apart of something I can't control" Delonge. Travis is also smart enough to know that Blink will be legacy and loyalty means a lot to him. I'm sure there were more petty shit going on in the background too. But this was about as nasty/messy as it got. For all the shit Scott gets, he never seemingly went around moaning about it all unless asked specifically about it. 

I'm gonna rant again, but putting the break-ups in context is kind of hard unless you know a lot little details. I think Mark's book at least gives you a rough idea of that and I appreciated any and all details he put in there. I personally remember in 2005 was the first time I had heard how much they were fighting and it was quite shocking considering how successful the band was operating. It was also the first time any legit info came out and people were on record saying "they hate each other". I still can't quite imagine these fights but Mark even mentions how bad they were during this period. I also do remember people saying in 2002-03 that Mark hated BCR, felt slighted, and I always thought it wasn't exactly true, I mean he was ON the record. Also I remember the Conan fight was used as a way to joke naive fans too, but people actually persisted they did in fact hate one another and the band had tensions.

Now we know that the speculation was at least somewhat accurate. How much was all that legit is interesting. It was a big rumor that Mark/Tom would go on the blink message boards/chats and fuck with people. BCR was sometimes presented as a diss to Mark in some weirrrrrd way and nobody understood why either, maybe not even himself. I think that would be a great question to ask Mark, if at the time he felt BCR was some kind of passive "this is the real me and not the blink me that Mark wants me to be" kind of creative fulfillment that Tom just didn't want to own up to. Tom of course has rebuked this, but he seems to think Mark thinks so.

Them in 09 signing to a major label for the reunion was supposed to be a way for them to not go to Modlife and I think force Tom to prioritize the band in a fair way. I think Mark used that as a way to usurp any of Tom's ideas about them being part of that fold and allowing Tom being the means of production. I'd imagine Tom knows Mark is apprehensive to his ideas/businesses being right for blink and resents he has to go through so many people for his ideas to work in blink. Unfortunately Interscope/Universal was pretty inept in of itself with knowing how to book the band outside of their name recognition/already laid groundwork and Tom used that to prove they weren't going to get Tom 100% unless they go with Modlife (Dogs Eating Dogs/Modlife couldn't even handle an EP according to Mark). That test was a failure, at least in Mark's eyes and that was that. 

Neighborhoods as a whole also proved two major things; they still had it but weren't cohesive enough to make it all work. It's such a 3/4th of a great record. It needs that Jerry Finn touch so bad. Mark probably can hear this still and the way it turned out is like watching a parent blame the other for not caring about it enough. I think blink had so much go right for them for a very long time they didn't have the tools after something like that to guide them through these growing pains. They didn't have a manager (they all have managers now) to give them the real feedback they need. Mark is down to earth, but hard truths are easy to lose perspective of until it's really a problem. That's been the problem with this band since 2009 really. But if you had to surmise the bigger problems with the band, it was that it had 3 huge stars in it that somehow had to coordinate around their wants/needs. Also they had a lackluster live show that embarrassed the others. AKA Tom was drunk and under-performing. Watching the old sets online and you get how much Tom feels the need to be tore up to do his job. I think that Mark/Travis really carried him and felt like fans could come to resent how much they paid for a mediocre performance. That's also the big money maker, which you should probably still be able to sing/play somewhat competently. I think that tension made Mark crazy considering his OCD/anxieties. 

I think Mark ultimately challenged Tom this time and won. Of course they had to come together and allow blink to exist for the whole Skiba-era. So I guess it wasn't super, super bitter. Tom kept saying he was still in the band too, which is kind of hilarious. 

----

I'm kind of looking forward to a Tom tell-all. Or at least a rousing session on Hot Ones. 

[boxelder]

1 hour ago, _Kyle_ said:

Them in 09 signing to a major label for the reunion was supposed to be a way for them to not go to Modlife and I think force Tom to prioritize the band in a fair way. I think Mark used that as a way to usurp any of Tom's ideas about them being part of that fold and allowing Tom being the means of production. I'd imagine Tom knows Mark is apprehensive to his ideas/businesses being right for blink and resents he has to go through so many people for his ideas to work in blink. Unfortunately Interscope/Universal was pretty inept in of itself with knowing how to book the band outside of their name recognition/already laid groundwork and Tom used that to prove they weren't going to get Tom 100% unless they go with Modlife (Dogs Eating Dogs/Modlife couldn't even handle an EP according to Mark). That test was a failure, at least in Mark's eyes and that was that. 

Not sure of the logistics since we’ve never seen a contract but I think that they probably had another album left on their deal with UMG. It could’ve been that the greatest hits fulfilled the original contract, or maybe it didn’t count since it wasn’t original material. I feel like I remember mark confirming that the deal they made for the second +44 record (that he posted on his pkrset blog) may have been fulfilled by neighborhoods too. Either way, I think there may have been unfinished business with UMG when they reunited in 2009, it’s just that instead of releasing Neighborhoods on geffen, they released it on interscope, which is where they were pushing the rock stuff at the time. Tom pushing to end the contract/not renegotiate in late 2012 was an ulterior motive to push the band towards releasing albums via modlife, was the implication I got.

then, agreeing to disagree after the modlife debacle, he washed his hands of any ownership over blink and said he “wouldn’t put his own money into it going forward”, according to Travis’s book. It’s what led them to eventually sign with BMG, which was set in stone right before he bailed a second time at the end of 2014.

[Ghost]

That was a pleasant read, @_Kyle_, and I agree with a lot of things you say there.

Also, I think there's something more to Tom that it's not been said yet. Maybe because I refuse to think he was that jerk back in the day. My speculation is he had some serious problem dealing with his first kid, Jen and blink being at its peak. Also, probably, some sort of anxiety or much likely depression going on. But that's totally speculation with any evidence. My perception is that Tom's personal life was basically starting to tear apart since then. Or maybe it just was ego.

On the other side I can feel too the need of Tom to do BCR to fulfill his interest in exploring a different side of his music coin. I feel like Mark was way too insecure to accept some drifts in blink's sound, and maybe Tom though "ok, I'm gonna explore by myself". As far as it looks from what Mark says on the book, it started as a small thing which ended up being big and recruiting Travis and all. So even if it was Tom's valve to explore other sounds, he didn't handled it very well towards Mark. In the end, he being featured on Elevator sounded more like a forced consolation price. 

I don't think we're gonna get much more insights on the story, unless Tom speaks by himself and, even though, that's what we're gonna get so far. I mean, I bet there are tons of shit and details that will be unveiled, unless closer people starts to 'talk', you know, as happens with some classic bands,

This is fascinating, ain't it?

 

EDIT: oh, and then we have the Modlife affair. Tom was really intelligent on that idea, but again... it was not very well handled, specially with his interest in putting blink in. Anyways...

[Knapppers]

I hate to blame it all on Jen, and it was definitely a lot of Toms fault, but there sure seem to be a lot of things that point towards her being a big part of the problem. I could be remembering wrong, but didn’t Tom start touring with AVA again after he split up with Jen?  He had said he thought he was never gonna play live again then once they split up, he’s back touring again and has seemed super happy doing it ever since. 

[_Kyle_]

2 hours ago, boxelder said:

Not sure of the logistics since we’ve never seen a contract but I think that they probably had another album left on their deal with UMG. It could’ve been that the greatest hits fulfilled the original contract, or maybe it didn’t count since it wasn’t original material. I feel like I remember mark confirming that the deal they made for the second +44 record (that he posted on his pkrset blog) may have been fulfilled by neighborhoods too. Either way, I think there may have been unfinished business with UMG when they reunited in 2009, it’s just that instead of releasing Neighborhoods on geffen, they released it on interscope, which is where they were pushing the rock stuff at the time. Tom pushing to end the contract/not renegotiate in late 2012 was an ulterior motive to push the band towards releasing albums via modlife, was the implication I got.

Ah, maybe it wasn't much of an issue until that Geffen/Interscope contract was done-done. The narrative that Mark/Travis were not into Modlife was pretty evident even during the Neighborhoods era right?

[Justice For Renee]

2 hours ago, Knapppers said:

I hate to blame it all on Jen, and it was definitely a lot of Toms fault, but there sure seem to be a lot of things that point towards her being a big part of the problem. I could be remembering wrong, but didn’t Tom start touring with AVA again after he split up with Jen?  He had said he thought he was never gonna play live again then once they split up, he’s back touring again and has seemed super happy doing it ever since. 

You have no clue what you’re talking about. You’re just biased because you love Tom. Quit acting like you have any idea what was going on in Tom’s marriage. 

[JarJarBlinks]

6 minutes ago, MAGA ANAL DESTROYER said:

You have no clue what you’re talking about. You’re just biased because you love Tom. Quit acting like you have any idea what was going on in Tom’s marriage. 

Jen is a freak who believes in healing crystals.  

I'm gonna guess her and a guy with an ego the size of the universe who believes in aliens waging wars above the Arctic and the FBI wiretapping his phone were not a good combo.

[Justice For Renee]

6 minutes ago, JarJarBlinks said:

Jen is a freak who believes in healing crystals.  

I'm gonna guess her and a guy with an ego the size of the universe who believes in aliens waging wars above the Arctic and the FBI wiretapping his phone were not a good combo.

Lol thanks, my ex believes in that shit too. Needed a good laugh. But regardless, just because she is a little nutty doesn’t prove anything about what went on in her and Tom’s private lives. We know literally nothing, so it just seems silly to sit here and act like Jen was the devil. Like you said, Tom isn’t exactly a normal dude…

[Knapppers]

24 minutes ago, MAGA ANAL DESTROYER said:

You have no clue what you’re talking about. You’re just biased because you love Tom. Quit acting like you have any idea what was going on in Tom’s marriage. 

lol this a site where super fans have discussions like this, settle down. I think it’s clear she had some part Tom’s attitude towards Blink. Whether it was very minuscule or quite large we’ll never know. 

[Justice For Renee]

10 minutes ago, Knapppers said:

lol this a site where super fans have discussions like this, settle down. I think it’s clear she had some part Tom’s attitude towards Blink. Whether it was very minuscule or quite large we’ll never know. 

You literally have ZERO clue what went on with them behind closed doors. You just look like an idiot and an ASS making all of your clueless ASSumptions. You have absolutely no evidence to present that she changed his attitude about blink or anything else.