Punk rock is quite an amusing genre, especially because of its fans. They'll support their groups whether the crowds have five people or 100, but once you start inching towards 200, well, you're a sell out.
Blink-182 is one of many punk bands who slaved away at making mediocre punk rock before hitting it big with a poppier album. In Blink's case, it was 1999's Enema of the State, a poppier album than their previous efforts. Enema wasn't a masterpiece of any sorts, but the group's quirks separated them from the crowded, average punk scene.
Blink, of course, isn't referred to as a punk band by most these days. After indulging in more of the same pop sound on Take Off Your Pants and Jacket, the band seemed comfortable catering to Top 40 Teens across the nation. With Blink-182, however, the band is out to make a statement that they're a group who can make serious rock music. Only serious bands release a self-titled album that's not their debut, right?
The self-titled album, their sixth full-length disc, is boring. In an effort to gain some sense of legitimacy, the band has ditched their fun-loving and adolescent ways for a more "serious" approach to songwriting. The results are pretty lame. "Adam's Song" was nice and all, but I doubt many people want to listen to over fifty minutes of "Adam's Song" derivatives.
There are a few decent tunes scattered about, but the album's only real quirks are the awful interludes that are included. "Violence" ends with an odd woman talking about letters and love, and then segues into the heavy drums of "Stockholm Syndrome." Similar interludes pop up on "The Fallen Interlude" and "Asthenia." Four years ago, the band would've been poking fun at such awkward stabs at legitimacy. These laughable attempts at credibility, however, show that the only thing being poked is Blink 182's dying career.
