blink-182 gives comfort during the stress of aging as they mature along with us.
Growing up often entails giving up many of the things we once treasured. Whether it’s letting go of our pacifiers as young children or trading in our sports jerseys for sport coats and ties as young adults, leaving behind the trappings of youth often proves a discomforting process. Sometimes, however, we manage to preserve a symbolic memento of our younger days. And every so often, we even find something to truly cherish — something that matures along with us. Literal or metaphorical, these security blankets can provide solace as we face the pressures of growing up.
For me, such solace always came in the form of music. And throughout my formative years, there was perhaps no band more reliably comforting than blink-182. The pop-punk superstars crafted music uniquely geared toward individuals facing the difficulties of aging — music instantly accessible to those making the often-challenging transition from adolescence to adulthood. More importantly, the trio seemed to be undergoing their own struggles to mature, making them even easier to identify with on a personal level.
Admittedly, I arrived late to the metaphorical party. Sure, I’d heard the singles off 1999’s seminal Enema of the State just like everyone else and could mumble along reasonably well to “All the Small Things.” However, I remained largely unaware of the band’s extensive prior discography. My first real experience with head over heels blink-182 fandom would come five years later, in an otherwise regrettable encounter with my brother’s NOW That’s What I Call Music! 15 CD.
“Feeling This,” the lone bright spot on a compilation fraught with the likes of upstart rappers Chingy and Baby Bash, gave me more than enough cause to revisit blink-182. Compared to NOW’s other featured tracks, the song seemed edgier, the kind of cool previously rendered inaccessible by my mother’s choice of Kelly Clarkson CDs. My interest piqued, I delved into blink-182’s catalogue with frenzied abandon.
Listening to blink-182 felt almost rebellious, perhaps the most salient reason for the band’s success. The group managed to temper punk’s anti-establishment ethic into a message any teenager, whether a true dissident or well-adjusted resident of suburbia, could appreciate and embrace. Its mix of defiant themes and often-humorous hooks along with fast, catchy three-chord melodies resonated with me as well as thousands more worldwide.
The trio penned lyrics that spoke of a universal teenage experience and the obstacles it holds. Songs such as “Anthem” and “Give Me One Good Reason” discuss questioning authority and the anxieties of fitting in, assuring listeners it’s all right not to be part of the mainstream. “Stay Together for The Kids” details the complications of living in a broken home. Stressing over the opposite gender, an ever-pressing theme of adolescence, also features prominently in blink-182’s library, with songs such as “First Date” and “Dysentery Gary.” In all, the band touches on nearly every facet of youth.
Yet what I appreciated most was blink-182’s struggle to grow up, a journey that parallels its listeners’. Songs on the band’s earlier releases, such as “Going Away To College” and “What’s My Age Again?,” express apprehension over reaching adulthood. When blink-182 decided to dispense with its brand of juvenile humor in exchange for increasingly adult themes and a more experimental sound on their eponymous 2003 record, it was met with mixed reactions from fans and critics alike, solidifying the setbacks that can come with maturing. The band’s untimely breakup in 2005 represented some of the difficult choices we’re faced with when determining our path in life.
But upon their return to the music scene with 2011’s Neighborhoods, blink-182 chose to continue pursuing its former dream. And whether due to age and increased wisdom or the pressures stemming from raising families, the trio proved it truly had matured. Today, coming off their 20th anniversary in 2012 and their seventh studio effort in December, blink-182 is still going strong.
It’s a fact that helps keep me going. If three former crazy bandmates can find success, love and happiness despite a sometimes-painful maturation process, solace can’t be too far off for me — and their music will be there to help. As they themselves said best in their first hit single “Dammit,” “Well, I guess this is growing up.”