Blink-182 burst onto the music scene in the late 1990s and immediately captured the hearts of a generation that were just like them - rebellious, a little lost, and wanting desperately to find our place in the world. Their catchy hooks, witty lyrics, and middle fingers made Tom, Mark, and Travis icons to kids around the country (and the world) who just wanted to have fun without adults telling them when and where to do it.
Now—more than two decades later—blink-182 has evolved into a force to be reckoned with. How do I know? Go listen to their new song, One More Time.
When blink announced their indefinite hiatus in 2005, it hit millennials harder than other generations. We grew up blasting blink’s angsty anthems on repeat, finding solace in their relatable lyrics, vibing in their infectious energy, only to have our hearts ripped out before we knew what was going on. The split not only meant blink-182 was finished, it left a void in our hearts so cataclysmic that it shaped how we viewed the next decade of our lives. For us, blink-182 represented more than just a band—it was a symbol of youth, rebellion, and the shared experiences of navigating the turbulences of growing up.
So we had no choice. We went out and got real jobs. We got married. We had (or are having) kids. We joined society and gave up our hopes of changing the world into a place filled with faux-anarchic wonder children.
But, even then, we’d find ourselves scrolling through Spotify playlists to find The Rock Show or What’s My Age Again? just so we could jam in the car when no one was watching. It brought us back.
Tom, Mark, and Travis announced the band was officially back together last year along with a massive global tour and a new album on the way, citing life events that brought them back together. It was fate. Mark’s battle with cancer and Travis’ plane crash were canon events in a story no one understood…until now.
One More Time is a song that spans each chapter in blink-182’s decorated history, bringing back a tone arguably lost since Adam’s Song. But it’s the lyrics that give the song power. It opens:
“Strangers. From strangers into brothers. From brothers into strangers once again.”
No one wanted the band to break, even them. There was just too much fog to see the road ahead. Tom veered away and did great things. Mark and Travis found new ways to love music and share it with the world. But it wasn’t quite perfect. It needed to run its course. It needed to come full circle. As Tom said it best in a recent interview about Mark’s battle with cancer - I wanted to do nothing but go on tour again.
I guess blink-182 stayed together for the kids after all.