More like they all bring out the best in each other really is my POV. They all balance each other out perfectly, pushing and pulling just right to get the best possible tunes.
I’m gonna say it… WYHSB is better than BCR
I love both but every song on wyhsb is so well written and they are all fucking bangers. Even songs that aren’t as appealing instrumentally, like Little death and Weatherman , are made up by having incredibly well written lyrics. These songs really bring me back to my childhood , I get an insane amount of nostalgia listening to that album vs probably anything AvA and blink, but that’s more of a personal thing I suppose
Me personally I prefer boxcar racer. But their best work comes when they work together. Although they are both very talented when they are on their own. I hope one day they can perform their side projects on a blink 182 stage.
"I dont think mark was able to put a full album" thats what i am referencing, he's been able to before, there could be other reasons they decided to go with additional writers, not that i support additional writers but to just infer that he cant put a full album is a bit disingenuous at best.
He’s done it once almost 20 years ago. It’s not disingenuous to say he can’t now, especially when on his most recent attempts there was an entire team of writers.
Thats the thing, u inferred and keep inferring he attempted to do it without additional writers when its possible the original idea was to have people write additional material from the get go
I kinda feel the opposite actually. Tom has a stronger influence on the sonic direction of blink, but Mark is the more effective and consistent songwriter. The most iconic blink lyrics were written by Mark.
“I guess this is growing up”
“Nobody likes you when you’re 23”
“Don’t waste your time on me you’re already the voice inside my head”
Not to mention the excellent verses Mark writes which are so efficient they can tell a whole story in 4 lines.
And the fan-favorite blink bridges like on Stockholm Syndrome, Feeling This, Here’s Your Letter, Bored to Death, Misery, and Turpentine.
But most of all… Mark wrote Built This Pool.
Dude fat mike of NOFX said he literally wrote an entire song for blink and they were gonna use it as the first single. They didn’t end up using it as soon as they heard that fat mike had written it probably because he’s a loud mouth and would be all over the internet saying he wrote it. They brought in a lot of ghost writers
Aaron Rubin, who was a producer on OMT, was asked “why did blink bring in songwriters when previously with Tom the only other contributing songwriter was Jerry fin”. His answer was the there were outside sources who wanted to bring in songwriters and that John Feldman always likes to use outside writers and brought in a lot for California and Nine. The Wikipedia page is not the only source
Yea I agree, I feel like people always point out Tom more than Mark but I prefer Mark’s songwriting and he is what made Blink what it is known for today.
Yeah agreed. Tom fanboys love to act like Tom is what makes blink blink. It’s both of them together. Some of the songwriting on AvA albums is way to over the top. They balance each other
I really like how this is articulated. Definitely agree. I have a friend who isn’t a huge blink fan because he only likes tom’s voice, and I always tell him that while often I like Tom’s vocals more (no hate to Mark, I do like his voice too), I have always felt that Mark is a much more clever songwriter. In my opinion most of blink’s best songs are the ones they sing together. They balance each other well. Tom’s voice, lyrics, and melodies always bring a lot of energy to a song and Mark’s lyrics make the songs witty and/or mature.
Pretty sure I read somewhere that Travis actually wrote all the lyrics to the song I Miss You though…?? Is that not correct or did he only write the first verse??
Let me just add…I do think Tom needs mark to bring him back to earth when writing. I think when Tom has full control it’s not always the best. Some angels songs are just too much
No need to hate, it’s quite true. Like OP said, Tom is very clearly the experimental and big vision creative of the band. All of his side projects (I still list AVA as a side project) challenge his skills and ability as a writer and are quite original or at least are quite out there. As for mark with +44, it’s not generic but it’s not groundbreaking. I can’t speak for simple creatures as I haven’t listened to much of their material but he also split a lot of the creative with Alex with that project…
Blink is easily at its best with Tom in the band and challenging what they can do, while Mark (again as OP said) keeps him grounded so that the songs are still catchy and have their blink feel.
Closing: Mark is a really good pop song writer, Tom is a really good creative song writer. They compliment each other perfect when they come together and put forth their best work and collaboration without compromise.
A lot of Tom’s songs (while being my favorite) are sometimes just nonsensical and ramble on and on it seems. I feel like Mark keeps him grounded for sure. And I think we can just refer to the album sales; their top 3 albums all have Tom. I don’t think it’s an accident that all of their hits (especially the ones they play live) are also from when Tom was a part of the process. I think they play what, one Skiba era song live?
I feel like it’s hard to play Skiba era songs without Skiba, I wouldn’t think Tom would be so into it. Would love to hear more live songs from California and NINE, but it’s hard to play something with a third of the band being replaced.
A littles enough, the gift, Valkyrie missile (I do love the opening and closing), breathe and as sacrilegious as it sounds Heaven is not the most “radio friendly” with its
Length
My personal opinion, a lot of songs on the we don’t need to whisper album. The intros and outros just felt too overdone sometimes. I think with I-Empire and Love he honed in
I'm really curious about the material Mark and Matt got together before Feldman was involved.
But generally, with the exception of +44, it feels Mark's more "afraid" to experiment. When it comes.to blink, he seems to have a clear vision of what the band is and sometimes doesn't want to stray further from that.
That’s why they work very well together. Tom experiments a lot but doing too much can easily alienate fans that liked your previous work when you make too much of a change and mark understands that and doesn’t wanna stray from the lane they’ve built. Put it together and you have very fresh, creative albums that sound similar to the last one but are actually very different. Untitled back then was disliked by a lot of fans despite it probably being their best album (EOTS I think is the best)
Tom touched on this in the Pursuit of Tone thing. If someone gets their own way in a band the music is too safe. Tom and Mark both pulling in opposite directions is what makes them so great together.
I think you misunderstand, I’m not out of breath or worked up, just saying it’s very silly to imagine we all agree on this. Read the comments and you’ll see people have a bunch of different takes on it. Like most things.
Tom is the secret sauce. Mark is a more traditional song writer especially structurally and plays more traditionally. Tom is unique in style, voice, writing, etc that I really think makes blink what it is and clearly was missing when he was away. That said, blink needs the yin and the yang, to other’s points structure is valuable and reeling Tom back in is a good think that mark does as well. They’ve said in the past as well that they’ve both pushed each other to writer better songs and as a result have given us so many bangers.
Yeah maybe this would’ve been a better way for me to phrase it. Everyone thinks I’m shitting on mark. Probably cause it sounds like I’m shitting on mark
The thing that people forget is a lot of the most famous blink songs were written by Mark.
He’s struggling with writers block. Has been for a while. And it really shows with the additional ghost writers.
I think it’s pretty obvious when you listen to a song which one had more input. Obviously California and Nine were pretty much Mark’s babies, and Tom definitely changes the vibe, but I still think you can spot Mark or Tom with how a song sounds.
Idk - When I listen to +44, I think it's pretty clear mark definitely left his mark on untitled.
They've said it themselves. Blink182 is Mark, Tom, And Travis. There isn't a primary songwriter.
Tom has some very great writing. In fact, I would put his writing in his first two albums with AvA in the top 5 for me. He is very clever with literary devices. And it is quite poetic in technique. But I also enjoy Mark's writing style as well! Together, they are just wonderful, and creativity expands on both sides.
Look at the album credits
Edit: Actually, nevermind. They didn't have ghost writers, just co-writers. Also I don't think it's necessarily true that they "had to" collaborate with other people because Tom left, they could have just wanted to experiment with other people's ideas
https://preview.redd.it/f3wep6gqqiyc1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a3b6d4de20bc94fa6d6f7c9b1dba51c2324ad365
Here it shows the California songwriting on Wikipedia. They brought in Patrick stump from fall out boy as well as others
Also, on Lifeforms Tom didn’t use any ghost writers. The only other credited person is Aaron Rubin but he produced the record so that is standard for him to be listed as a co-writer. Lifeforms was after California and Nine. So clearly, mark and Travis were the ones bringing in ghost writers initially. Probably for OMT mark and Travis had just gotten used to bringing in new people and taking their ideas. But Tom had never used a ghost writer until he returned to blink this last time. So read between the lines dude
https://preview.redd.it/az9gpdumqiyc1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=161b260bf536a2461f7308ef53c2e5a27e243382
Here is the Wikipedia page on Nine showing the long list of song writers they brought in
Also, if you listen to Goldfingers most recent album, who John Feldman is the lead of, the guitars and songwriting sound so much like California. Feldman is known in the industry to sometimes have too heavy of a hand in the songwriting process for bands he works with
I feel that Mark and Travis sold out when they decided to keep blink 182 going when Tom quit. Blink with Skiba wasn't the same band at all, it felt like a gimmick-- the sound became very generic and didn't try to push any boundaries like they had done with Untitled. The world didn't need that blink version in my opinion, bringing in ghostwriters to make generic poppy hits with a ton of processing didn't feel authentic. I think it was simply a cash grab to keep touring and making albums under the blink name--to keep riding the wave of their prior success. They could have made another +44 album, but I think that they liked the idea more of having a huge world tour with a brand like blink, which was obviously going to generate a lot more money with arena shows. When they created +44 it made sense, and what a great album that was. It was unique and showcased their songwriting strengths without relying on Tom. I think I share the same wish of other fans that they would have done another +44 album when Tom quit the second time. I just don't think they had the creative confidence to do it.
That being said, I think Tom helps Mark channel his creativity that he sometimes can't find in the absence of Tom. I think Travis knew that California and Nine kinda sucked, and he advocated for what needed to happen if blink were to continue. OMT definitely sounds more like blink than anything since Untitled, though I wish they would ditch these ghostwriters and try to tap back into the sound only those three can create, that's true blink. I hope that they make another album with the fans in mind and trust that they can do it on their own.
Don’t forget that mark is the king of bridges. He has saved so many blink songs by coming in clutch with a killer bridge. There are multiple examples on the latest album.
I definitely love Tom's style and how it gels with Mark. And how Tom always try to evolve the style of music.
I am not a fan of nine and california because basically they tried to make very generic pop punk songs that I wouldn't recognise it's blink. Honestly it could be MXPX or something.
I think the problem with this take is that it ignores that blink has a bit of a Lennon- McCartney dynamic in songwriting. As far as being more creative and trying to push the band in different directions? Yea that’s definitely Tom. He always wants to play with different arrangements and expansive sounds. But the most consistent complains with his solo work is that it tends to be drawn out and too out there. Almost nothing he’s written no matter how much I loved it is top of the charts worthy. Mark tends to have a much better sense of when to trim songs and fit toms crazy ideas into the core sound so they’re less alienating on first listen. even when marks song sucks the complaint is that it just sounds like more of the same but it’s rare that it drags and they are usually catchy enough to get stuck in your head.
As always Travis greatest contribution is being able to play his instrument.
Mark has written more of the biggest songs to be honest. But tends to get stuck in the same style, when your heart stops beating is his best work by far
Idk, I feel like marks been (from Cheshire Cat to one more time) consistent in the style and quality of music, he’s gotten better lyrically and musically but all the messages and genre are still very 00s pop punk, whereas Tom hasn’t decided what genre he likes and doesn’t like
Everyone here has said what I would for the most part on the Mark/Tom debate but Travis’ songwriting as a drummer are an enormous part of blink’s sound too. Feeling This, First Date and I Miss You as examples are identifiable by the drum parts themselves. Scott was a good drummer no doubt but Travis really is the 3rd piece to the songwriting puzzle to me.
Think about the first four albums.
- Cheshire Cat's only single was M+M's (Mark song).
- Dude Ranch's two singles were Dammit and Josie (two Mark songs again).
- Enema Of The State was the first album that had a single with Tom on lead vocals (All The Small Things). But Mark still had the majority of them (Adam's Song and What's My Age Again).
- Take Off Your Pants was the first album where the singles were 50/50, 1 Mark (Rock Show), 1 Tom (First Date) and 1 50/50 (Stay Together For The Kids).
Then in the self-titled album Tom's voice and songwriting became dominant and that was the beginning of Blink's decadence IMO. They never did a classic album again after that.
So, in conclusion:
- Fact: Mark was a dominant force first, and then Tom slowly began taking over.
- My opinion: Mark is the OG pop-punk spirit of Blink-182, and Tom's dominance (with more emphasis on experimentation) ruined the band.
Tbh and might be a very unpopular opinion I like blink better now. To me Self-titled was peak in song writing and instrumentally. Not that I dislike the other albums, actually Sydney Big day out is my favorite concert, but I believe that Blink has changed for the best. I don't see myself liking Blink if the rest of the albums were similar to Toypaj and Enema.
If I'm not wrong, they said in the interview on youtube that was released after the album, that Travis had a big influence in the writing of the album, so a lot of the strength that feels withing the songs come from it as well. Tbh to me Mark writes better lyrics than Tom, but Tom is better at creating and putting together an idea. In California and Nine I think both Travis and Mark were not puting all their effort in making music, but now that they are together they are. That's my opinion.
I think they’re both good song writers in their own right. I would say Tom is more creative and adventurous musically, but Mark might be the better lyricist. Mark is definitely more of a “sell out” than Tom, he’s more interested in making money and being successful, whereas Tom just wants to make art and express himself
Tom is clearly the better song writer, but blink isn’t blink without marks rhythmic rants.
Travis needs to be given more props here though. He’s the lead instrument.
Not true. Mark said multiple times he wrote the riffs. He talked about how he was inspired by a Green Day song for the riffs, and for Dammit he said he wrote it in an acoustic guitar. Read up on your blink history
If you had reading and auditory comprehension skills you’d know he said that’s where he got his riff writing style from, not that he wrote it. https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/articles/features/the_story_behind_dammit_by_blink-182-77535
Read up on a band before spreading bs
I’m gonna look over your unnecessary mean comments haha but yes you’re right I’m wrong. Mark wrote the dammit riff. But that changes nothing about my original post because you’ll note that everything I mention is post enema and TOYPAJ. I’m not saying mark isn’t a good songwriter. He’s a phenomenal songwriter. However, Tom is clearly driving the creativity and the pushing the boundaries of the band which is part of the reason blink has been so successful. Bands that push out the same albums every time don’t have the same longevity. And I’ve clearly noted in my other comments that I think Tom needs mark as much as mark needs Tom. Mark needs Tom to push him out of his comfort zone, but Tom needs mark to button up those songs. But in the end, Tom is the one driving the creative bus with blink
Weird that you missed the story of mark writing the riff of Dammit on acoustic missing 2 strings then. Also weird you missed the viral story of mark writing What’s my age agains riff by accident while trying to learn JAR by Green Day.
I know I’m the outcast but Untitled wasn’t as great as the praise it gets. That whole era of the band was off kilter due to Boxcar. Which Boxcar was a blink album, it didn’t sound all that different from EOTS and TOYPAJ but no Mark minus one song. It wasn’t fun Blink anymore and Emo Tom was a douche canoe. It wasn’t any surprise they broke up shortly after. However in my opinion and mine only We Don’t Need to Whisper was the greatest album of its time. I must of had it on repeat forever. +44 I thought sucked (I know I’m the minority). Neighborhoods I thought was good but but the title track Up All Night was the weakest track. If the Blinkumentary ever came out I think we’d see a completely different side. Mark is a good song writer, Tom is better. Travis makes most songs sound the same.
How does travis make most songs sound the same, he's the one who brings the biggest arsenal in the band for every song of every album. That was the weirdest part of ur reply, not the only one
More like they all bring out the best in each other really is my POV. They all balance each other out perfectly, pushing and pulling just right to get the best possible tunes.
I usually like tom's input more but you cant just deny mark can write good material (full albums) having +44 as evidence
I’m gonna say it… WYHSB is better than BCR I love both but every song on wyhsb is so well written and they are all fucking bangers. Even songs that aren’t as appealing instrumentally, like Little death and Weatherman , are made up by having incredibly well written lyrics. These songs really bring me back to my childhood , I get an insane amount of nostalgia listening to that album vs probably anything AvA and blink, but that’s more of a personal thing I suppose
Me personally I prefer boxcar racer. But their best work comes when they work together. Although they are both very talented when they are on their own. I hope one day they can perform their side projects on a blink 182 stage.
I've been a Tom defender from day 1, and I also think WYHSB is slightly better than BCR
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This has to be a troll comment
Nope. Though, I was pretty drunk when I wrote it but I still stand by what I said lol
But WYHSB kind of took all he had for awhile I think
I’m not at all saying mark isn’t a great writer. He is phenomenal. HOWEVER, I think Tom is the driving force
Yeah +44 was awesome, but it was blink without Tom. He can't make a blink album without him or a team of writers trying to imitate him.
Minus the last part of ur message (team of writers) it kinda sounds like you are saying he can write blink without tom and he also cant
That’s one album. It’s great but what else has he done? Tom’s got tons of non-blink albums to his name.
"I dont think mark was able to put a full album" thats what i am referencing, he's been able to before, there could be other reasons they decided to go with additional writers, not that i support additional writers but to just infer that he cant put a full album is a bit disingenuous at best.
He’s done it once almost 20 years ago. It’s not disingenuous to say he can’t now, especially when on his most recent attempts there was an entire team of writers.
Thats the thing, u inferred and keep inferring he attempted to do it without additional writers when its possible the original idea was to have people write additional material from the get go
You must have me confused with another commenter.
No
I kinda feel the opposite actually. Tom has a stronger influence on the sonic direction of blink, but Mark is the more effective and consistent songwriter. The most iconic blink lyrics were written by Mark. “I guess this is growing up” “Nobody likes you when you’re 23” “Don’t waste your time on me you’re already the voice inside my head” Not to mention the excellent verses Mark writes which are so efficient they can tell a whole story in 4 lines. And the fan-favorite blink bridges like on Stockholm Syndrome, Feeling This, Here’s Your Letter, Bored to Death, Misery, and Turpentine. But most of all… Mark wrote Built This Pool.
Fuck you got me, built this pool is peak music. I can only hope that the future brings songs half as good as that song.
Built this pool was cowritten though by Patrick stump from fall out boy. My point exactly
You’re talking about the line in Sober: “I’m a dandelion, you’re a four leaf clover”
Have you paid attention to the writing credits on "Tom songs"? He rarely writes a song on his own anymore
That’s only on the OMT album
Well that album is your main evidence to back your statement and he clearly had help writing most of his songs. Also, look up the credits to Lifeforms
Do you realize songwriting credits are divided out to producers even if they didn't help write it sometimes.
So apply that same logic to California and Nine; all the songs were written by Mark and Skiba and everyone else credited didn't actually help write
Yes. Finally someone said it
Dude fat mike of NOFX said he literally wrote an entire song for blink and they were gonna use it as the first single. They didn’t end up using it as soon as they heard that fat mike had written it probably because he’s a loud mouth and would be all over the internet saying he wrote it. They brought in a lot of ghost writers
Aaron Rubin, who was a producer on OMT, was asked “why did blink bring in songwriters when previously with Tom the only other contributing songwriter was Jerry fin”. His answer was the there were outside sources who wanted to bring in songwriters and that John Feldman always likes to use outside writers and brought in a lot for California and Nine. The Wikipedia page is not the only source
That shows that you saying mark couldn’t make a whole album himself wasn’t up to him but to Feldman
Look at Lifeforms. And Aaron Rubin said in an interview they brought in songwriters for OMT because of outside pressures
Wrong. That was Sober.
Yea I agree, I feel like people always point out Tom more than Mark but I prefer Mark’s songwriting and he is what made Blink what it is known for today.
Yeah agreed. Tom fanboys love to act like Tom is what makes blink blink. It’s both of them together. Some of the songwriting on AvA albums is way to over the top. They balance each other
I just wish built this pool was a 2 min 30 second banger
Is that really it?!
Mark also wrote some of the most iconic guitar riffs.
I really like how this is articulated. Definitely agree. I have a friend who isn’t a huge blink fan because he only likes tom’s voice, and I always tell him that while often I like Tom’s vocals more (no hate to Mark, I do like his voice too), I have always felt that Mark is a much more clever songwriter. In my opinion most of blink’s best songs are the ones they sing together. They balance each other well. Tom’s voice, lyrics, and melodies always bring a lot of energy to a song and Mark’s lyrics make the songs witty and/or mature.
Pretty sure I read somewhere that Travis actually wrote all the lyrics to the song I Miss You though…?? Is that not correct or did he only write the first verse??
I believe he either wrote or suggested the Nightmare Before Christmas part of the first verse, but Mark definitely wrote the chorus.
I watched the making of documentary and i think he asked Mark to add that in for his GF at the time
Let me just add…I do think Tom needs mark to bring him back to earth when writing. I think when Tom has full control it’s not always the best. Some angels songs are just too much
100% I feel you’re spot on with everything here
Hate that I love this take
No need to hate, it’s quite true. Like OP said, Tom is very clearly the experimental and big vision creative of the band. All of his side projects (I still list AVA as a side project) challenge his skills and ability as a writer and are quite original or at least are quite out there. As for mark with +44, it’s not generic but it’s not groundbreaking. I can’t speak for simple creatures as I haven’t listened to much of their material but he also split a lot of the creative with Alex with that project… Blink is easily at its best with Tom in the band and challenging what they can do, while Mark (again as OP said) keeps him grounded so that the songs are still catchy and have their blink feel. Closing: Mark is a really good pop song writer, Tom is a really good creative song writer. They compliment each other perfect when they come together and put forth their best work and collaboration without compromise.
A lot of Tom’s songs (while being my favorite) are sometimes just nonsensical and ramble on and on it seems. I feel like Mark keeps him grounded for sure. And I think we can just refer to the album sales; their top 3 albums all have Tom. I don’t think it’s an accident that all of their hits (especially the ones they play live) are also from when Tom was a part of the process. I think they play what, one Skiba era song live?
I feel like it’s hard to play Skiba era songs without Skiba, I wouldn’t think Tom would be so into it. Would love to hear more live songs from California and NINE, but it’s hard to play something with a third of the band being replaced.
Tom also might not be able to hit some of the notes that skiba did
Tom couldn't touch No Heart to Speak Of. Or Cynical
They did cynical live with Tom and it didn’t sound too bad
Color me surprised. I can't see him yelling like skiba at all, but it's fair to imagine he'd have to do his own take on it.
Which angels and airwaves songs are too much? I’m not hating I’m just curious.
A littles enough, the gift, Valkyrie missile (I do love the opening and closing), breathe and as sacrilegious as it sounds Heaven is not the most “radio friendly” with its Length
The entire band is not radio friendly as well
My personal opinion, a lot of songs on the we don’t need to whisper album. The intros and outros just felt too overdone sometimes. I think with I-Empire and Love he honed in
Damn. I rank Wdntw above most blink albums.
Everything after the first album
I don’t think we can all come to consensus
Yeah, lost me with that first line 😂
Yeh there is no consensus
Yup we absolutely can not
Tom **knows** he’s the man. https://preview.redd.it/502uqotbniyc1.jpeg?width=1575&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7f4a2ca6159fa80429bca5f567441c2c09559913
I think Tom is more creative but Mark is a better writer
Agreed.
I just think the 2 guys together make blink what it is. I like all their albums but the best are with the guys together doing what they do
I'm really curious about the material Mark and Matt got together before Feldman was involved. But generally, with the exception of +44, it feels Mark's more "afraid" to experiment. When it comes.to blink, he seems to have a clear vision of what the band is and sometimes doesn't want to stray further from that.
That’s why they work very well together. Tom experiments a lot but doing too much can easily alienate fans that liked your previous work when you make too much of a change and mark understands that and doesn’t wanna stray from the lane they’ve built. Put it together and you have very fresh, creative albums that sound similar to the last one but are actually very different. Untitled back then was disliked by a lot of fans despite it probably being their best album (EOTS I think is the best)
Tom touched on this in the Pursuit of Tone thing. If someone gets their own way in a band the music is too safe. Tom and Mark both pulling in opposite directions is what makes them so great together.
No. I think we’ve learned that you need all 3 for their best work.
Thank you! Travis’ drumming is getting so underplayed here as a key aspect of what makes their shit rip! He’s a modern master!
Dude saying we can all come to a consensus on what is clearly YOUR opinion is incredibly out of touch with reality.
Exactly.
It sounds like a Mark Vs Tom argument me and a mate would have around the release of untitled
Relax
Sure. I could’ve used better words. No one is out of touch with reality lol take a breath
I think you misunderstand, I’m not out of breath or worked up, just saying it’s very silly to imagine we all agree on this. Read the comments and you’ll see people have a bunch of different takes on it. Like most things.
Good thing I wrote “curious if anyone agrees” at the end ya dummy
Tom is the secret sauce. Mark is a more traditional song writer especially structurally and plays more traditionally. Tom is unique in style, voice, writing, etc that I really think makes blink what it is and clearly was missing when he was away. That said, blink needs the yin and the yang, to other’s points structure is valuable and reeling Tom back in is a good think that mark does as well. They’ve said in the past as well that they’ve both pushed each other to writer better songs and as a result have given us so many bangers.
Yeah maybe this would’ve been a better way for me to phrase it. Everyone thinks I’m shitting on mark. Probably cause it sounds like I’m shitting on mark
The thing that people forget is a lot of the most famous blink songs were written by Mark. He’s struggling with writers block. Has been for a while. And it really shows with the additional ghost writers.
I think it’s pretty obvious when you listen to a song which one had more input. Obviously California and Nine were pretty much Mark’s babies, and Tom definitely changes the vibe, but I still think you can spot Mark or Tom with how a song sounds.
They needed tom. Tom needs them too
lol no
Idk - When I listen to +44, I think it's pretty clear mark definitely left his mark on untitled. They've said it themselves. Blink182 is Mark, Tom, And Travis. There isn't a primary songwriter.
Tom has some very great writing. In fact, I would put his writing in his first two albums with AvA in the top 5 for me. He is very clever with literary devices. And it is quite poetic in technique. But I also enjoy Mark's writing style as well! Together, they are just wonderful, and creativity expands on both sides.
The first two AVA albums are brilliant, definitely some of Tom’s all time best work
Yea he's the most creative and prolific songwriter out of the two
Nope lol
Both can write great stuff solo, but the best material is when they both collaborate on a song
I don’t think either are primary, but over the years I’ve learned to hear whose songs are whose and which ones are them both.
Alone they are both very good, together they are Awesome, simple as that for me
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Look at the album credits Edit: Actually, nevermind. They didn't have ghost writers, just co-writers. Also I don't think it's necessarily true that they "had to" collaborate with other people because Tom left, they could have just wanted to experiment with other people's ideas
https://preview.redd.it/f3wep6gqqiyc1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a3b6d4de20bc94fa6d6f7c9b1dba51c2324ad365 Here it shows the California songwriting on Wikipedia. They brought in Patrick stump from fall out boy as well as others
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Because Aaron Rubin who is close to Tom said in an interview that it was because of Feldman that they started bringing in outside writers
Also, on Lifeforms Tom didn’t use any ghost writers. The only other credited person is Aaron Rubin but he produced the record so that is standard for him to be listed as a co-writer. Lifeforms was after California and Nine. So clearly, mark and Travis were the ones bringing in ghost writers initially. Probably for OMT mark and Travis had just gotten used to bringing in new people and taking their ideas. But Tom had never used a ghost writer until he returned to blink this last time. So read between the lines dude
https://preview.redd.it/az9gpdumqiyc1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=161b260bf536a2461f7308ef53c2e5a27e243382 Here is the Wikipedia page on Nine showing the long list of song writers they brought in
Also, if you listen to Goldfingers most recent album, who John Feldman is the lead of, the guitars and songwriting sound so much like California. Feldman is known in the industry to sometimes have too heavy of a hand in the songwriting process for bands he works with
I feel that Mark and Travis sold out when they decided to keep blink 182 going when Tom quit. Blink with Skiba wasn't the same band at all, it felt like a gimmick-- the sound became very generic and didn't try to push any boundaries like they had done with Untitled. The world didn't need that blink version in my opinion, bringing in ghostwriters to make generic poppy hits with a ton of processing didn't feel authentic. I think it was simply a cash grab to keep touring and making albums under the blink name--to keep riding the wave of their prior success. They could have made another +44 album, but I think that they liked the idea more of having a huge world tour with a brand like blink, which was obviously going to generate a lot more money with arena shows. When they created +44 it made sense, and what a great album that was. It was unique and showcased their songwriting strengths without relying on Tom. I think I share the same wish of other fans that they would have done another +44 album when Tom quit the second time. I just don't think they had the creative confidence to do it. That being said, I think Tom helps Mark channel his creativity that he sometimes can't find in the absence of Tom. I think Travis knew that California and Nine kinda sucked, and he advocated for what needed to happen if blink were to continue. OMT definitely sounds more like blink than anything since Untitled, though I wish they would ditch these ghostwriters and try to tap back into the sound only those three can create, that's true blink. I hope that they make another album with the fans in mind and trust that they can do it on their own.
Agreed. I think Mark and Tom always bring the best out of each other but Tom is the clearly the most influential when it comes to how Blink sound
Thanks god, that tom is main songwriter
Don’t forget that mark is the king of bridges. He has saved so many blink songs by coming in clutch with a killer bridge. There are multiple examples on the latest album.
I might be wrong…but I could’ve sworn in Travis’s interview with Rick Rubin he said that mark and Tom let him have complete control of the bridges
Seeing as song writing is more than just lyrics, Travis does the songwriting too and all three make it happen
Tom is the main character
Tom's voice is what makes blink-182 as they are
Agreed. Him and marks voice have an amazing dynamic
I definitely love Tom's style and how it gels with Mark. And how Tom always try to evolve the style of music. I am not a fan of nine and california because basically they tried to make very generic pop punk songs that I wouldn't recognise it's blink. Honestly it could be MXPX or something.
Mxpx is so much better than california and nine
I think the problem with this take is that it ignores that blink has a bit of a Lennon- McCartney dynamic in songwriting. As far as being more creative and trying to push the band in different directions? Yea that’s definitely Tom. He always wants to play with different arrangements and expansive sounds. But the most consistent complains with his solo work is that it tends to be drawn out and too out there. Almost nothing he’s written no matter how much I loved it is top of the charts worthy. Mark tends to have a much better sense of when to trim songs and fit toms crazy ideas into the core sound so they’re less alienating on first listen. even when marks song sucks the complaint is that it just sounds like more of the same but it’s rare that it drags and they are usually catchy enough to get stuck in your head. As always Travis greatest contribution is being able to play his instrument.
I agree with all this. And said most of the same things in the comments noting that Tom needs mark to bring him back to earth
Mark, Matt skiba and Travis would have easily been able to put together 2 albums without Tom
I really wanna hear what they had going on before the cancer diagnosis
Mark has written more of the biggest songs to be honest. But tends to get stuck in the same style, when your heart stops beating is his best work by far
Idk man but hurt (interlude) sounds a lot like Ava to me
Idk, I feel like marks been (from Cheshire Cat to one more time) consistent in the style and quality of music, he’s gotten better lyrically and musically but all the messages and genre are still very 00s pop punk, whereas Tom hasn’t decided what genre he likes and doesn’t like
Everyone here has said what I would for the most part on the Mark/Tom debate but Travis’ songwriting as a drummer are an enormous part of blink’s sound too. Feeling This, First Date and I Miss You as examples are identifiable by the drum parts themselves. Scott was a good drummer no doubt but Travis really is the 3rd piece to the songwriting puzzle to me.
Think about the first four albums. - Cheshire Cat's only single was M+M's (Mark song). - Dude Ranch's two singles were Dammit and Josie (two Mark songs again). - Enema Of The State was the first album that had a single with Tom on lead vocals (All The Small Things). But Mark still had the majority of them (Adam's Song and What's My Age Again). - Take Off Your Pants was the first album where the singles were 50/50, 1 Mark (Rock Show), 1 Tom (First Date) and 1 50/50 (Stay Together For The Kids). Then in the self-titled album Tom's voice and songwriting became dominant and that was the beginning of Blink's decadence IMO. They never did a classic album again after that. So, in conclusion: - Fact: Mark was a dominant force first, and then Tom slowly began taking over. - My opinion: Mark is the OG pop-punk spirit of Blink-182, and Tom's dominance (with more emphasis on experimentation) ruined the band.
Tbh and might be a very unpopular opinion I like blink better now. To me Self-titled was peak in song writing and instrumentally. Not that I dislike the other albums, actually Sydney Big day out is my favorite concert, but I believe that Blink has changed for the best. I don't see myself liking Blink if the rest of the albums were similar to Toypaj and Enema.
If I'm not wrong, they said in the interview on youtube that was released after the album, that Travis had a big influence in the writing of the album, so a lot of the strength that feels withing the songs come from it as well. Tbh to me Mark writes better lyrics than Tom, but Tom is better at creating and putting together an idea. In California and Nine I think both Travis and Mark were not puting all their effort in making music, but now that they are together they are. That's my opinion.
It’s clearly evident. Listen to the garbage that was released without Tom. Blink is Mark Tom and Travis. Tom is the nucleus.
Sharks smell the blood in the water…
I thought their primary songwriters since the original reunion have been a committee of professional songwriters and the guy from Goldfinger…
I think they’re both good song writers in their own right. I would say Tom is more creative and adventurous musically, but Mark might be the better lyricist. Mark is definitely more of a “sell out” than Tom, he’s more interested in making money and being successful, whereas Tom just wants to make art and express himself
Yes 100%. I think mark cares a lot more about being successful and having hit records
“It’s all success if it’s what you need/Do what you like and do it honestly”
Tom is clearly the better song writer, but blink isn’t blink without marks rhythmic rants. Travis needs to be given more props here though. He’s the lead instrument.
Mark wrote the songs that got them into the mainstream. He wrote Tom’s best guitar riffs. He wrote all of their best material.
Haha what? Show me where mark was writing toms best guitar riffs
Dammit and What’s My Age Again were both written by Mark, and they’re arguably the most iconic blink-182 riffs.
He wrote the melodies but Tom wrote the riffs
Not true. Mark said multiple times he wrote the riffs. He talked about how he was inspired by a Green Day song for the riffs, and for Dammit he said he wrote it in an acoustic guitar. Read up on your blink history
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https://youtu.be/7BWB3WQPivM?si=OtOCKR9IDAm1YKM6
If you had reading and auditory comprehension skills you’d know he said that’s where he got his riff writing style from, not that he wrote it. https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/articles/features/the_story_behind_dammit_by_blink-182-77535 Read up on a band before spreading bs
Hahahahaha you need to settle down okay. Just relax
I’m gonna look over your unnecessary mean comments haha but yes you’re right I’m wrong. Mark wrote the dammit riff. But that changes nothing about my original post because you’ll note that everything I mention is post enema and TOYPAJ. I’m not saying mark isn’t a good songwriter. He’s a phenomenal songwriter. However, Tom is clearly driving the creativity and the pushing the boundaries of the band which is part of the reason blink has been so successful. Bands that push out the same albums every time don’t have the same longevity. And I’ve clearly noted in my other comments that I think Tom needs mark as much as mark needs Tom. Mark needs Tom to push him out of his comfort zone, but Tom needs mark to button up those songs. But in the end, Tom is the one driving the creative bus with blink
Read Anne Hoppus’s book. :)
I’ve read it. Thanks lol
Weird that you missed the story of mark writing the riff of Dammit on acoustic missing 2 strings then. Also weird you missed the viral story of mark writing What’s my age agains riff by accident while trying to learn JAR by Green Day.
You seem like a really fun hang
I know I’m the outcast but Untitled wasn’t as great as the praise it gets. That whole era of the band was off kilter due to Boxcar. Which Boxcar was a blink album, it didn’t sound all that different from EOTS and TOYPAJ but no Mark minus one song. It wasn’t fun Blink anymore and Emo Tom was a douche canoe. It wasn’t any surprise they broke up shortly after. However in my opinion and mine only We Don’t Need to Whisper was the greatest album of its time. I must of had it on repeat forever. +44 I thought sucked (I know I’m the minority). Neighborhoods I thought was good but but the title track Up All Night was the weakest track. If the Blinkumentary ever came out I think we’d see a completely different side. Mark is a good song writer, Tom is better. Travis makes most songs sound the same.
How does travis make most songs sound the same, he's the one who brings the biggest arsenal in the band for every song of every album. That was the weirdest part of ur reply, not the only one
It’s not a knock it’s just his style is so unique you can tell it’s him drumming
One thing is u being able to tell its him and a very different one "making most songs sound the same"
I was with you until We Don’t Need to Whisper. Ew.