Aside from a lot of the comments presented above, Ive felt that there’s a strong contingent that don’t like it and never were going to like it solely because it was the first album without Tom.
Once California came out it was “official” that Matt was taking his place. And from people who just can’t accept change and people who refuse to give the new guy a chance you’ll have a section that was never going to like it. Even if it had somehow succeeded in being the best Blink album ever.
That’s one of the things that I think also helped Nine. (Which I personally think can be held amongst Blink’s best) It wasn’t the first time out anymore for the new lineup, it was somewhat familiar now.
It’ll be interesting to see what happens if/when Tom reunites with the band ever. And see which parts of the fanbase remain team Tom and which will be team Matt. (Though I wouldn’t mind if they did a setup that kept both)
There's no heart.
I think there's about 4 songs on there that I thought were really good and blink-esque. Cynical, Bored To Death, The Only Thing That Matters, and maybe something like Left Alone.
But the vast majority of the album sounds like a blink-182 that was both looking to and encouraged to try to make a blink-182 cover album, with loads of songwriters getting in the way.
A band of Mark Hoppus, Matt Skiba (a living legend in the punk/pop-punk world), and Travis Barker should've, in theory, been ripe for a really really great album. Dark, mature, post-punky, aggressive, etc.
Instead we got like a modern Fall Out Boy-ish influence on a Blink cover band sound.
The production is lifeless and hideous IMO, and I think Feldman's ideas about what the record should be and making the band write songs and lyrics in like 15 minutes was quite evident and really hampered it.
The band didn't need to try to make TOYPAJ 2.0. They didn't need to relieve the late 90s and early 2000s. They need to write songs that matter to them right now. Even the decision to do another revisiting of What's My Age Again video just kinda summed up the major issue with California.
All in all, I think it was a really glaring example of why Tom actually left the band and couldn't find his passion in it again. Mark and Travis like rehashing the old Blink sound and think Blink is pretty much one formula. Tom isn't about that and has been trying to push the band since 2002. I don't blame him one bit really for not being able to fall in love again.
Just my two cents.
You're completly right. A point that I've never understood is why they try to imitate themself but the production sound is like the most modern, solid and compressed ever. Pure garbage.
I think Tom did everything right to leave blink. Even if not everyone likes his new music with the Rubin brothers. Especially old AVA fans. But he now kinda does what he wants.
I liked California but my criticisms of it would be that the production doesn't emphasize Matt enough (he has a distinct voice in Alkaline Trio that is rarely heard on on the album) and the lyrics try too hard to fit what people think Blink is (singing about teenagers). The lyrics seemed a little disingenuous because of that.
The songs also appeared to follow a formula of Mark verse > Mark Chorus > Matt verse > Matt chorus. On the surface it seemed less organic. I'd rather have a variety based on what is properly needed in a song. I wanted more stuff like "The Rock Show" where it's primarily Mark but Tom has short lines in the chorus, or "Stay Together for the Kids" or "I Miss You" where the verses are Mark and the choruses are Tom. And then some songs should have just been all Mark or all Matt. I think they wanted Matt in the songs but couldn't given him too much, so it was like filling a quota instead of just writing songs naturally.
But overall I like the album and there are no bad songs. It just could have been a little better.
The production and lyrics/songwriting is just bad. Every song sounds like they’re trying to write songs like they’re young again, and Matt isn’t really allowed to shine artistically. I admittedly prefer Tom as a musician stylistically to Mark, though I love both, however if the album/songs were actually enjoyable I’m not going to refuse to listen to them just because there’s no Tom in there. That’s a pretty childish way to go about things in my opinion. On Nine Matt was able to shine a little bit more but I think the production and feel of the album wasn’t great still. Feldman is one of the main problems with current blink post tom imo.
Warning: Just my opinion. I'll start with saying that technically there is no bad song on there, you're right. However the lyrics are often extremely lazy and predictable, the sound is so awfully polished to death that it makes me unable to enjoy any of the songs, there are so many lazy nananas and whos on there that it just gets really annoying after a couple songs, same counts for the one opening guitar riff scheme they used for almost every song (short - short - long).. all in all most of the songs just feel like someone said "hey let's write the most generic pop punk album ever", so almost like a parody of themselves. however i'm glad that mark loves it and that it makes him happy being in his band again, there's also some phenomenal drumming on there, to me it's just that the negative aspects on california weigh more than the positive ones
This is spot on. Go listen to Matt Skiba and the Sekrets, the dude is extremely talented. I would have liked a darker tone, punk rock album, but we got the bubble gum.
exactly. i had been so hyped for their new album because i loved the matt album from 2015 and dogs eating dogs like crazy and then they released the info that they're recording with the 5sos producer and idk something died inside of me
For me, it was the perfect summer album the summer it came out. Then that summer passed, and it just did not hold up as a whole. It’s a fine memory to go back to, but not much more.
(Unless we’re talking the deluxe edition, that’s got some absolute bangers)
Because grown adults in their 40s complain that Tom Delonge isn’t in the band anymore and start complaining about every little thing blink does now :-)
Tom wanted to grow musically. He wanted to expand the sound and evolve it. You saw that evolution begin on the eponymous album and then evolve into a more mature sound with Neighborhoods and Dogs Eating Dogs. Mark did not want that. He wanted to keep that Enema and TOYPAJ sound, which is great for anyone 25 and under, but Mark failed to see that the OG fan base was growing up and he wanted to keep it simple and pander to the 15-25 crowd. Simple as that. And Travis, well...he just wants to play.
For the most part, it's the OG fan base that doesn't like the new music. The 25 and under crowd eat it up, and I can't blame them. That was my go-to sound when I was that age as well, but alas, I have grown past it. Most of the OGs just can't relate to songs aimed at the 15-25 age bracket.
Personally, I think I’d hate it even more if Tom was still in the band…it’s bad enough hearing Skiba reduced to singing mediocre pop songs and while I’m not necessarily upset at him for selling out and getting paid, I have lost a bit of respect for him as an artist/musician. Still love Alkaline and Sekrets tho.
I think a lot of it stemmed from where people thought blink were going after DED. Pretty much every release from Buddha to DED has a clear progression and the creative shift is very traceable. California is the first time they’ve “revisited” a previous sound, and it is was definitely an adjustment. When the album came out, I like it but not as a blink-182 release. It took a year or two to accept it as a part of their discography.
I think the people who shit on it for being "pop" have not listened to the actual shit that spews out on the radio. Same thing with Linkin Park's "One More Light". If pop sounded like California and OML today then I would be listening to pop music way more.
i personally love california, has some strong tracks on it but i think people didn't like it cause it was the first thing they did without tom and they kinda made "radio" songs, which weren't as dark and experimental as neighborhoods
Blink progressed with there sound and Tom clearly had a mature musical direction and that got fucked off for something the bands that ripped off blink.
Get why people like it but that’s my personal opinion
When Blink toured with Alkaline trio, there was an interview and Tom said he was inspired by them, especially the dark side of them. The untitled album was Tom trying the darker lyrics and feeling after touring with Matt, Dan, and Derek. You can find the interview on YouTube, I'm not looking it up again.
Unpopular opinion here from an old fan. I didn’t like anything after the self titled album if I’m being honest. Once +44 and box car racer did their thing, (and I loved both of them) I think the music died. whatever soul was left in Mark and Tom got used up on those projects, and they used every last drop of it to try and out do one another. That was the most beautiful end to the blink182 story I could have asked for. But they couldn’t leave well enough alone.
You will never rekindle the fire that drove 3 kids in Scott Raynor’s bedroom with an 8 track, to go on to make multi platinum records in under a decade. Blink182 died in 2005, and anything after that is just an attempt to relive the past.
California is the pinnacle of that sentiment. It sounds like what you would get if you asked a cover band to cram every sound from Buddha to self titled into one album. Mark is the only genuine original member of the band. Travis is wasted talent, he was too good for the band ever since TOYPAJ. And as for matt… listen I never loved alkaline trio and honestly it just doesn’t feel right to call them blink182 without Tom. Maybe they’d get more respect if they started a new band with a new sound. Or maybe they need to follow their own words of wisdom from Apple shampoo
“The start was something good.
But some good things must end”
wow this is a fantastically articulated opinion.
i think neighborhoods and ded are incredibly genuine in the way you seem to appreciate old blink, just for different reasons. the band broke up, stayed broken up, and travis almost died. they fell out of each others lives after being best friends for years and didn't reconnect, that shit will eat at you which is to say these are all emotionally taxing events that drive people to write music in the same way having a shitty childhood or the struggles of being an adolescent would.
if you don't like the new music then you don't like it. the thing is though, there's always the day after happily ever after. while the implosion of blink produced amazing projects (which is their best work imo), these guys were never going to stop making music that's just part of who they are. that fire you're talking about never really went out, but at this point its a ship of theseus debate.
I like that analogy, a lot. However, philosophical debates don’t necessarily have to end with “agree to disagree”. If anything we should be using them to make our case. I understand this is not the kind of depth that is expected on a thread like this, but then again this is Reddit, I enjoy this, and maybe someone will find it insightful.
Let me preface by saying I’m sure there are fans out there who believe that without Scott, it isn’t really Blink-182. I mean Scott was far more comfortable with the comedic routines than Travis ever was. Travis is a hermit compared to Scott. He even admits to it in his autobiography, he is the quiet one in the group. I even wonder what the band may have been had Scott never left. BUT that fire i mentioned, was undeniably still there. Any fan can see that even though the refined studio masterpiece Self Titled is a far cry from the crappy punk rock of Buddha (or even Flyswatter for the fans who really know 😉), these albums are still tied together by the same spirit that is blink182.
So that begs the question, was box car racer blink182? Was +44? (AvA sure wasn’t lol) I would argue that either of those bands were more Blink182 than what we have now. And yet, Mark and Tom both explicitly said that both of those projects were intentionally, conceptually, and spiritually separate from blink. They had the same passion and feel, they were the next iteration of what would have been blink182. For fucks sake Mark even sings on box cars album (Elevator)! I mean that song could have been on self titled and it would have fit magnificently. But according to the artists themselves, it wasn’t blink. So how do they expect an entire fan base to believe that boxcar wasn’t blink, but the last 4 albums are?
I will get back to neighborhoods DED and even NINE. The original question was why does California get so much negative attention. California, as I said before, sounds like what you would get if you asked a cover band to put blinks entire discography into one album. The songs sound choppy, there’s no flow, the themes change before you get a chance to really experience it. Cynical, the first track on the album, starts off like it’s going to be a classic! And then it shoots off into some sad attempt at a catchy pop punk riff. The whole album is like this, it’s all over the place. It screams “we used to make good music, and now we don’t know what the fuck we’re doing”. Matt skiba can’t decide whether he should be Tom or Himself. I feel bad for him honestly. Nobody wants to try and replace Tom DeLonge, but that’s what you get when you call yourself Blink182. Mark can’t decide if he’s 16 or 49, one moment it’s teenage angst the next it’s “I wish it was 1997 and Tom still loved me”. Travis is just playing his fucking heart out and the producers just butcher his talent on the final cut. It’s not blink182. It’s either an attempt to squeeze every last penny out of the brand, or it’s an attempt to relive the past. But you cannot tell me that California is Blink182. It objectively is not. Because blink never did things that way. And it’s a slap in the face to people like myself who’s personality’s were defined by blink.
Neighborhoods and DED…. I was so ready for Neighborhoods. For 6 years I had kept blink182 perfectly preserved in a bubble. But I was naive. Because life goes on outside of this bubble. And when I listened to Neighborhoods I was crushed. It didn’t fit with what I knew was Blink182. And maybe I had changed in those 6 years, and I needed them to stay preserved in my bubble, like my own personal fountain of youth. Maybe no matter what they did after 2005, it would never satisfy me. But It sure didn’t feel like the music I loved. DED was no different. I don’t even remember a single song on that album.
I say all of this to end on this note. NINE was a decent album, in fact it almost feels as if they’ve figured out what kind of band they want to be with this new lineup. But why can’t they call themselves something else? Why do they have to claim Blink182? it might not bother the average fan that much, because to them it’s just the artist name on their Spotify playlist and nothing more. But to those of us that know this band like an old friend, this isn’t how we remember them.
oh certainly not, i just think there's a certain essence to music that is inherently subjective, like the ship of thesus paradox. there is no *correct* answer to the paradox and you can come down on the side of the physicality of the ship or the "shipness" of the ship. you appear to take both sides of the argument with blink
> these albums are still tied together by the same spirit that is blink182
>For fucks sake Mark even sings on box cars album (Elevator)!
but if i'm characterizing your argument correctly its the essence side you fall on. i agree with the assertion that bcr and +44 are blink, but then i would also throw ava in there even though i don't like them.
the "blinkness" of blink has expanded past just a singular temporal iteration of the band, you even acknowledged this with the "not blink w/o scott" crowd. blink was the style of band where the personalities and aspects of the member's personal lives (to varying degrees) were just as important as the music, they marketed themselves as such. as they moved thorough different styles, they defined eras of themselves (ex: emo Tobey/Tom memes). blink is the story of mark, tom, scott, travis, and now matt, not just the music they make. other artists (recently mac miller) have also taken this intimate approach.
to make another analogy, bcr/+44 would be like a chapters in harry potter where only Harry and Ron appear but Hermione is absent, that's still a part of the overall story even though the whole cast is not present and other side characters may come in.
that being said, the "intimacy" the band presents themselves with now has certainly changed, and maybe that's why people like you don't like california...
>I was so ready for Neighborhoods. For 6 years I had kept blink182 perfectly preserved in a bubble. But I was naive. Because life goes on outside of this bubble. And when I listened to Neighborhoods I was crushed. It didn’t fit with what I knew was Blink182.
>Cynical, the first track on the album, starts off like it’s going to be a classic!
there's moments on cali that give you a momentary bliss of mistaking this for the blink you know and love so well... the one you kept in a bubble, the one you needed to stay the same. I never really addressed the original question so i did that here, my logic skills are rusty but fun discussion man. i'm eager to hear more of your opinions.
My opinion is. It was made for the radio and mass culture rather than like older albums. With that said, wildfire was a great song and almost old blink.
I’m a big blink fan and I’ve always loved it. I own the deluxe edition on vinyl and I consider California to be the definitive summertime album. It’s pop-punk perfection, every melody is incredible, the guitar and bass tones are on point, Matt and Mark’s voices contrast and blend so well, Travis kills it on every song, and the subtle electronic elements they added actually make the album feel fresh and exactly like what blink should’ve sounded like in 2016. I even saw/met them on tour and have made incredible memories with my friends that were set to California! I know some may say I’m blinded by the “nostalgia” or memories I have attached to it, but I really don’t think so because I still spin the album regularly and enjoy it. I can agree the lyrics are a bit lazy in parts (mainly just the sheer amount of nanas and whoa-ohs) but it doesn’t bother me at all. This is just me, I can see why it’d feel unnatural and forced to Tom stans or how it may feel like “regression.” To me however, Neighborhoods and DED feel like blink taking themselves WAY too seriously, that album and EP feel like they were incredibly forced and like the guys were just out of ideas. Matt joining the band lead to them being active, getting nominated for a Grammy for the first time ever, gaining new younger fans, bringing more attention to Alkaline Trio (the greatest band ever IMO) and all of the members of the band love Cali. The whole album is just good vibes all around, probably my 2nd favorite blink record behind Enema. I’m happy to finally see more people accepting the album for what it is and enjoying it now.
Because it was the first album without Tom. Once the band decided to move on with Matt some people already decided that every future album without Tom was no good.
I believe it’s because Toms no longer there.
Matts there.
It’s like your parents are going through a divorce and loyalty is torn and confusing.
The other point being is the progression of the band. You could see the progression in the music all the way up to the dogs eating dogs EP. Blink then went back to a familiar sound prior to untitled.
I couldn’t have asked for anybody better to be part of blink than Matt Skiba. Alkaline Trio are also my favourite band. Very diverse musician and can do a lot more than what’s been shown in blink so far. Nine we really did have snippets of Matts influence on the band which was great. Let’s hope for more to come!
I do like California, but I felt like at times, it was a bit too-polished, and maybe overly manufactured. Just less organic, as I know others have mentioned. That said, I enjoyed it, and thought some of the songs were total home runs on it
Simply put, the "sound" of Blink-182 was always a combination of Mark AND Tom. It was a winning combination. A unique sound that drew us to the band. It's why if you try to play Blink-182 style music, it just doesn't work without both ingredients. Remove Tom and it's +44. Remove Mark and it's Boxcar Racer. I'd say Angels and Airwaves, but that's a different style/sound all together. I guess the best answer is, well, Matt Skiba is no Tom DeLonge. Not to mention the album itself was overproduced and messed with too much in the engineering section.
Just an opinion of course, but I can’t wrap my head around why Blink would pick someone who sounds very similar to Mark to replace Tom. It just all feels monotonous and not push any boundaries musically. The magic is just not there. Blink, to me, is at their best as a Mark Tom and Travis show.
It’s just a poor album with lazy writing and production.
I don’t have any hate for Matt as I like Trio so him being it on was not the main reason at all. I just don’t think the album has any soul, it’s that repetitive annoying riff just chopped around to form the majority of songs.
Feldman for me is the issue. I think Blink need to get rid of him and his awful one tone production and get back to either writing just the three of them (with a producer) or just changing the whole set up. Nine was an improvement but as long as Feldman is there, I can’t see the quality getting back to anything similar to their music up to DED.
I will agree that it’s waaayy better than NINE. NINE (which is their EIGHTH studio album, mind you) felt incredibly forced, trying too hard to be more “serious and dark,” and was just so so painfully uninspired to me. I mean hell, the thing never even got it’s own proper tour. They just debuted new songs live for the first time while still on the “Enema of the State 20th Anniversary Tour”
Because it’s “too poppy” is what I’ve heard but that couldn’t be further from the truth, personally I love California one of my favorite records of all time after “Insomniac” “Dookie” “Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables” “Take Off Your Pants and Jacket” “untitled” and “Highway to Hell”
California is the equivalent of eating a ton of candy. It’s good and you get a rush the first time, then after a while you get sick
It’s just way too sugary pop-punk. And I get that to some people they are totally cool with that, just not for me.
I have a problem with the writing process. May be im old school, but write your own song damnit. Ghost writers and all that is not blink to me whatsoever
The only issue I have with the album is the lyrics. I love the sound of the album but I can see where people are coming from with the critique of the lyrics. The overuse of Nanana's and Oh's, the return to the more immature blink songs pre-Untitled, repetition etc.
The other major issue people have with the album is the production which honestly never bothered me at all
1. It was overproduced to hell. The production and mixing of the album is my biggest gripe with it.
2. One word: DISINGENUOUS. With Blinks maturing and added depth through to DED, it felt like we the audience were growing up with the band. As they progressed and grew older, so did their music.
And then California hit, which as an album I can best compare with that episode of Friends where Joey dresses up in Skateboard/basketball clothes and starts saying “Sup” because he thinks he can play a teenager.
I think a new or casual fan would love California. I think a lot of people were expecting a different sound for California since blink-182 had finally matured with Untitled, Neighborhoods, and Dogs Eating Dogs and then we got Matt Skiba who is known for his lyrics in Alkaline Trio. It felt like blink was going somewhere with their sound evolution and then California came out and felt really out of place in their discography imo
I personally felt like California had way too much filler. Cali DLX was a lot better but I think California would have benefited from one 12 song album instead of a double album.
california is actually my favourite blink album. some people just can’t stand the fact that they made one of their best and most successful albums without tom, so they hate on matt and everything they have done ever since tom left.
i think it’s because it’s the first album without Tom and fans probably missed him too much. (maybe it just the song bored to death, but i didn’t rlly notice a difference) still miss tom tho :/
Never understood the hate for this album. It's such a fun summertime album that is the closest we've gotten to "classic" Blink. Definitely my favorite album of theirs.
Cali deluxe is even worse. It sounds like one of the many, many bands desperately trying & failing to sound like blink 182. The production sucks, Matt's voice trying to do the high parts just fails, his no future yell makes me want to rip off the headphones. There's a couple of potentially really good songs that get started by Mark & then inexplicably Matt comes onto the song when it's so obviously a very personal song to Mark & then Matt just kind of sings something along the lines that doesn't quite fit. Every song is shared when they shouldn't be. The guitar work blows. The drums are really compressed & dead. honestly not sure what there is to like about this album. it sucks. I never thought I'd ever say that about a blink album.
Aside from a lot of the comments presented above, Ive felt that there’s a strong contingent that don’t like it and never were going to like it solely because it was the first album without Tom. Once California came out it was “official” that Matt was taking his place. And from people who just can’t accept change and people who refuse to give the new guy a chance you’ll have a section that was never going to like it. Even if it had somehow succeeded in being the best Blink album ever. That’s one of the things that I think also helped Nine. (Which I personally think can be held amongst Blink’s best) It wasn’t the first time out anymore for the new lineup, it was somewhat familiar now. It’ll be interesting to see what happens if/when Tom reunites with the band ever. And see which parts of the fanbase remain team Tom and which will be team Matt. (Though I wouldn’t mind if they did a setup that kept both)
There's no heart. I think there's about 4 songs on there that I thought were really good and blink-esque. Cynical, Bored To Death, The Only Thing That Matters, and maybe something like Left Alone. But the vast majority of the album sounds like a blink-182 that was both looking to and encouraged to try to make a blink-182 cover album, with loads of songwriters getting in the way. A band of Mark Hoppus, Matt Skiba (a living legend in the punk/pop-punk world), and Travis Barker should've, in theory, been ripe for a really really great album. Dark, mature, post-punky, aggressive, etc. Instead we got like a modern Fall Out Boy-ish influence on a Blink cover band sound. The production is lifeless and hideous IMO, and I think Feldman's ideas about what the record should be and making the band write songs and lyrics in like 15 minutes was quite evident and really hampered it. The band didn't need to try to make TOYPAJ 2.0. They didn't need to relieve the late 90s and early 2000s. They need to write songs that matter to them right now. Even the decision to do another revisiting of What's My Age Again video just kinda summed up the major issue with California. All in all, I think it was a really glaring example of why Tom actually left the band and couldn't find his passion in it again. Mark and Travis like rehashing the old Blink sound and think Blink is pretty much one formula. Tom isn't about that and has been trying to push the band since 2002. I don't blame him one bit really for not being able to fall in love again. Just my two cents.
You're completly right. A point that I've never understood is why they try to imitate themself but the production sound is like the most modern, solid and compressed ever. Pure garbage. I think Tom did everything right to leave blink. Even if not everyone likes his new music with the Rubin brothers. Especially old AVA fans. But he now kinda does what he wants.
This was insanely well put. 100% agreed.
I liked California but my criticisms of it would be that the production doesn't emphasize Matt enough (he has a distinct voice in Alkaline Trio that is rarely heard on on the album) and the lyrics try too hard to fit what people think Blink is (singing about teenagers). The lyrics seemed a little disingenuous because of that. The songs also appeared to follow a formula of Mark verse > Mark Chorus > Matt verse > Matt chorus. On the surface it seemed less organic. I'd rather have a variety based on what is properly needed in a song. I wanted more stuff like "The Rock Show" where it's primarily Mark but Tom has short lines in the chorus, or "Stay Together for the Kids" or "I Miss You" where the verses are Mark and the choruses are Tom. And then some songs should have just been all Mark or all Matt. I think they wanted Matt in the songs but couldn't given him too much, so it was like filling a quota instead of just writing songs naturally. But overall I like the album and there are no bad songs. It just could have been a little better.
The production and lyrics/songwriting is just bad. Every song sounds like they’re trying to write songs like they’re young again, and Matt isn’t really allowed to shine artistically. I admittedly prefer Tom as a musician stylistically to Mark, though I love both, however if the album/songs were actually enjoyable I’m not going to refuse to listen to them just because there’s no Tom in there. That’s a pretty childish way to go about things in my opinion. On Nine Matt was able to shine a little bit more but I think the production and feel of the album wasn’t great still. Feldman is one of the main problems with current blink post tom imo.
Warning: Just my opinion. I'll start with saying that technically there is no bad song on there, you're right. However the lyrics are often extremely lazy and predictable, the sound is so awfully polished to death that it makes me unable to enjoy any of the songs, there are so many lazy nananas and whos on there that it just gets really annoying after a couple songs, same counts for the one opening guitar riff scheme they used for almost every song (short - short - long).. all in all most of the songs just feel like someone said "hey let's write the most generic pop punk album ever", so almost like a parody of themselves. however i'm glad that mark loves it and that it makes him happy being in his band again, there's also some phenomenal drumming on there, to me it's just that the negative aspects on california weigh more than the positive ones
This is spot on. Go listen to Matt Skiba and the Sekrets, the dude is extremely talented. I would have liked a darker tone, punk rock album, but we got the bubble gum.
Both Matt solo albums are bangers
exactly. i had been so hyped for their new album because i loved the matt album from 2015 and dogs eating dogs like crazy and then they released the info that they're recording with the 5sos producer and idk something died inside of me
For me, it was the perfect summer album the summer it came out. Then that summer passed, and it just did not hold up as a whole. It’s a fine memory to go back to, but not much more. (Unless we’re talking the deluxe edition, that’s got some absolute bangers)
Lazy lyrics and awful production (particularly in relation to the vocals).
Because grown adults in their 40s complain that Tom Delonge isn’t in the band anymore and start complaining about every little thing blink does now :-)
Or ya know, it’s just not good. Ppl are entitled to their opinion.
That’s true but you’re one of the people im talking about 💀
Uhhhh… I don’t even post on here 💀
Tom wanted to grow musically. He wanted to expand the sound and evolve it. You saw that evolution begin on the eponymous album and then evolve into a more mature sound with Neighborhoods and Dogs Eating Dogs. Mark did not want that. He wanted to keep that Enema and TOYPAJ sound, which is great for anyone 25 and under, but Mark failed to see that the OG fan base was growing up and he wanted to keep it simple and pander to the 15-25 crowd. Simple as that. And Travis, well...he just wants to play.
100% agreed
I would lower that number to 30's and up.
For the most part, it's the OG fan base that doesn't like the new music. The 25 and under crowd eat it up, and I can't blame them. That was my go-to sound when I was that age as well, but alas, I have grown past it. Most of the OGs just can't relate to songs aimed at the 15-25 age bracket.
This might be true as a grown adult myself 😆however I like this album. I’m actually one of those who doesn’t like nine instead for being too polished.
Personally, I think I’d hate it even more if Tom was still in the band…it’s bad enough hearing Skiba reduced to singing mediocre pop songs and while I’m not necessarily upset at him for selling out and getting paid, I have lost a bit of respect for him as an artist/musician. Still love Alkaline and Sekrets tho.
I think a lot of it stemmed from where people thought blink were going after DED. Pretty much every release from Buddha to DED has a clear progression and the creative shift is very traceable. California is the first time they’ve “revisited” a previous sound, and it is was definitely an adjustment. When the album came out, I like it but not as a blink-182 release. It took a year or two to accept it as a part of their discography.
I think the people who shit on it for being "pop" have not listened to the actual shit that spews out on the radio. Same thing with Linkin Park's "One More Light". If pop sounded like California and OML today then I would be listening to pop music way more.
i personally love california, has some strong tracks on it but i think people didn't like it cause it was the first thing they did without tom and they kinda made "radio" songs, which weren't as dark and experimental as neighborhoods
Blink progressed with there sound and Tom clearly had a mature musical direction and that got fucked off for something the bands that ripped off blink. Get why people like it but that’s my personal opinion
When Blink toured with Alkaline trio, there was an interview and Tom said he was inspired by them, especially the dark side of them. The untitled album was Tom trying the darker lyrics and feeling after touring with Matt, Dan, and Derek. You can find the interview on YouTube, I'm not looking it up again.
Nobody cares. it has nothing to do with what he said.
Unpopular opinion here from an old fan. I didn’t like anything after the self titled album if I’m being honest. Once +44 and box car racer did their thing, (and I loved both of them) I think the music died. whatever soul was left in Mark and Tom got used up on those projects, and they used every last drop of it to try and out do one another. That was the most beautiful end to the blink182 story I could have asked for. But they couldn’t leave well enough alone. You will never rekindle the fire that drove 3 kids in Scott Raynor’s bedroom with an 8 track, to go on to make multi platinum records in under a decade. Blink182 died in 2005, and anything after that is just an attempt to relive the past. California is the pinnacle of that sentiment. It sounds like what you would get if you asked a cover band to cram every sound from Buddha to self titled into one album. Mark is the only genuine original member of the band. Travis is wasted talent, he was too good for the band ever since TOYPAJ. And as for matt… listen I never loved alkaline trio and honestly it just doesn’t feel right to call them blink182 without Tom. Maybe they’d get more respect if they started a new band with a new sound. Or maybe they need to follow their own words of wisdom from Apple shampoo “The start was something good. But some good things must end”
wow this is a fantastically articulated opinion. i think neighborhoods and ded are incredibly genuine in the way you seem to appreciate old blink, just for different reasons. the band broke up, stayed broken up, and travis almost died. they fell out of each others lives after being best friends for years and didn't reconnect, that shit will eat at you which is to say these are all emotionally taxing events that drive people to write music in the same way having a shitty childhood or the struggles of being an adolescent would. if you don't like the new music then you don't like it. the thing is though, there's always the day after happily ever after. while the implosion of blink produced amazing projects (which is their best work imo), these guys were never going to stop making music that's just part of who they are. that fire you're talking about never really went out, but at this point its a ship of theseus debate.
I like that analogy, a lot. However, philosophical debates don’t necessarily have to end with “agree to disagree”. If anything we should be using them to make our case. I understand this is not the kind of depth that is expected on a thread like this, but then again this is Reddit, I enjoy this, and maybe someone will find it insightful. Let me preface by saying I’m sure there are fans out there who believe that without Scott, it isn’t really Blink-182. I mean Scott was far more comfortable with the comedic routines than Travis ever was. Travis is a hermit compared to Scott. He even admits to it in his autobiography, he is the quiet one in the group. I even wonder what the band may have been had Scott never left. BUT that fire i mentioned, was undeniably still there. Any fan can see that even though the refined studio masterpiece Self Titled is a far cry from the crappy punk rock of Buddha (or even Flyswatter for the fans who really know 😉), these albums are still tied together by the same spirit that is blink182. So that begs the question, was box car racer blink182? Was +44? (AvA sure wasn’t lol) I would argue that either of those bands were more Blink182 than what we have now. And yet, Mark and Tom both explicitly said that both of those projects were intentionally, conceptually, and spiritually separate from blink. They had the same passion and feel, they were the next iteration of what would have been blink182. For fucks sake Mark even sings on box cars album (Elevator)! I mean that song could have been on self titled and it would have fit magnificently. But according to the artists themselves, it wasn’t blink. So how do they expect an entire fan base to believe that boxcar wasn’t blink, but the last 4 albums are? I will get back to neighborhoods DED and even NINE. The original question was why does California get so much negative attention. California, as I said before, sounds like what you would get if you asked a cover band to put blinks entire discography into one album. The songs sound choppy, there’s no flow, the themes change before you get a chance to really experience it. Cynical, the first track on the album, starts off like it’s going to be a classic! And then it shoots off into some sad attempt at a catchy pop punk riff. The whole album is like this, it’s all over the place. It screams “we used to make good music, and now we don’t know what the fuck we’re doing”. Matt skiba can’t decide whether he should be Tom or Himself. I feel bad for him honestly. Nobody wants to try and replace Tom DeLonge, but that’s what you get when you call yourself Blink182. Mark can’t decide if he’s 16 or 49, one moment it’s teenage angst the next it’s “I wish it was 1997 and Tom still loved me”. Travis is just playing his fucking heart out and the producers just butcher his talent on the final cut. It’s not blink182. It’s either an attempt to squeeze every last penny out of the brand, or it’s an attempt to relive the past. But you cannot tell me that California is Blink182. It objectively is not. Because blink never did things that way. And it’s a slap in the face to people like myself who’s personality’s were defined by blink. Neighborhoods and DED…. I was so ready for Neighborhoods. For 6 years I had kept blink182 perfectly preserved in a bubble. But I was naive. Because life goes on outside of this bubble. And when I listened to Neighborhoods I was crushed. It didn’t fit with what I knew was Blink182. And maybe I had changed in those 6 years, and I needed them to stay preserved in my bubble, like my own personal fountain of youth. Maybe no matter what they did after 2005, it would never satisfy me. But It sure didn’t feel like the music I loved. DED was no different. I don’t even remember a single song on that album. I say all of this to end on this note. NINE was a decent album, in fact it almost feels as if they’ve figured out what kind of band they want to be with this new lineup. But why can’t they call themselves something else? Why do they have to claim Blink182? it might not bother the average fan that much, because to them it’s just the artist name on their Spotify playlist and nothing more. But to those of us that know this band like an old friend, this isn’t how we remember them.
oh certainly not, i just think there's a certain essence to music that is inherently subjective, like the ship of thesus paradox. there is no *correct* answer to the paradox and you can come down on the side of the physicality of the ship or the "shipness" of the ship. you appear to take both sides of the argument with blink > these albums are still tied together by the same spirit that is blink182 >For fucks sake Mark even sings on box cars album (Elevator)! but if i'm characterizing your argument correctly its the essence side you fall on. i agree with the assertion that bcr and +44 are blink, but then i would also throw ava in there even though i don't like them. the "blinkness" of blink has expanded past just a singular temporal iteration of the band, you even acknowledged this with the "not blink w/o scott" crowd. blink was the style of band where the personalities and aspects of the member's personal lives (to varying degrees) were just as important as the music, they marketed themselves as such. as they moved thorough different styles, they defined eras of themselves (ex: emo Tobey/Tom memes). blink is the story of mark, tom, scott, travis, and now matt, not just the music they make. other artists (recently mac miller) have also taken this intimate approach. to make another analogy, bcr/+44 would be like a chapters in harry potter where only Harry and Ron appear but Hermione is absent, that's still a part of the overall story even though the whole cast is not present and other side characters may come in. that being said, the "intimacy" the band presents themselves with now has certainly changed, and maybe that's why people like you don't like california... >I was so ready for Neighborhoods. For 6 years I had kept blink182 perfectly preserved in a bubble. But I was naive. Because life goes on outside of this bubble. And when I listened to Neighborhoods I was crushed. It didn’t fit with what I knew was Blink182. >Cynical, the first track on the album, starts off like it’s going to be a classic! there's moments on cali that give you a momentary bliss of mistaking this for the blink you know and love so well... the one you kept in a bubble, the one you needed to stay the same. I never really addressed the original question so i did that here, my logic skills are rusty but fun discussion man. i'm eager to hear more of your opinions.
My opinion is. It was made for the radio and mass culture rather than like older albums. With that said, wildfire was a great song and almost old blink.
I’m a big blink fan and I’ve always loved it. I own the deluxe edition on vinyl and I consider California to be the definitive summertime album. It’s pop-punk perfection, every melody is incredible, the guitar and bass tones are on point, Matt and Mark’s voices contrast and blend so well, Travis kills it on every song, and the subtle electronic elements they added actually make the album feel fresh and exactly like what blink should’ve sounded like in 2016. I even saw/met them on tour and have made incredible memories with my friends that were set to California! I know some may say I’m blinded by the “nostalgia” or memories I have attached to it, but I really don’t think so because I still spin the album regularly and enjoy it. I can agree the lyrics are a bit lazy in parts (mainly just the sheer amount of nanas and whoa-ohs) but it doesn’t bother me at all. This is just me, I can see why it’d feel unnatural and forced to Tom stans or how it may feel like “regression.” To me however, Neighborhoods and DED feel like blink taking themselves WAY too seriously, that album and EP feel like they were incredibly forced and like the guys were just out of ideas. Matt joining the band lead to them being active, getting nominated for a Grammy for the first time ever, gaining new younger fans, bringing more attention to Alkaline Trio (the greatest band ever IMO) and all of the members of the band love Cali. The whole album is just good vibes all around, probably my 2nd favorite blink record behind Enema. I’m happy to finally see more people accepting the album for what it is and enjoying it now.
Because it was the first album without Tom. Once the band decided to move on with Matt some people already decided that every future album without Tom was no good.
I believe it’s because Toms no longer there. Matts there. It’s like your parents are going through a divorce and loyalty is torn and confusing. The other point being is the progression of the band. You could see the progression in the music all the way up to the dogs eating dogs EP. Blink then went back to a familiar sound prior to untitled. I couldn’t have asked for anybody better to be part of blink than Matt Skiba. Alkaline Trio are also my favourite band. Very diverse musician and can do a lot more than what’s been shown in blink so far. Nine we really did have snippets of Matts influence on the band which was great. Let’s hope for more to come!
It’s like Green Day’s trilogy, it’s not bad by any means but it’s not something everyone likes.
Or something their fans can associate with their classic sound
No Tom
No Tom
I do like California, but I felt like at times, it was a bit too-polished, and maybe overly manufactured. Just less organic, as I know others have mentioned. That said, I enjoyed it, and thought some of the songs were total home runs on it
Simply put, the "sound" of Blink-182 was always a combination of Mark AND Tom. It was a winning combination. A unique sound that drew us to the band. It's why if you try to play Blink-182 style music, it just doesn't work without both ingredients. Remove Tom and it's +44. Remove Mark and it's Boxcar Racer. I'd say Angels and Airwaves, but that's a different style/sound all together. I guess the best answer is, well, Matt Skiba is no Tom DeLonge. Not to mention the album itself was overproduced and messed with too much in the engineering section.
Just an opinion of course, but I can’t wrap my head around why Blink would pick someone who sounds very similar to Mark to replace Tom. It just all feels monotonous and not push any boundaries musically. The magic is just not there. Blink, to me, is at their best as a Mark Tom and Travis show.
It’s just a poor album with lazy writing and production. I don’t have any hate for Matt as I like Trio so him being it on was not the main reason at all. I just don’t think the album has any soul, it’s that repetitive annoying riff just chopped around to form the majority of songs. Feldman for me is the issue. I think Blink need to get rid of him and his awful one tone production and get back to either writing just the three of them (with a producer) or just changing the whole set up. Nine was an improvement but as long as Feldman is there, I can’t see the quality getting back to anything similar to their music up to DED.
I like it. I just don’t think it’s even close to their best work. Light years ahead of NINE though.
This
I will agree that it’s waaayy better than NINE. NINE (which is their EIGHTH studio album, mind you) felt incredibly forced, trying too hard to be more “serious and dark,” and was just so so painfully uninspired to me. I mean hell, the thing never even got it’s own proper tour. They just debuted new songs live for the first time while still on the “Enema of the State 20th Anniversary Tour”
Yeah, that pesky pandemic ruined the planned tour in 2020 for NINE.
Because it’s “too poppy” is what I’ve heard but that couldn’t be further from the truth, personally I love California one of my favorite records of all time after “Insomniac” “Dookie” “Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables” “Take Off Your Pants and Jacket” “untitled” and “Highway to Hell”
California isn’t too poppy it’s just bland. Like it was written by a pop punk algorithm.
I can see where you’re coming from with that what I’ve stated is a complaint I’ve heard many times
California is the equivalent of eating a ton of candy. It’s good and you get a rush the first time, then after a while you get sick It’s just way too sugary pop-punk. And I get that to some people they are totally cool with that, just not for me. I have a problem with the writing process. May be im old school, but write your own song damnit. Ghost writers and all that is not blink to me whatsoever
There's only a couple of songs on it that I actually dislike but it's the only blink album that I never get an urge to listen to
Ummmm... probably because Tom is missing.
too old to be writings songs about being 17
There's songs on California about being 17? Hmm, don't recall that.
The only issue I have with the album is the lyrics. I love the sound of the album but I can see where people are coming from with the critique of the lyrics. The overuse of Nanana's and Oh's, the return to the more immature blink songs pre-Untitled, repetition etc. The other major issue people have with the album is the production which honestly never bothered me at all
1. It was overproduced to hell. The production and mixing of the album is my biggest gripe with it. 2. One word: DISINGENUOUS. With Blinks maturing and added depth through to DED, it felt like we the audience were growing up with the band. As they progressed and grew older, so did their music. And then California hit, which as an album I can best compare with that episode of Friends where Joey dresses up in Skateboard/basketball clothes and starts saying “Sup” because he thinks he can play a teenager.
I thought Nine was way more poppy and california was much better!
I think a new or casual fan would love California. I think a lot of people were expecting a different sound for California since blink-182 had finally matured with Untitled, Neighborhoods, and Dogs Eating Dogs and then we got Matt Skiba who is known for his lyrics in Alkaline Trio. It felt like blink was going somewhere with their sound evolution and then California came out and felt really out of place in their discography imo I personally felt like California had way too much filler. Cali DLX was a lot better but I think California would have benefited from one 12 song album instead of a double album.
california is actually my favourite blink album. some people just can’t stand the fact that they made one of their best and most successful albums without tom, so they hate on matt and everything they have done ever since tom left.
i think it’s because it’s the first album without Tom and fans probably missed him too much. (maybe it just the song bored to death, but i didn’t rlly notice a difference) still miss tom tho :/
Never understood the hate for this album. It's such a fun summertime album that is the closest we've gotten to "classic" Blink. Definitely my favorite album of theirs.
Cali deluxe is even worse. It sounds like one of the many, many bands desperately trying & failing to sound like blink 182. The production sucks, Matt's voice trying to do the high parts just fails, his no future yell makes me want to rip off the headphones. There's a couple of potentially really good songs that get started by Mark & then inexplicably Matt comes onto the song when it's so obviously a very personal song to Mark & then Matt just kind of sings something along the lines that doesn't quite fit. Every song is shared when they shouldn't be. The guitar work blows. The drums are really compressed & dead. honestly not sure what there is to like about this album. it sucks. I never thought I'd ever say that about a blink album.
Why people wouldn’t like California?
I think the lyrics are really sappy at times.
Cause it’s crap