Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Motherfish #5- You CAN Play These Songs with Chords

Album of the Week

I love videogames, and I have for most of my life. And you know, when a title comes out that is the latest iteration of one of the franchises that were columns of stability in my pathetic childhood, I secretly cry on the inside because it means I get to sneak back to what I consider “better” and “simpler” times. Basically, I love a good nostalgic game. Or at least I did. Lately so many sequels and sequels to sequels and prequels to sequels have been coming out that whenever a new bit of news is released I think to myself “great, what fond memory of mine will mainstream gaming rip from my skull and rape and proceed to reduce to a heaping pile of shit while I watch?” But, occasionally, something that truly deserves to be revived once again walks the realm of the living.



Take Off Your Pants and Jacket by Blink 182

The review that I had planned for February 3rd, which was then postponed to last week but was then pushed back to be this week’s review will run next week. This week, in honor of the recent announcement that Blink 182 is once again in the studio and preparing for a tour, I’ve decided to take a look back at one of the albums which was not only defining for an entire era of bands, but made a generation of 12-14 year olds feel much cooler than they deserved to, myself included. Blink 182 isn’t so much a band you listen to as they are the “other woman” in the musical part of your life. You know who I’m talking about. That girl that you first made out with on a playdate set up by your respective mothers and you called her your girlfriend because you awkwardly touched one of her boobs accidentally. Even though she’s not the best looking girl, she’ll always be special. You’ll always remember her and no matter who you’re dating, you’ll always think of that girl when you wank in the shower. That’s Blink 182. No I don’t think about Blink 182 when I’m in the shower. I was going to put that last sentence in parenthesis, but honestly I don’t that would have been explicit enough. Anyway, Blink 182 is one of those bands that have a very important job. They don’t teach you anything of value about music or aid you in transcending to some new plane of understanding, but they open up a whole new world of musical genre for you. And that’s important. I’ll get to the actual album in a second, but I think it’s really important to look at what the album did for me. Before I got TOYPAJ, I was listening to Smash Mouth. Fuck. Then I grew a pair (mostly) and bought Alien Ant Farm, and TOYPAJ. After listening to both albums, I flushed Alien Ant Farm down my toilet, but not before vigorously vomiting on it, and I never looked back. Blink, though, was a whole different story. The album was giving me something to relate to. The songs were easy to follow; about having sex, not having sex, wanting to have sex, and thinking about having sex. Oh yeah, and there’s a song on here about divorce, or something. Or having sex with your ex, or your step mom, I don’t really know. The point is, my tiny preteen mind was infatuated, and it would act as the catalyst for me getting into most of the bands I listen to now. And for that, I’m grateful, but more importantly you all should be grateful because otherwise I’d be frothing at the mouth about Kidz Bop 15 or some other shitfest. Now at this point, everybody has heard of Blink 182, and they’ve been around so long that there’s not much I can do to change your opinion of them. But what I’m setting out to do today is asking you to consider Take Off Your Pants and Jacket in a way that might perhaps be new.

Think back to 2001, when Take Off Your Pants and Jacket just hit the shelves. It was sold in four different variants, each one corresponding to one of the album logos (a plane, a pair of slacks, and a jacket) with the fourth having all three on it. Each one had different bonus tracks. I got the one with all three which, surprisingly enough, had none of the bonus, content. So I’m a bitch, I get that. In terms of Blink’s career, this album is extremely significant because it represents a perfect balance between the hard hitting punk rock shenanigans of Enema of the State with the more mature subject matter of the eponymous 2003 release. Enema of the State is an incredible album as well, but sometimes can feel a little gimmicky and they can come off as trying too hard to be funny. I enjoy when bands do this just as much as I enjoy brushing my teeth with steel wool and vinegar while listening to God Speed you Black Emperor. Blink 182 (the album) has some good songs on it, but honestly it’s got the opposite problem of Enema in that it takes itself way to seriously. I can respect what they’re trying to do, I really can. But eh, I consider that album Blink 182’s weak link. Nestled snuggly in the bosom between these two milky teats is Take Off Your Pants and Jacket (Or, Take Off Your Pants and Jack It, as it was referred to when I was 13 and still to this day, because masturbation jokes will be funny until the day I die). As the title of this entry suggests, you can play these songs with chords, and mostly ONLY chords. The structure is simple, but varied, so it’s accessible but not boring. Whoever was on the production team went above and beyond with mixing and mastering because the levels are just MMMMMM right where they need to be. I can sit in my room and listen to any given song quietly with my headphones in, not wake my roommate up, and still hear all of the different parts (vocals, bass, guitar, drums, whatever) clearly. On the flipside, I can blast the same song from the bitchin speakers in my parents’ basement and it will be just as clear. Only much much louder. The vocals are catchy as ever and musically the album is a spiritual successor to Enema; similar stylistic choices were made in writing TOYPAJ but it still reflects a degree of growth. Lyrically, there’s a nice balance between songs about sex and songs about divorce. The best part is that no matter how many times I listen to this album, I still get excited at the breakdowns or during the choruses, even though I know what’s coming next, and to be able to do that after 8 years really speaks to its longevity. The only complaint I really have is the song Happy Holidays, You Bastard. It’s funny, yeah, I guess. I mean, it’s funny like when you’re in 7th grade and you hang out with that one 8th grade kid who’s figured out how to curse and all his has to do is say “balls” and you all laugh, and then you go to high school and look back and think that he probably wasn’t saying balls so often to get the laugh but rather was exploring an aspect of his sexuality that he didn’t quite understand and then in college he calls you and tells you he’s gay and has been thinking about it since 8th grade, to which you can only reply “Oh…..”



Congrats Blink 182 on getting back together. But, as with relationships, having them back in all of our lives can either be great or be a big cock in a tiny mouth. Obviously, I’m hoping for the former. Join me next week when I finally deliver the promised review of 3 weeks ago. Until then, keep breathing.

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