Blink-182

11/21/2003 4:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
Rob O'Connor

The punk rock is not what it used to be. Remember, when it was originally conceived by men now very old it was intended to be a "live fast, die young" genre that would make its mark, tear up the scene, and then go on its merry way. But instead it lingered and was taken up by subsequent generations who have each made the music tamer, friendly and more career-oriented. This isn't such a bad thing. "Feeling This" or "I Miss You" both pulsate with enough inner song to make nice radio trinkets and many of the "seminal" punk bands from the early days purposely made horrible sounding records, which is really an odd idea when you consider that music is something intended to be listened to and not just read off a lyric sheet and made into a manifesto. It's as if Blink 182 found love and realized that nothing else really mattered. How else can you write a song such as "I'm Lost Without You"? It carries a different sentiment than "Anarchy In The UK" or "Caught With The Meat In Your Mouth," doncha think?