Blink-182 Music – The Pop Punk Generation

One band definitely defines what is to considered pop punk and that is the Blink 182 music. Their band was started back in 1992 in San Diego, California by the high school friends Mark Hoppus and Tom DeLonge. They both then shared a common passion of starting their own band and playing pop punk music.

And just like with most bands, they had a different name in the beginning. They once were called Duck Tape until they decided to change it to Blink. But this brought them a problem. That is because an Irish band claimed to have thought of that name first for their band and so they demanded that the other one should change their band name. Hoppus and DeLonge gave in to avoid any legal problems and so they added the numbers 182 to their name. A simple solution to an otherwise big legal dilemma.

The group did not have everything work out smoothly on their side. They had to struggle just to find gigs. They would even call up some schools offering their band services, telling them that their band only played clean music and that they are not into punk rock and their songs do not contain expletives and topics like death, alcohol, drugs and other adult topics. But eventually they soon got the attention of some people and they started to be invited to play in some functions and gatherings.

They had to first release three demo tapes, all containing their initial attempts to find that right Blink 182 music, but most of these recordings were of poor quality. This is mainly because the equipment they used were just old ones borrowed from some friends.

They were finally able to release their first ever studio album and they did this on the 17th of February, 1994 which they titled, “Cheshire Cat”. It is the only album that still had them labeled simply as Blink. But it was not a major success for the group as only a few thousands were initially sold, and most are within the San Diego area.

Their first album was just the catalyst that helped launch them to greater popularity. They followed it with their second album which they titled “Dude Ranch”, which was a bigger success for them, having sold an estimated 1.5 million around the globe. As a result of this, they enjoyed greater fame which led to their first nationwide tour as well as for the starting demand for all their Blink 182 merch.

However, it was not all rosy about the band during this time. Their drummer, Scott Raynor was told to leave the band. Some sources say it is because of Raynor’s addiction to alcohol while others claim he just could not handle the fame and wanted a more quieter life. Nevertheless, he was replaced by Travis Barker as the band’s permanent drummer.

There were other albums that followed, all were bigger successes: “Enema of the State” (which has already sold over 15 million copies), Take Off Your Pants and Jacket and the latest album’s Blink 182 music showing their continuing ascend in the rock music scene. With all the millions of album and band merch sales around the globe, the band is considered one of the top pop punk bands in this generation.