'Enema Of The State' culminates everything blink-182 is 20 years later
20 years ago, blink-182 released their first breakthrough album, Enema Of The State. In the two weeks it took the write the album, none of the members of the band thought it would blow up to the infamy the album stands at today. With 15 million copies sold worldwide, EOTS culminated the fun, wise, and pop punk ballad of a generation. To this day, this album brings together everything blink-182 is.
From running the streets of Los Angeles naked in "What's My Age Again", to making a parody of the largest mainstream artists in "All The Small Things", EOTS had plenty of goofy, edgy comical purposes throughout the album. The catchy lyrics and fun atmosphere gave a fresh wave to pop punk and brought it into the homes of nearly-everyone who wasn't living under a rock.
Not only did this album have happy-upbeat tunes, but it also tackled serious issues, such as depression and suicide in "Adams Song", another timeless classic. They showed the world they could have fun, but also be taken as a serious band as well, which lead into their future albums such as their Untitled record.
With all of the songs on this album, it's hard to depict which fits the band best, and that's because this album in it's entirety describes what blink-182 is. We saw their creative side and their abilities to capture the ears of teenagers all-across America, but we were able to get a grip on who the band members were.
We finally met Travis Barker, who replaced Scott Raynor and completely changed the face of blink-182 with his raw talent. He didn't speak much, but his ability to drum better than anyone in the punk scene spoke louder than anything.
We were finally introduced to Tom DeLonge's UFO obsession in "Aliens Exist", which has lead up to his television series, "Unidentified", 20 years later on the History Channel. C'mon, we're all skeptics now.
For Mark Hoppus, we got to realize he's not only a goofy guy when he has a mic, but he's also hilarious on his Twitter. From the stage to the internet, the man hasn't changed in the slightest.
In 20 years of this album, it still stands true to be the largest pop punk album the world has ever seen. It brought pop punk into the mainstream and changed the scene for the better. I think the best lession we learned from this album, however, is the amazing lyricism in "Family Reunion". Thank you, blink-182 for getting me grounded several times in my life because of that song.
Stream 'Enema Of The State' below!