Young, Loud, and Snotty: Blink 182 are San Diego Punks
on a gross-out mission
At a time when even notorious punk-rock brats like Green Day are singing
acoustic ballads and ruminating about their faded youth, it's getting harder to
find a band that just wants to get drunk and act stupid. Meet Blink 182. "Our
favorite thinkgs in the world are pee-pee and doo-doo," says bassist Mark
Hoppue, 25, who from Sydney, Australia, during a world tour.
The trio, which formed in San Diego in 1993, plays thrashy pop-punk songs
that resonate with infectious guitar hooks and shout-along vocals; their
impact is somewhere between Green Day and Descendents. But that's not the
main reason skateboarders and frat boys alike are running like lemmings to
see Blink 182 live. "They want to see how big our penises are," quips
Hoppus.
"Speak for yourself," retorts guitarist Tom DeLonge, 22. "I haven't grown up
at all since I was a freshmen in high school, and neither has my penis."
Such juvenile repartee is Blink 182's reaison d'etre. Their perverse sense of
humor has the smae twisted appeal as South Park's, and it has rapidly driven
their album, Dude Ranch, to the gold sales mark. Sure, many of the band's
lyrics echo traditional girl dumps boy adolescent angst, but even their tales
of woe are leavened by jokes about incest, masturbation and bestiality. "We
take our music very seriously," says DeLonge. "Humor has become so cliche
and boring that nothing's funny anymore unless it involves something totally
disgusting that offends somebody or makes them feel really uncomfortable."
As bombastic and puerile as Blink 182 are on record, the stage is where they
let it all hang out. Their performances are blistering, irreverent, and bizzare.
Recently, at New York's Irving Plaze, a heckler spat at DeLonge, and the
guitarist responded by challenging everyone else present to take aim as well.
The crowd happily obliged, and DeLonge was showered with a fountain of
spit. "It happends from time to time," he admits. "Usually I'm too drunk to
really care about it. Sometimes I'll look at my shirt and see a bunch of
loogies and get all grossed out, but it's all in the name of fun."
For DeLonge, the fun began in seventh grade, when he first picked up a
guitar and tried to play along with his favorite Descendents tunes. Two years
later, he was penning such luminous ditties as, "Who's Gonna Shave Your
Back Tonight?" and "Oxy 10." In 1992 he met Hoppus, and with the
addition of drummer Scott Raynor, 20, Blink wass conceived. The "182"
came after DeLonge learned that an Irish band already had the rights to the
name: "182" is how many times Al Pacino's character says 'fuck' in the
movie Scarface," he says proudly.
After the release of their debut, 1995's Cheshire Cat, the band quickly
gained a local following among extreme-sports fans and soon began playing
skating and snowboarding events. Blink 182 are currently co-headlining the
1998 Sno-Core Tour with Primus, and you can bet they're leaving their
mark.
"Some people think we're idiots and perverts, which we are," says DeLonge.
"But we don't want to act like adults. Anybody who can stay in a state of
adolescence will be much better off later on. Look at people who are
working nine-to-five jobs out of college, and look at professional
skateboarders or guys in punk bands," he says. "See who's having more fun."
-Jon Wiederhorn
This article was taken from the March 19, 1998 issue of Rolling Stone Magazine, I typed it up myself. Have fun!
