Blink 182 - All The Small Songs

In the wake of the devastating (!!!) news that Tom DeLongedong is out of Blink 182, I thought I'd finish this collection of b-sides that I've been meaning to compile.

I know, I know, "Dey ain't ponk!" (That's how you speak.) But hear me out. In college I used to frequent Mad City Records in Madison at least once a week to spend the money I should have used for food, and then stop in the skate shop next door. Mad City had/has a great section of used CDs that you could listen to on their 3 listening stations. So I'd get first chance at a lot of their used and promo stuff.

One day there was a cutout CD by a band called Blink on Grilled Cheese/Cargo Records. I liked a lot of stuff on Cargo/Headhunter (7 Seconds, Drive Like Jehu, Big Drill Car, Heavy Vegetable) and I was already a regular mailorder customer of Cargo from their catalog that included other labels like Nemesis, Workshed, Psyche Industry, etc. So I grabbed Blink and my preliminary pile of CD purchases and brought them to the listening station.

I popped in the Blink CD and it was pretty good. Of course those days I was listening to the usual stuff on Epitaph, Lookout and Dr. Strange, and Blink fit right in. Melodic, fast, snotty, scatalogical. Plus it was produced by O. (fluf, Olivelawn, skate photographer, friend of Neil Blender). Why wouldn't I like them?

Well that CD was Cheshire Cat. The version before they had to change their name to Blink 182. And I still have it. That's right. You know you totes jelly! Someday I'll sell it on eBay and retire!

Honestly though, I can't say I listen to it much these days. I've never bought or downloaded another Blink 182 album since Dude Ranch. I saw the videos and I'm sure I could hang with Enema Of The State, but I just kind of lost interest in them. I do throw Dude Ranch on my mp3 player from time to time. That's a pretty quintessential pop punk album. I mean, if you still like the movie American Pie, you can probably hang with it.

Over the years I acquired all the compilations that they appeared on, usually because they were in pretty good company. Almost all of these tracks feature their original drummer, Scott Raynor. Maybe I would have kept up with them if he had remained in the band. I looked up their later discography at some point and saw that they had a couple other b-sides that didn't stray too far from the early days. I think this is actually all of their b-sides, but they might have some during their weird "I Miss You" period and that I don't know or care about. Mostly I did this just so I'd have "Good Times" and "Family Reunion" together somewhere.

01) Wrecked Him
02) Waggy
03) Zulu
04) Lemmings (7" Version)
05) Enthused (Demo Version)
06) Dancing With Myself (Billy Idol)
07) I Won't Be Home For Christmas
08) Good Times Theme Song
09) Mutt (Early Version)
10) Family Reunion
11) Man Overboard
12) Another Girl, Another Planet (The Only Ones)
13) Amoeba (Adolescents)

Blink 182 - All The Small Songs (vbr 0)