BLINK 182

Reformation and Neighborhoods (2009–present)




Blink-182 on May 14, 2009, in their first live performance since 2005
At the 51st Grammy Awards ceremony on February 8, 2009, DeLonge, Hoppus, and Barker appeared onstage together for the first time since December 2004. Barker announced the band's reformation, stating that "we used to play music together, and we decided we're going to play music together again", with Hoppus adding "Blink-182 is back!" Expanding on the announcement on their website, the band stated "To put it simply, We're back. We mean, really back. Picking up where we left off and then some. In the studio writing and recording a new album. Preparing to tour the world yet again. Friendships reformed." Blink-182 embarked on a reunion tour of North America from July to October 2009, supported by Weezer and Fall Out Boy. A European festival tour followed from August to September 2010.
Completion of Blink-182's sixth studio album was delayed several times. In November 2010, Hoppus said that the band wished to release the album in April or May 2011. In February 2011, Barker speculated that they would "turn in our album in June or July, honestly, and, I mean, the stuff's awesome. It's coming close, to the point where these are completed songs and they're not going to change. These are album versions." The following month, DeLonge stated that the album would be out in time for the group's planned European tour that July, and that they would "not tour if there is no new record". That April, however, the band announced the postponement of the tour due to delays in completing the album, stating "We hoped we would have some new songs to play rather than do another 'greatest hits tour'". Geffen Records gave the band a deadline of July 31, 2011 to complete the album. "We thought we were closing in on the end, and literally a week ago we pumped out a whole set of stuff that I think will be some of the best on the album", said DeLonge that May. "Recording is never really finished. You slide or limp into home base." The album, titled Neighborhoods, was released on September 27, 2011. The album's first single, "Up All Night", premiered July 15, 2011. The Blinkumentary, a documentary film about the band, is also in production.
Blink-182 headlined the 10th Annual Honda Civic Tour with My Chemical Romance, which ran from August to October 2011, with additional dates scheduled in Canada with Rancid and Against Me!..
Blink-182 will play four additional tour dates in 2012 to make up for their cancelled Europe dates originally scheduled for 2011. A music video for the single "After Midnight" has been filmed. The band is also scheduled to headline the Bamboozle 2012 Music Festival.
Musical style and influences


Blink-182 performing on the 2011 Honda Civic Tour in support of Neighborhoods
Blink-182's musical style has been described by various sources as "pop punk" and "punk rock". When playing live, the band typically plays their songs at a faster tempo and often replaces certain lyrics with toilet humor and various gags. Blink-182 songs are known for their simple melodies, teen angst and occasional lyrical toilet humor. They are often targeting subjects such as love and growing up, these being fused into multiple hit singles such as "Dammit" and "What's My Age Again?". Before the release of their fifth album, more emotional songs by the band include singles "Adam's Song" and "Stay Together for the Kids". While writing, the trio take their songs very seriously, and intend to, according to DeLonge, "really write songs about things that we genuinely and sincerely think kids can relate to." The songs often deal with love, family, friends, and relationships. Bill Lamb of About.com described their music as being "marked by a radio-friendly sheen, but it still maintains much of the speed and attitude of classic punk rock".
The band has cited Descendents, Screeching Weasel, Bad Religion, Pennywise, NOFX, The Undertones, The Vandals, and Buzzcocks as influences, and they have been cited for their influence on contemporary pop punk music, with MTV News declaring "...Without them, there'd be no Fall Out Boy, no Paramore, or no Fueled by Ramen Records." All Time Low has cited Blink-182 as a major influence, as have bands such as Paramore, Relient K, Panic! at the Disco, Fall Out Boy, Motion City Soundtrack, New Found Glory, We the Kings, Good Charlotte, Hey Monday, The Cab, Forever the Sickest Kids, Cute is What We Aim For, and Yellowcard. Blink-182 is one of the bands to be featured in a documentary about modern punk music. The film, entitled One Nine Nine Four, was due to be released in 2009 but has been delayed. Professional skateboarder Tony Hawk will narrate the film, which will also feature other punk acts such as Rancid, Bad Religion, Green Day, NOFX, and The Offspring. In 2011, The New York Times asserted that "no punk band of the 1990s has been more influential than Blink-182," stating that even as the band receded after their 2005 split, "its sound and style could be heard in the muscular pop punk of Fall Out Boy or in the current wave of high-gloss Warped Tour punk bands, like All Time Low and the Maine."