THE MISSING PIECE

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During my unproductive night of surfing YouTube until my eyelids got too heavy, I stumbled upon a song that changed my life forever. It was "I Miss You" by Blink-182. It was the first ever song I ever heard by them, and that was the night I fell in love with Blink.

I listened to all of their albums without hesitation. They were all fast-paced, punk-sounding songs, and what I especially liked was the soul in them. Blink-182 established a trademark: fast over-driven songs with lyrics perfect for the punk scene. They told stories about teenage angst and their own adventures. Their songs were catchy, iconic, and good to head-bang to. Blink started from a group of misfits who called themselves "Duck Tapes" to legendary icons in today's punk scene, and this is why I admire them so much.

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Blink's journey didn't go so smoothly. Tom DeLonge declared multiple hiatuses, causing the band to stay hidden from the limelight for almost for years. During that time, DeLonge worked with his side band, Angels & Airwaves. They released their debut album entitled "We Don't Need To Whisper," where it debuted at number 4 on the Billboard 200. Meanwhile, Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker were also working on their side band, +44.

On February 29, a great thing happened to mankind: Blink-182 got back together. They continued strong after that, releasing their album called "Neighborhoods," which debuted at number two at the Billboard 200. Out of all their other albums, this one was my favorite. It contained songs with so much feeling and new sound, completely opposing to the fast-paced angst-y songs I was used to. It had more rhythm and flow. This album served as an experimental project for Blink to try new sound and discover what they worked best with. It was a fusion of DeLonge's taste for stadium rock, Barker's hip hop beats, and Hoppus' compulsion for indie rock. The lyrics, however, were the focal point as to why I love this album so much. The lyrics described how it felt to lose trust and communication with others. It hit home. Needless to say, I was completely overwhelmed about how familiar the sound and the lyrics within this album are to me.

But then, it was all too good to be true. DeLonge officially stated that he was once again leaving Blink-182 for good. His reasoning circled around the fact that he wanted to do something else. He was passionate about a lot of things, and being hulled up in a recording studio for months on end and rehearsing and touring for months and months and months thereafter seemed too time-consuming and endless for him. During DeLonge's leave in 2005, he worked with various projects such as Angels & Airwaves, skateboarding companies, creating graphic novels and writing books, and so much more. And I guess he never stopped wanting to pursue these things even when Blink reunited in 2009.

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Today, Blink's front man is none other than Matt Skiba of The Alkaline Trio. They released their new album with him called "California" in 2016, and to be frank, it was a massive whiplash for me. The sound felt so different yet felt so... warm. The album centered around their lives in, well, California. It was good, but it wasn't pre-Skiba good. I personally felt lost while listening to it. Tom had a special place in my heart, and the band without him just isn't as good. I'm quite aware of the fact that the band needed to continue to grow with or without DeLonge. But I'm also aware that Blink peaked when DeLonge was a part of it. Despite his act, he was still the best thing that ever happened to Blink.

The Blink-182 today is good. Good sound, good lyrics--ultimately summing up to a good feel. But there's just one missing piece, and that will always, always, be Tom DeLonge.