This post means a lot to me. And it both saddens and angers me that I have to write it in the first place. These are grown men that I'n writing about, grown men that have produced some of the music that was most significant to me in my formational years of high school. The music that got me through the good and the bad, that made me feel like a rebel when I clearly was not. Blink-182 did the same thing for countless teenagers who felt angst and emotions and rebellion. Their break up in 2005 was far from clean, and I know that their reunion in 2009 was an exciting new beginning. However, it appears as though the band will always have a dramatic element to it.
Since January, the band has been appearing in the news due to (what appeared to be) sudden fighting within the band. Tom was out, but he said he wasn't out, but Travis and Mark said he was, and a replacement was found, and Tom is releasing things on his own, Travis saying Tom should man up, and-
The above paragraph is complete garbage. This is not how grown adults act. This is how children act, children throwing tantrums and name calling and passive-aggressive bullshit. It's disrespectful to the band members, it's disrespectful to their legacy, and most importantly, it's disrespectful to the fans. Yes, sometimes people don't work together anymore. Sometimes they just need to part ways and move on. But there are much better ways that the current situation could have been handled. The members of Blink-182 could have sat down and talked about this like adults. They could have parted ways amicably.
However, as much as I'm disappointed with them right now, this is only fitting for them. This is, for the most part, how you would expect them to act. Sad as it is, it's all that is going to happen for now, until some sort of communication begins between both camps.
A final note; in a recent interview, Travis talked about the possibilities of recording new music with the current fill in member for Tom, Matt Skiba of Alkaline Trio. He said "If we did make an album with Skiba, it would be unreal." This, while I'm sure is an exciting possibility for the current operating members of the band, makes me nervous. Tom may be making some stupid or childish decisions at the moment, but Blink will always be Tom, Travis, and Mark. Skiba filling in for a show is perfectly fine, but to have him join the band and still call it the same band isn't nearly the same, and especially seems a bit like rubbing gravel in the open wound. Fans are still hoping for some sort of resolution, and Travis appears to already be looking towards the future. That in itself is fine, but an album without Tom is not the same Blink of the past. And that is something to keep in mind, something the band members need to be very aware of.
So this is my plea to Tom, Travis, and Mark: get your heads out of your asses, stop standing with your backs to each other and your arms crossed, and sit down and figure things out. I don't care if you don't resolve your issues and the band is still not together, but be men about it. Have some respect for each other and for your fans.
