To my friends, peers, acquaintances, and comrades. Greetings! Today, I am here to talk to you about Blink-182. With their new album California that came out on July 1st, many of us have felt a great sense of nostalgia listening to their old songs. I have decided to help out old fans and even new listeners with a top 10 list based off of my personal favorites. The list is comprised of songs off of their Best Of Blink-182 album.

1. Stay Together For The Kids

From their fourth studio album Take Off Your Pants and Jacket (2001), this song is my all-time favorite from Blink-182. “Stay Together for the Kids” is about a divorce from the point of view of a helpless child and is considered one of the band’s darker songs, alongside “Adam’s Song”. The fact that two of the band members experienced a divorce during their childhood contributes to the song’s genuine feel.

2. I Miss You

The second single from Blink-182’s fifth studio album Blink-182, “I Miss You” was co-written by guitarist Tom DeLonge and bassist Mark Hoppus. What makes this song so interesting is the fact that Tom and Mark wrote the song separately but combined them together at the end. Since the song was written separately, both Tom and Mark have different explanations to its meaning. When asked about the song, DeLonge said: “The song’s more about the vulnerability and kind of heart-wrenching pain you feel when you’re in love and when you’re a guy and you’re trying to tell a girl, ‘Don’t waste your time coming and talking to me because, in my head at least, you probably already gave me up a long time ago.'”

3. Adam’s Song

Blink-182 released “Adam’s Song” on their third studio album, Enema of the State (1999), as its third and final single. Once again, DeLonge and Hoppus both wrote this song, but Hoppus was the primary composer. Like “Stay Together For The Kids”, “Adam’s Song” is one of the band’s darker songs; some even regard it as their most serious song overall. Mark Hoppus, who wrote the song’s lyrics, said he was inspired by a teen’s suicide note as well as touring-related loneliness. The band’s powerful song incorporates depression into its meaning as well and has received controversy after “it was set to replay on a nearby stereo as 17-year-old Greg Barnes, a teenager who attended Columbine High School and had lost one of his best friends in the massacre the previous year, hanged himself in the garage of his family’s home” (Wikipedia). The band was surprised because they saw “Adam’s Song” as a song of hope. Aside from all of that, “Adam’s Song” was special in how its vocals were recorded in only one session and how it was their attempt at another genre/style of music.

4. All The Small Things

“All the Small Things”, the second single from the band’s third album, is probably their best-known song; it even reached number 1 on the Billboard’s Modern Rock Tracks in 2000. Tom DeLonge wrote the song as an ode to his girlfriend (now wife) and to The Ramones (one of his favorite punk-rock groups). “All the Small Things” was even selected by Rolling Stone as one of the “100 Greatest Pop Songs”, and listed in the book 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die. Additionally, when DeLonge began the writing for Enema of the State he felt that the album would need “just one song that was really catchy and basic.” “I remember thinking, ‘The label’s gonna want a song for the radio – so here’s one’,” said DeLonge. “It was obvious from the beginning it would fit that format.”

5. Time To Break Up

From the “Red” version of the album, Take Off Your Pants and Jacket, “Time to Break Up” was listed as an untitled/hidden track. In it, Tom Delonge talks about the end of a relationship and moving on.

6. Please Take Me Home 

This song is also from the album, Take Off Your Pants and Jacket, and was written by Hoppus and DeLonge. Although it was not one of the most popular songs on the album, it gained popularity from the band’s overall discography over time. This song is about a guy that ends up getting feelings for one of his close lady friends and knows that it will only complicate things. The song then goes on to talking about how things don’t end well between the two, and how their friendship is affected as a result, and how easy it is for things to get complicated.

7. Anthem Part Two

“Anthem Part Two” is the first track on Take Off Your Pants and Jacket by Blink-182. Also, it is the sequel to “Anthem” from the album Enema of the State. The song is about a teenager’s frustration with how things have turned out and believes that the blame for it should go to the parents, and others above him/her, because of the decisions that they have made for him/her, for example, going to school.

8. First Date

“First Date” is also from Take Off Your Pants and Jacket and was released as the second single. Tom DeLonge composed it based on memories of his first date with his current wife Jennifer Jenkins. Aside from that, the song’s creation can be additionally credited to their manager Rick DeVoe’s opinion that the album needed a catchy, “feel-good” song. DeLonge composed “First Date” in response, while bassist Mark Hoppus composed the album’s lead single “The Rock Show”.

9. Anthem

“Anthem” is the twelfth (and final) track from Enema Of The State. Essentially, the song discusses the aftermath of a massive party booked by the host’s parents. Tom criticizes parents for letting their kids go to parties and become self-destructive, rather than offering their children help.

10. Down

“Down” was the third single from the group’s 2003 self-titled album. In the album’s inner liner notes, Tom Delonge wrote: “The lyrics I wrote in “Down” are about a picture I had in my head of a boy and girl inside of a car while it’s raining outside. So I pictured over and over rain falling on the windshield while this guy is saying and thinking these things about wanting to kiss her and make her stay.” It didn’t take long for the song to become a fan favorite, as well as a band favorite, and it has been a staple song at their concerts ever since.