blink-182 started life three decades ago as mischievous pop-punk scamps with a passion for fun, silliness, and childish jokes. Despite courting plenty of derision from sour-faced critics, the Mark, Tom, and Travis (and, for a while, Matt) show remained ever-popular, and the trio would go on to gain the status as pop-punk godfathers, spawning a generation of bands who counted Enema Of The State among their first rock albums. Indeed, with their knack for a hook and big-hearted stories of being young and dumb, they’ve been scores of teenagers’ gateway drug into the rock world.
Read more: Every blink-182 album ranked
Across their eight albums, blink’s shown that there’s a hell of a lot you can do with as many chords as you can count on one hand. Still, beyond “What’s My Age Again?,” “The Rock Show” and “I Miss You,” there’s a ton of deep cuts waiting to be played on repeat. We’ve rounded up 10 of the best of blink-182’s hidden gems.
“Emo” – Dude Ranch (1997)
Dude Ranch isn’t blink-182’s most refined album by a long shot, but their youthful scrappiness makes this deep cut endearing. Putting the emphasis on the punk aspect of pop-punk, this track chugs along at a rapid-fire pace, and while it might not sound that emo on the surface, its lyrics firmly fit into that category. Within it, Mark Hoppus asks a girl why she stays with a boyfriend who constantly cheats, even suggesting that she’s “better off sleeping on the floor” than in the bed of an unfaithful guy. As enjoyable as it is in its own right, it also offered a glimpse into the blink-182 that was to come.
“Don’t Leave Me” – Enema Of The State (1999)
It might have arrived on the heels of Enema Of The State’s more well-known opener “Dumpweed,” but the rocket-fueled “Don’t Leave Me” definitely doesn’t belong in its shadow. With a faster pace and grittier tone than blink’s typical sound, the track represents one of blink’s moodier turns on the album It’s taken from, tapping into the wrenching feeling of desperately wanting someone to keep you around. The highlight, however, is arguably the chuckle-inducing 180 at the end of the chorus: “I said, ‘Don’t let our future be destroyed by my past’/ She said, ‘Don’t let the door hit your ass.’”
“Story Of A Lonely Guy” – Take Off Your Pants And Jacket (2001)
This endearing deep cut from Take Off Your Pants And Jacket delves into the more painful aspects of growing up. On the surface, it’s about the soul-shaking fear of romantic rejection, but underneath, the story of the titular lonely guy is a story about feeling, as all of us have felt, too awkward and self-conscious to think themself worthy of going after love. Indeed, despite its earnestness, its last line has an unexpected sting as Tom DeLonge’s protagonist, unable to make a move, chiding himself for being a “stupid, worthless boy.”
“Roller Coaster” – Take Off Your Pants And Jacket (2001)
Growing up was the last thing on blink-182’s agenda for album four – nothing about its masturbatory album title screams “mature and sophisticated” – but they were notably beginning to sound more refined. Telling the story of a past relationship, Mark Hoppus had to keep a secret against his will. “Roller Coaster” displays more of an attention to detail beyond chunky four chord sequences. While still boasting all the hooks a blink fan could possibly want, its guitar lines are more intricate, with more space created for Travis Barker to properly flaunt his drumming talents, meaning there’s more detail to pick up on with each listen.
“Reckless Abandon” – Take Off Your Pants And Jacket (2001)
Lyrically speaking, the playful “Reckless Abandon” feels like the edgier, slightly heavier older sibling of “What’s My Age Again?” By this point, blink’s stories of teenage rebellion had moved beyond prank calling your friend’s mom, and on to drinking to the point of throwing up, not paying for pizza and breaking windows. The most characteristically blink moment, however, is a line about someone who “took a shit in the bathroom tub and fed the dog brownie drugs,” but for all the laughs, the song ultimately holds the stupid, fun memories from adolescence close to its chest.
“Easy Target” – Untitled (2003)
The first of two consecutive songs on the Untitled album focusing on a girl, Holly, who broke Jerry Finn’s heart, “Easy Target” shines simply because it’s one of the blink songs that sounds most like a proper sonic attack. In its opening, it feels like Travis Barker is drumming hard enough to punch a hole through the speaker, beautifully matching the track’s aggrieved sense of bitterness. And then, to top it all off, it segues smoothly into…
“All Of This” – Untitled (2003)
Who could have expected this epic crossover between the worlds of pop punk and goth? Having been longtime fans of The Cure, Mark, Tom, and Travis enlisted Robert Smith for a distraught yet quietly cinematic ballad that somehow found an intriguing middle ground between their bands’ respective sounds. In the parallel universe where blink-182 hadn’t gone on hiatus in 2005, the quietly cinematic “All Of This” would have likely been a single, and deservedly so.
“Teenage Satellites” – California (2016)
The Matt Skiba era might have been divisive, but there’s no denying that “Teenage Satellites” is one of the real hidden gems of blink’s first album without Tom DeLonge. It’s one of the places on California where the original members’ and Skiba’s respective styles converge the most seamlessly, especially in its lyrics. Though its subject of the teenage urge to run away and be free feels like familiar territory for blink-182, Skiba brings a softly poetic touch to its catchy chorus that makes it feel not only more mature, but more modern and relatable.
“No Heart To Speak Of” – Nine (2019)
Perhaps because Tom returned to the band, or perhaps because Nine came out just six months before quarantine began, blink-182 have never played “No Heart To Speak Of” live. It’s unfortunate when it’s so easy to imagine it blaring from a festival stage under the baking sun. Everything about it feels stratospheric, from its opening “whoa-oh”s to Matt Skiba’s soaring vocals in its chorus, making for one of the best moments from blink’s most recent album.
“Quarantine” (2020)
Remember 2020? Sucked, didn’t it? To keep themselves entertained when COVID-19 shut down live music, Mark and Travis teamed up for this witty track that paired rumbling guitar riffs with sharp jabs at the absurdity of being bored while shut inside. Although Mark says he’s “blessed to be so fucking bored,” he’s got some silly ideas of what he’d rather be doing — watching some magic, doing press in Germany, even getting stuck at a DMV. Though very much a product of its time, “Quarantine” offered a blast of catharsis in a time it was needed most.
