Hump Day Artist of the Week XIII

I'm updating this while keeping things going on The Second Shift as well. Look at me multi-task!

You know what's awesome? Music. Music is awesome. It's always fun for me to look back at what we listened to just 10 years ago and called "fantastic." Okay, so maybe not all of us. But lots of us at least. That can definitely be said for this week's Hump Day Artist: Blink-182.

It's FINALLY warming up outside (knock on wood) and it's a great chance to roll your windows down while you're driving and pump out some Blink-182. They have that spring/summer sound perfected across all of their albums and you can't go wrong playing a little Blink while the sun is shining.

As cheesy and juvenile a lot of their music can be, Blink-182 will always hold a special place in my heart as I grew up listening to their music that helped influence a lot of my taste today. Enema of the State was definitely their break-out album, selling over 6 million copies and it's easy to see why. That album has an infectious pop-punk sound that keeps the pace up but is also very accessable for those not typically interested in the genre. There are obviously the hit singles, "What's My Age Again?" and "All the Small Things" but don't overlook "The Party Song" or "Mutt."

Enema isn't their only notable album however, nor would it be their best album in my opinion. That honor goes to their previous effort "Dude Ranch." The single "Dammit" on "Dude Ranch" is the song that helped launch the careers for Mark, Tom and Travis and I challenge you to not sing along with "Josie." It's a bit less produced than Enema and I think shows a great melding between garage punk band and pop-rock. They're young, goofy and FUN. Don't take yourself too seriously and you'll be rockin' out to "Pathetic" in no time.

Don't forget about Blink-182's other albums either. "Take Off Your Pants and Jacket" can almost be dubbed "Enema of the State: Part II" with the familiar tunes of "First Date," "The Rock Show" and "Stay Together for the Kids;" while their final self-titled album takes a more mature approach to their sound in "I Miss You," "Violence" and "Easy Target."

So whatever album you decide to pick up (even the earlier albums that I didn't mention, "Buddha" and "Chesire Cat") you'll be having a fun time with some Blink-182 and the warm sunshine! Unfortunately I cannot give you links on the Mini-Amazon store this week, since the songs aren't available there. I'm sure you can find them elsewhere if you don't have them already!

I'll sign off with a live video of Blink playing "Dammit" live in Sydney. Watch and dream of a simpler time... a time when Tom and Mark got along and Travis wasn't on a reality TV show...