Blink-182's New Album "California" has an Energy Drought

Blink-182 has never really been a "great" band, but their music has always been fun and relatable. They're one of those bands that sticks with you emotionally. I can remember exactly what my life was like during each Blink album release, and a few of their songs remind me vividly of people and places of my younger days. However, after losing their most talented member in Tom Delonge to CIA/alien investigations and overall insanity, the band is lacking in creativity.

Blink wasn't the same after their reunion. Neighborhoods was a good album that pushed the band creatively, but it wasn't their sound. Then it all fell apart when Delonge quit the band AGAIN and Matt Skiba was recruited to fill the void. This band just makes me long for what could have been. Their self-titled album was the most creative of their career, but they've never quite been the same since.

Their new album, made without Delonge, is just really really boring. The producer, John Feldmann, known for producing rushed, glossy, and robotic albums with the likes of 5SOS, Story of the Year, All Time Low, and Black Veil Brides (what a group, right?) should be all the proof you need to realize what's wrong with this record. The vocals are in the forefront for the first time ever on a Blink album, and on top of that they are unsettling in their pitch perfection. See, smart producers keep "vocal mistakes," such as throat clearing, coughs, swallowing, and some vocal errors in order to make the vocals seem more real and more alive. They're usually not even noticeable, but they are typically there. Feldmann took the often-bad singing of Mark Hoppus and vocally corrected it to almost perfection. He's never sounded worse. But if the goal was to make a pop pop poppy punk record like 5SOS or All Time Low, Feldmann nailed it.

The next issue is the lyrics or topical nature of the album. Old Blink songs stuck out for being weird, catchy, and for making you uncomfortable. These songs have no impact and are largely about nothing. They attempted to make some classic funny Blink songs in "Built This Pool" and "Brohemian Rhapsody," but these songs together last less than a minute and leave more to be desired. "Built This Pool" is probably the catchiest song on the record, and it is 16 seconds long. Why wasn't it developed into a full song? Which bring in Feldmann again. Interviews about this new album say that Feldmann "rushed" the band through the writing process to give the album a more gritty and spontaneous feel. Given that the album doesn't feel gritty or spontaneous, just very rushed, shows the questionable decision-making of this guy. Some good lyrics and classic Blink metaphors shine through at time, but they're surrounded by garbage like "dear head: shutup" from "Rabbit Hole" or the choral phrase "she's aaaaaantisocial" over and over again in "She's Out of Her Mind." The record is filled with "ooos" and "ahhhhs" and "woahhhhs," often at points were they just sound lazy. But Feldmann is known for rushing albums, and there's already another Blink album in the works, so this fits nicely into his production history. Overall, all the songs sound the same. "San Diego" and "Bored to Death" literally have the same opening baseline.

It's not all Feldmann's fault, though. Mark and Travis show that they really weren't the driving force behind Blink-182, and as much as they resent Tom, they can't make a good album without him. Tom wrote all the riffs, and his vocals are THE Blink vocals. Mark sings like a Mr. Potatohead toy singing through a pillow. His vocals used to work when he and Tom played off each other with constrasting deliveries, but now Mark's monotone delivery for 30+ minutes is like a club to the face. Matt Skiba doesn't take anything from the band, but he certainly doesn't add anything either, aside from some crossover fan support. Delonge may be coming off as a jealous, lonely, and psychotic individual recently, but he's a cornerstone of Blink and should probably be very happy with how poorly this album without him came out.

So the album feels rushed and glossy and lacks all emotion, but I will be buying. First, I like the artwork. Second, I'd rather a world with some form of Blink-182 than a world without it. I'll support this band and probably get a few good listens through the album driving around during the summer. The sad thing is that the new Sum 41 song and every new Good Charlotte song has been better than anything on California. Even weirder, the producer for the new Charlotte album? Feldmann, which makes me wonder why their album sounds so much better. This dude is monopolizing the market of aging pop punk band production and pumping out rushed ,uninspired albums. You could say that he's the Adam Sandler of pop punk album producers. Anyway, songs to check out are probably "Built This Pool," "Los Angeles" (which is sort of creative for Blink), "She's Out of Her Mind" (which sounds close to classic Blink), and "Bored to Death" because it's the lead single or whatever. 2/5 stars: one for being an easy-listening album, and the other for making a nice-looking coaster.

The "Do-Over" and Breaking the Sandler Mold

Adam Sandler’s new film “The Do-Over” isn’t a comedy, but that isn’t exactly a knock on the movie itself. The thing is that this time, Sandler doesn’t even try to create a funny movie. Instead, what he has produced has far more layers, creating a film that will stun Sandler fans and gratify haters. Have you seen the reviews this movie has been getting? They’re terrible. Viewers hate this film, and I’m going to go against the grain here and say that they are missing the point. Hating on Adam Sandler has become cool and fun, and reviewers drool at the thought of being the first person to dig another foot deeper into Sandler’s grave. I’ll admit that I criticize Sandler quite often, but deep down I admire his business plan and his ability to take money from millions of Americans. I believe that this movie is getting undeserved treatment. Is it a good movie? No, not by any means. But while the topical nature of the film is classic Sandler low-brow comedy, the tone of the film is like nothing Sandler has made before. I wouldn't even call this movie a comedy. It’s certainly not funny, but I don’t think this is what Sandler was going for here. The film expresses an overwhelming sense of sadness and hopelessness, as if life is meaningless and the stakes are never as high as we perceive them to be. The title character, played by David Spade, plays your classic middle-class loser who has a wife who couldn’t care less about him, kids that beat him around (in one scene they kick him in the crotch, so funny), and a job that makes him feel like a loser. Well, he’s also a tech genius apparently but still ends up with the same car from high school and a low-level job. But it’s not the backstory of this character that creates such a helpless and depressing feel in this film. The film is a redemption story in which Sandler gives Spade the life he desires and deserves. Yes there's a lot of product placement (Jenga is a key plot point, of all things). There’s the typical Sandler biases that show through, such as that all popular or attractive people have embarrassing secrets that threaten their masculinity. Sandler humor is still present, as well. Don’t miss the scene where a guy’s scrotum gets hung in David Spade’s face, because they’ll reference it over and over again throughout the film. Then there’s the fact that this movie is comes off as a paid vacation for Sandler and Spade (Sandler’s wife and kids were in the movie with him, and the boat used is apparently his personal yacht). The ending is also a mess in which every character seems to become a double agent, die, and resurrect in a span of thirty minutes. However, the movie features a surprisingly good performance by David Spade. It's not worthy of an Oscar, but he does a great job of playing his character. If someone cared about this movie, it was Spade. Although I’m not sure why he cares, given his money and incredible love life. Seriously, look at the list of girls David Spade has dated and you’ll see a phenomenon more shocking than anything else in Earthly nature. The plot is your typical "normal guys get caught up in something bigger than themselves," but for some reason it works. The characters seem to have life in them this time, which is probably the result of hiring real actors instead of the typical Sandler SNL cronies. There was no Rob Schneider, no Jon Lovitz, no Kevin James, and only minimal amounts of Nick Swardson (the strangest crony of all). It was refreshing to see a Sandler film acted by people that played roles they actually fit.

So why is this movie so depressing? After I watched this movie I closed my laptop and went to bed. But as I laid in bed, I began to think about life and what it means to me. What makes me happy? Where do I hope to end up? Maybe the more Sandler movies I watch, the more I become like the people who enjoy his films, but this movie made me think and feel, which Happy Madison films rarely do. This film seems to send two big messages careening in opposite directions. One is that the life of a Spade, steady job and family, is boring and unfulfilling, but ultimately safe and peaceful. The other is that the life of a Sandler, radical monetary spending and carefree behavior, is fun and exciting, but ultimately dangerous and unhealthy. So what is Sandler telling us with this film? First of all, he’s saying that even with his sickle nose and dorky appearance, he still can pull of a tank-top. Second of all, he’s sending us a humbling message of the indulgence that is candy-coated and wrapped up in a party-lifestyle presentation that his audience will want to watch. Just like slipping diet pills into a chocolate shake, Sandler seems to be warning his audience of the struggles of life to come. Life doesn’t get better just because you’re riding on a fancy boat with expensive food. The problems of life attack everyone, no matter how much money you throw at them. Sandler knows this, and he’s trying to show it in this film. This is the first Sandler film in quite a while that allows itself to bleed and acknowledge the fact that life is not an Adam Sandler movie.

Overall, if you can filter out the body humor, light homophobia, and heavy profanity, this movie STILL may not be worth watching, but if you ever have the slight desire to drone through it on Netflix, I think you'll be surprised by the result. I’d be willing to bet that even Sandler is surprised at what he concocted, if he’s even aware of it at all.