Still revisiting all the performances that brought me joy this year, and far up at the top of that list is obviously Blink 182 at Lollapalooza – and more specifically Mark being a pink pony club boy (1.18min mark for the restless).
You do know how much I love when my worlds collide and this one was definitely one hell of a high. Chappell brought me a lot of joy this year, and Blink brought me a lot of joy, well, as far as I can remember. A perfect match for my sorry arse.
These guys are one of these bands at the core of the shaky foundations of my love for punk rock. If you remember your teen years, you know what made you fall for rock music in the first place – part outlet for that angst, part fun and bonkers to take the edge off the bleakness of growing up. Mark, Tom and Travis were definitely the masters at the latest.
Our paths over the years may have diverged and that’s at least one obsession that calmed down but the hit of melancholy I feel when I hear their songs is still the sweetest of all, and the teen in me never fails to smile. As for the adult in me – god when did that happen – the late recognition that there were one or two life lessons in it all after all. Or maybe it was just life. I guess this is growing up. Let yourself loose once in a while, it feels good – with that song in particular.
Dammit will always feel like those excited afternoon scavenging at the record store, the laughs echoing at the skatepark at seeing the boys fall flat on their arses, the late nights on that destroyed couch in that one friend basement where baggy pants were big enough to fit two, the absolute mayhem of the songs being murdered on that low ass drum kit, the smoke in the air and the spilled beer on your shirt and all the broken guitar strings we never picked back up. What a mess. What an absolute joy. What a life.
Young and stupid, living off music, laughter and friendship with all the benefits of turning the worst days of our lives into the best ones without knowing it. Yeah. That was life indeed with Blink 182 around.
Dammit. You bet I still smile about it.
Enjoy.
