Tuesday 8/11: Blink-182—"Quarantine"
Today, we share our thoughts on a new track from the pop-punk icons Blink-182.
Welcome to Endless Scroll, the brainchild of Eli Enis (he/him) and Eric Bennett (they/them). Since Feb. 2019, we’ve been a weekly podcast about music, the internet, and where those two things intersect. Now we’re, also a M-F newsletter about songs. Our format is simple: a link to a song and a short take from each of us about what we think of it. Each day of the week has a corresponding genre: Monday is indie, Tuesday is punk, Wednesday is hip-hop, Thursday is pop, and Friday is misc.
Today, we share our thoughts on a new track from the pop-punk icons Blink-182.
Blink-182—“Quarantine”
Eric Bennett:
First let’s get this straight: There are many people much more qualified than myself to speak on the career and merit of blink-182. They’re a band I have never cared for, and even their universally beloved songs never grabbed me. That said. I feel confident saying “Quarantine” is terrible, and I’m sure those of you with a connection to the band agree. It doesn’t feel necessary, or like it adds anything to the conversation. Much how no one is ever going to want filmic representation of the pandemic or quarantine, no one wants songs about it. People are doing just fine finding comfort in things made during it, not about it. Mark Hoppus sounds like an AI version of himself. I guess when your band has such a huge legacy you can just shit out whatever you want, but Christ, use some discretion.
Eli Enis:
OK, this song slaps way more than it should. It’s Blink-182 doing their best late-’90s Offspring impression, riding the the line between snide humor and banal social commentary and playing a form of polished yet aggressive skate-punk that they never even made in their prime (they were way poppier by the time pop-punk bands of their caliber had access to this type of production quality, so it sounds like them harkening back to bands who were writing in their image—kind of like 2002-era Sum 41). Anyways, we don’t need any other bands to write about quarantine, but honestly, as I’m flirting harder with full-on doomer shit, something snappy and direct about this godawful era and this gutter-tier country’s urinal-tier response to this pandemic feels more worthwhile than a song about a breakup or whatever. I stopped caring about new Blink-182 music after being let down by Neighborhoods in 2011, and I probably wouldn’t have listened to this song if we didn’t throw it in the newsletter queue. But right now, “Fuck quarantIIIIIIIIne,” is where I’m at, too, Mark.