Counting Down 10 Essential Tracks From Blink-182

It’s been a big week for Blink-182 fans. For the first time since 2015, Tom DeLonge, Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker announced they’re back together and heading out on tour.

Not a group known for subtlety, Blink accompanied the announcement with a brand new single, ‘Edging’, the promise of a new album, and a ha-yuge worldwide tour. This includes five Australian dates in 2024, their first live shows down under since Soundwave in 2013.

Blink-182 Australian Tour 2024

In addition to dusting off our checkerboard Vans and marking tour dates on the calendar, we’re celebrating with the impossible task of ranking Blink-182’s top 10 essential tracks.

With a catalogue that’s almost all killer, no filler, deciding on the criteria for this ranking was no easy feat. Are we talking pop-cultural impact? Number of “na, na, nas” per song? Or the presence of toilet humour and Tom DeLonge’s signature vocal twang?

The final list considers the set list mainstays and commercial high achievers from the band’s three-decade career. There are also a few fan favourites and submissions from my Instagram following of elder emos who are already booking in their post-concert physio for 2024.

Blink-182: 10 Essential Tracks

10. Bored To Death, California (2016)

Starting off with a wild card – ‘Bored To Death’ may be Blink-182’s most underrated and best work since their golden era of the early 2000s. It was the lead single off their 2016 record California, featuring Alkaline Trio’s Matt Skiba stepping in during DeLonge’s absence. It captures Blink’s unique brand of melancholic nostalgia and punk rock oomph without feeling stale, topped off with a cracker Mark Hoppus chorus.

9. Carousel, Buddha (1994); Cheshire Cat (1995)

‘Carousel’ is so good it’s the opening track on both 1994’s Buddha and 1995’s Cheshire Cat. A product of Hoppus and DeLonge’s very first jam session in 1992, it’s part of Blink-182’s origin story and thus, essential. Surprisingly dejected lyrics layered over a jovial bassline and OG drummer Scott Raynor’s thrashing percussion, ‘Carousel’ is the poster child of Blink’s early skate punk sound.

8. Feeling This, Blink-182 (2003)

I’m not mincing words here. ‘Feeling This’ is fuckin’ sexy. While working on their 2003 self-titled record, Hoppus and DeLonge decided to go into two separate rooms to write lyrics, with no direction on theme. When they emerged an hour later, they discovered they’d both written about gettin’ down. The final product is the hot and heavy track that opens and sets the sonic tone for the rest of the album.

In 2020, Hoppus ranked over 60 Blink-182 songs on Twitter and crowned ‘Feeling This’ as their best song in his own humble opinion.

7. Stay Together For The Kids, Take Off Your Pants And Jacket (2001)

Just step on my heart and set it on fire, why don’t you? ‘Stay Together For The Kids’ is a reflection on DeLonge’s parents’ divorce written from the perspective of an adolescent caught in the storm of a family breakdown. Relatable content.

With every distortion pedal turned on, the chorus ramps the angst up to 11 and helps make the track a standout on their 2001 record. And who could forget the music video of Blink performing while a wrecking ball destroys a dilapidated house full of kids?

6. First Date, Take Off Your Pants And Jacket (2001)

‘First Date’ is a light-hearted breather from the often moody Take Off Your Pants And Jacket. Who can deny a story of awkward young love told through a catchy chorus and a classic spoof music video?

Honourable mentions to ‘The Rock Show’ and ‘Josie’ here, because my brain computes those tracks and ‘First Date’ as the same vibe in different fonts.

5. I Miss You, Blink-182 (2003)

Three words: Where are yeowwwwww? ‘I Miss You’ is a tender love song that’s a testament to how far DeLonge and Hoppus’ songwriting matured beyond dick jokes. With acoustic guitar and piano against some macabre imagery and a Nightmare Before Christmas reference, it’s Blink-182 experimenting with a more emo sound.

4. Adam’s Song, Enema Of The State (1999)

Another tearjerker, ‘Adam’s Song’ was one of the most frequently submitted tracks when I polled my pals and trawled the internet for the “Best Blink-182 songs.” Written from the POV of a teenager’s suicide note, ‘Adam’s Song’ is a poignant reflection on mental health. “I’m too depressed to go on. You’ll be sorry when I’m gone,” laments Hoppus.

Nestled in the middle of 1999’s Enema Of The State, it’s a sharp dark turn that’ll give you whiplash compared to track list peers like ‘Aliens Exist’ and ‘The Party Song’.

3. Dammit, Dude Ranch (1997)

‘Dammit’ is the proud owner of one of the most infectious opening guitar parts of all time. It’s a consistent concert closer, with those first four seconds never failing to drive the crowd into a frenzy. Combine that with high-tempo percussion, Mark Hoppus’ vocal storytelling, and the band’s youthful spitfire energy, and it’s a bona fide Blink-182 classic.

“Well I guess this is growing up” remains one of the band’s most iconic lines and a core memory for many fans.

2. All The Small Things, Enema Of The State (1999)

With over 746 million streams on Spotify, ‘All The Small Things’ is quite possible Blink-182’s biggest and most recognisable hit. It’s a sweet love song backed by a punchy guitar riff, Barker’s revered stick-work and an irresistible “na na na” sing-along, and buoyed by their most memorable music video.

In the late ‘90s when boy bands and pop princesses reigned supreme, Blink took the opportunity to poke fun at the likes of the Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears. It cemented Blink-182 as pop-punk royalty to the masses and had many of us glued to the TV watching Rage at the turn of the century.

1. What’s My Age Again?, Enema Of The State (1999)

Sometimes the right answer is the most obvious one. ‘What’s My Age Again?’ is the personification of Blink-182 in two minutes and 28 seconds. A tongue-in-cheek tale of a Peter Pan complex? Check. Guitar riffs of the punk rock persuasion and an ear worm chorus? Check. Jokes about prank calls and sodomy? Check. A music video of the trio streaking through the streets of LA? Check. It’s Blink-182 perfection.