Blink 182’s Anthem Trilogy
In 1988 DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince told us that “Parents just don’t understand.” This wasn’t a new idea. It wasn’t even an old one. I’m sure my parents listened to musicians who blasted this message in one way or another. Teens and adult children alike continue to rebel against their parents and their “antiquated values”, often to the march of double bass drums. In 1999, Blink 182’s song “Anthem” off of their Enema of the State album laid down the foundation for my own personal rebellion. I wanted out of the confines of my parents’ rules and the song made me hopeful that one day I would grow up and be free of them.
“Good things come to those who wait.”
In 1999, I had a couple years to go before I graduated high school and could legally move out on my own. This required patience and different forms of escapism. I’d blast music loudly in my headphones in the small bedroom I shared with my sister, or run to other friends’ bedrooms where we’d lament to each other about how unfair everything is. We had so many great ideas and plans that were thwarted by curfews, being grounded, and nihilistic doubts that maybe we’d end up rotting away in this town too. We lied about whose houses we were spending the night at to sneak out to parties, take our first sips of Boone’s Farm, and be enlightened by new tunes we never heard of blaring from 5-Disc CD boomboxes.
“Anthem” transformed our parents into “slave drivers” no matter how lax they may have been. They were the enemy and the reason why we couldn’t do all we wanted to do. “You planned their fall/Too bad you’re wrong”. Nothing they said about how they were looking out for our best interests made any sense, even when we woke up passed out on a stranger’s lawn. Blink 182 turned the whole song on its head though with the lyrics “I, time bomb” repeated throughout. This is not a “mom-dad slave drive song”, not really. This is about teenage hormones and how we’re all viewed as weapons of destruction lying in wait for the right thing to set us off. Where will my pieces end up? I thought. One day I’d be that 21 year old friend the song referenced, and then what?
“Kids are victims in this story.”
On June 12, 2001, Blink 182 released Take Off Your Pants and Jacket days before I turned 18. “Anthem Part 2” kicked off this album and I sat there stunned after listening to it. I graduated high school a month earlier and I didn’t have a clue how to make it in the world. I couldn’t afford college and although my grades were good, I didn’t do well on the SAT and any financial assistance offered to me was minimal. Plus, if I continued going to school I’d be stuck in the place I hated the most: my parents’ house. No. I had to get a job and I had to make enough money to get out. In my mind, I was f*cked up, just like the song said, and I definitely blamed it all on my parents.
In “Anthem Part 2” Blink 182 not only places blame on our upbringing, they blame big corporations and politicians. GROWN UPS! They ruin everything. Sure I’m of age to vote, but what does that mean? I’m also still a clueless child, fresh out of the traumatic experience of losing my grandmother, with delusions of grandeur involving me living in a cabin in the woods and writing novels and poems and somehow being able to survive. I got a job at Dollar General and got involved in my local music scene. I worked way too hard and in between I attended live music shows and after-parties I didn’t have to leave early from or pop mints to cover up my booze breath before I arrived home. I was out on my own and sometimes had to choose between eating dinner and filling my car’s tank with gas. I was writing about bands for local newspapers too, a baby step toward my dream of being able to solely write as my main source of income.
“Damn the man!” was my Empire Records-inspired mantra. Damn the masses too for constantly shoving things I wasn’t ready for in my face. Get a career! Focus on your future! I was still rebelling here! I wasn’t going to buy a cell phone just because it was cool. Plus, that’s just another bill. I just want to get off of work, write my poems, and keep playing this Blink 182 album on repeat because it understands me, okay? Can’t I just try to figure out “the now” for right now?
I played the Millennial Blame Game as well as anyone. It was always someone else’s fault that I wasn’t where I wanted to be. Sometimes that was true, but I had to decide for myself what I was really looking for. Did I want healing? Change? Happiness? Sustenance? To be a famous author? A ride to work?
“Let this trainwreck burn more slowly.”
The world was moving too fast for my little brain in 2001. Technological advances I was weary of were happening. The constant flood of information as the internet became something we were tethered to and not just a land we visited from time to time was overwhelming to me even then. I was being asked to email writing submissions instead of the fun of mailing them in through the post office. I was too old school for all this, having felt that I was born in the wrong time period for most of my life. I wanted this tech train to crash. I wanted to go down in its fiery wake. Okay, okay. I was a little depressed. Nothing was going the way I wanted it to and I was tired of blaming everyone but myself for it.
“We’ll see rising of a new tide.”
Suddenly, I blinked and it was 2023. Life changed for me drastically 15 years prior. A chronic illness I was diagnosed with in my pre-teen years was now showing symptoms and there was no coming back from them. I was forced to slow down at age 25. I also lost my ability to drive due to having epilepsy. I couldn’t attend rock shows much, but I could still listen and relate to my favorite bands, especially the “punk”, “pop punk”, and “emo” ones.
My fellow millennials and I were all growing nostalgic for better days. Blink 182 released a new album, One More Time… and “Anthem Part 3” entered my life. In this part of the trilogy, Blink 182 acknowledges taking responsibility. We’re older now. We can make our own decisions. We can put our “old sh*t” to rest and create something new, this time following (to an extent) our own rules.
To me, Blink is also doing a bit of memento mori here. “Hey kids, we’re old(er) now. We’re closer to death.” In 1999 we had our whole lives ahead of us and felt confined by so much. Now we’re racing to achieve even fractions of those young dreams we held onto that the world often told us we couldn’t accomplish. Guess what?, the song spoke to me. You still might not accomplish anything. This is okay. It’s alright. You’re not a failure if you try. You’re not even a failure if you don't try due to circumstances.
As far as corporations and politicians are concerned, not much has changed there. We despise the systems (some political, most not) that we blame for where we are now and most days, the future looks pretty damn bleak. Remember those “teenage rules that were f*cked and boring” according to “Anthem Part 2”? They still exist and they grew up with us. I own a smartphone now and I hate how much time I spend on it. “It’s the way of the world”, I’m constantly told. “We make our voices heard!” Sure. But what’s changing? Why do I still feel the same as I did at 18 when I was venting on my best friend’s front porch? Enter “Anthem 3” reminding me that every living soul will suffer at some point in their life, and maybe I can’t control that, but I can control myself, and how I respond to things. As usual, music fuels me through.
“And after you had the time of your life
Flatlined and led toward the light
You'll despair the wreckage and find
No one gave a f*ck that you died”
Does that last line hurt a little bit? Yes. But I find inspiration in it. Isn’t it freeing in a way that no one but you cares that much about you? “This time I won't be complacent/The dreams I gave up and wasted/A new high/A new ride/And I'm on fire.” Maybe you’ve had a brush with death like I have, or like Blink 182 members Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker have. Maybe a new way of thinking fell into your lap and you decided to embrace it. “It’s MY head/It’s MY mind/It’s alright.” It’s all up to ME now to be that change I always wanted. Why not pursue my passions with abandon now that time is of the essence and no one’s really paying that much attention? Why not give things a try for once and not focus so much on the outcome? How about I stop making excuses for not doing things?
What’s my “Anthem Part 4” going to be? If I still feel like I’m “f*cked up”, who’s really to blame now? Before my train got derailed by my own ego and angst, I had a good idea of which depot I wanted to get off at. It’s never too late to backtrack. It’s never too late to jump head first into a creative fiery blast.
I’m not ash yet. I’m able to breathe in the soot-filled air and trek on if I choose to. So I face my fears, work on my issues (there are many), and do the best I can, within my limitations, one line at a time. I release the binds of blame, and I live.
Check out Blink 182’s latest album One More Time… blink182.com
Jennifer Patino lives in Traverse City and loves music. Check out her blog at thistlethoughts.com