Blink-182 – “Bored To Death”

I spent most of Blink-182's initial run hating the fuck out of Blink-182, thinking they were hacky NOFX ripoffs who got lucky. Some time later, I figured something out that I probably should've known off the rip: They're one of the greatest singles bands of the past 20 years, a superbly ingratiating hook machine that…

I spent most of Blink-182’s initial run hating the fuck out of Blink-182, thinking they were hacky NOFX ripoffs who got lucky. Some time later, I figured something out that I probably should’ve known off the rip: They’re one of the greatest singles bands of the past 20 years, a superbly ingratiating hook machine that hid a lot of sweetness in their jerkoff humor. Their 2005 greatest-hits album is just end-to-end gold.

Last year, in contentious and bizarre fashion, co-founder Tom DeLonge was kicked out of the band, and remaining members Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker replaced him with Matt Skiba, former leader of the once-great Chicago pop-punkers Alkaline Trio. They’ve just announced that California, their first album without DeLonge, is coming this summer. And they’ve shared the lyric video for “Bored To Death,” the first single.

We here at Stereogum have been pretty divided over whether to post the song. Fully half of the staff thinks it’s trash. And it’s true that the lyrics are really bad; a lyric video was not the way to go here. But I really like “Bored To Death”! It’s grand, surging, arena-style Blink-182, with these massed guitars and this vast and heartfelt chorus. Check it out below, if you like.

California is out 7/1.