Blink-182 – "Enema of the State" альбомы

1999 studio album by Blink 182

Enema of the State is the third studio album by American rock band Blink 182, released on June 1, 1999, by MCA Records. After a long series of performances at various clubs and festivals and several indie recordings throughout the 1990s, Blink 182 first achieved popularity on the Warped Tour and in Australia following the release of their second album Dude Ranch (1997) and its rock radio hit "Dammit." To record their third album, Blink 182 turned to veteran punk rock producer Jerry Finn, who previously worked on Green Day's breakthrough album Dookie (1994). Enema was the band's first album to feature drummer Travis Barker, who replaced original drummer Scott Raynor. The group recorded with Finn over a period of three months at numerous locations, including their hometown of San Diego and in Los Angeles. Finn was key in producing the fast paced, melodic mixes, creating a pop punk sound with a more radio friendly, accessible polish. Lyrically, the album is inspired by adolescent frustration and relationships. Guitarist Tom DeLonge and bassist Mark Hoppus primarily culled stories from friends and autobiographical situations to craft summer related tracks revolving around breakups, suburban parties and maturity, as well as more offbeat subject matter such as UFO conspiracy theories. The cover artwork for Enema of the State features porn star Janine Lindemulder famously clad in a nurse uniform; the title is a pun on the term enemy of the state. Enema of the State was an enormous commercial success, although the band was criticized as synthesized, manufactured pop only remotely resembling punk, and pigeonholed as a joke act due to the puerile slant of its singles and associating music videos. The album has sold over 15 million copies worldwide and catapulted the band to become one of the biggest rock bands of the turn of the millennium. "What's My Age Again? ", "All the Small Things", and "Adam's Song" became hit singles and MTV staples, generating heavy radio airplay. Enema of the State has retrospectively been hailed as a quintessential pop punk album and had an extensive impact on the genre and beyond, reinventing it for a new generation, influencing numerous bands and artists from other genres, and spawning numerous tributes and accolades.

By 1997, Blink 182, consisting of Mark Hoppus, Tom DeLonge, and Scott Raynor, began to receive mainstream exposure as their sophomore record, Dude Ranch, shipped gold and the lead single "Dammit" began to be added to rock radio playlists across the country. The band entered an extended period of touring beginning that summer, which included each date of the worldwide 1997 Vans Warped Tour, a lifestyle tour promoting skateboarding and punk rock music. The trio would only return to their home of San Diego, California for days at a time before striking out the next tour. "When we did our longest tour stretch, it was right when I started dating my fiancée," DeLonge, the band's guitarist and vocalist, said in 2001. "We were all new and in love, and I had to leave. It was just, 'Hey, I'll see you in nine months.' It was really hard." Hoppus felt increasingly lonely; while the other members had longtime girlfriends to return home to, Hoppus was single. In addition to the hefty touring schedule, the trio grew tired of other commitments, including interviews and TV appearances due to the success of "Dammit." Desperate for a break, the overworked band began to argue and tensions formed. The tension came to a head in February 1998 as the band embarked on SnoCore, described as "a winter version of the Warped Tour." Sharing the stage with Primus, the band was enjoying more success than ever before, but the drama between the musicians had grown substantially. Raynor would depart following SnoCore, and the ensemble recruited Travis Barker, drummer for the opening ska punk group The Aquabats, to fill in for Raynor. Barker, who had not had time to prepare or practice with the duo, learned the drum tracks for the 20 song setlist in only 45 minutes before the first show and performed them flawlessly thereafter. "I remember Travis rehearsing backstage for an hour or two, then playing with them during sound check," said Adam Deibert of the Aquabats. "A few of us were standing behind the stage and vividly remember the feeling of this is the new Blink. We should have looked for a new drummer right then because it was obvious what band he belonged in." Shortly thereafter, the band embarked on a short minitour along the western coast, most notably Southern California, the band's favorite place to play. The tour ended with the band headlining a sold out show at the Palladium in Hollywood, California, where the band had dreamed of performing for years. Raynor returned for the band's Palladium performance, but the band became increasingly uneasy and arguments grew worse. Following a largely successful Australian tour in the spring, Hoppus and DeLonge presented an ultimatum: quit drinking or go to an in patient rehab. Raynor agreed to both and informed the band of his decision after taking the weekend to mull options. DeLonge would later explain the drinking problem that led to his expulsion: "One show he dropped his sticks 10 times. It was so disturbing to see someone ruining himself." The addition of Barker inspired DeLonge and Hoppus to "play better" and keep up with their new member, whom DeLonge called "perfect."

MCA gave the band its first professional recording budget, and Blink 182 began work on Enema of the State in October 1998. The three spent much more time in the studio than on previous records, allowing them to try many different things. Barker would drive down each day from Riverside to take part in the writing process. Very satisfied with the results, the band completed writing in two weeks. Though Barker helped write the songs on Enema of the State, only Hoppus and DeLonge received songwriting credits, as Barker was technically a hired musician, not official band member. Don Lithgow, owner and operator of DML Studios, recalled that the trio's celebrity had increased considerably during the recording process: "[It] was different than their other sessions — girls hanging around outside, calling their friends on cell phones. All the kids wanted autographs. They'd unlock the doors and let kids into the studio, which most bands would never do."

When the band completed writing and recording demos for the songs, the three headed to Los Angeles to record drum tracks at Chick Corea's Mad Hatter Studios in January 1999. The recording process for the album was completed over a period of four months, and production was handled at several production facilities in southern California, including Signature Sound and Studio West in San Diego, Big Fish Studios in Encinitas, and Conway Recording Studios and The Bomb Factory in Los Angeles. Finn came with an array of amps, effects and equipments; previously the band were forced to rent such equipment. Barker kept attempting to irritate Finn by sneaking in vibraslaps, which Finn hated. In addition, the band had so much fun with Finn that there were days when very little work was accomplished: "Recording can get pretty monotonous, but at least we could laugh with Jerry," recalled Hoppus. "A pretty typical day would involve multiple takes for one part of one song, and then everyone would get naked and jump on Jerry." The band chose "never to work with anyone else again," and Finn would produce their next three releases. Recording completed in March 1999 and all parties involved were enormously proud of the record. "When it was done, we were so stoked. It was like a masterpiece for our band," remembered DeLonge. According to Barker, the album's title stemmed from DeLonge, who was worried about his diet at the time and using enemas. It could also be a reference to the 1998 film Enemy of The State, which came out a year before the album.

At the end of recording, Finn suggested they utilize keyboardist Roger Joseph Manning, Jr., best known for his work with Beck. Hoppus was initially reluctant, noting that most of the band's fans up to that point were hardcore punk rock fans that might not be receptive to keyboard parts. In the end, the group were open to his inclusion: "They welcomed all my ideas and they were super supportive and that's why it was so much fun working with them," Manning later remembered. For Tom Lord Alge, the main mixing engineer on the album, the band had one goal: "Make it sound as aggressive as possible." With a runtime of 35 minutes and 17 seconds, Enema of the State is Blink 182's shortest album to date. Some songs were also included in Their 2005 greatest hits compilation.

Enema of the State is considered by critics as pop punk and skate punk. The songs on Enema of the State are fast paced songs regarding "adolescent aimlessness, broken hearts and general confusion over the care and feeding of girls."

By May 1999, the group was nearing platinum status for Dude Ranch and sales targets were higher for Enema of the State. The Los Angeles Times ran a Sunday feature on the band two days prior to release, noting that "The musicians are sanguine about chances to repeat or exceed the sales of Dude Ranch, noting the always shifting sands of pop culture and that they've already done better than they'd ever anticipated." Momentum began to build when US radio stations received advance copies of Enema of the State. MCA issued Enema of the State on June 1, and the release peaked at number nine on the U. S. Billboard 200. The album chart was gripped by the Backstreet Boys' Millennium, but Enema of the State still managed to move 109,000 units that week. At a show shortly following the release of the album, DeLonge was approached by Noodles from The Offspring to congratulate him. "He looks at me right in the eyes and he goes, 'You're next,'" remembered DeLonge, who blushed and shook off the compliment.

The initial critical response to Enema at the time of its release was favorable, though some critics found it juvenile. The New York Times designated the record its 'Album of the Week', while Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic described it as a "fun record that's better than the average neo punk release." Rolling Stone Neva Chonin found it "harmless, but still gnarly enough to foment the kind of anti everything rebellion that spawned rock & roll way back in the day." Billboard Paul Verna called the record "short, to the point, and bristling with attitude," while a Kerrang! critic wrote that the album includes "enough energy, attitude and cracking songs here to ensure that Blink will be remembered for more than just onstage nudity." New Musical Express (NME) was vicious in its assessment, calling the record despicable, "wholly toothless and soulless" and deriding the band as "as bad, as meaningless, as the cock rockers and hippy wankers punk originally sought to destroy." In the decades since its debut, Enema of the State has been widely hailed as a pop punk classic, and one of the genre's defining works. Jeremy Gordon at Pitchfork called the record sensitive and juvenile in equal measure; an "amazingly effective" combo. Billboard described the album as a "classic" in a retrospective review, calling it the "catchiest batch of songs the band had ever written," and commending the leap in quality both in production and vocals in comparison to its predecessor. while Dan Weiss, writing for The Recording Academy, praised its "remarkably clean sounding guitars, [and] the hyperactive drumming of Barker."

The success of the album, as well as its cleaner sound and the group's appearances on MTV, caused many longtime fans to accuse the band of "selling out." Matt Diehl, author of the book My So Called Punk, called the basis for satire thin: "To seasoned ears, Blink 182 sounded and looked just as manufactured as the pop idols they were poking fun at." The band faced a backlash shortly after Enema of the State was released from several punk and emo acts who wished to not be associated with their music. Tristin Laughter, employee of Bay Area record label Lookout! Records, wrote in an issue of the influential zine Punk Planet that the band would have a genuinely negative impact on punk and accused the band of misogyny.

The record proved very influential on the pop punk genre. With the release of the record, Blink 182 became celebrities and the biggest pop punk act of the era. Matt Diehl, author of My So Called Punk, writes that mainstream acolytes of their sound led to profound effects on the "pop punk" genre, such as the deracination of regional scene identity—due to its wide popularity, pop punk bands became commonplace outside the genre's origins. Rolling Stone Nicole Frehsée wrote that the album influenced emo fans, while MTV News credited the album, alongside the Get Up Kids' Something to Write Home About (1999) as pioneering emo pop, calling them "some of the scene's most influential records." Enema of the State has been called an accurate representation of middle class teenage life, especially at the time of its release. Entertainment Weekly called it the "perfect encapsulation of the American adolescent male mind set circa 1999." Alternative Press has ranked Enema of the State among Jerry Finn's top production work, and UK based music magazine Rock Sound rated it number 2 on their list of "101 Modern Classics" in 2012, writing, "Enema didn't just bring pop punk to the masses, it marked a complete shift in how music television, radio and the world at large viewed it." Likewise, Scott Russo of the band Unwritten Law remarked that, following the album's release, he would receive CDs from fans that mimicked the glossy sound the album made famous. "It was revolutionary, it was equally as revolutionary as Green Day when it hit, they just didn't get the credit," Russo remarked in 2009. "When I heard how massive and epic Enema was for the first time, my mind was blown. It definitely made me want to be a better songwriter and make bigger sounding records," said Ryan Key of Yellowcard.

With massive radio and video play, Blink 182 played to larger crowds when they began touring in support of Enema of the State. The Loserkids Tour commenced in the autumn of 1999 and was the band's first arena tour. The band played to sold out audiences and performed worldwide during the summer of 2000 on The Mark, Tom and Travis Show Tour. The tour was staged as a drive in movie, with a giant retro billboard suspended from the ceiling, and films were projected on the screen behind the band – including vintage gay porn as a joke. The tour was one of the most anticipated rock tours of the season and the band headed out on the road with Bad Religion and Fenix TX. Barker broke one of his fingers during an altercation with two men who kept flirting with his girlfriend in Ohio, and Damon Delapaz, guitarist of Fenix TX, stepped in on drums for Barker. The band also performed at the Reading and Leeds Festivals in August 2000. To celebrate the success of the tour, the band released a limited edition live album titled The Mark, Tom, and Travis Show (The Enema Strikes Back! ), which featured snippets of the band's between song dialogue. Released in November 2000, the band returned to the studio with Finn to complete a song left off the final track listing of Enema of the State: "Man Overboard." In 2019, the band conducted a tour in which they celebrated the 20th anniversary of Enema of the State by performing the album in its entirety. Matt Skiba, who was the band's guitarist/vocalist from 2015 to 2022, performed DeLonge's parts.