“We really try not to spend too much time thinking about what we're supposed to be a punk band, or whatever. We do the exact same thing today that we been doing for years and years and years.” ThinkingTryingYearsTodayToo MuchBandSupposed To BePunk Author:Mark Hoppus
“I never thought of punk rock as the absolute act of rebellion for the sake of rebellion. There's a lot of that in there, but for me I think punk rock was always about questioning things and making decisions for yourself, which is a great message to pass on to your kids.” ThinkingKidsDecisionRocksMessagesAbsolutesSakeRebellionPunkQuestioningPunk RockMaking Decisions Author:Mark Hoppus
“I like the beaches in Orange County the best. I think Orange County has great beaches. Everything from Dana Point to Newport to Laguna; all over the place.” ThinkingBeachOrangeCountyOrange County Author:Mark Hoppus
“The strongest human emotion is probably love. I think it's universal. I think that across language and country and time and everything else, probably love.” ThinkingHumansCountryLanguageEmotionUniversalStrongestHuman Emotions Author:Mark Hoppus
“I think that happiness is a great thing to strive for, but very difficult to maintain - people are always striving for something different, and something better.” PeopleThinkingDifferentDifficultStriveGreat ThingsSomething Better Author:Mark Hoppus
“No matter what, I think people are trying to better themselves, or to better their situation, or to find something new and exciting.” PeopleThinkingTryingMatterSituationExcitingNo Matter WhatSomething New Author:Mark Hoppus
“California to me as a concept or as an idea always seems like endless optimism and endless opportunity - when people think of California they think of palm trees and blue skies and gorgeous sunsets and beaches and everything else.” PeopleThinkingIdeasSeemsOpportunityTreeSkyConceptsOptimismBlueEndlessBeachCaliforniaSunsetPalmsGorgeousBlue SkyPalm TreesEndless Opportunities Author:Mark Hoppus
“We never really set out to talk about California on the album ['California'], it was something that we noticed that was happening about three-quarters of the way through the recording process. We were looking at which songs we thought would make the record and we realised that there was this theme coming through. I think it's just a product of being in California for as long as I have.” ThinkingWayLongSongThreeProcessRecordsProductsHappeningsAlbumsCaliforniaThemeQuartersRealised Author:Mark Hoppus
“Even though it was January, in Los Angeles it was beautiful and sunny and the blue skies were out and it was hot everyday, so I think it was just a product of our environment. And California to me as a concept or as an idea always seems like endless optimism and endless opportunity - when people think of California they think of palm trees and blue skies and gorgeous sunsets and beaches and everything else. But there's also this weirdness to California, this darkness, it's a place where people come to follow their dreams and sometimes don't make it.” PeopleThinkingIdeasSometimesDreamSeemsBeautifulOpportunityDarknessEnvironmentTreeSkyProductsConceptsOptimismHotBlueEverydayEndlessBeachCaliforniaSunsetLos AngelesPalmsGorgeousOur EnvironmentSunnyJanuaryWeirdnessBlue SkyPalm TreesEndless Opportunities Author:Mark Hoppus
“I kinda like the duality of California and the dark side, the underbelly of California, and I think that's what this album ['California']feels like - there's endless hope and optimism but there's also a darker side.” ThinkingFeelsSidesDarkOptimismAlbumsEndlessCaliforniaDualityDark SideOptimism And HopeDarker Side Author:Mark Hoppus
“I think that breaking into the mainstream - it was just the right cycle of music for us in Blink-182. People were kind of over the boy-band, pop-princess, manufactured sensibility, and were excited for guitars and angst and energy and enthusiasm, which is our thing.” PeopleThinkingKindEnergyExcitedEnthusiasmSensibilityAngst Author:Mark Hoppus
“I think people take Blink-128 more seriously now than they did before. And it's largely our fault because we called our records Enema of the State and Take Off Your Pants and Jacket. We were always kind of the underdogs, especially critically. People wrote us off as this joke band. But the people who listened to Blink knew that we were silly and whatever, but we wrote songs about divorce and suicide and depression. Those kids that were listening to Blink are now the ones that control all these outlets that used to just write us off.” PeopleThinkingWritingKindKidsSongListeningJokesSuicideDivorceSillyBlinkUnderdog Author:Mark Hoppus
“I still feel like we're the underdogs, but I feel like people respect us now. People might not like our band or love our music, but I think people respect the fact that we've been doing this for many years and are still doing it and still able to play three giant New York City shows and have people come out.” PeopleThinkingUnderdog Author:Mark Hoppus
“We worked very hard on that untitled record to do something different and that we were proud of and to try a bunch of different ideas. It was like this gigantic musical laboratory that we were going to every day. I love that record, I think that's one of the high watermarks of us as a band.” ThinkingTryingDifferentProudMusicalLaboratory Author:Mark Hoppus
“I think when people are jumping on top of each other's ideas, it elevates it a lot more than me going into the studio and working on something all by myself for a while.” PeopleThinking Author:Mark Hoppus
“There was a great push and pull of what Blink-128 should sound like all the time. Travis Barker comes from a different background than I do, and Tom DeLonge comes from a different background than either of us in terms of what we write and what we think a song should be. Tom pushes me out of a box that I put myself in.” ThinkingWritingDifferentSongTerm Author:Mark Hoppus
“I don't think any of us felt like, "Oh, we need to put joke songs on the record." If we found something funny, we would record it, and if we wanted to, we'd put it on the record. It's not really something we spent too much time agonizing over.” ThinkingSongJokes Author:Mark Hoppus
“I don't think of them as teenage songs. The things that happen to you in high school are the same things that happen your entire life. You can fall in love at 60; you can get rejected at 80.” ThinkingHappensSchoolSongFallHigh SchoolFalling In LoveRejectedTeenageSchool Life Author:Mark Hoppus
