Music, Film, and Gaming
Blink-182 has officially unveiled a new song in the form of ‘Boxing Day‘ from the forthcoming ‘Dogs Eating Dogs‘ EP.
‘Dogs Eating Dogs‘ will be officially released on December 18th, for a sneak peek of what to expect from the EP however you can taken a listen to the new track ‘Boxing Day‘ below.
UK based film graduate with a huge passion for music, sports and video games.
Up first was Four Year Strong, a band that I first became fully familiar with in 2007 when they released their ‘Rise or Die Trying‘ album through I Surrender Records. It was actually through their cover of Blink-182’s ‘Dumpweed‘ that I heard them for the very first time however, so it raised a smile for me to now be seeing them supporting the band they once covered. Whilst I’ve never been the biggest fan of Four Year Strong, the various times I’ve seen them here in the UK they’ve always put on a decent, energetic show, and this evening was no different. Being the first support, the band only had time to play 7 tracks in total, it was a well chosen set however and one that seemed to go down well with those in attendance. The majority of those in attendance were only really there to see one band, but Four Year Strong did a decent job nonetheless of warming the crowd and getting them ready for the next act to take to the stage, The All-American Rejects.
Launching straight into ‘Dirty Little Secret‘, it was clear that The All-American Rejects’ set was going to be a high energy affair with Tyson Ritter clearly delighted to be supporting Blink-182 at such an impressive venue in the English capital. Perhaps a little overexcited at times as he began insulting those in the box seats and branded a group of girls in bunny suits ‘sluts’, Tyson Ritter was nonetheless a very charismatic and entertaining frontman as he bounced his way around the stage. His banter with the crowd might not have gone down too well with some, personally I found him amusing however, his energy and enthusiasm on the stage was contagious, and all in all he made sure that there was never a dull moment with The All-American Rejects’ set. All four of the band’s albums were represented with the set, there was a good spread of the band’s music both new and old, and whilst the main event was still yet to come; The All-American Rejects made sure that the evening continued to run smoothly. Closing track ‘Gives You Hell‘ seemed to go down particularly well, as did taking things back a decade with 2002s ‘Swing Swing‘. All in all a top notch set from a band with four great album’s under its belt.
So now it was time for the band that 20,000 people had all been patiently waiting for; Blink-182. Was the band going to be able to live up to expectation, or were we all to be left bitterly disappointed? I’m happy to reveal that Blink-182 put on an absolutely brilliant show. After the band went on hiatus in 2005, and last year’s tour was put on hold for a year (as well as the band having to pull out of Bamboozle just prior to this UK tour), I’m sure there were many fans that wondered if we’d ever get another chance to see Blink-182 live in the UK, I know I certainly did; thankfully we have had another chance though and the band was able to put to bed our fears in its 20th year after first forming.
Opening with ‘Feeling This‘, there was an instant burst of excitement from the crowd as Blink-182 got their show underway. Instantly we were taken back to 2003, and what a beautiful moment it was too. The All-American Rejects had already set a pretty high benchmark of intensity to live up to, Blink-182 more than matched it however as they crunched through tracks from all 6 of their albums. ‘Carousel‘ was the soul representative from the band’s ‘Cheshire Cat‘ debut album, whilst ‘Josie‘ and ‘Dammit‘ were the only tracks on display from ‘Dude Ranch‘, whilst the emphasis was more on the material from the band’s newer albums however, it was good to see that the older albums weren’t completely forgotten about and did in fact hold a special place in the set with ‘Carousel‘ and ‘Dammit‘ both being included in the encore.
There was particular emphasis on 2011s ‘Neighborhoods‘ as 5 of the band’s 23 tracks were lifted from this later album, a potential drawback for older fans not particularly familiar/fond of Blink 182’s newest material, having been a huge fan of the band’s latest release I was more than happy to hear these tracks present in the set, and felt that all 5 of the tracks came across well live. There were of course a few tracks from Blink’s back-catalogue that I’d like to have seen in the set that weren’t included, having listened to all of the band’s albums heavily over the years however, Blink-182 probably would have had to have played all night to have fully satisfied my cravings.
All in all, Blink-182 put on an absolutely incredible show at the O2 Arena, and I for one am very much glad that I took up the opportunity to see the band there in 2012. Mark and Tom were funny, had good crowd interaction between tracks, and there’s not a lot more that they could have done to have made the evening any better (besides play all of their albums in their entirety). Both of Travis Barker’s drum solo’s certainly impressed, and as one of my main musical inspirations growing up, it was brilliant to see him still tearing into his drumkit as ferociously as ever and no doubt inspiring the next generation of drummers. It may be 20 years since Blink-182 first formed, and they may all have other projects on the go now as well as being in Blink-182, but this is a band that is still going strong, and they’re showing on this tour that six albums in and countless tours later; Blink-182 is still a band with an awful lot to give.
See you all again at the Brixton Academy next month!
UK based film graduate with a huge passion for music, sports and video games.
Kurt Borutski is a 23 year-old Canadian musician that has made quite a name for himself on YouTube where he has built up over 2400 subscribers and his videos have been viewed more than 732,000 times.
Kurt operates under the Youtube alias KurtsCovers, and predominantly posts Blink-182 covers (and other Blink-182 side projects such as Boxcar Racer, Angels & Airwaves, and +44). Kurt has also covered tracks by several other artists (including a number of Green Day covers), however his predominant focus has been on the work of the much loved pop-punk trio that is Mark, Tom, and Travis.
Kurt has been posting videos on his YouTube channel since April 2011, and in little over a year has already built up to 238 videos, posting videos frequently and keeping in touch with his fans through his Facebook page, and also through interaction with his viewers by commenting on the YouTube platform itself in response to those that leave him comments.
Having previously focused on covering single tracks on bass, guitar, and drums, Kurt has recently taken to uploading full album covers of Blink 182’s music, and has so far posted full album bass covers of ‘Take Off Your Pants and Jacket‘, ‘Neighborhoods‘, ‘Cheshire Cat‘, ‘Enema of the State‘, ‘Self-Titled‘, and most recently the ‘Mark, Tom, and Travis Show‘ live album.
A prolific poster of cover videos on Youtube, Kurt Borutski is not just another lifeless cover artist; Kurt injects a great deal of energy and enthusiasm with his cover videos, and you can tell that he’s a prolific fan of the artist’s that he covers (and not just because he seems to own every Blink-182 signature model instrument known to man).
Kurt Borutski is most definitely a very impressive musician, and particularly if you’re a Blink-182 fan, it really is worth checking out his videos on his Youtube channel. There are a lot of people out there that cover the music of Blink-182, there are few that can put their personality and enthusiasm for creating music across quite like Kurt can however, and whenever Kurt adds a new cover to his channel, even if you’re not the biggest fan in the world of the work that he’s covering, you can rest assured that Kurt Borutski will still make it well worth watching.
UK based film graduate with a huge passion for music, sports and video games.
KeezyKabeezy is a one-man pop-punk phenomenon from Chicago, Illinois. KeezyKabeezy first shot to fame in August 2011 when he recorded an alternate version of ‘Up All Night‘ from the Blink-182 album ‘Neighborhoods‘, recorded from the perspective of how the track might have sounded had it been released in 1999. KeezyKabeezy has to date covered three Blink-182 songs, a Jimmy Eat World one, and has now given us a taste of what we can expect from him as an artist in his own right.
‘Power Lines‘ is an impressive taste of what KeezyKabeezy is capable of as an artist; it’s an upbeat pop-punk song, and if you’re a fan of late 90s/early 2000s pop-punk from the likes of Blink-182 and New Found Glory, then the chances are that you’ll enjoy what you hear here. KeezyKabeezy’s vocals are not too dissimilar at all to those of Blink-182’s own Mark Hoppus, and his basslines hold a clear Hoppus influence also. The drumbeat here is a pretty simplistic one, certainly works well within the context of the track though, and the simplicity of the drumbeat here is by no means a drawback. ‘Power Lines‘ is an easily accessible track, very catchy, and if it was released by one of pop-punk’s heavy hitters then there’s every chance that it’d be a huge success.
When listening to KeezyKabeezy’s ‘Power Lines‘ it is incredibly easy to forget that this is just a one man project; there’s a great quality to the music here that belies the fact that this is the work of just one man. KeezyKabeezy is an artist with an incredible talent for creating catchy pop-punk, and on the basis of this original track and the cover tracks that have come before, I for one really can’t wait to hear what else KeezyKabeezy has to offer in the future and will most definitely be keeping an eye on his YouTube channel for further updates.
If you’d like to see where the magic happens for KeezyKabeezy then you can check out his home recording set-up here. When you see the conditions that this man is working under and the equipment that he’s working with, his achievements as an artist really do appear all the more impressive.
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UK based film graduate with a huge passion for music, sports and video games.
Blink-182 has officially unveiled the artwork for sixth studio album ‘Neighborhoods‘.
The cover art includes a tribute to DJ AM, a good friend of Travis Barker that sadly passed away in August 2009.
‘Neighborhoods‘ is to be released on September 27th through Geffen Records. Two tracks have currently been released from the album; ‘Up All Night‘ was the first new Blink-182 material to be unveiled, and more recently the band has followed this up my making the track ‘Hearts All Gone‘ available for online streaming.
UK based film graduate with a huge passion for music, sports and video games.
It’s always a strange moment when one of your favourite artists releases a new single; a case of excitement yet also nervousness. When it has been eight years since the band released its last album this therefore heightens the emotions substantially. After such a period without new material, will your long-term favourite band still be able to deliver? Will you be able to hold the new material in such high regard? Upon first listening to ‘Up All Night‘ I feared not.
When Blink-182 went on an extended hiatus in 2005, Tom DeLonge went on to form Angels & Airwaves whilst Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker focussed on a new project in the form of +44. Listening to ‘Up All Night‘ is like hearing the band bring together their hiatus projects with the Blink-182 that we know and love. There’s a greater sense of maturity about the band, as was beginning to be evidenced with the band’s final release before the hiatus, and in fact with ‘Stay Together For the Kids‘ from the ‘Take Off Your Pants and Jacket‘ album also. The band has clearly progressed and matured, and upon first listening to the single I was a little fearful of the change. Did the band still do it for me? Was ‘Up All Night‘ a credible return for the band, or was it in fact a massive disappointment after all these years away? Upon repeated listens to ‘Up All Night‘ I found my answer.
‘Up All Night‘ is another absolutely brilliant single release from the fantastic pop-punk band that is Blink-182. The band has most definitely evolved, after nearly a decade since 2003s self-titled release however is that really such a bad thing? Would I prefer for the band to have stagnated and not progressed its sound? Upon reflection, no I wouldn’t.
With its incredible introduction, ‘Up All Night‘ instantly grabs you, having you hooked right from the offset. Tom DeLonge powering away on the guitar, Travis Barker delights with his stick skills as always, and we have ourselves another hit from Blink-182. The opening riff from Tom DeLonge is incredibly catchy, it has you wanting to pick up a guitar and play it for yourself; the supreme power of inspiration still shining through as Blink-182 provides us with another absolute aural delight. Not only is this opening guitar hook incredibly catchy, but the chorus also is equally infectious. After listening to the track a couple of times you find yourself unable to stop yourself singing along to the chorus, tapping away to the beat on your desk as you do so. ‘Up All Night‘ is an incredible comeback from Blink-182; undoubtedly different to what most people surely expected from the world’s biggest pop-punk band, brilliant nonetheless however, and an extremely catchy single that Blink-182 can rightly be extremely proud of.
I was extremely disappointed when Blink-182 announced its hiatus in 2005, I always kept the faith that the band would be back though and was over the moon when the band announced its return in early 2009. Two and a half years later and we can celebrate properly the return of Blink-182; the band has a new single in the form of ‘Up All Night‘, and in September the band’s gift to us is sixth studio album ‘Neighborhoods‘. If ‘Up All Night‘ is anything to go by then ‘Neighborhoods‘ will most certainly be an album well worth adding to your collection.
This is not the same Blink-182 that left us in 2005, this is a Blink-182 that has benefitted from several years apart to focus on other projects; this is a Blink-182 that will come back bigger and better than ever.
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UK based film graduate with a huge passion for music, sports and video games.
Blink-182 has officially unveiled its first new track for years as ‘Up All Night‘ has finally hit the internet.
Sounding like a mix of hiatus period projects +44 and Angels and Airwaves, the new Blink-182 sound is most definitely different to what the band was producing in the past, progression is clearly key here however, and the band certainly can’t be accused of having stood still.
Not everyone may entirely appreciate the band’s new change of direction, having listened to the track upwards of about 15 times already however, this track has most certainly been a hit here at Alt-UK. The first listen didn’t entirely grab me, with repeated listens came increased enjoyment however, and I now feel that Blink-182 has once again produced the goods and come up with an absolutely incredible new single.
What do you think of the new Blink-182 sound?
UK based film graduate with a huge passion for music, sports and video games.
Having originally spoken about ‘Up All Night‘ over two years ago, this Friday Blink 182 will finally officially unveil the track as it debuts on Los Angeles radio station KROQ, and also on the band’s official website, Blink182.com.
The track will be posted on the website on July 15th at 15:30 BST, the band’s first new material since 2005.
Blink 182 was originally scheduled to come over these shores earlier this month taking in a 12 arena tour of the UK and Ireland, back in April the tour was postponed however with the band now set to come over in June/July 2012 instead.
UK based film graduate with a huge passion for music, sports and video games.
Blink 182 bassist/vocalist Mark Hoppus has confirmed that Blink 182 will be entering the studio later this year in order to get to work on studio album number six.
Blink 182 is playing Leeds/Reading Festival at the end of August, and after playing California’s Epicenter Twenty Ten festival in September the band will then be entering the studio.
Mark Hoppus has stated the following on his website about the matter:
All of us have ideas from before and after the tour last summer, and are excited to get into the studio and see those ideas come to light.
So hopefully in 2011 we should be seeing a fresh new album of material from Blink 182, the band’s first release since 2003s self-titled album.
These are definitely exciting times for fans of the band right now as we eagerly anticipate a new studio release from the fantastically fun Californian pop punk band that is Blink 182.
UK based film graduate with a huge passion for music, sports and video games.
UK based film graduate with a huge passion for music, sports and video games.