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Always (Blink-182 song)

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"Always" is a song by American rock band Blink-182, released on November 15, 2004 as the fourth and final single from the group's untitled fifth studio album. The song was the lowest charting single from the album, but the song's music video received extensive play on music video channels. Like much of the album, the song shows the band's 1980s influences, with the multiple-layered, heavily effected guitars and new wave synthesizers.

"Always"
Single by Blink-182
from the album Blink-182
B-side"I Miss You (Live In Minneapolis)"
ReleasedNovember 15, 2004
Recorded2003[1]
Genre
Length4:12 (album version) 4:18 (Greatest Hits version)
LabelGeffen
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Jerry Finn
Blink-182 singles chronology
"Down"
(2004) 		"Always"
(2004) 		"Not Now"
(2005)

The song can also be found on the band's 2005 compilation Greatest Hits.

Background

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All three of the band members associated the song with the music of the 1980s. Tom DeLonge, in an interview with MTV News, described the song as a "love song."[2]

In another interview with MTV News, DeLonge explained the song and addressed the lyrics of the choruses, jokingly:

The song is about wanting to hold a chick all night long and kiss her and touch her and taste her and feel her and all these great adjectives. Verbs actually, there's some adjectives in there, but mostly verbs and nouns. Some pronouns too, but not too many of those.[3]

Composition

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"Always" was written by bassist Mark Hoppus, drummer Travis Barker, and guitarist Tom DeLonge, while sung by DeLonge and Hoppus and produced by Jerry Finn.[4] The song is composed in the key of B major and is set in time signature of common time with a tempo of 158 beats per minute. The vocal range spans from A3 to D7.[5] Referred to as "the '80s song" during production, "Always" features an uptempo backbeat combined with a New Romantic-era keyboard, and pulls from new wave influences.[2][4] Mike Rampton of Louder Sound described the song as "power-pop perfection".[6] Andrew Sacher of BrooklynVegan felt that "Always" was the most "Cure-sounding song" on the album, rather than "All of This" which featured Robert Smith. Sacher noted the track as a "a truly sweet post-punk love song".[7] The song's outro features four separate bass guitars being played; Hoppus uses a Fender Bass VI, a Fender Precision Bass "doing two different things," and a Roland Synth Bass.[4] Barker pulled from Missing Persons for inspiration whilst creating the song's percussion.[4]

Journalist Joe Shooman pointed out that the song's central guitar riff is remescient of The Only Ones' "Another Girl, Another Planet" (1979).[8] He called it "the thickest-textured Blink track of all-time," and acknowledged its tribute to 1980s synth-driven pop.[8]

Chart success and live history

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"Always" was announced as the fourth and final single from Blink-182 in August 2004. "It's gonna change people's lives and might actually change the world forever," guitarist Tom DeLonge jokingly predicted.[3] It was first serviced to radio in mid-November 2004.[2]

The song was only performed twice in its original release, prior to the band's "indefinite hiatus."[9] It has nonetheless been performed regularly since the band's return.

Reception

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A.D. Amorosi of The Philadelphia Inquirer, in his 2003 review of Blink-182, called the song "contagious."[10] Consequence of Sound, in a 2015 top 10 of the band's best songs, ranked it as number four, calling it "far and away the best track on the album."[11] Stereogum and Kerrang both named "Always" as Blink-182's eighth-best song.[12][13]

Music video

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The song's music video features a unique split screen technique, seen here.

The music video for "Always" was directed by Joseph Kahn. The group shot it while on tour in Australia in mid-2004, at the same studio space used by the Wiggles.[14] It features Australian pop singer Sophie Monk. The video is displayed as three horizontal panels,[9] in which Monk flirts with DeLonge, Hoppus and Barker. However, the panels sever the onscreen participants in three. Monk appears as a fractured whole, while parts of the band members combine to make one character.[2] The trio's characters attempt to plead with Monk, trying to repair a damaged relationship, which are depicted through fights, arguments, and "the occasional making-up/making-out," which is handled by Barker.[9] In reference to the video, DeLonge said "It's like doing an algebraic formulation on paper when you watch it. It's the same kind of feeling [...] but it's rad."[2] Bassist Mark Hoppus called it the most technically complicated video the band ever had to shoot, as it required choreographed positioning in real time.[14] The video was photographed by Brad Rushing and edited by David Blackburn who won the MVPA Best Editing Award for his work.

The song was a hit on music video channels,[9] where it was among the most-played on Fuse, MTV2 and MuchMusic into January 2005.[15]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Blink-182

Always Single
No.TitleLength
1."Always"4:11
2."I Miss You" (Live in Minneapolis)3:58
3."The Rock Show" (Live in Minneapolis)3:37
  • The two live tracks were originally broadcast live on The WB's Pepsi Smash concert series.

Charts

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Chart (2004) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[16] 45
Germany (GfK)[17] 96
Scotland (OCC)[18] 33
UK Singles (OCC)[19] 36
UK Rock & Metal (OCC)[20] 2
US Modern Rock Tracks (Billboard)[21] 39

Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[22] Silver 200,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

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Country Date Format Label Ref.
United States August 16, 2004 Alternative radio Geffen [23]
November 15, 2004

References

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  • Shooman, Joe (June 24, 2010). Blink-182: The Bands, The Breakdown & The Return. Independent Music Press. ISBN 978-1-906191-10-8.

Notes

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  1. ^ Wiederhorn, Jon (November 8, 2003). "Blink-182 Tone Down Pranks, Get Down to Real 'Action' on Next LP". MTV. Archived from the original on February 3, 2004. All of the tracks were recorded over the past six months...
  2. ^ a b c d e D'Angelo, Joe (November 12, 2004). "Blink-182 Celebrate Longevity With '80s-Sounding 'Always'". MTV News. Archived from the original on April 29, 2014. Retrieved June 7, 2010.
  3. ^ a b Moss, Corey (August 10, 2004). "Blink-182's DeLonge Expects 'Always' To Change Life As We Know It". MTV (MTV.com). Archived from the original on August 13, 2004. Retrieved June 1, 2010.
  4. ^ a b c d Blink-182 (liner notes). Blink-182. United States: Geffen. 2003. 000133612.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  5. ^ "Always". Blink-182 – blink-182 (Guitar Recorded Version). Hal Leonard Corporation. January 2004. ISBN 978-0-634-07406-6.
  6. ^ Rampton, Mike (October 12, 2022). "Every Blink-182 album ranked from worst to best". Louder Sound. Retrieved January 23, 2023. Feeling This is both wistful and horny, I Miss You features Tom DeLonge's ever-evolving accent at its best and Always is power-pop perfection.
  7. ^ Sacher, Andrew (November 16, 2023). "Blink-182's untitled LP at 20 - the album that gave pop punk its art rock moment". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved August 27, 2024.
  8. ^ a b Shooman, 2010. pp. 123
  9. ^ a b c d Shooman, 2010. pp. 135-136
  10. ^ A.D. Amorosi (November 23, 2003). "Review: Blink-182". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved September 22, 2010.
  11. ^ Dan Caffrey; Collin Brennan; Randall Colburn (February 9, 2015). "Blink-182's Top 10 Songs". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
  12. ^ Trewn, Pranav (September 26, 2016). "The 10 Best Blink-182 Songs". Stereogum. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  13. ^ Law, Sam (January 12, 2022). "The 20 greatest blink-182 songs – ranked". Kerrang. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  14. ^ a b Hoppus, Mark (October 16, 2017). Blink-182 - Always (Video History) (YouTube video). Published on the official YouTube account of the magazine Rock Sound. Archived from the original on December 12, 2021. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
  15. ^ "Billboard Video Monitor". Billboard. e5 Global Media. January 8, 2005. p. 8; 48. Retrieved October 9, 2010.
  16. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 14, 2016.
  17. ^ "Blink-182 - Chart history". Billboard. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
  18. ^ "FMQB Available for Airplay Archive". FMQB. Archived from the original on March 22, 2013. Retrieved April 24, 2017.
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