No One Likes You When You're 23

So I recently celebrated my 23rd Birthday (15/02/2023) and I thought what better time to do a post on this song, what is the song is question? Blink 182's 'Whats My Age Again.' 

'Whats My Age Again' is the lead single from Blink 182's third album 'Enema of the State' released in April 1999 and it also is the first song by Blink 182 to feature drummer Travis Barker who had joined the band a year earlier. Songwriting credits for the song are shared between the band's guitarist Tom DeLonge and bassist Mark Hoppus but it has been said Hoppus came up with the majority of the song after play the song "J.A.R." by Green Day, which has a distinctive intro on bass guitar. While practicing playing the riff, Hoppus came up with a new song derived from his failure to perform the part correctly. 

Lyrically the song deals with age, and not wanting to grow up, something that is universal to the vast majority of people. We are all still silly and stupid at times, in fact originally the song was called 'Peter Pan Complex' which refers to the psychological concept of adults who are still very immature.

The music video for 'What's My Age Again?' directed by Marcos Siega, features the band running in the nude through the streets of Los Angeles, as well as through commercials and daily news programs. This video propelled Blink to a massive audience, it was extremely popular on MTV (Music Televison) but also gave the band a reputation for nudity, leading some to believe they were simply a joke band and a bit of a gimmic. 

The song itself, has remained one of the bands most popular and a true cornerstone of the pop punk genre, it's short, snappy, and direct. Lyrically it's something we can all relate too. The simplistic nature of the song means that many have tried to imitate it, but it's not something that can imitated. 

A truly brilliant song.

Thank you for reading x

For Zoe, Joe & Chase x