Let’s be real. We still blast Blink-182 songs that were on MTV’s “Total Request Live” when we were in the fifth grade. And shamelessly we sing every word. But did you ever think those pop-punk jokesters could actually give us reasonable dating advice? One visit to songmeanings.net and I’ll admit several one-woman rock shows in Conner Hall later I compiled the top 10 words of wisdom sung by one of the defining bands of our generation.
1. “I waited for her call. She always kept me waiting. And if I ever got another chance I’d still ask her to dance because she kept me waiting from The Rock Show.” Why would he ask her to dance? Because she kept him waiting. Guys like hard-to-get. Something about a chick who keeps a guy waiting makes him tick. Lesson learned: Never be too available. Turn down plans occasionally. Men obsess over the pursuit— it’s their God-given right. Give him something to pursue.
2. “So when you see her standing there with green eyes and long blond hair she won’t be wearing underwear and you’ll discover this girl’s not the one and she’ll never be fun. You should just turn and run because you’ll find out that some girls try too hard from The Party Song.” This is a warning to guys looking for hookups at parties— they’re better off “back at home watching TV alone” than with the typical easy girl at parties. How did this night end? “I said I’d call her but never I’d bother.” Guys you don’t want that girl. Girls you don’t want to be that girl.
3. “Don’t depend on me to ever follow through on anything but I’d go through hell for you and I haven’t been this scared in a long time from Going Away To College.” In this sentimental songs the boys disclose the truth that some guys aren’t willing to admit: They can’t always give girls what we want or expect. That doesn’t mean they don’t care.
4. “I used to hate the lipstick. It stained and tasted so sick. The pantyhose and the bras she threw on my guitars from Time To Break Up.” We do tend to overdo the makeup… I mean you do want to be kissed right? Girls should also steer clear of guitars as well as anything referred to as “tools” or “gear if they want to keep their men.
5. No one should take themselves so seriously. With many years ahead to fall in line. Why would you wish that on me? I never want to act my age from What’s My Age Again?” Conversely the guy in this song gets dumped because of his immaturity. Too bad he’s having too much fun to care. In many ways this addresses the pressure girls put on guys to take relationships so seriously when realistically there are many “years ahead” to do that.
6. “So all you little ladies be sure to choose the right guys. You’ll come back to me maybe. I’ll shower you with lies from Dysentery Gary.” Self-explanatory.
7. “Guys hate to fight girls think it’s therapy from Don’t Tell Me It’s Over.” Then there’s how the fights end: “Girls always cry; guys will never admit they did.”
8. “Surprises let me know she cares from All The Small Things.” A reminder that it’s the little things that matter. The same idea is in “Josie”: “My girlfriend takes me home when I’m too drunk to drive and she doesn’t get all jealous when I hang out with the guys. She laughs at my dumb jokes when no one does. She brings me Mexican food from Sombrero’s just because.”
9. “When I needed you most was when I needed a friend from Untitled.” Friendship is the core of a relationship and she “let me down now like I let you down then.”
10. No. 10 does not involve any lyrics. Blink-182 taught us that it’s OK to “take a break.” In early 2005 the three launched a hiatus lasting almost five years. They saw other people joined other bands. Then in 2009 they got back together stating on the band’s Web site: “To put it simply We’re back. We mean really back. Picking up where we left off and then some.”
