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 | Blink 182Cheshire Cat1995 Cargo 
  Review by: Devon See others by this writer Only registered users can post comments 
 Published on August 9th 2002
I got into Blink 182 the first time I heard "What's my Age Again" on the radio. I know, that was when I was young and naive and totally into pop punk. I bought Enema of the State and I thought Blink 182 was the shit. I decided that I had to get all of their albums. The first time I listened to Cheshire Cat, I was in for a surprise. This wasn't the same Blink 182 who recored Enema of the State. Dare I say, this version of Blink 182 was (gasp) much better. People who liked this also liked:           Please login or register to post comments. What are the benefits of having a Punknews.org account?
As this is basically the album that got me into rock, I have to give it props. Even as a firm believer in the absolute uselessness of the pop/punk genre, this album is one of the greats. Kids that started listening to Blink after Enema of the State, buy this album, study it, then go kill yourself for being so stupid. i haven't listened to Chesire cat yet because it didn't really appeal to me but it was more all the small things that got me into them now even though they are split up i still can't get enough of them. i started listening to this album when i was like 13. its really got me into music I can't believe what you people are writing about drummers. There is absolutely no one out there that can produce a phatter beat than travis. He is the best drummer there is FOR THIS STYLE OF MUSIC. He could dominate other styles, but he sticks with whats best. Someone said earlier, Danny Carey is better than travis. Cool, your opinion, but the truth is...if there was a drum off between the 2, travis would fuckin destroy. He's faster, more technical, and his style is incredible. Travis is a master, and all should bow before him dude i mean, they were more punk when they released this album... I think that is great punk music... I do think that travis is an excellent drummer, but i agree with seek. There are better drummers out there I do think that travis is an excellent drummer, but i agree with seek. There are better drummers out there I do think that travis is an excellent drummer, but i agree with seek. There are better drummers out there I do think that travis is an excellent drummer, but i agree with seek. There are better drummers out there this is a really good review. i agree. blink-182's old stuff is funnier and a lot better. i don't absolutely hate their newer stuff, but i definiteley agree that it isn't as good. For real, my favorite album of blink is boudha, but PUNKNEWS don't put it in the album's artist. For real, my favorite album of blink is boudha, but PUNKNEWS don't put it in the album's artist. Seriously first and last blink album i bought what happen to the Buddha LP? this is the best blink cd all the rest are ok, this is when blink sound it punk now they just sound crappy starting with enema of the state but anyway I think over all there a good band I rate them an 8 out of 10. Every body has been saying trvis sucks but that drummer in that album is their original drummer SCOTT RAYNOR fuck BARKER bring back RAYNOR Blink is the best freaking band ever. They are loved in my hart. They broke up is what they said well no need to cry just know that all the albums they have made freaking rocked and all you kill joys can go listen to your gay Good Charlotte. BLINK IS THE BEST BAND THERE EVER WAS yeah wot she/he says below me! blink ARE the shit. they rock man! im absolutely devastated they broke up me and my best m8 cried! wer convinced it was TRAVIS BARKER. he told MTV that they wer goin to get back together wen the times rite and now he says ITS OVER! i swear he locked up mark and shut him (gagged) in na cupboard while he gave that statement. and what about poor TOM!? 1 half of the FUNNIEST TWOSOME IN PUNK! whatever will we do if mark and tom are split up? we maintain they both should get a NOVICE BUT BRILLIANT drummer and sontinue to rock on. and im sure even SCOTT RAYNOR wuddnt fail to jump at the chans to rejoin the MIGHTY BLINK 182! Ok faggots you can stop bitching about how bad blink 182 sucks in the end you just wasted a crap load of time writing it, so fuck off blink 182 is awesome You must be joking...right? Travis sucks and just because a drummer can play fast it does not make him good, espcially if his beats are shit. Travis definitely is the best punk drummer. He is very technical and can play the fast "punk" beat This is BY FAR blink's best cd. You could tell that they were doing what they love and not doing it to make money. Best song is Carousel. I heard Enema of The State before Cheshire Cat and i loved it but i also think that Enema of The State is a great album and i always listen to it and im not a teeny bopper cuz along with blink i listen to the misfits, Alkaline Trio, Social D, Bad Religion and Black Sabbath! I used to listen to this album when it came out and i was in sixth grade. I thought it rocked, and i still do but i cant listen to anything they put out anymore cuz its all crap. The new albums are horrible, dude ranch was alrite. These guys are in there twenties and still singing about high school and dating. Its sad. i'm not gonna bash u. I like blink as much as u do. My band plays alot of their covers. We also do a shitload of harcore covers tho for any of u hardcore punkers w/ no life and rip on people who have different views on music. But otherwise, we do some nfg, nofx, bigwig, useless id, antifreeze, ataris, box car, and some new blink cause their new stuff is ok. we do a lot more than just that too but i'm not gonna name em all. later my favorite blink album, carousel is their best song period, also romeo and rebbeca, i like blink so all you hardcore punkers can proceed in bashing me now. Dave Raun from Lagwagon is the best punk drummer, you see the guy play live and it blows your mind and any other drummer out of the water. Leththe debate continue... Yes. Jordan Burns is the best punk drummer today in my opinion. Jordan Burns is also better than Travis... - bigjerk wow, reading all these comments made me wish travis played drums on this cd. 5 Punk drummers who are better than Travis: Cheshire Cat is by far Blink's best While it may be true that the older Blink is better than the newer Blink, it is not by much since it's still in fact Blink. The whole idea behind this seems to be that they're sellouts now, not punk, and you have nightmares every night that you go to sleep about that girl who you utterly despise now likes Blink 182 because she saw them on a Top Ten MTV countdown. it's amazing how much some of you can write about nothing Anyone who actually thinks that Scott is a better drummer than Travis needs a box of Q-tips. I hate travis too. he's a terrible drummer. Fits well with the band. I like how most the posts weren't about them selling out, the ones that were tend to argue against that notion. Most of them are about Travis's drumming or the vocals. aren't. i like how half of these posts are about the music but them selling out. that's great. "'punk' doesnt always mean the best musically. so there" Yes, I've been playing drums for 8 years. yes, you've been playing for 4. i'm glad you've taught yourself. thats exciting and fun, but hey, its pretty apparent that you guys only listen to a couple bands. travis is not the worst drummer ever, but he is to nothing jizz your hole about. i think blink is an ok band, but you guys are giving them too much credit. out of all punk drumers i've heard, i'd give travis about a 5 or 6 (TOPS!) and thats just out of punk drummers. out of drummers in general, he'd get like a 3 and 1/2. his beats are simplistic. his rolls aren't anything to mention. his cymbol work is really all he has going for him and its not that neat. and its funny that you guys say fuck pennywise. thats all fine. all their songs sound the same. ok.. i agree. although, i still like them quite abit, based on speed and lyrical content. either way, byron is a pretty badass drummer. few in the punk scene are as good. though there are a few (not travis) .. listen to the beats on land of the free. i'm not talking about stuff from the unknown road. he's a lot better now. anyway.. somebody also said that NFGs drummer was almost as good as travis. i agree. but, since travis isn't that good, its not that big of a deal. i apologize that your music catalog is so limited. i hope that one day, right around the time of puberty, you'll see that travis is mediocre, decent, but nothing to drop a load for. You will probably notice if you see them live that he fucks up quite often, which is okay. maybe, i'm speaking from a viewpoint that isn't fair to travis. i know that i can play his beats without problem, including some of the boxcar stuff. i've only listened to that one song a few times. not that big of a deal. some of it is better than what he usually does, but not that great. I'm not understanding this brick wall you guys are hitting. its like you've never heard a good drummer before. sure, if you've never heard anybody better than travis, you'd automatically think he's the best. but when you've listened to the amount of bands i have, you'll notice that he ain't that special. i'm primarily a guitarist, but i'm also a pretty decent drummer. the drummer for one of my bands is a dozen times better than travis and quite a lot better than myself. maybe i'm just spoiled, having listened to so many good drummers in my life that i can more easily detect travis' mediocrity. anyway, keep listening. sooner or later you'll hear it. Yes, I've been playing drums for 8 years. yes, you've been playing for 4. i'm glad you've taught yourself. thats exciting and fun, but hey, its pretty apparent that you guys only listen to a couple bands. travis is not the worst drummer ever, but he is nothing jizz your hole about. i think blink is an ok band, but you guys are giving them too much credit. out of all punk drumers i've heard, i'd give travis about a 5 or 6 (TOPS!) and thats just out of punk drummers. out of drummers in general, he'd get like a 3 and 1/2. his beats are simplistic. his rolls aren't anything to mention. his cymbol work is really all he has going for him and its not that neat. and its funny that you guys say fuck pennywise. thats all fine. all their songs sound the same. ok.. i agree. although, i still like them quite abit, based on speed and lyrical content. either way, byron is a pretty badass drummer. few in the punk scene are as good. though there are a few (not travis) .. listen to the beats on land of the free. i'm not talking about stuff from the unknown road. he's a lot better now. anyway.. somebody also said that NFGs drummer was almost as good as travis. i agree. but, since travis isn't that good, its not that big of a deal. i apologize that your music catalog is so limited. i hope that one day, right around the time of puberty, you'll see that travis is mediocre, decent, but nothing to drop a load for. You will probably notice if you see them live that he fucks up quite often, which is okay. maybe, i'm speaking from a viewpoint that isn't fair to travis. i know that i can play his beats without problem, including some of the boxcar stuff. i've only listened to that one song a few times. not that big of a deal. some of it is better than what he usually does, but not that great. I'm not understanding this brick wall you guys are hitting. its like you've never heard a good drummer before. sure, if you've never heard anybody better than travis, you'd automatically think he's the best. but when you've listened to the amount of bands i have, you'll notice that he ain't that special. i'm primarily a guitarist, but i'm also a pretty decent drummer. the drummer for one of my bands is a dozen times better than travis and quite a lot better than myself. maybe i'm just spoiled, having listened to so many good drummers in my life that i can more easily detect travis' mediocrity. anyway, keep listening. sooner or later you'll hear it. " If blink 182 really did suck then they would never have even been considered for a record deal." -- I suppose Britney Spears, Nelly, The Osmand Family, and disco was Grade A stuff? Hell, there are albums released by the people at GM Motors singing about auto safety. It doesn't take a good band to get a record deal, it just takes a sellable record. you guys go too far saying travis is "the best drummer ever". have you guys ever heard of a fella named Keith Moon? Or John Bonham? As far as "punk" drummers go, there are so many that are better. Chuck Biscuits, drummer in both DOA and Black Flag. Topper Headon from The Clash was a hundred times better than Travis. John Maher from the Buzzcocks has him beat hands down. I mean, you have to judge a drummer on two things: the quality of his music and the technical ability of his drumming. The quality of Travis's music obviously leaves much to be desired. His technical ability isn't something to scoff at but at the time it isn't wholly impressive. He's just a pretty good drummer in a pretty average band. yea as usual pat41 knows his shit and the rest of u are idiots. oh yea, travis is an amazing drummer and if u dont' think so u have no idea how to play drums. 8 years my ass u mother fucker. i've been playing 4 and travis kicks ass. his non standard rolls, his smooth transistions from hi hat to cymbols and back, his syncopated rhythms on the new boxcar cd, all of which are great. yea danny carey rules too. differtn genre dork. for punk, travis pushes the envelope to the max w/ teh simple shit mark and tom give him to work w/. that snare roll in the breakdown of 'i feel so'? check that shit out. do have any fucking clue how hard that is? fuck you asshole, i dont' like blink but too knock someones musical ability is ignorant and childish. the person below is soo incredibly right, its not even funny. o and travis is definitely a very talented drummer, the only other drummer close to him, is cyrus from nfg. so go listen to your 'punk' cds, but just wanted to let you know, 'punk' doesnt always mean the best musically. so there I hate all the people that say "Blink 182 is not punk" Blink 182 sucks" Travis is not a good drummer" blah blah fucking blah. If blink 182 really did suck then they would never have even been considered for a record deal. People will say oh the trend is pop punk and all the labels were trying to get pop punk bands... fuck no. There are plenty of other pop punk bands out there and there was no need to pick blink 182 out of the bunch unless they stodd out and had some talent. Travis is not a good drummer... hahaha good one guys. If you listen to the live album and dude ranch and compare dammit you can tell how much scotts drumming is simple and not difficult to do at all. I have been drumming for about a year and have never taken a lesson have never been in a band and have never taken a tip or been taught anything by anybody and I can play scotts drumming from dammit. I played with my brothers band at my birthday part saturday and I kicked the shit out of dammmit. Travis is 10 times better than most drummers out there. The guy from NOFX... fuck him. He is extremely fast but fast doesnt always equal good. Somebody said for a good drummer check out the guy from Pennywise... fuck... nothing in pennywise is worth anybody's time. pennywise sucks and they suck more than blink 182 ever could. And I hate people saying that "Oh I hope everybody who says blink 182 is punk dies" fuck you, its so punk to hate blink 182. I just want everybody to think I am so god damned punk. I guarantee you its not punk to have an internet connection. I can tell you honestly that more than half of the people on here to not adhere to the original beliefs of the punk subculture. I hear the word gay thrown around, fag, homo, calling something you think is bad gay is not punk. And to all the people that constantly remind us that NFG, sum 41, blink 182, good charlotte, and all bands similar are "not punk" then maybe you should look more closely... having to protect your punk image by not liking certain bands because they are not punk is not punk. I cant wait until the distillers become popular and you guys are sitting around calling them not punk, and saying they sold out and that you hate them and always have. I will laugh in your face and call you all lying sacks of shit... becuase thats what most of you are.-pat41 um, i've seen blink play twice, plus i've heard their last 3 cds, which tell me that your drummer is fucking moron and not likely a very good drummer himself if he considers travis to be THE BEST ever. thats pretty fucking stupid. The Best?? you gotta be kidding. any down syndrome patient with his thumb up his ass can hear that travis doesn't have anything special to offer. he's a mediocre drummer. and mediocre drummers suck. dime a dozen. like i posted earlier, i've been a drummer for a little more than 8 years and i know several other drummers. i only know a couple guys that are worse than travis. one guys been playing bout 6 months and he's at least as good as travis. not quite as solid, but he can play all the same beats. a drummer that considers travis to be THE BEST has got some serious problems and I would venture to assume they were gay. This record is far different than their new stuff for sure. Whether for good or bad, thats a personal descision. Who and what is "punk" is irrelevant. But this record was edgier, faster and aside from the drum beat, instrumentally more technical. The new album have had great producers and this is has had a huge impact on the vocals and overall sound. Thansk for doing a review on blink cuase not many of these other kids would even if they secretly liked the record. about travis, the drummer in my old band, who has been playing drums in bands for eight years, and is one of the true punkiest people i know, says he thinks travis is the best ever. he doesnt particulary like blink 182 but he says he thinks travis is really good. so ill take his word for it. ive seen blink 4 times and travis is really great live, so i assume the people who say hes not all hes craked up to be, havent seen him live. wow, the message board is the worst aspect of the internet. this cd is good. personally i think its the best, his 'raw' singing is fine. and yeah its just good. much better then enema, that was just shit altogether. but whatever, i just think people need to get past this whole state of time when its still cool to make of blink 182, and enough of this sell out - mainstream shit. atleast theyre making money. i bet you wish you made as much as them. but whatever, blink was better back on cheshire cat, but takeoff your pants... is still good, just not as good. ok peece good idea, might just try it. mmm lovely hahahaha. thats funny For the first time ever, the Vans Warped tour invaded the beautiful regional park Harriet Island here in St. Paul, MN. Featuring a wonderful view of the picturesque St. Paul skyline and the tranquil Mississippi River flowing a few feet away, the site was an oddly-perfect place for a punk show. the drummer in nofx isn't as good as everyone thinks he is. listen to his highhat when he's playing fast. It always skips the third beat. not a bad album, probably one of very very few pop punk bullshit that i listen to. People who always say Blink 182 "sold out" always cite this album as back "when they were punk". First, they never sold out, to sell out you must betray your ideals, and they never had ideals to betray. Furthermore, they suck now, and they sucked back then. This album is mediocre at best. production is shit on this album. also, this album shows how bad blink are, cuz once u get them out ofthe studio they can't replicate their sound live for shit. jerry finn can shine turds, he procuced sum41 also. this album shows what blink really sounds like. yea it was ok for the time, had some good tracks, their humor wasnt played out yet, but damn this cd sux, save carosel, peggy sue, m@m's. thats bout it. well i guess its not aweful but. shit. This is rating is for the guy that posts to nearly every review saying "so and so is NOT PUNK!" all of you need to get a life, the arguement of whos punk and not is so old, maybe we should stop tearing down bands weither you like them or not, in the punk family, we have nofx, anti flag preaching being kind to your brother, how is this being kind, if you don't like them, simply don't listen to them, don't take blows thru a comment of some message board, and the dude who says travis sucks, wow, i'd like to see someone in the punk family who is better, i love nofx and pennywise, but honestly they don't compare, and i bet if you asked them personally they would tell you that hes the KING!!!! i'm out Okay, Blink is not punk, then neither is bad religion then. I just heard them on my local radio station. That means they're sellouts!Right! I can't wait and see until some underground bands get popular and everybody starts to like them. What are you Hardcore Punks gonna do then? Oh no, MTV is calling Thrice, Glassjaw, Thursday,and The Distillers to be on Trl Today.Whooo Hoooo! If you like this cd then you're not PUNK. you don't need a good voice to sing in a punk band. Ehh, I think "Dude Ranch" is the best Blink album. As far as the other comments go: singing off-key does not make a song sound "punk". If by off-key you mean "raspy" or "whiney" sounding, that's different. Everybody says Fat Mike sings out of key, but if that's true why does NOFX have so many good harmony parts? In regards to Travis: Scott's a better PUNK drummer than Travis is. If you don't think they're punk, whatever, don't care. Don't listen to them anymore. But listen to the recorded version of "Dammit" VS a recent live version. Travis does HALF the number of beats on the hi-hat and ride that Scott does. When it comes to speed, Travis has got nothing. That's all I had to say. And before you give me any shit, I've been in a band for the past 2 years and am an avid music fan...I think I know what I'm talking about. If they re-recorded this it might be a pretty good CD. Blink is fun but you can't take them even the least bit seriously. That drum solo stunt on their recent tour was really sweet to see in person. I do agree that it is a ton of wasted talent, though. Oh yeah, and everybody, please stop saying travis is such a badass drummer. Anybody who has ever heard a good drummer will just laugh at you. Travis has one good beat in him and the rest is just pathetic cymbol work. He can keep time, but if you're a musician and can't keep time, you've got problems. Anyway, this guy is not even as good as dave grohl. If you want to hear a good drumm (then compare), listen to danny carey. That is a drummer. Not in the conventional punk category, but he can play faster and better than any punk you've ever heard. But, in the punk genre, check out pennywise or nofx for great fast drumming. Preferably newer albums, since they've both gained a lot since their early days. People are pretty quick to say that Blink has changed so much over the years. They haven't. In some respects, they have a few more love songs and slow songs in general, but they really don't sound that much different. hmm honestly, this cd isn't their best. but i do love touchdown boy and i remember getting hooked with this band when i saw them open for 7 seconds. it's amazing what travis can do to some of the old songs though. he makes the old ones sound so much better. I am not saying this as a punk, but as a music fan in general- and either way Blink sucks. Sorry guys, I'm not doing this because it's the "cool" thing to do, they just really do suck, but not nearly as bad as NFG or some of the other radio friednly bands. Not absolutley terrible, but definitely still crappy musicianship. Ska is gay Blink 182 is the worst band since the ramones. Screw my ass and call me life with loopy This is a pretty cool album but out of all the Blink albums enema is by far the worst best of crap they ever did. Jesus Christ, Not to be too harsh, but when you were "young and naive"? Wasn't that 3 years ago? If you bought this album after Dude Rand AND Buddha, wouldn't it be your third Blink 182 cd? I'm not gynecologist, but that's what my math skills tell me. i loved this album as well, it was the second blink cd i bought, dude ranch was the first then buddha, but ive loved blink for years now and though this cd deserves a perfect score we cant all forget about Dude ranch, thats the cd that led me to bands like the ataris, the get up kids, saves the day, alkaline trio and so on. I owe everything ive ever learned about punk rock to blink 182, and most of you wont admit it now but you do too, with the acception of the whole early 90s green day thing. i live in alabama and theres no scene here at all, i went to see Hey Mercedes the other night and had a blast, but if it werent for blink a few years back, i wouldnt have heard of HM. the vocals aren't so rough as to make this album unlistenable. anyone who has a problem with a raw singing voice is into the wrong genre of music. i think the vocals are at their best here, actually. they're raw and occassionally off-key which gives it a punk edge. this is probably the best blink has ever done. "Carousel" and "M&M's" are two of their greatest songs. i think the vocals are at their best here, actually. they're raw and occassionally off-key which gives it a punk edge. i much rather prefer it over the sugary sweet, crystal clear vocals on the recent albums. This album is pretty good but dare I say that I think Enema is much better. The production, songwriting, and singing are all very much improved (in my opinion). Sure, it's more radio-friendly but I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. "Wasting Time" is probably the best song they ever wrote, though. The only Blink album I actually still listen to. M&M's, Fentoozler, and Sometimes are my personal favourites. And Carousel too... this cds awesome and since im the weird one ill say it I still think blink kicks ass and i like the new stuff just as much as the old stuff. Tom from blink said that warner bros owns 51% of epitaph. I used to love Enema of the state then I listened to this album and realized that this is much better and enema is shit.... How can anybody be so dumb. My god I mean ok so this album is much better than enema but if you liked something before how can hearing something so different make you think that thing that you previously enjoyed sucks. That has to be the biggest piece of shit I have ever heard. Other than the fact that this guy is a moron I liked the review. I think its wrong of people to hate blink 182 just because they are popular but I am not going to say its wrong for them to not like blink. Just dont say that you used to like something a lot but now you think it sucks because you found something better. Thats just kind of ignorant dont you think?-pat41 what about romeo and rebecca and Wasting Time and Touchdown Boy? those are 3 more great songs off the CD. this is a great CD. Blinks best, take this for what it is,pop punk... And as i see on this site,its still "cool" to bash blink. I think that its you guys that need to grow up not the other way around-oldpunker- it's all about Ben Wah Balls. these ppl are as mature as 12 year olds.. this cd is bad, so is all of blink except for a few songs on dude ranch. This cd is horrible, the vocals suck, they reuse melodies. This one melody they have used in atleast 5 songs, in all there cds that is. The drummer they have on this cd sucks, travis is good, but scott sucks. I hate how all punk purists say this is the only good blink album, give it a rest. It's good classic stuff, but Blink has come a long way, and it shows, in musical maturation. Blink is just as punk now as they were then ( so what they are a little richer, maturer, and a little more experimental). Stand out tracks are Caroseul, M and M's, Wasting My Time, Depends, ben wah balls, etc....I give it a 10.... worst vocally. best musically. their dirty humor was old before this album came out. If they quit all their 12 year old antics and focused like travis does........We would still be gleaming about these lads. A waste of talent. All because they cant shut up and play. I just think everyone thinks it's so "punk" to like a band's older stuff. the vocals are so terrible on this cd Their best album. |
