and my eyes, they despise you

It doesn't take a rocket scientist, or even a halfway-deece music blogger to connect the dots between Green Day and blink-182 in terms of mid-90s pop-punk. As in, without GD breaking, there would be no blink. But as much as I speak in worshipful, semi-creepy tones about Billie Joe and the rest of his band--I have to give Mark, Tom and Travis the bulk of the credit/blame for the past few years' recent surge of increasingly lamer and lamer rocker-type bands.

Maybe it's that the band members themselves are getting younger--I remember being deeply, personally affected by the entrance of blink-182 into my life in middle school, and I'm sure numerous others were as well, be they my age or even younger. Or sadly, maybe it has something to do with jacking an image than it does a music-making philosophy.

Want to know what I'm talking about? Here is a video for a very terrible song by a band called All Time Low:



Now. Here is the video for the song, perhaps you remember it, "All The Small Things," by blink-182.



Honestly, I would make a list of the things lifted either in actuality or in general principle, but I'm tired, and I think doing so would make me sad. But hopefully the point of how bands (and All Time Low is certainly not the only one to do so--I'm looking at you, even shittier groups like We The Kings and 3Oh!3) have not just been "inspired" by blink's contributions to music, but seeming are attempting to just become the band that can fill their place in the pop-music sphere. As opposed to, you know, exploring what may work for their band without another group hovering over their proverbial shoulder every second of the time.

The connection between groups was made all too clear at the MTVu Woodie awards a few days ago, as you can see here when former-blink member Mark Hoppus gives All Time Low an intro to performing that he mentions was "personally requested by the band." I just bet.

(If you leave the player running, the song they perform is actually better than the one I embedded above. For what that's worth.)

--Anna plays the leader, 'cause she knows it's what she's good at.