Back in a Blink
Blink 182’s new album after nearly eight years is not what I expected, which is not a bad thing. I was expecting an album that was going to try and address becoming dads and mature relationships and well, dealing with almost dying. What I got was an album about some man-children trying to grow up and realizing that they don’t want to. Blink 182 was the band who first got me into good music, way back in 5th grade. The first CD I actually bought was Blink 182’s greatest hits after hearing I Miss You on the radio. Neighborhoods reminds me of that CD. All of the songs on Neighborhoods are good, and in some cases, great. Some songs that stand out are “Snake Charmer” and “Ghost on the Dance Floor”. Blink 182 mixes it up on this album, the toilet humor is gone as well as the band trying to go in a heaver direction, such as on “Up All Night”. Travis Barker is also showcased in many of the songs, which, surprisingly, works. His solos don’t seem drawn out, but rather, provides a contrast to Mark Hoppus’s vocals, which plays off nicely. Overall Blink 182 delivers a strong album that doesn’t stray that far from their poppy punk formula, which is a good thing. After all, why fix it if it ain’t broke?
Why Does Occupy Wall Street Matter
Almost a month ago, protesters began to congregate outside of major banks on Wall Street in New York City. Now, there is nearly a dozen different “Occupy Wall Street” campaigns going on in various cities, from London and even to Denver, but they have not, nor will, accomplish anything. Why? Because the “protesters” have no real cause to all rally behind, nor any organization that would support them. Some are there to protest the reckless spending and greed that has infected Wall Street, others to protest the many governmental leniencies that have been put onto those banks, and there’s still countless other mini protests or just people there for the spectacle. This is just like the riots that have gone on London over the summer because both Occupy Wall Street and the riots are grown out of apathy and boredom. I’m not saying that the world’s economy isn’t MESSED UP, it’s true when they say that less than one percent of the world’s population owns more than forty percent of the world’s wealth, and that’s just not right. But the stock brokers that work on Wall Street are largely not in that one percent. Occupy Wall Street is the liberal version of the Tea Party, trying to rock the boat to produce change, yet not willing to get wet. And sadly it has become almost embarrassing because liberals were always able to say, “WE aren’t the ones bringing guns to town meetings or threatening to shut our government DOWN because we don’t want the debt ceiling to be raised.” And now the Tea Party can say, “At least we didn’t march on Wall Street dressed as zombies.” That’s why Occupy Wall Street matters, not because it’s going to change our economy, but because it’s going to prolong the life span of the Tea Party.
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