The Rock Show

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For other uses, see Rock Show.
"The Rock Show"
Single by Blink-182
from the album Take Off Your Pants and Jacket
Released June 25, 2001
Format CD
Recorded January–March 2001[1]
Signature Sound
(San Diego, California)
Larrabee Studios West, Cello Studios
(Hollywood, California)
Genre Pop punk[2]
Length 2:51
Label MCA
Writer(s)
Producer(s) Jerry Finn
Blink-182 singles chronology
"Man Overboard"
(2000)		 "The Rock Show"
(2001)		 "First Date"
(2001)

"The Rock Show" is a song recorded by American rock band Blink-182 for their fourth studio album, Take Off Your Pants and Jacket (2001). It was released as the lead single from the album on June 25, 2001. The track was composed primarily by bassist Mark Hoppus based on the band's early days touring punk rock clubs. The song's creation stems from Blink-182 manager Rick DeVoe's opinion that the album lacked a catchy, "feel-good" song. Hoppus composed "The Rock Show" in response, while guitarist Tom DeLonge composed the album's second single, "First Date".

The song peaked at number two on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart, making it the most successful single from the album. It also reached number 14 in the United Kingdom. The song's music video finds the band giving an unusually large budget for the video, and spending needlessly on random things. In promotion of the single, Blink-182 performed the song live on late-night talk show Late Show with David Letterman.

Background

Prior to recording their fourth studio album, Take Off Your Pants and Jacket, Blink-182 recorded demos at DML Studios, a small practice studio in Escondido, California, where the band had written Dude Ranch and Enema of the State.[1] The group had written a dozen songs after three weeks and invited their manager, Rick DeVoe, to be the first person outside Blink-182 to hear the new material, which the band found "catchy [but with] a definitive edge".[3][1][4] DeVoe sat in the control room and quietly listened to the recordings, and pressed the band at the end on why there was no "Blink-182 good-time summer anthem [thing]". DeLonge and Hoppus were furious, remarking, "You want a fucking single? I'll write you the cheesiest, catchiest, throwaway fucking summertime single you've ever heard!"[1][5] Hoppus went home and wrote "The Rock Show" in ten minutes, and DeLonge similarly wrote "First Date", which became the most successful singles from the record and future live staples.[4] "The Rock Show" was written about the band's early days at a club in San Diego named SOMA.[6] The song's arrangement was worked in the Famous Stars and Straps warehouse in San Diego.[7]

The band felt the song captured "the spirit of the Ramones and Screeching Weasel about it, but [it was] definitely influenced by bands like the Descendents."[8] They expanded upon this in a 2001 interview with BBC Music:

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I think it's actually as if we built a punk rock time capsule and went back to five years ago when we were writing songs. We wrote that song as a mid-tempo punk-pop song about a girl, and it ended up being one of the better ones on the record.[8]

Although it only peaked at number 71 on the Hot 100 and number 33 on the Mainstream Top 40 chart, it reached number two on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart.[9]

Reception

Eric Aiese of Billboard examined the song through the lens of its airplay competition: "As the face of rock radio has yielded toward the emerging hard sounds on "nu metal," Blink continues to provide a contrasting voice […] "The Rock Show" clearly shows the band’s talent for writing—and performing—hooks."[10]

Music video

The band filmed a music video that included them trashing televisions, trains, taking the homeless for a spa makeover, handing out cash to strangers and paying dancers to mow people's lawns.[9] The relatively large budget for the video, reportedly $500,000, was the basis of the joke and needlessly spent.[9][11] The video recalls that of "Taxloss" by Mansun.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Blink-182. 

The Rock Show CD Single #1
No. Title Length
1. "The Rock Show" (Radio Edit) 2:51
2. "Time to Break Up"   3:05
3. "Man Overboard" (Radio Edit) 2:46
4. "Man Overboard" (Video) 3:12
The Rock Show CD Single #2
No. Title Length
1. "The Rock Show" (Album Version) 2:51
2. "Aliens Exist" (Live from The Mark, Tom, and Travis Show) 3:43
3. "Adam's Song" (Enhanced video) 4:22
The Rock Show DVD Single
No. Title Length
1. "The Rock Show" (Album Version) 2:51
2. "All The Small Things" (Video) 2:53
3. "Clips From 'The Urethra Chronicles'" (Video, Four 30 Seconds Clips)  

In popular culture

Chart positions

Weekly charts

Chart (2001) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[12] 34
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[13] 38
Belgium (Ultratip Flanders)[14] 11
France (SNEP)[15] 88
Germany (Official German Charts)[16] 55
Ireland (IRMA)[17] 28
Italy (FIMI)[18] 24
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[19] 98
Scotland (Official Charts Company)[20] 10
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[21] 39
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[22] 84
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[23] 14
US Hot Modern Rock Tracks (Billboard)[24] 2
US Billboard Hot 100[25] 71
US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[26] 33

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Shooman, 2010. p. 87
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ "Archive Chart: 2001-07-08". Scottish Singles Top 40.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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