Here are blink-182’s music videos ranked in order of greatness
The blink-182 story isn’t about the accomplishments and accolades. Yes, the trio probably like playing in front of sold-out stadiums. We’re sure cashing checks with that many zeroes is fun. But to know blink-182, you have to watch their music videos.
Few bands boast a collection that tickles the teenage funny bone with scat humor, then pulls at the heartstrings with art so timely and relatable. There’s something to be said about a group who can split sides with nudity and appropriately address dark topics such as divorce or a worldwide pandemic that doesn’t seem like it’s going to end while some people aren’t taking it seriously and our leaders have their heads up their asses.
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Anyway, this seems like an appropriate time to chill out with blink-182’s collection of music videos, ranked in order of greatness.
23. “Heart’s All Gone”
Tightly edited clips from an Atlanta show make this video pop and rip at breakneck speed like the song itself. The edgy tune is matched in intensity by a fitting video, giving viewers a taste of what it’s like to be buried in the pit during a blink-182 show. Except you don’t have to deal with all the sweat or the token guy on acid. There’s no storyline to this video, and it’s pretty basic. Still, it’s a great representation of the band’s showmanship.
22. “Not Now”
“Not Now” originally appeared to be blink-182’s swan song. It was the lead single on the Greatest Hits album, released after Tom DeLonge first split with the band in the mid-2000s. The music video features clips from blink’s better days—the trio blasting each other in the face with cake, spraying fans with cereal and just being goofballs. Including clips from their performance for troops overseas was a nice touch. The video’s most memorable moment is the opening montage of music videos past, a reminder of blink-182’s Goliath-sized footprint in the industry around the turn of the century.
21. “After Midnight”
It’s one of blink-182’s best slow jams and reflected where they were at in 2011 better than any other tune. Our reunited heroes perform in the world’s largest freestanding wooden structure, built in the 1940s. Pretty freakin’ sweet! The video’s narrative follows two young lovers escaping from a psych ward for an evening of reckless romance. It sounds like it could be a Joker–Harley Quinn origin story. In actuality, it meshes well with the song, revealing some really genuine moments between the video’s chief characters. It’s the softer side of blink. “These nights go on and on and on,” Mark Hoppus sings. Hopefully that’s true for the band, as well.
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20. “Bored To Death”
Nothing super fancy here. It’s a cool music video with lots of energy, incorporating an intimate blink-182 live show with a side story about adolescents bonding over their music. For many, it was the first time seeing Matt Skiba jam with the band instead of DeLonge. It was like dining with the new step-dad. At first, there were awkward moments of forking food without making eye contact. But as Skiba kept grooving, you start to think, “OK, maybe this can work and two Christmases might not be so bad after all.”
19. “M+M’s”
Ah, such humble beginnings. blink-182’s first official music video is simple but slick. It features quick cuts of the band jamming mixed with them being pretty silly. The song/video combo introduces the music world to the charismatic trio, which featured drummer Scott Raynor at the time. Fittingly, it focuses on Hoppus, the continuous pulse of blink—and too an extent the pop-punk genre—during tumultuous times. We raise a glass to you, Mark.
18. “Home Is Such A Lonely Place”
Such a sweet music video. blink’s third single from California didn’t resonate as much as their first two. However, this compilation of their pretour hours humanized the trio (now including Skiba) while giving fans a fun sneak peek into their lives. The simple production perfectly paralleled the video. There’s a few sappy moments: Travis Barker fake-tattooing his son, Hoppus playing guitar with his kid and Skiba chilling with his dogs. And that fist bump before the trio went onstage? Perfect.
17. “She’s Out Of Her Mind”
The best aspect of blink-182’s recreation of the iconic “What’s My Age Again?” music video is the attention to detail. The old man is now watching a tablet, as opposed to a box TV in 2000. The young girl looks through a smartphone camera instead of a magnifying glass. There are small examples littered throughout the video. Plus, the Adam DeVine cameo—a blink fan who has incorporated their music into his stand-up acts—was a smart choice to play the “sexy nurse.” Social media stars Lele Pons, Hannah Stocking and Vale Genta famously substituted as members of the band, gallivanting in the nude throughout Los Angeles. They killed it.
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16. “Up All Night”
Mixed reviews met blink-182’s grand comeback, but the Lord Of The Flies-like music video hit a perfect note. Isaac Rentz captured the band’s more targeted tone with the nighttime ambience and regular doses of destruction. The choice to feature only restless, anarchic kids was a good stylistic move. No moms and dads allowed! Between the food fights, street riots and massive neighborhood fire, it had to be tons of fun to film. It also probably required a fair amount of parental waivers. Rentz’s interesting use of background light behind Hoppus and DeLonge jamming inside the house is a nice touch.
15. “Down”
Terry Crews is the hero of this music video. So let’s recap everything he does. Crews pulls up in a cop car like a huge badass, then scares off some of the toughest-looking guys you’ve ever seen. He peels out in said cop car, pulls off some serious Fast And The Furious-type maneuvers before eventually losing his suspects as they dip into a tattoo parlor. Crews doing cool things makes this video great. And Hoppus’ pink bass guitar. You can’t forget about Hoppus’ pink bass guitar.
14. “Man Overboard”
Released smackdab in the middle of blink-182’s heyday, director Marcos Siega’s visual for “Man Overboard” unsurprisingly earned No. 1 hit status on MTV. It parodies their past popular videos, featuring smaller versions of Hoppus, DeLonge and Barker. It’s a fun twist on, at the time, their newfound success while utilizing the trio’s trademark adolescent humor. The “Man Overboard” song/video combo is sometimes overlooked in the blink canon, but the juxtaposition between its upbeat tempo and dark lyrics set the stylistic groundwork for what fans would see in the years to come.
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13. “Happy Days”
In April, blink-182 collected clips of fans and a few celebrities quarantined from the coronavirus. It’s perhaps their sweetest music video. While the “Happy Days” video won’t garner the same views as blink’s megahits, this tightly edited production creatively pulls fans together in a moment where togetherness is most needed. And that’s what blink have always done—helped outsiders belong. It just so happens that everyone feels disconnected right now. Some cute moments include face-covered nurses dancing to the song, an old lading surfing down a set of steps and two friends video chatting with “I miss you” written on their masks.
12. “Feeling This”
Hoppus recently filled out a blink-182 bracket, and the winner was the classic “Feeling This.” Hard to argue with papa. The song introduced fans to the trio’s evolving sound on the Untitled album—darker yet still fast, edgy and uplifting. While lacking a coherent storyline, the sexually charged music video perfectly complements the track. Shot in a real former prison, it’s an impressive, anarchic and ambitious production that features a tampon-tossing tantrum. We mean, we guess that’s what the people want? Also, the window make-out scene would never fly in the age of coronavirus.
11. “Darkside”
Fans flipped on blink for the “Darkside” video, filling YouTube and reddit threads with negative comments. Some of the dislike is justified. “Darkside” is a good song with a little edge, but the music video appears like something you’d see on Sesame Street. Cleanly dressed kids dance as the band jam. It’s the most, maybe only, G-rated video of blink-182’s career. Even Barker wears a shirt! But the video is expertly crafted by director Andrew Sandler, appearing as a three-minute, continuous shot. It utilizes interesting angles and smart lighting to capture the well-choreographed dance moves. All in all, the visual is a fun, well-done piece of art.
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10. “Dammit”
It’s the song that defines blink-182. We can all picture the music video: Hoppus fumbling over an ex, battling her buff new boyfriend, DeLonge and Raynor laughing in the background with that cheesy, movie theater cashier. But there are so many little moments that make this video iconic—the comical look on DeLonge’s face after Hoppus tosses the popcorn in the air, Hoppus’ wild dance moves as he runs away from his ex’s new man and DeLonge appearing to mouth “I love you” to Hoppus before the chorus hits for the final time.
9. “Adam’s Song”
How to make blink-182 look serious? That was the question director Liz Friedlander addressed crafting the music video for “Adam’s Song.” Sandwiched between songs about aliens and a douche named Gary, they surprised critics with a serious tune pinpointed on suicide and depression in Enema Of The State. Friedlander expertly executed the message with an array of jarring stock-motion shots of the band mixed with look-live performances in front of a photo collage. The video excels in conveying the heartbreaking message from the hit tune.
8. “Stay Together For The Kids”
The song/video combo hits, well, like a wrecking ball. The video for “Stay Together For The Kids” is gorgeously shot, choreographed and crafted. It was a heartfelt message from blink to its core fans—angsty, juvenile but ultimately broken. It also reminded the music world that blink-182 weren’t a “joke band.” Immature? Sure. Crass? At times, yes. But they could flip a switch and connect with an audience in ways few others could. Had the trio attempted to take on an unrelatable, major world issue, it probably flounders. But blink zeroed in on a topic both they and many fans could relate to: divorce. Perfect.
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7. “Always”
What a beautiful, mesmerizing music video. It features the blink trio competing for the affection of Australian pop singer Sophie Monk, utilizing three horizontally rotating panels to tell the story. It’s a smart artistic move that was coordinated by director Joseph Kahn. The group get an A for perfect execution but also high marks for how the video’s ambiance pairs perfectly with the actual tune. Also, props to the editor. That had to be a bear.
6. “The Rock Show”
blink have a propensity for blending anything sweet and juvenile into art. Exhibit A is “The Rock Show” music video. One moment, the trio are granting free haircuts to the homeless. The next, they’re smuggling strippers and bashing TVs. There are dozens of iconic images in the video, none more memorable than the band tossing money off a store roof to crazed fans below. The video is tightly edited, covering significant ground in just over three minutes. When humanoids study our primitive culture, hopefully they stumble across this music video. It reflects the best of humanity.
5. “All The Small Things”
blink-182 lampooned pop music’s biggest names in their mammoth music video for “All The Small Things.” Backstreet Boys, 98 Degrees, *NSYNC, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera all fell victim to the SoCal boys. Ironically, the video helped them balloon bigger than the artists they parodied. It felt like blink’s prior adolescent yet sweet productions, but bigger. Much bigger. As the song circulated the radio airwaves, the video played daily on MTV in teenage prime time, aka when kids get off school. This is when blink-182 turned into a household name.
4. “I Miss You”
It’s blink-182’s most-watched music video on YouTube. Directed by Jonas Åkerlund, the visual is shot in the style of the 1930s. It’s loaded with images that are both cringe-worthy and laugh-inducing, straddling the line of ghoulish and goofy. Its dark ambience perfectly reflected the trio’s evolving maturity at the time. Like the “All The Small Things” video helped propel that late-’90s wave of pop punk into the mainstream, the “I Miss You” video helped carve a niche for the 2000s emo sound. It was the second time in a half-decade blink helped elevate a genre. We’re sure DeLonge’s voice is still inside your “head.”
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3. “Josie”
The fourth single from the 1997 record Dude Ranch, the “Josie” music video is so perfectly blink-182. It features an intriguing storyline, an epic food fight, climactic finish and plenty of hilarity. The song is less famous than their bigger bangers, but the video elevates the tune to much greater heights. It centers on a simmering romance between Hoppus and his high school crush, played by the now famous Alyssa Milano, which earns serious brownie points. DeLonge’s famous, wild-armed run is also born in the video’s waning moments. This short rom-com provides more laughs than most on the silver screen.
2. “First Date”
Filmed at a Canadian water park, the “First Date” music video is blink-182 balls out. It centers on the band’s psychedelic alter egos and is crammed with ’70s references. The video is also just plain hilarious. From the opening dialogue to DeLonge’s famous “WTF” moment that lives on in GIF history, it’s constantly crude and comical. Under the Malloy brothers, the video is entertaining enough to earn watches even from fans less enthusiastic about the song. Let’s not forget it spawned the iconic character Boomer, who’s still in jail for undisclosed reasons.
1. “What’s My Age Again?”
Let’s not complicate things. Director Siega’s nude masterpiece helped blink-182 obliterate the glass ceiling separating them from mainstream stardom. The song alone earned radio play. But the music video turned blink-182 into TRL mainstays while turning off moms and turning on pretty much everybody else. It helped solidify the blink brand—a talented trio of not-too-serious pop-punkers. Yet, the video forced the music world to turn an attentive ear to the rising stars in a shifting music landscape. The visual shocked, pushed boundaries, led to laughs and perfectly complemented a brilliant pop-punk song. It was blink-182’s grand arrival to mainstream success.
