Too Stoked for Words

OK, I'll get this out of my system now. September 27th, 2011 is a very important day for me, and if you've had even one conversation or read anything I've written in the last couple years, you know why. My favorite band of all time, blink-182, is finally releasing new music in the form of their new album, Neighborhoods. A lot of you have asked me what I think of it, and the truth is, I haven't heard it yet, other than the two singles that have surfaced, "Up All Night" and "Heart's All Gone." I will not hear it until the 27th, when I spend hard earned money from pushing carts at Market Basket on a physical copy of the disc because I think down- loading leaks and getting music for free is lame. I want to hear it for the first time, in all its' glory, with the artwork in front of me, the way my heroes intended for me to hear it. But that's another story all together.

I have spent the last few weeks thinking on a near constant basis about the release of this record. I have tossed and turned and wondered what it will sound like, and I have been nothing but excited at hearing Mark and Tom together once again, going as far as to completely alienate myself from the press surrounding the album in order to make the experience as pure as possible. I had also already decided not to review Neighborhoods for The Clock. Let's be honest, there is no way in hell I could do an unbiased piece about this album. I know I'm going to love it, and it will probably be my favorite thing that comes out this year by far. So this will be

the last time I write about Neighborhoods until that end of the year list. This is such a monumental event in my life that I am actually sitting here, writing this column about my favorite thing in the world, and I really don't have a lot to say about it other than that there was a time when I never thought this day would come, and now it's almost here, and I just can't believe the wait is over.

I have never met a bigger blink-182 fan than myself, and that's saying something because I hang out with some seriously nerdy people. It's funny, because I'm the go-to "blink guy" in my group, and people have been trying to initiate conversations with me about this record, and I just have nothing to say other than "Yeah, I'm pumped." I've been waiting, so patiently, for so long through three Angels & Airwaves albums, an ill-fated decision to purchase everything Mark has produced since the break up of blink (turns out even Mark Hoppus doesn't always work with great bands) and a plane crash that almost claimed the life of the greatest drummer known to mankind. My life has changed so much since November 18, 2003 when blink released their untitled album. I was a freshman in high school. All the reasons those songs resonated so well with me are dead and gone, and have been for years, but I'm still as giddy as that barely-15 version of myself thinking about how I'm going to relate to these songs. So, in summation, I'm happy as a clam. I just saw the boys in Montreal on the Honda Civic Tour and I'm not afraid to say I wept like a 6th grade girl with braces at a Justin Bieber show.

The English language just hasn't come up with a word yet that describes how much I adore this band and how much of the last 14 years of my life I have devoted to obsessing over them, so I'll just say that I'm eagerly awaiting unwrapping the plastic off my heroes' latest masterpiece. On a side note, this issue of The Clock marks the debut of my new assistant/ protégé Mollie Menees. She loves video games, good tunes and cute animals, so email her on any of those topics. Welcome to the team, girlfriend.