Sometimes, you miss an album when it first comes out. I don’t know what I was doing in 2001, but that’s when blink-182’s Take Off Your Pants and Jacket was released. Between Enema of the State and 2003’s eponymous blink-182, I fell off the pop punk wagon. I’m kind of disappointed that I didn’t enjoy Take Off when it was at it’s peak, but it absolutely makes for a solid listen now.
It came back to me a few weeks ago, when the song “Please Take Me Home” came up on my car’s iPod during shuffle play. Just by chance, this song hit me. It was one of those times in life where something had just happened that fell apart after seemingly going very well, and as soon as I heard the first lyric, “Oh no it happened again,” I tried not to listen too closely, but it sucked me in.
Regardless of the situation that brought me to the album, I’m really glad it did. Everybody knows the hits “First Date” and “Rock Show,” but any of the songs up and down the album could have ben radio hits back in their day. Ironically, “Please Take Me Home,” the song I heard first, is the fiinal song on the album. This is the last of three that give the album an emotional weight following “Give Me One Good Reason” and “Shut Up,” my two other favorite tracks off the record.
I don’t want to ramble about how much I’m enjoying the album over the past few weeks, but would rather ask: Have you ever discovered an album long after it came out? What was it, and how did it come about?
For your listening pleasure, here’s the full Take Off Your Pants and Jacket album with bonus content. Enjoy:
Eliott At Large 