I first heard Blink-182 in 6th grade. My initial exposure, to “All the Small Things,” must have made its way through my pores and found its way to something inside me primordial and fundamental, because I remember the song pervading my consciousness for months. In fact, I remember that whenever I was part of a class group or creative project and we had to make a presentation, my sole resource was to do a parody of “All the Small Things.” Maybe this owes more to Weird Al, who also played a dubious role model in those days. Either way, my fellow group members must have been weak-willed, or also of questionable taste, because I remember my grand plan winning out more often than was healthy or reasonable.
It matters not what generated my weird year of Blink-182 variations. What does matter is that, many years hence, d’Eon has embraced the passed torch with his own Blink re-imaginings. And thankfully the tracks here — vibing on “What’s My Age Again?” — are light-years better than a 12 year old’s “All the Small Things”/Julie of the Wolves mashup. Better, even, than the originals. Better than they have any right to be.
This mixtape, Music For Keyboards Vol. II, is out now from Hippos in Tanks (and premiered by Stereogum). d’Eon’s LP, LP, is also available from Hippos in Tanks.
• d’Eon: http://hipposintanks.net/artists/deon
• Hippos in Tanks: http://hipposintanks.net
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