Burning Sleep

Yes, the news every pop/punk fan the world over has been waiting for – Blink-182 have reformed and are back working together. Ever since the hiatus in late 2004, rumours have been thrown back and forth in the media about a reunion. Now its official;

The trio – Tom Delonge, Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker – confirmed their reunion after an appearance at the 51st annual Grammy Awards. The band presented Coldplay with an award for Best Rock Album. There is a sense of injustice that the most wimpy band around, Coldplay, pick up a ‘rock’ award. I like to think of this as a catalyst for the Blink reform, but thats just in my mind of course.

In an official statement, the band said: “Hi. We’re blink-182. This past week there’ve been a lot of questions about the current status of the band, and we wanted you to hear it straight from us. To put it simply, We’re back. We mean, really back. Picking up where we left off and then some. In the studio writing and recording a new album. Preparing to tour the world yet again. Friendships reformed. 17 years deep in our legacy.”

This is fantastic news, as Blink are one of the most consistently brilliant performers out there, and any future albums are sure to be smash hits. Expect sold out arenas next year folks.

On a side note, I’m wondering what will happen to +44 and AVA (two bands set up after the split of Tom, Travis and Mark). Will they end or carry on with replacements, or carry on as they are?

Updated 27th February

Emo heroes Madina Lake will return to the UK in April for a club tour in support of their upcoming second album, Attics To Eden.  Update: They may be supported by The Urgency in May.  More updates as and when.

Dates are as follows:

April
28 Leeds, Metrapolitan University
29 Nottingham, Rock City
30 Glasgow, QMU 30
01 Manchester, Academy II

May
02 Newcastle, Academy II
04 Sheffield Corporation
05 Birmingham, Academy II
07 Cardiff, Solus
08 London, Electric Ballroom

For tickets see aloud.com

Attics To Eden will be released through Roadrunner in the UK on March 23.

Green Day have revealed on their official website, greenday.com, the name of the follow up album to 2004′s multi-million selling record American Idiot. 21st Century Breakdown is the title of the album and is due for release in May.

The album cover has also been released, shown below. Its hard to imagine anything that will rival American Idiot, but this is Green Day, and they don’t do things half-hearted. I will be the first in line to buy this the morning of its release, and am already counting down the days.

When Windows Media Player (WMP) starting crashing frequently, I knew it was time to venture out for an alternative. I had always found WMP easy to use, quick to load, correct album art was always loaded, and until these recent crashes I had no reason to look elsewhere. A quick browse of Google and forums suggest I have a look at Winamp. So I did. (see attached screenshot for visual references)

As with 95% of the software I use, Winamp is freeware, available to download from the site instantly. There is also a Pro version, which costs $19.95/£13.20. Pro features include faster CD burning and ripping at 48x, as well as the ability to convert files into aacPlus, AAC, MP3, and WMA. Nice features to have, but I don’t think it’s worth paying for when the free version of Winamp is practically the same. Both the free and Pro versions of Winamp are available in 14 languages.

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The seemingly never ending ‘Will they / ‘Won’t they reform’ internet rumours were not discouraged over the weekend when former Blink 182 bassist Mark Hoppus said his piece to MTV. Mark Hoppus stated;

”If – and this is a big if – Blink 182 were ever to re-form, it would have to be the most amazing, ridiculous, mind-blowing show and tour ever.”

“I feel like, as bitter as our break-up was, we stepped back at the top of our game,” he added. “[So] we’d have to come back even stronger and better than before.’

When Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker left to create +44 (an excellent rock band that Blink fans will love) and Tom formed Angels and Airwaves (an equally exciting band who have a different style to Blink) I thought that was it for good. And even though I still love Blink-182, it wouldn’t be the same if they got back together. They have their own ways now. But who knows what will happen.

I would recommend reading the rest of the interview with Mark on the MTV website, linked here.