All of This
ArtistBlink-182 featuring Robert Smith
AlbumBlink-182
RecordedJanuary–October 2003
The Rubin's House, Signature Sound, Rolling Thunder
(San Diego, California)
Conway Recording Studios
(Hollywood, California)
Genre
Length4:40
LabelGeffen
Writer
ProducerJerry Finn

"All of This" is a song by American rock band Blink-182 from the band's fifth studio album, Blink-182 (2003). The song is a collaboration with musician Robert Smith, frontman of the English rock band the Cure. "All of This" is a gothic-tinged pop song inspired by The Cure, and incorporates atmospheric guitars, strings, and a subdued tempo to create a moody, introspective sound distinct from the band's usual pop-punk style. The song shares songwriting credits between Smith, guitarist Tom DeLonge, bassist Mark Hoppus, drummer Travis Barker.

The collaboration with Smith came after the band invited him to contribute, despite initial uncertainty about how his voice would fit their sound. Smith's presence helped shape the track's dark, slow-burning, new wave aesthetic. Its sparse instrumentation features a mid-tempo drum loop paired with string arrangements. The song's narrative was adapted from a story told to the band by producer Jerry Finn about a humiliating middle school encounter involving a crush. On the album, it segues from "Easy Target", which carries a similar thematic approach.

The song was frequently cited as a highlight on the album and received positive reviews, with particular praise for its moody orchestration. The band, who were devoted fans of The Cure, saw the collaboration as a creative milestone. They performed the song live with Smith at Wembley Arena in 2004. "All of This" was briefly considered for the album's fifth single, but the idea was shelved when the band broke up in 2005.

Background

"All of This", as well as the song it segues from, "Easy Target", were based on a story from producer Jerry Finn's middle school years. Finn was in love with a female classmate, Holly, who invited him over, only to have her and her friend drench him with a hose; humiliated, he rode home on his bicycle.[1][2]

The band developed the song's instrumental and felt it reminiscent of the Cure.[3] It was musically inspired by the Cure song "The Love Cats" (as was "I Miss You"),[4] and the band decided to reach out to the Cure frontman Robert Smith by phone.[5] The trio did not anticipate he would go for it, considering the band's reputation.[6] Smith, for his part, was bemused as to how he would fit into Blink-182's sound, telling Blender:[5]

I'd heard a couple of singles, but I couldn't really see how I could sing on anything or write any words. But the demos for the album that eventually came out were fantastic. I think they suffer in a way that we [the Cure] suffered in that people weren't allowing them to become something else. If another band put that new CD out as their first album, people would go crazy.

As for their legitimacy, Smith gave the band advice: "Nobody knows what kind of songs you are going to write in the future and nobody knows the full potential of any band. I really like the music you sent me".[6]

Hoppus was ecstatic at Smith's response; he referred to the call as "an amazing experience, like a dream come true".[5] Hoppus had been significantly influenced by the Cure in his adolescence. After borrowing a cassette version of the band’s album Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me from friend Wendy Franklin, he became fixated on "Just Like Heaven”,[7][8] in high school, he began to dress like frontman Robert Smith, donning eyeliner and "occasionally bright red lipstick" to his high school classes.[8][9] During the session that produced "All of This", Hoppus went out of his way to purchase a Fender six-string bass, the same model employed on the Cure song "Push".[10]

Smith, who recorded his parts in England, took a significant amount of time recording the song, to the point that the band was unsure of whether or not his contribution would make the record:[4]

We were literally hours from having to turn [the masters] in to the factory when it showed up. It gave us all goose bumps to hear Robert's voice on our record, to hear his voice on another song, and to come to the realization that we actually wrote the music to it, because it sounds like a Cure song. We were jumping for joy when it was all said and done.

Music

The song is composed in the key of A major and is set in time signature of common time with a moderate tempo of 112 beats per minute. The vocal range spans from A3 to C#5.[11]

"All of This" is a gothic-tinged pop song that uses strings and guitar effects to create a moody atmosphere.[12]

Reception

Entertainment Weekly's Leah Greenblatt called the song a "haunting paean to lost love",[13] and Nick Catucci of The Village Voice referred to it as a "shuffling, string-gilded slow burner" while opining that Smith "has more presence than both of Blink's singers combined."[14] A.D. Amorosi of The Philadelphia Inquirer cited "All of This" as an example of the band delving into new wave.[15] Trevor Kelley of Alternative Press considered it evocative of the Cure's Seventeen Seconds.[16]

The band had discussions as to whether issue "All of This" as the fifth single from Blink-182, but plans were dropped following the band's declaration of an 'indefinite hiatus' in February 2005. In response to the idea of "All of This" becoming a possible single, DeLonge joked "We would love it because it's a bad-ass song, and the Cure's Robert Smith sings on it, and that makes us cooler than everybody else."[17]

Personnel

Personnel adapted from Blink-182 liner notes[1]

Blink-182
Additional musicians
Production

References

  • Shooman, Joe (June 24, 2010). Blink-182: The Bands, The Breakdown & The Return. Independent Music Press. ISBN 978-1-906191-10-8.

Notes

  1. ^ Blink-182 (liner notes). US: Geffen. 2003. 000133612.
  2. ^ Jon Blistein (November 15, 2013). "Not Fade Away: Blink-182's Untitled Grows Up". Radio.com. Archived from the original on 2013-11-20. Retrieved November 15, 2013.
  3. ^ "Blink-182 Bassist, Mark Hoppus, Rocks Out!". Fender. Archived from the original on February 23, 2004. Retrieved May 16, 2026.
  4. ^ Richard Harrington (June 11, 2004). "Seriously, Blink-182 Is Growing Up". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 25, 2014.
  5. ^ Shooman, 2010. p. 124
  6. ^ "Blink-182 Lets New Album Speak For Itself". Billboard. 2003. Retrieved September 24, 2010.
  7. ^ Tom Bryant (2006). "The Songs That Changed Your Life". Kerrang!
  8. ^ Scott Heisel (July 2009). "Mark Hoppus on the Cure". Alternative Press. p. 108.
  9. ^ Everett, Jenny (Fall 2001). "Blink-182 Cordially Invites You To Take Them Seriously". MH-18. Rodale, Inc.. p. 81.
  10. ^ Shooman, 2010. p. 123
  11. ^ "Blink-182 'All of This' - Guitar Tab". Music Notes. EMI Music Publishing. Retrieved February 25, 2014.
  12. ^ Vik Bansal. "Review: Blink-182". musicOMH. Archived from the original on October 14, 2010. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  13. ^ Leah Greenblatt (August 27, 2010). "15 'Wait, They Sang Together?!' Duets". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on March 1, 2014. Retrieved September 24, 2010.
  14. ^ Nick Catucci (December 2, 2003). "Review: Blink-182". The Village Voice. Archived from the original on November 28, 2009. Retrieved September 22, 2010.
  15. ^ A.D. Amorosi (November 23, 2003). "Review: Blink-182". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved September 22, 2010.
  16. ^ Trevor Kelley (December 2003). "The Graduates". Alternative Press. No. 185. pp. 114–116.
  17. ^ Joe D'Angelo (November 12, 2004). "Blink-182 Celebrate Longevity With '80s-Sounding 'Always'". MTV News. Archived from the original on November 17, 2004. Retrieved September 24, 2010.