Kings of pop punk, Blink 182 are one of my biggest influences as a musician and I'm still a massive fan of their music.
The reason is simple, I was listening to them a lot at the same time as starting out as a guitarist. So naturally I wanted to learn their songs and riffs.
Blink 182 songs on the acoustic guitar
Any song is worth attempting an acoustic cover of, even something as frenetically electric as a punk rock song. Playing Blink 182 on the acoustic guitar has it's challenges but is definitely worth it if you are persistent and creative.
Now here are some of my favourites to cover:
What's My Age Again
Dammit
I Miss You
All of This
Things to remember
Guitarist and songwriter Tom Delonge likes to use a lot of octaves in his playing. These can sound pretty rubbish on an acoustic guitar so try to look for work arounds for this.
Also, so much of Blink 182's music is enhanced by the epic drumming of Travis Barker. Be sure to play around with the tempo to suit you not the original.
Vocals for an acoustic singer
Neither Mark nor Tom are particularly spectacular as singers. I've seen Tom live as part of Angels and Airwaves, and he is pretty ropey to be honest. Not that my vocals are any better live.
That being said, some of their songs are quite hard to sing. Especially if you are a UK acoustic singer .
My recommendation is to start in a lower key and work up. It saves you the embarrassing experiences that I have had.
To play along or not
Most of the time when I do an acoustic cover I play along with the track a lot before I branch off on my own. If, like me, you know the Blink 182 songs really well I would recommend playing on your own first.
It's not that you can't do it the other way, it's just that on acoustic, the songs lend themselves to so many amazing interpretations that if you start playing with the track it might limit what you end up doing with it.
And lastly
Two words: Mash Ups.
If I had more time I would love to mash up several Blink 182 songs into a super acoustic cover. I think they lend themselves brilliantly for it.
You could also consider mashing up a Blink 182 song with another artist. Personally I would love to see something with Alkaline Trio, given the band's new front man Matt Skiba.
That's all folks 😘.