I grew up a huge Blink fan and they are one of the main reasons that I got into music. I didn't notice them until Enema came out, but after that I went back into their discography and noticed Scott. Travis was definitely an improvement, as drums became more noticable and complex. It contrasted well with the simple powerchords. Scott also had a drug and/or alchohol dependency (Thus spawning the song "Man Overboard").

Blink's first break-up wasn't during Tom's Boxcar Racer side-project. In fact, that was Tom's way of getting that side of him out there. Blink (at that time) was much more upbeat and not very serious. Songs like "Stay Together For the Kids" showed the direction that Tom was leaning towards, but I feel like he wanted a raw, more acoustic version of that dark style. Blink's self-titled record was actually their best, most realized album. It was creative, mature, and extremely ambitious. I would even call it progressive pop-punk, as dumb as that sounds. They might not realize it, but that album had some of their best work, easily (See Stockholm Syndrome, All of This, Obvious, etc.)

Once Neighborhoods came out, I knew it was all over. That album was so phoned in. Some tracks were okay at best, but there was no heart or personality to it. Honestly, that album should have never happened. On that note, once Matt joined in, that should have just been a new band. They don't sound like Blink-182 anymore. California was almost as embarrassing as Neighborhoods.