Maps of Music

Enema of the State (1999)

Where the lyrics of Enema of the State take you, and where it was really made.

The album's title is a pun on 'enemy of the state,' and its cover shows an adult film actress in a nurse's uniform.

Key places

Conway Recording Studios in Los Angeles (1999)

Recording site Conway Recording Studios — Conway Recording Studios in Los Angeles was one of the facilities where the album was recorded. The source lists it among the southern California production sites. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Signature Sound in San Diego (1999)

Recording site Signature Sound — Signature Sound in San Diego was one of the production facilities used for the album. The point is placed at city-center level. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Big Fish Studios in Encinitas (1999)

Recording site Big Fish Studios — Big Fish Studios in Encinitas was one of the production facilities used for the album. The point is placed at city-center level. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Enema of the State: third studio album by the American rock band Blink-182
• Released June 1, 1999 by MCA Records
• Runtime 35 minutes 17 seconds, the band's shortest album to date
• Title is a pun on the term enemy of the state
• Cover features adult film actress Janine Lindemulder in a nurse uniform
• Recorded across San Diego and Los Angeles over three months

Background

• Band formed in Southern California and earned an early fanbase with fast tempos, catchy hooks, and irreverence
• Second album Dude Ranch (1997) raised visibility, featuring the modern rock hit "Dammit"
• Veteran producer Jerry Finn recruited for this album, becoming a key creative partner
• First recording with drummer Travis Barker, who replaced Scott Raynor in 1998
• Raynor was dismissed in June 1998 over alcohol-related problems
• Band had signed with MCA Records, which released Dude Ranch

Recording

• Pre-production began October 1998 at DML Studios in Escondido
• The studio was modest and lacked air conditioning
• Drums tracked at Chick Corea's Mad Hatter Studios in L.A. in January 1999
• Production handled at several facilities in San Diego, Encinitas, and Los Angeles
• Record label allocated a $300,000 recording budget
• Mixing completed by Tom Lord-Alge at South Beach Studios in Miami, Florida
• Recording completed March 1999
• Sound was cleaner and more melodic than the band's rawer early work

Cover

• Photograph taken March 12, 1999 in a rented Los Angeles studio
• Provisional title Turn Your Head and Cough influenced the latex glove motif
• Back cover shows the band in underwear with the model preparing an injection

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Formed in August 1992 in Poway, California, a northern suburb of San Diego County.
• Tom DeLonge was introduced to Mark Hoppus through Hoppus's sister Anne, and they first recorded with drummer Scott Raynor.
• Early releases came through independent label Cargo Records, with the debut Cheshire Cat in 1995 and Dude Ranch in 1997.
• The band was renamed 182 after a threat from an Irish band named Blink.

Members

• Mark Hoppus (bass, vocals) is the only member to have stayed in the band throughout its history.
• Tom DeLonge (guitar, vocals) left twice and returned in 2022.
• Travis Barker (drums) replaced Scott Raynor in 1998.
• Matt Skiba (guitar, vocals) was a member from 2015 to 2022.

Career

• Enema of the State (1999) reached over fifteen million copies sold worldwide and made the band major international stars.
• Take Off Your Pants and Jacket (2001) became the first punk rock album to reach number one in the U.S.
• The band announced an indefinite hiatus in 2005, and they reunited in 2009.
• California (2016) and Nine (2019) were recorded with Matt Skiba.
• One More Time... (2023) was released after DeLonge's return and became the band's third number-one album on the Billboard 200.
• Sales reportedly total 50 million albums worldwide.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Initial reviews were generally favorable, though some critics found the lyrics juvenile
• Rolling Stone's Neva Chonin found it "harmless, but still gnarly enough to foment the kind of anti-everything rebellion that spawned rock & roll way back in the day."
• AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine described it as a fun record better than the average neo-punk release
• Billboard's Paul Verna called it short, to the point, and bristling with attitude
• NME's Stevie Chick called the record despicable and wholly toothless
• The A.V. Club's Stephen Thompson found it hard to hate, calling the hooky music as smartly conceived as the lyrics are stupid

Reappraisal

• Jeremy Gordon at Pitchfork called the record sensitive and juvenile in equal measure
• Jeff Yerger from Stereogum viewed it as a spiritual canon successor to Dookie
• Billboard described the album as a "classic" in a retrospective review, praising the leap in production and vocals over its predecessor
• Andy Greene of Rolling Stone dubbed it a "landmark,"
• Rock Sound ranked it number 2 on its 2012 list of 101 Modern Classics
• Alternative Press ranked it among Jerry Finn's top production work

Records

• Over its first tracking week, it peaked at number nine on the U.S. Billboard 200 with 109,000 units
• Became MCA's biggest album of 1999
• Spent 86 weeks on the Billboard 200
• The LP went platinum in October 1999 and triple platinum in January 2000
• Certified five times platinum in the United States in February 2001
• Peaked at number two on the New Zealand Albums Chart and was certified double platinum there
• Quadruple platinum in Canada and triple platinum in Australia
• Certified platinum in the United Kingdom and double platinum in Italy
• More than 15 million copies sold globally, with 4.6 million U.S. units as of 2016

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The cover photograph was taken on March 12, 1999, in a rented Los Angeles studio that was turned into a mock medical examination room.
• The band titled its behind-the-scenes documentary The Urethra Chronicles.
• Blink-182 made a cameo appearance in the teen comedy American Pie.
• The band later performed nude on the sitcom Two Guys and a Girl.
• The modest studio used for pre-production was tucked away in a retail plaza in Escondido and lacked air conditioning.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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