Maps of Music

Nine (2019)

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

Sequentially the eighth studio album, but Hoppus and Barker count it as their ninth by including the band's 1994 demo, Buddha.

Key places

Recorded at Opra Music Studios (2019)

Recording site Schnee Studio — Discogs credits Opra Music Studios as a recording location for the album. The map point uses North Hollywood city-center coordinates, not the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at Studio 1111 (2019)

Recording site The Red Lips Room (Beverly Hills) — Discogs credits Studio 1111 as a recording location for the album. The map point uses Beverly Hills city-center coordinates, not the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Nine: eighth studio album by American rock band Blink-182
• Released 20 September 2019 through Columbia Records, the band's first album on the label
• The trio moved from independent service BMG to major label Columbia
• Matt Skiba's second and final album with the band before founding member Tom DeLonge returned in 2022
• Pop-punk and pop rock album that adds hip hop-inspired programming and electronics
• Hoppus and Barker count it as ninth by retroactively including the 1994 demo Buddha
• Color wash cover painted by graffiti artist RISK

Background

• Blink-182 toured extensively from 2016 to 2018 for the previous album, California
• After the tour, Skiba returned to Alkaline Trio and Barker worked on multiple side projects
• Hoppus fell into depression, and his wife Skye urged him to focus on writing and playing music
• Hoppus's idea of a solo album grew into Simple Creatures, a side project with All Time Low's Alex Gaskarth
• Hoppus's battle with depression informed much of the album's lyrics

Recording

• The band began recording new music in April 2018
• Producer John Feldmann returned from California, and the band also recorded at their personal home studios
• The trio recorded over 30 songs in a pop-punk vein similar to California
• The band felt the material was too familiar, so they started over with a new mindset and outside help
• Many professional songwriters were brought in, and much of the material was built around Barker's drum beats

Cover

• Barker led the artwork development, choosing from four favorite artists
• Graffiti artist RISK delivered the final artwork in color wash style
• During production the band often called the album by the joke title Bojmir

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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

• Metacritic: average score 67 out of 100 from ten reviews, indicating generally favorable reviews
• AllMusic's Neil Z. Yeung considered it one of Blink's strongest late-era efforts
• Rolling Stone's Nick Catucci found it an excellent album, commending the trio's self-awareness and maturity
• The Atlantic's Spencer Kornhaber described its sound as high-grade and ultra-processed, albeit very, very catchy
• NME's Ali Shutler called it the spiritual follow-up to the band's 2003 untitled album
• Exclaim!'s Adam Feibel wrote a more negative review, criticizing the adolescent themes
• Pitchfork's Nadine Smith found the new sound surprisingly effective but felt the album was half as fun as the band used to be

Reappraisal

• Hoppus expressed mixed feelings about the album in his 2025 memoir, Fahrenheit-182
• In the memoir he admits the pop crossover was unsuccessful

Records

• Debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200 with 94,000 album-equivalent units, including 77,000 pure album sales
• Sold over 202,000 copies worldwide to date
• The band's eighth US top 10 album
• Debuted at number one on the US Rock Albums, US Alternative Albums, US Tastemakers Albums and US Vinyl Albums charts
• Reached the top ten in Canada, Austria, Australia, Germany and the United Kingdom
• Lead single I Really Wish I Hated You reached the top five on Billboard's Hot Rock Songs chart
• Loudwire named it one of the 50 best rock albums of 2019

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Hoppus said the number 9 is the number of universal love, and the number of Uranus, which explains the album's title choice.
• Before the album came out, the band often called it by the joke title Bojmir, or rim job backwards.
• Hoppus posted the meaning of the album's name on Reddit shortly after the announcement, listing Buddha among the official albums he counted.
• Barker picked the artwork from four of his favorite artists before RISK delivered the final cover.
• The song Heaven was written about a massacre at a bar in Thousand Oaks, close to Barker's California home in 2018.
• The band announced Nine on July 25, 2019.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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