Released October 8, 2001 Genre Pop punk | Format CD single
7" vinyl Length 2:51 | |
B-side "Don't Tell Me It's Over" Recorded January–March 2001
Signature Sound
(San Diego, California)
Larrabee Studios West, Cello Studios
(Hollywood, California) | ||
"First Date" is a song recorded by American rock band Blink-182 for their fourth studio album, Take Off Your Pants and Jacket (2001). It was released as the second single from the album on October 8, 2001. The track was composed primarily by guitarist Tom DeLonge based on memories of his first date with spouse Jennifer Jenkins. The song's creation stems from Blink-182 manager Rick DeVoe's opinion that the album lacked a catchy, "feel-good" song. DeLonge composed "First Date" in response, while bassist Mark Hoppus composed the album's lead single "The Rock Show".
Contents
The song peaked at number six on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart. The song's music video depicts the trio as hippies in the 1970s, parading around the suburbs in a Volkswagen van and visiting a water park. In promotion of the single, Blink-182 performed the song live on late-night talk show Late Night with Conan O'Brien.
Background
Prior to recording their fourth studio album, Take Off Your Pants and Jacket, Blink-182 recorded demos at DML Studios, a small practice studio in Escondido, California, where the band had written Dude Ranch and Enema of the State. The group had written a dozen songs after three weeks and invited their manager, Rick DeVoe, to be the first person outside Blink-182 to hear the new material, which the band found "catchy [but with] a definitive edge". DeVoe sat in the control room and quietly listened to the recordings, and pressed the band at the end on why there was no "Blink-182 good-time summer anthem [thing]". DeLonge and Hoppus were furious, remarking, "You want a fucking single? I'll write you the cheesiest, catchiest, throwaway fucking summertime single you've ever heard!" Hoppus went home and wrote "The Rock Show" in ten minutes, and DeLonge similarly wrote "First Date", which became the most successful singles from the record and future live staples. The song's arrangement was worked in the Famous Stars and Straps warehouse in San Diego.
"First Date" was inspired by DeLonge and wife Jennifer Jenkins' first date at SeaWorld San Diego. "I was about 21 at the time and it was an excuse for me to take her somewhere because I wanted to hang out with her," said DeLonge. The track was written as a summary of neurotic teen angst and awkwardness.
Music video
The music video for "First Date", the album's sophomore single, pays homage to the Bee Gees and is based in the mid-1970s, and is slightly based on the film Dazed and Confused, featuring the trio acting as long-haired hippie versions of themselves. Clad in long wigs, bell-bottoms and butterfly collars, the trio drive around a quiet suburb in a Volkswagen van, making stops at a diner and water park. The video, directed by The Malloys, was filmed over three days in Tsawwassen, British Columbia, and performance footage was filmed in a garage decorated with 1970s paraphernalia. Singer Jordan Pundik and guitarist Chad Gilbert of New Found Glory, with whom the band were touring with at the time, make cameo appearances in the clip.
The video debuted on MTV's Total Request Live on January 18, 2002.
Track listing
All tracks written by Blink-182.
All tracks written by Blink-182.