When last we checked in with the Blink-155 podcast, the hosts were raising thousands for Black Lives Matter with dozens of earnest covers of Hinder’s “Lips Of An Angel.” Next up? 28 covers of Blink-182's “Dammit” from artists like Jenny Owen Youngs, Antarctigo Vespucci, Lisa Prank, Teen Daze, and PUP guitarist Steve Sladkowski.
The compilation, comprised of previous guests of the podcast, is pegged to an episode devoted to Blink-182's 1997 breakout single. As co-host Josiah Hughes previously told The A.V. Club, covers are integral to he and co-host Sam Sutherland’s discussion of any given song. “Every week on Blink-155, I dig to the very bottom of YouTube, Bandcamp and Soundcloud to find as many different covers and interpretations of the song as possible,” he said. “It helps us understand the song, and sometimes one that we didn’t like becomes a new favorite or vice versa.”
As with the Hinder compilation, Been Here For Too Long ping-pongs between reverent and experimental, analog and digital, serious and goofy. Youngs, working with Charlatan, turns the brat-punk staple into a sweeping, piano-driven ballad. Teen Daze and Slow Magic’s blissed-out renditions fire up the synthesizers. Comic songwriter Lydia Burrell—a must-follow on Twitter, by the way—reimagines the track as a very dumb, very funny ode to pumpkin spice lattes.
What shines throughout the majority of them, though, is a kind of a wistfulness that, much like Colleen Green’s album-length cover of Dude Ranch from last year, firmly plants the song as an artifact of teen angst that just hits different two decades on. It’s hard not to miss the version of yourself you were when you first heard a song that inspired you.
Hear all 28 tracks below:
You can purchase the album over at Bandcamp. All proceeds will be donated to 1492 Land Back Lane, Encampment Support Network Toronto, and Trans Lifeline.
Send Great Job, Internet tips to [email protected]