In the life of every band, there comes a time to take stock; to reflect on goals set and goals achieved; to offer a silent prayer of thanksgiving for the many blessings so richly bestowed upon us.

For blink-182, this is not the time.

They’re too busy touring the world, scarfing Sombrero’s burritos, farting and rocking the planet till the ozone layer disintegrates. In the recent past, blink-182 won a Teen Choice Award, a Blockbuster Music Award, and appeared on the MTV Awards ‘00 where they performed “All The Small Things” and won Best Group Video. In Europe they received an MTV Europe Award for Best New Act. They performed on Saturday Night Live and the Tonight Show (twice), appeared in American Pie and opened the Billboard Music Awards. The band also graced the covers of Rolling Stone, Alternative Press (twice), Teen People, Teen and CosmoGirl, just to name a few.

It’s safe to say the blink-182 is now a worldwide phenomenon, with their records reaping platinum and their concert tours packing ‘em in all across Europe, Australia, Asia, and the Americas. And last year, blink-182 ventured back to the studio with producer Jerry Finn to record their fourth studio album, Take Off Your Pants and Jacket (you should say the title out loud to fully appreciate the subtle, sophisticated humor).

By every indication, Take Off Your Pants and Jacket was turning out to be an evolutionary hybrid for blink-182, as hooky as 1999’s multi-platinum Enema of the State, but with all the punk spirit of their MCA debut album Dude Ranch. “This is the hardest, fastest record that we’ve done,” says blink’s Tom DeLonge of the album. “It’s way more punk-rock than our previous records, and we’re excited about it.” Take Off Your Pants and Jacket (release date 6/12/01) follows Enema of the State and last year’s smash live album The Mark, Tom and Travis Show (The Enema Strikes Back).

The band’s popularity has only increased since their formation in ‘93. They began building momentum with a string of popular 7″s, and in 1994 they released their first full-length album, Cheshire Cat, on Grilled Cheese (a division of Cargo Music). In 1996, they signed a joint-venture record deal with Cargo Music and MCA Records, with their first MCA release Dude Ranch (1997) setting the stage for their current success. By the end of 1998, they had emerged as one of the most popular pop-punk bands of the year – the album went platinum in the U.S. and the year-end Billboard Airplay Monitor Report (BDS) stats indicated that “Dammit (Growing Up)” from Dude Ranch earned top spins at many key radio stations.

blink-182 took a break from the road after Christmas ‘98 to begin pre-production for Enema Of The State, recorded in the band’s hometown of San Diego at Signature Sound. Handling production duties was Jerry Finn, whose previous credits include Green Day and Rancid. Enema Of The State shattered the standard set by Dude Ranch. World-wide sales are now over seven million copies, not to mention the fact that the CD perched high atop the upper-reaches of Billboard’s Top 200 for over a year. The album’s three singles, “What’s My Age Again,” “All The Small Things” and “Adam’s Song” dominated MTV, alternative, rock and Top-40 radio.

Their summer tour, where The Mark, Tom & Travis Show (The Enema Strikes Back) was recorded, sold a third of a million tickets. The aforementioned album was a 20-track collection of live versions of classic blink-182 hits produced by Jerry Finn, and also contained never-before-released songs, a new studio track, and all the hilarious potty-mouthed one liners a fan could want. In its limited release, The Mark, Tom & Travis Show (The Enema Strikes Back) sold over 1.5 million copies worldwide. In other blink-182 news, a massive U.S. summer 2001 tour is on the drawing boards, and a book about the band’s early days, written by Hoppus’ younger sister, Anne, now carries a title, Tales From Beneath Your Mom.

Then there’s the ever-expanding blink-182 mercantile empire, which stretches from pole to pole, from sea to shining sea. First there’s their own blink182.com website for fans and curious onlookers. Travis’s “Famous Stars and Straps” is a successful retailer and website for clothes, belts and accessories. Mark and Tom’s “Loserkids.com” is an equally vibrant website for clothes, skates, music, movies. But despite these ancillary success stories, Mark, Tom and Travis never lose sight of what’s most important for blink-182 and their worldwide legions of fans: music and tasteless comedy at every opportunity.

Recording of the band’s next record began in early 2003. On November 18, 2003, Blink-182 released their eponymous fifth studio album, which spawned the hit singles “Feeling This,” “I Miss You,” “Down” and “Always.” According to Barker, the album was supposed to represent a new Blink-182.

Tensions between the band members arose when DeLonge found the desire for a half-year respite from touring to spend time with his family, despite a planned spring U.S. tour, coupled with Hoppus’ feelings of betrayal after the formation of Box Car Racer. Further problems arose in discussions regarding the band’s future recording endeavors. In mid-February 2005 the band inexplicably canceled a performance at Music for Relief’s Concert for South Asia (a show put on by Linkin Park to aid victims of the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake). This made their previous show on December 16, 2004 at the Point Depot in Dublin, Ireland, their last live performance. The planned tour was canceled and on February 22, 2005, after much tension, their band manager called Hoppus and Barker to tell them that DeLonge had quit the band. This began an almost four year hiatus.

Geffen Records released a Greatest Hits compilation on November 1, 2005. It is essentially a collection of the band’s singles. After many criticisms about the track listing from disappointed fans, the song “Carousel” was added. A previously unreleased track was included on the CD, “Another Girl, Another Planet” (a cover song originally by The Only Ones). The song was also used as the theme song to Barker’s new reality TV show, Meet the Barkers. Included was the previously issued “I Miss You” B-side and Blink-182 UK bonus track “Not Now.” The album reached number 6 on the Billboard 200 in the United States.

At the 51st Grammy Awards ceremony on February 8, 2009, all three members of the band appeared onstage for the first time since December 2004. Barker announced the band’s reformation, stating that “we used to play music together, and we decided we’re going to play music together again,” with Hoppus adding, “Blink-182 is back!” A message appearing on the band’s website the same day confirmed the reformation and added that the band is in the studio writing and recording a new album and preparing for a world tour.