First Date (Blink-182 song)

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.[1] 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".[2][1][3] 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!"[1][4] 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.[3] The song's arrangement was worked in the Famous Stars and Straps warehouse in San Diego.[5]

"First Date" was inspired by DeLonge and wife Jennifer Jenkins' first date at SeaWorld San Diego.[3] "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.[3]

The music video for "First Date" pays homage to 1970s culture, featuring the band 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.[6] 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.[6] Singer Jordan Pundik and guitarist Chad Gilbert of New Found Glory, with whom the band were touring at the time, make cameo appearances in the clip.[6] Journalist Joe Shooman interpreted the video as a retelling of the film Dazed and Confused.[7] Elements of the clip's concept stemmed from DeLonge, who viewed a documentary on the Bee Gees and found their hair and clothing outrageous: "I called up Mark and was like, 'Dude you've got to watch this shit.' These dudes are on top of a mountain, singing face to face, with the sunset behind them," he recounted.[8] The video debuted on MTV's Total Request Live on January 18, 2002.[9]

A shot from the video, where DeLonge's character Boomer mouths the phrase "what the fuck", became a popular GIF online in the late 2010s. In addition, DeLonge's company, To the Stars, has produced merchandise based on the Boomer character.[8]

All tracks are written by Blink-182.

All tracks are written by Blink-182.

• blink-182 - First Date on YouTube
• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics