“Rite of Spring” is a song by the band Angels and Airwaves off of their 2007 album “I-Empire”. Led by former Blink-182 frontman Tom Delonge, they formed when Tom left Blink-182 for the first time back in 2005, and they are the only Blink-182 side project that still exists (with +44 and Box Car Racer being the other 2)

I think the best way I can describe Angels and Airwaves as a whole is that they are basically Blink-182 with some spacy keyboard effects and a lot more Tom (obviously). This song in particular isn’t a good example of the keyboard stuff, as this has a much more traditional Blink sound, but a lot of their early stuff has keyboard effects that give off this sort of cool outer space vibe that is tough to describe. I guess these space-themed effects make a lot sense because if you didn’t already know, Tom Delonge is a certified lunatic when it comes to aliens. Now don’t get me wrong, I believe in aliens too, as shown in my alien/monolith blog from the other day, but Tom is next-level. I’m talking he claims he’s been abducted by aliens before and shit, but that’s a story for another day

Anyway, let’s get back to the song at hand. This song takes a look into Tom’s personal life, and is more specifically about what things were like when he was growing up. It touches on some of the stuff he went through as a kid (His dad’s affair and parents’ divorce, getting expelled from school etc.) and the steps he took to try to stay optimistic through it all

I think it’s pretty hard to hate a song like this because it’s catchy and it also has some great lyrics that a lot of people can relate to, The chorus is awesome, especially the first 2 lines: “If I had a chance for another try, I wouldn’t change a thing, it’s made me all of who I am inside”. I love these lyrics because it’s so easy to look back and regret things about the past, but at the end of the day, good or bad, those things made us who we are. It’s sort of adjacent to the whole “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” idea, so never let those regrets from the past fuck up your present and future

There is still a huge part of me that wants Tom to stop taking acid and hunting aliens so that he can rejoin Blink-182, but I don’t see it happening at this point. I don’t even care about them making new music or anything like that, I just want to see the core Blink-182 lineup of Tom, Mark, and Travis in concert at some point. I saw Blink a few years ago with Tom’s replacement, Matt Skiba from Alkaline Trio, and it was a good show and everything, but it just wasn’t the same and didn’t feel like I was seeing Blink without Tom being there

Anyway, great song and great band. I hope you enjoyed this inaugural Shuffle Song Of The Day blog, and I plan on posting 1 or 2 of these a week. Lastly, here are the lyrics, and as time goes on I will be making a Spotify playlist with all of the songs in it, but I’m gonna wait until there are more obviously

I was locked all day in the summer heat,
In a small brown house in Suburban Street,
With a skateboard and my shit guitar,
I’d dream all day that they would get me far

My dad would ask me about my grades,
The asshole sports that I never played.
And then I’d ask about the girls he’d date,
Behind our backs when mom would stay up late

It was near when I turned sixteen, 
Got kicked out of school, and so it seemed
that things were closing in and ready to blow, My dad moved out about that year or so

It took an hour to start a punk rock band
To offset my fucked up family land
And as I held my mom would start to cry
I swore ourselves a better life

If I had a chance for another try,
I wouldn’t change a thing
It’s made me all of who I am inside
And if I could thank god
That I am here, and that I am alive
And everyday I wake
I tell myself a little harmless lie
The whole wide world is mine

The summers gone, the years have passed,
My friends have changed, a few did last,
The smallest dreams got pushed aside,
The largest ones that changed my life,
And all I wish for has come to pass
From Rock N Roll, to love and cash
It’s all success if it’s what you need
Do what you like and do it honestly

If I had a chance for another try,
I wouldn’t change a thing
It’s made me all of who I am inside
And if I could thank god
That I am here, and that I am alive
And everyday I wake
I tell myself a little harmless lie
The whole wide world is mine

Hey yo oh oh oh 
Hey yo oh oh 
Hey yo oh oh oh 
Hey yo oh oh 
Hey yo oh oh oh 
Hey yo oh oh 
Hey yo oh oh oh 
Hey yo oh oh 

If I had a chance for another try,
I wouldn’t change a thing
It’s made me all of who I am inside
And if I could thank god
That I am here, and that I am alive
And everyday I wake
I tell myself a little harmless lie
The whole wide world is mine
[x2]