The group emerged from a suburban, Southern California skate punk scene and first gained notoriety for high-energy live shows and irreverent humor.

During DeLonge's absence from 2015 to 2022, the band included Alkaline Trio singer and guitarist Matt Skiba, with whom they recorded two albums, California (2016), and Nine (2019), and toured in support of both.

[19] San Diego at this time was "hardly a hotbed of [musical] activity", according to journalist Joe Shooman and the band's popularity grew as did punk rock concurrently in the mainstream.

[29] In addition, the group drew the attention of Rick and Jean Bonde of the Tahoe booking agency, who were responsible for "spreading the name of the band far and wide.

"[29][32] In late 1995, the trio embarked on their first national tour, promoting the surf video Good Times with Unwritten Law, Sprung Monkey and 7 Seconds.

[38][41][42] After nonstop touring, the trio began recording their follow-up LP, Dude Ranch, over the period of a month in late 1996 with producer Mark Trombino.

"[56] In the public eye, Blink became known for their juvenile antics, including running around nude;[57] the band made a cameo appearance in the similarly bawdy comedy American Pie (1999).

[58] This goofy branding, encompassing video documentaries and merchandise, "made fans feel like members of their extended social circle," according to music critic Kelefa Sanneh.

[59] While grateful for their success—which the trio parlayed into various business ventures, like Famous Stars and Straps, Atticus Clothing and Macbeth Footwear[60]—they gradually became unhappy with their public image.

In one instance, the European arm of UMG had taken photos shot lampooning boy bands and distributed them at face value, making their basis for parody appear thin.

[68] With A&R representatives from MCA eager to market a new band by the guitarist,[69] Box Car Racer quickly evolved into a full-fledged side project, launching two national tours throughout 2002.

The new untitled album—its front cover emblazoned with a "smiley face" logo[71]—was released in November 2003 through Geffen Records, which absorbed sister label MCA earlier that year.

[75] The global touring schedule, which saw the band travel to Japan and Australia, also found the three performing for troops stationed in the Persian Gulf during the first year of the Iraq War.

[76][77] The band came to regard this period as a "huge turning point" in their career, marking a change in the way they write and record music, as well as view themselves.

[82] Rehearsals for a benefit concert grew contentious, rooted in the trio's increasing bitterness toward one another;[83] DeLonge considered his bandmates' priorities incompatible, coming to the conclusion that they had simply grown apart.

[89] Barker sustained second and third degree burns and developed post-traumatic stress disorder, and the accident resulted in sixteen surgeries and multiple blood transfusions.

[8][98] The self-produced album—their first without Jerry Finn since Enema of the State[52]—was released in September 2011 and peaked at number two on the Billboard 200;[99] its singles, "Up All Night" and "After Midnight", only attracted modest chart success.

Pop punk was in a period of diminished commercial relevance,[100] and label Interscope—now their home after a series of corporate mergers[101]—was reportedly disappointed with album sales.

[112] A record deal with independent service BMG was finalized[112] and sessions were booked before DeLonge's manager informed the band he intended to spend more time on "non-musical activities" and indefinitely depart from the group.

[129][130] During these years, the band was active in collaborating with a variety of outside artists, sometimes without Skiba's involvement; the group jointly issued singles with XXXTentacion,[131] Lil Wayne,[132] Goody Grace,[133] Steve Aoki,[134] Powfu,[135] Oliver Tree,[136] and the Chainsmokers.

[141] A partially-completed EP did not see release,[142] and the band's last performance with Skiba, a pre-pandemic gig at iHeartRadio's 2020 ALTer EGO, took place in Los Angeles on January 18, 2020.

[151] The song performed well in the US, becoming their fourth and longest-running number one hit on Billboard's Alternative Airplay chart, and their highest-charting single on the Hot 100 in eighteen years.

[8][9] They have also named the Beatles,[168] the Ramones,[169] the Beach Boys,[170][171] the Cure,[172] Depeche Mode,[173] U2,[9] Stiff Little Fingers,[9] All,[174] Dinosaur Jr.,[175] NOFX,[176] Bad Religion,[177] Refused,[67] Fugazi,[66] Screeching Weasel,[178] the Vandals,[179] the Queers,[180] and Jimmy Eat World as inspirations.

British publication NME was particularly critical, with reviewer Steven Wells comparing them to "that sanitized, castrated, shrink-wrapped 'new wave' crap that the major US record companies pumped out circa 1981 in their belated attempt to jump on the 'punk' bandwagon.

"[202] A 2001 Federal Trade Commission report condemned the entertainment industry for marketing lewd lyrics to American youth, specifically naming Blink-182 as among the most explicit acts.

[207] NOFX, progenitors of this clownish camaraderie, felt they had copied their act; Fat Mike, its frontman, was known to jokingly sing "fuck fans of Blink-182" at shows.

[59] The band's conventional appeal, as well as partnerships with MTV, boardsport companies, and clothing brands, led to accusations that they were betraying the independent spirit of punk rock.

"[211] "These three snot-nosed San Diego punks bottled suburban angst and distilled it into bright, shiny pop songs that might as well have been state-issued to every American teen.

[36] Its third LP Enema of the State catapulted the band to stardom, creating what New York's Abebe described as a "blanket immersion among America's twenty-some million teenagers.

"[218] "When it comes to having inestimable influence, blink-182 might well be contemporary punk's version of the Beatles", wrote Scott Heisel in a 2009 Alternative Press cover story on the band.