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Box Car Racer (album)

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Box Car Racer
BCR cover.jpg
Studio album by Box Car Racer
Released May 21, 2002
Recorded December 2001�January 2002
Studio
Various[show]
Genre
Punk rock pop punk hardcore punk post-punk power pop
Length 41:34
Label MCA
Producer Jerry Finn
Singles from Box Car Racer
"I Feel So"
Released: June 24, 2002
"There Is"
Released: January 1, 2003
Box Car Racer is the sole studio album by American rock band of the same name.
Produced by Jerry Finn, the album was released May 21, 2002 through MCA Records.
The band was a side-project of Blink-182 members Tom DeLonge and Travis Barker,
with David Kennedy completing the band's studio lineup; a bassist and friend of
Barker, Anthony Celestino, toured with the band throughout late 2002. The record
was the only studio effort the trio produced together, and was recorded over the
course of six weeks in late 2001.

The record is primarily based on DeLonge's post-hardcore influences, such as Fugazi

and Refused. The recording sessions were particularly difficult for him, as he had
recently undergone back surgery. The record is a concept album detailing the end of
the world, and features dark, moody tracks mulling over confusion. Blink-182
bassist Mark Hoppus�the only member of that band not involved in the project�felt
betrayed over his lack of inclusion, which evolved into tensions between him and
DeLonge. It contributed to the band's 2005 breakup.

Box Car Racer peaked at number twelve on the Billboard 200 despite little
promotion, and the two singles "I Feel So" and "There Is" charted on Billboard's
Modern Rock Tracks chart, with the former hitting the top 10. The album received
positive reviews from music critics, who complimented the darker direction in
comparison to DeLonge's previous work with Blink. The group toured the album in
North America in late 2002 with the Used and H2O. The album was conceived as an
experiment of sorts; as such, the band dissolved after the tour.

Contents
1 Background
2 Recording and production
3 Composition and artwork
4 Critical reception
5 Commercial performance
6 Touring
7 Aftermath
8 Track listing
9 Personnel
10 Charts
11 Certifications
12 References
13 External links
Background

Tom DeLonge conceived the project during a break from touring.

Box Car Racer was conceived by Blink-182 guitarist/vocalist Tom DeLonge and formed
during a break from touring. The trio's European tour in the winter of 2001 was
delayed in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, and rescheduled dates in
early 2002 were also canceled due to DeLonge's back problems, the result of a
herniated disc.[1] He began taking painkillers and developed "neurosis-inducing
side effects."[2] DeLonge had felt "bummed out" and creatively stifled while
recording the group's previous album, Take Off Your Pants and Jacket.[3] On the
ensuing tour, he and Blink drummer Travis Barker would jam "every day," and Barker
introduced him to post-hardcore music. DeLonge had previously been derisive of any
other styles of music, but soon embraced acts like Fugazi, Quicksand, Rocket from
the Crypt, and Pitchfork.[4] He began writing heavier-sounding guitar riffs; the
first riff he created became part of the song "All Systems Go".[3] Barker, in his
2015 memoir Can I Say, maintains that he asked DeLonge if they should use the riffs
for a new Blink album. "I honestly thought that Tom had already had a conversation
with [bassist Mark Hoppus] about this. They were so tight�inseparable�I couldn't
imagine Mark didn't know," Barker writes.[4]

"His reasons for starting the band were in part spawned from the dark thoughts he
was immersed in post�September 11, the side-effects of the painkillers protecting
him from the searing pain of his back problems and a dissatisfaction with the
lyrical and musical territory he felt he could with Blink-182."
�Kerrang! writer Tom Bryant[2]
For DeLonge, he had developed an "itch to do something where he didn't feel locked
in to what Blink was."[3][5] According to DeLonge, Box Car Racer was not "meant to
be a real band," but rather "something to do in some spare time that was really
only expected to be on the low list of the totem pole of priorities in my life, and
just to have an experimental creative outlet."[1][6] The project was at first
solely acoustic guitar-based;[1] he considered it in its earliest stages to be a
"Violent Femmes-esque acoustic record".[7] The unnamed project went through other
names, such as The Kill, and the album was initially titled Et tu, Brute?.[8] He
eventually settled on the name Box Car Racer, which was actually the name of a band
Barker was in just after high school that DeLonge liked. He began writing songs
about the end of the world, and connected it thematically with the biblical Book of
Revelation and World War II. When reading about the war, DeLonge was "freaked out"
to learn that Fat Man, the atomic bomb that was detonated over Nagasaki, was
dropped from the B-29 bomber Bockscar (commonly misspelled Boxcar).[1]

Recording and production

Producer Jerry Finn's gear. According to assistant engineer Sam Boukas, his
equipment took up "half the studio space."[9]
Box Car Racer was recorded over six weeks beginning in December 2001, primarily at
Signature Sound in San Diego, California.[5][10] Sessions commenced quickly, with
producer Jerry Finn having sent one whole load of equipment to Signature ahead of
his arrival.[9] Barker and DeLonge worked out "80 percent" of the completed album
in Barker's warehouse in Corona, California,[11] two weeks prior to recording.[12]
When the musicians entered the studio, little was changed aside from certain
lyrics, according to assistant engineer Sam Boukas.[9] Barker completed his drum
tracks in one day at two recording facilities in Los Angeles prior to the Signature
sessions. DeLonge invited musician David Kennedy, whom he had met in the San Diego
music circuit some years prior, to perform lead guitar parts on the album.[5] Roger
Joseph Manning Jr. plays keyboards on the record.[13]

The sessions were particularly difficult for DeLonge, who suffered chronic back
pain.[1][14] "When your back is killing you and you have to have surgery and all
this stuff, it's just kind of hard to keep a focus on the happier times in your
life," he told MTV News. "You end up writing all these songs about feeling sad and
confused."[1] He often could only stand and sing for five minutes at a time before
having to lay down again.[15] Journalist Joe Shooman writes that the album followed
a DIY spirit, rather than spending "months and months refining and polishing
everything for a major label and international pop market."[5] DeLonge intended to
pay for the project himself, but when an A&R representative heard four unfinished
songs, MCA�the record label Blink-182 was on�wanted to finance the album. DeLonge's
manager convinced him it would be a bad idea to pass up someone else paying for its
distribution.[16] According to Boukas, an MCA representative dropped in on the
sessions and was pleased with what he heard.[17] "When we wrote this album, we
didn't know if it was going to be on a label or if we were going to put it out
ourselves," Barker said at the time. "Once MCA jumped on board, it was kind of
like, "Whatever! That's cool. Cheers! Put it out, we don't really care!"[12]

The project caused division in Blink-182, mostly between DeLonge and Hoppus. Hoppus
was interested in being a part of the record, but DeLonge did not want it to turn
into a Blink-182 album.[18] DeLonge contended that the involvement of Barker was to
refrain from having to pay a session musician. Regardless, Hoppus felt betrayed and
unresolved tension dogged the band until their 2005 breakup.[6] "Nobody talked
about it. It was this strange situation that nobody addressed," DeLonge told
Blender.[19] Barker felt guilty when he told Hoppus they were going to tour in
support of the album: "I felt like I had let him down [...] but he was ultimately
more upset at Tom because they had ten years of history together before me."[20]
Despite this tension, Hoppus lent vocals to the track "Elevator" and shared early
ideas for the next Blink-182 album.[17] In a later Reddit AMA, Hoppus concluded,
"The whole situation sucked. But I sang on the track because, at the heart of it,
Tom and Travis are my friends. I'm sure Tom felt the tension and asked me as an
offering. I was glad to have done it, and I was glad that he asked."[21]

Composition and artwork

"All Systems Go"

MENU0:00
"All Systems Go" was the first song written for the album; in writing it, DeLonge
was inspired by the band Quicksand.[3]
Problems playing this file? See media help.
Box Car Racer was inspired by and is partly a tribute to bands DeLonge credited as
an influence, such as Quicksand,[3] Fugazi, and Refused.[10][22] Musically, it is
not drastically different than Blink-182, though it puts more emphasis on "slower,
heavier rhythms" instead of being fast-paced.[11] Stylically, reviewers variously
dubbed the album post-hardcore, pop punk,[23][24] punk rock,[24] hardcore punk,[24]
[24] post-punk,[25][page needed] or power pop.[25][page needed] The subject matter
found on Box Car Racer explores the apocalypse, conspiracy theories, and
Freemasonry. The album follows a central storyline, regarding an unnamed boy during
the end of the world.[7]

Barker and DeLonge wrote the songs together. DeLonge would decide what key he would
sing the song in, and Barker would mostly arrange the song, toying with its
structure and tempo/time signature. As for his performance on the album, Barker
considered it a "totally different approach to the drums ... there are, like, jazzy
bridges. ... It's so much more open and roomy."[12] The album's final song,
"Instrumental", was removed on the cassette edition of the album and replaced with
an instrumental version of "I Feel So".[26] The album's artwork, described by
Shooman, consists of "bleak burgundy brown and black silhouettes plus a graffiti-
esque band logo." The hidden message "LNW 13 01 1" is printed on the CD insert,
which are coordinates pointing to Manhattan, New York.[26] Art direction for the
album was headed by Tim Stedman, with Stedman and Marcos Orozco designing the
package. Keegan Gibbs was responsible for the "Box Car Racer" logo, while Maxx
Gramajo created the tag logo artwork.[13]
Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic 3/5 stars[27]
Argus Leader (positive)[28]
PopMatters (positive)[24]
Q (positive)[29]
Slant Magazine 3.5/5 stars[23]
USA Today 3/4 stars[25][page needed]
Aaron Scott of Slant Magazine was favorable in his review of Box Car Racer,
writing, "Neither genre-obsessed nor intent on defying convention, Box Car Racer is
the perfect union between pop-punk riffs and instrumentation that spans all rock
genres from indie to folk. Finally, we have a pop band that is attempting to take
advantage of the potential of its instruments."[23] Adam Dlugacz of PopMatters
summarized Box Car Racer as "pretty fantastic hardcore/emo/punk rock album. It
seems to re-affirm the band's roots while proving that they are capable of more
than the by-the-numbers approach of Blink. On the other hand, there's no reason
this couldn't have been a Blink-182 album."[24] Robert Morast from Argus Leader
felt the same, commenting, "The music is good with brooding melodies that fester
inside the soul. But for DeLonge, it just sounds like he's lost searching for his
other half."[28]

Edna Gunderson of USA Today was positive, commenting, "The music, while upbeat and
even giddy, steers away from adolescent pranks and pratfalls, a welcome upgrade.
The band creates a fresh breed of post-punk power pop by roughing up bright
melodies."[25][page needed][16] AllMusic's Brian O'Neill gave the album three
stars, calling it a "far cry from the party-boy ethos DeLonge is best known for,
and he wears the emotional depth well, with songs that are just as hooky as from
his bread-winning main squeeze."[27] A reviewer for Q admitted that the musicians
"confound expectations with a very good record."[29] The positive reception of the
album was in contrast to the reviews for Blink, which were often negative. "I think
it's a cop-out for [critics] to like the music I do," DeLonge told the Arizona
Daily Star. "Critics can't say they like Blink or give us any credit, 'cause we're
out there goofing around."[30] Barker was more critical: "I especially don't care
what the critics say. Most of them are like 50 years old and they're not really
educated in what kind of music we're playing to begin with!"[12]

Commercial performance
Box Car Racer was released worldwide on May 21, 2002 by MCA Records.[31] The album
debuted on the Billboard 200 at number 12 on May 30, 2002, selling 65,000 copies in
its first week.[32] The numbers were considered surprising given that the album had
virtually no promotion.[33] "The overall response to this album has been
ridiculous. We didn't have much push or anything, we didn't do a whole lot of promo
before the album came out and it still did really well," said Barker.[12] As of
August 2002, it had sold 244,000 copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen
SoundScan.[34] Internationally, the album charted best in Canada, where it peaked
at number seven.[35] In 2006, the album was certified gold in Canada for shipments
of 50,000 copies.[36]

"I Feel So" was the album's first single. The music video for the song, which is
mainly performance-based, was co-directed by DeLonge and Nathan "Karma" Cox.[37]
The song was the band's highest-charting single, peaking at number eight on
Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart in June 2002.[38] "There Is" was issued as the
album's second and final single, and peaked at number 32 on the same chart in
November 2002.[39] The music video for that song was inspired by the film Say
Anything... (1989), and was directed by Alexander Kosta.[40] Both videos, as well
as bonus footage, were included on a self-titled DVD, which was released November
2002.[41][42]

Touring

Drummer Travis Barker, whose interest in post-hardcore music helped develop the
album.
To support the album, the project morphed into a full band, with Barker, DeLonge,
and Kennedy. Barker invited his friend Anthony Celestino to play bass. He had
initially wanted Alex Barreto, who was in the original Box Car Racer, to be a part
of the "second version" of the band, but he could not get in touch with him.[4]
They played their first four shows in April 2002.[43][37] The group commenced a
full-scale tour behind the album in October 2002, with 22 North American shows
supported by the Used[34] and H2O.[40]

Though DeLonge would joke around at shows, as he would with Blink-182, the mood was
much different. "With Blink, I can?t wait until I get done playing a song so I can
say something stupid. ?With this band I hardly talk at all," he told Las Vegas
Weekly.[15] He expounded upon this in another interview: "It's a much more
powerful, emotional experience than it is with Blink. To play songs and have them
showcased to where it represents what this kind of music is all about is a welcome
experience. It's not about anything but the music itself."[30]

Aftermath
In a 2003 interview with Kerrang!, DeLonge claimed the album was only an attempt to
"challenge myself to do different shit": "I did it for myself, whether it sold a
million copies or just one, it was for myself." He clarified the band's future
succinctly: "There are a lot of emotions between Mark and I and that's why there�s
never going to be another Box Car Racer album. It was never meant to be something
that would alienate anybody." The article's author, Tom Bryant, describes the
album's effect on subsequent Blink-182 albums: "It allowed [DeLonge], and therefore
the band, to assess whether, approaching or in their 30s, they still really wanted
to be writing songs about splitting up from teenage sweethearts or whether it was
time to address something a little more serious and a little more important."[2]

Track listing
All tracks written by Tom DeLonge and Travis Barker, and arranged by Box Car Racer.

Box Car Racer

No. Title Length
1. "I Feel So" 4:29
2. "All Systems Go" 3:15
3. "Watch the World" 3:52
4. "Tiny Voices" 3:28
5. "Cat Like Thief" 4:20
6. "And I" 3:12
7. "Letters to God" 3:17
8. "My First Punk Song" 1:04
9. "Sorrow" 3:27
10. "There Is" 3:16
11. "The End with You" 3:11
12. "Elevator" 2:45
13. "Instrumental" 1:58
Total length: 41:34
Personnel
Information adapted from CD liner notes.[13]

Box Car Racer

Tom DeLonge � vocals, rhythm guitar, bass guitar, piano

David Kennedy � lead guitar
Travis Barker � drums, percussion, piano
Production

Jerry Finn � producer

Rich Costey � mixing
Joe McGrath � engineering
Brian Gardner � mastering
Darren Mora � assistant engineer
Jeff Moses � assistant engineer
Sam Boukas � assistant engineer
Mike Fasano � drum technician
Management

Rick DeVoe � management

Gary Ashley � A&R
Artwork

Tim Stedman � art direction, illustration, photography

Marcos Orozco � illustration, photography
Maxx Gramajo � tag logo artwork
Keegan Gibbs � "Box Car Racer" logo
Additional musicians

Roger Joseph Manning Jr. � keyboards

Mark Hoppus � additional vocals on "Elevator"
Tim Armstrong � additional vocals on "Cat Like Thief"
Jordan Pundik � additional vocals on "Cat Like Thief"
Charts
Chart (2002) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[44] 30
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[35] 7
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[45] 89
Irish Albums (IRMA)[46] 49
UK Albums (OCC)[47] 27
US Billboard 200[48] 12
Certifications
Region Certification Certified units/Sales
Canada (Music Canada)[36] Gold 50,000^
Summaries
^shipments figures based on certification alone

References
Moss, Corey (April 9, 2002). "Box Car Racer about end of the world, not end of
Blink-182". MTV News. Retrieved May 15, 2010.
Tom Bryant (November 1, 2003). "But Seriously Folks�". Kerrang!. No. 979. London:
Bauer Media Group. ISSN 0262-6624. 2002 was a very difficult year for Blink-182.
After a grueling tour, Tom DeLonge's back pain finally got the better of him. Dosed
up on painkillers and neurosis-inducing side effects�
"Tom DeLonge talks guitar tones, growing up and Blink". Total Guitar. Bath, United
Kingdom: Future Publishing. October 12, 2012. ISSN 1355-5049. Archived from the
original on January 27, 2013. Retrieved October 13, 2012.
Barker and Edwards 2015, p. 163.
Shooman 2010, p. 92.
James Montgomery (October 28, 2005). "Tom DeLonge: No More Compromises". MTV News.
Archived from the original on September 9, 2012. Retrieved September 9, 2012.
"Box Car Racer Won't Derail Next Blink-182 Album". Billboard. June 5, 2002.
Retrieved February 12, 2013.
 "Blink-182 Moves in for The Kill". J-14. December 2001 � January 2002. p. 19.
Shooman 2010, p. 91.
Vineyard, Jennifer (January 31, 2002). "Blink-182's Tom DeLonge salutes his roots
on new album". MTV News. Retrieved May 15, 2010.
Barker and Edwards 2015, p. 378.
"Guitar Center Talks with Box Car Racer". GuitarCenter.com. Archived from the
original on October 17, 2002.
Box Car Racer (liner notes). Box Car Racer. US: MCA Records. 2002. 088 112 894-2.
Shooman 2010, p. 90.
Todd Peterson. "It's all about the Blink-Blink". Las Vegas Weekly. Archived from
the original on December 22, 2003. Retrieved April 14, 2017.
Neil Baron (November 22, 2002). "Box Car Racer Tries Sophistication". Reno
Gazette-Journal. Reno, Nevada. p. 82.
Shooman 2010, p. 93.
Shooman 2010, p. 94.
Blender, issue unknown, 2004
Barker and Edwards 2015, p. 164.
"Everything We Learned From Blink-182's AMA On Reddit". NME. November 26, 2015.
Retrieved April 14, 2017.
Wallace, Brian (April 2, 2002). "Blink-182 offshoot Box Car Racer make live
debut". MTV News. Retrieved May 15, 2010.
Scott, Aaron (May 28, 2002). "Box Car Racer: Box Car Racer : Music Review : Slant
Magazine". Slant Magazine. Retrieved May 16, 2010.
"Box Car Racer: Self-titled. � Popmatters music review". Popmatters. September 5,
2002. Archived from the original on February 7, 2005. Retrieved May 16, 2010.
Edna Gunderson (June 11, 2002). "Box Car Racer Album Review". USA Today.
Shooman 2010, p. 96.
O'Neill, Brian. "-allmusic (((Box Car Racer > Review)))". All Music Guide.
Retrieved May 16, 2010.
Robert Morast (May 24, 2002). "Box Car Racer Pays Homage". Argus Leader. Sioux
Falls, South Dakota. p. 38.
Review in Q, June 2002
Rob Bailey (October 18, 2002). "Roaring up the charts". Arizona Daily Star.
Tucson, Arizona. p. 56.
"Box Car Racer � Box Car Racer". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved May 11,
2017.
"On With The 'Show': Eminem Album An Instant No. 1". Billboard. May 30, 2002.
Retrieved April 14, 2017.
Sean Gorman (November 1, 2002). "Box Car Racer, a Blink-182 Spinoff, Heads to
Philadelphia". Courier-Post. Camden, New Jersey. p. 87.
"Box Car Racer, The Used Hit The Road". Billboard. August 8, 2002. Retrieved April
14, 2017.
"Box Car Racer Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 14,
2017.
"Canadian album certifications � Box Car Racer � Box Car Racer". Music Canada.
Corey Moss (March 26, 2002). "Blink-182 Side Project Shoots Video, Plans Handful
Of Shows". MTV News. Retrieved April 14, 2017.
"Alternative Songs: June 29, 2002". Billboard. Retrieved April 14, 2017.
"Alternative Songs: November 16, 2002". Billboard. Retrieved April 14, 2017.
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Blink-182 LP". MTV News. Retrieved April 14, 2017.
"Box Car Racer [DVD] � Box Car Racer". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved April
14, 2017.
Box Car Racer (back cover credits). Box Car Racer. US: MCA Records. 2002. 088 113
970-9.
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MTV News. Retrieved April 14, 2017.
"Australiancharts.com � Box Car Racer � Box Car Racer". Hung Medien. Retrieved
April 14, 2017.
 "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH.
Retrieved April 14, 2017.
"GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 22, 2002". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved April 14,
2017.
"Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 14,
2017.
"Box Car Racer Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 14,
2017.
Shooman, Joe (June 24, 2010). Blink-182: The Bands, The Breakdown & The Return.
Independent Music Press. ISBN 978-1-906191-10-8.
Barker, Travis; Edwards, Gavin (2015). Can I Say: Living Large, Cheating Death, and
Drums, Drums, Drums. William Morrow. ISBN 978-0-06-231942-5.
External links
Box Car Racer at YouTube (streamed copy where licensed)
[hide] v t e
Box Car Racer
Tom DeLonge Travis Barker David Kennedy
Anthony Celestino
Studio albums
Box Car Racer
DVDs
Box Car Racer
Singles
"I Feel So" "There Is"
Labels
MCA
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Blink-182 Transplants +44 Angels & Airwaves Expensive Taste Hazen Street Over My
Dead Body
Categories: 2002 debut albumsMCA Records albumsBox Car Racer albumsConcept
albumsAlbums produced by Jerry Finn
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