“I loved Tom from the first day I met him.”
I admit that, as a blink fan for many years, I had high hopes for this memoir. Mark was always my favorite and the band has been through a lot.
This book was a mixed bag. The writing felt a bit like a school essay. (“This happened. Then this happened. Then this happened. Joke.”) And there were no captions on any of the photos. It turned out that there was a big list of them in the back, but there was no way I was going to keep flipping back and forth. What an odd choice.
It was cool to see certain things come up throughout the book and immediately know that these details were the origin stories for certain songs that I really like. He doesn’t always call attention to it, but anyone familiar with the discography will recognize these moments instantly. I finally have an answer for why Mark’s voice sounds so bad on “Dammit.” (Too many cigarettes and sodas.) It's very cool that the first concert he ever went to was They Might Be Giants in 1988! That’s my #1 favorite band. I’ve seen them live 47 times. I’m supposed to be seeing them again in November. But they had only been around in the world for 4 years at that point. I can’t imagine seeing them so early in their career! I also appreciated the honest play-by-play of what life on the road was like when the band first started out. (It sounds like a nightmare.) And the behind-the-scenes glimpse of what it was like to make an appearance on TRL. (It sounds like a nightmare.)
I read an interview with Mark in People Magazine where they asked him about this book, and whether Tom was aware of the content. He said that Tom knew about everything he was going to say. That’s kind of wild, considering how badly Tom comes across in this. (Teenage Tom used to actually throw a dummy into traffic like Macaulay Culkin in “The Good Son” as a prank?! What a psycho.) Then there's all the stuff he actually did to the band. Sometimes Mark didn't come across that great, either. His ego got on my nerves a little bit overall, and a lot of his behavior just made him sound more obnoxious than I was expecting. (Hey, I know he's an immature little punk.) I tend to like his social media posts, though. And I’ve seen Blink live a few times, (back when Tom was still with the band, pre-breakup), and they were very funny and charismatic on stage.
I took issue with a couple of other things, too. The Green Day vs. Blink stuff was pretty dumb, ("We told them they couldn't use pyro because WE were using pyro, and then THEY used pyro!"), and the Robert Smith story didn’t sit well with me. I think maybe Mark just didn't make the BEST choices about which stories would be good ones to include, because sometimes it felt like he was just trying to make other people look bad even when these were supposedly people he liked and admired. Why include these stories at all? They also reflected badly on him. I love that +44 album, but god that chapter was a self-pity party. I know he was broken up about Tom, but all the stuff about making less money and not feeling as famous or successful anymore had me looking for my tiny violin.
Reading this wasn't a BAD experience. It was mostly interesting and nostalgic. I did learn quite a bit about the band and how their albums came together. Some of the stories were fun and it wasn't all doom and gloom. There was a line that made me laugh, where he was talking about a time in the late 90s during an awkward moment: “I stood off to the side, wishing someone would invent an iPhone so I’d have something to look at.” I actually still love that Dogs Eating Dogs EP and I have the holiday Blink hoodie. I don’t remember my bundle getting screwed up, either. I had made a cool bookmark out of some of the blink logo wrapping paper that came with it, and I used that bookmark while reading this.
The chapters about chemo treatment were rough. Both the physical effects and Mark’s state of mind. Kudos to Mark for being so open about that whole experience and what he went through. And that diving story. Holy shit. Both Skye and Mark's mom sound like amazing ladies. I like that the book ended on a positive note, with his health on the mend, the band back together and their friendships in a good place. (I hope everything stays that way!)
I got this from my local Library!
Biggest TW: Domestic Abuse, Drug Use, Depression/Suicidal Ideation, Chronic Illness/Treatment