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All the Small Things

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This article is about the song. For the BBC television series, see All the Small Things (TV series).
"All the Small Things"
Song

"All the Small Things" is a song by American pop punk band Blink-182. It was the second single released from the band's third album Enema of the State. Written by guitarist Tom DeLonge for his girlfriend, the song is one of Blink-182's most popular songs and is often considered their signature song.

The single, released in January 2000, peaked at number one on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks, number six on the Billboard Hot 100 and number two in the United Kingdom. "All the Small Things" was the band's first number one hit and it exposed the band to a mainstream audience.

Background

"All the Small Things" can be traced back to when the trio first began writing songs for Enema of the State at DML Studios.[1] DeLonge had just bought his first home in San Diego, and bought two to three thousand dollars worth of foam padding to insulate his room. By this point, most of the tracks present on Enema of the State had been written, but DeLonge felt the album needed "just one song that was really catchy and basic."[2] "I remember thinking, 'The label's gonna want a song for the radio - so here's one,'" said DeLonge. "It was obvious from the beginning it would fit that format."[3] He wrote the track about Jennifer Jenkins, his longtime girlfriend since high school that he would eventually marry.[4] The lyrics "She left me roses on the stairs / Surprises let me know she cares" are based on an incident in which Jenkins left roses on the stairs after DeLonge returned home late from recording.[5] DeLonge had wanted to write a track including "na na na's" as an ode to one of his favorite bands, the Ramones.[2][1] "It was one of the last songs we recorded," DeLonge told Kerrang!, "because it was simple it wasn't that much fun to play. But once we put it all together and played it as a band we all looked at each other and said, 'This song's huge!'"[1]

The guitar riff cycles around chords C, F and G (I, IV and V in C), a familiar chord progression.[6] The texture on the track is due to several overdubs playing various inversions and extensions of the main chords. The bass guitar stays on C while the guitars move to F, creating a 2nd inversion chord.[6]

Chart success

Although one source states the single was released in December 1999,[7] most sources agree the single was released January 18, 2000. The song peaked at number one on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks. The song peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100, the highest Blink-182 has received on that respective chart.[7] The song also achieved massive success in other countries, most notably in the United Kingdom, where it entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart in March 2000, beaten to the top of the chart by Bag It Up by Geri Haliwell. In Australia, "All The Small Things" peaked at number eight on the ARIA Singles Chart. The single was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association.

The single was received positively, and labeled "a pop punk watershed" by Jonah Weiner of Blender. The song has been a staple of Blink's live set since its heyday.

"Once we recorded this song and heard it, it gave us the chills. We just looked at each other and knew we had this little piece of magic. We knew that thing was going to be a gigantic thing, I don't know how, but we just felt it straight away."
— Tom DeLonge, reflecting on the song's creation[2]

"All the Small Things" was released on the UK compilation album Now That's What I Call Music! 45 (2000) and the US edition of Now That's What I Call Music! 4 (2000). The song was used in 1999 in the TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer (season 4, episode 9 - "Something Blue") before it was released on CD, and in Boston Legal (season 1, episode 14 - "Til We Meat Again"). The song is played during the end credits of the 2000 film, Charlie's Angels. It can be heard in the 2002 film Clockstoppers, and is also present on its soundtrack. Alvin and the Chipmunks covered the song for their 2008 album Undeniable. The song has been used frequently in music video games. It was released as downloadable content for Rock Band and Guitar Hero 5, and is part of the setlist for Guitar Hero: On Tour and the iPhone version of Rock Band. Covers are present in the video games Rock Revolution and Alvin and the Chipmunks.

When originally released, the song was performed on Saturday Night Live along with "What's My Age Again?" on January 8, 2000 on the season 25 episode hosted by Jamie Foxx.[8] As a testament to the song's lasting popular impact, it was performed on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno twice: first on October 15, 1999,[9] and second after Blink 182's reformation on May 19, 2009.[10] A British television series named after the song was broadcast on BBC One in 2009. In Family Guy's "It's a Trap!", Han Solo (Peter Griffin) can be heard singing the song after C-3PO (Glenn Quagmire) states the Ewoks "Seem to think I'm some sort of god.", to which Peter exclaims "And they seem to think I'm Sum 41!" before proceeding to enthusiastically sing the first line of "All the Small Things", much to the chagrin of Luke Skywalker (Chris Griffin).

Music video

The music video for "All the Small Things" parodies boy bands and contemporary pop videos.[1] It features the trio participating in choreographed dancing and dressing up as members of Backstreet Boys, 98 Degrees, and *NSYNC. It became the most successful video from Enema of the State and its constant airplay on MTV cemented the band's image as video stars, amid teen pop and boy bands.[11] The music video was shot in August 1999, on location at Van Nuys Airport and Santa Monica State Beach,[12] and premiered September 20, 1999, on MTV’s Making the Video.[13]

The video was named "Best Video" at the 2000 Kerrang! Awards,[14] as well as nabbing "Best Group Video" at the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards.[15] "I was a little surprised it went over so well," recalled Marcos Siega, director of the clip, commenting that he felt it would offend viewers of TRL and boy band fans. "I think we had the opposite effect. In some ways, I think that video put Blink at that sort of pop level with those other bands. We were making fun of them, but it kind of became [what it was making fun of]."[1] "Blink now had the backing of a major record company […] just like the synthesized pop acts they were spoofing," said British journalist Tim Footman. "In what way were they less 'pop' than Sugar Ray and 98 Degrees?"[16] Matt Diehl, author of the book My So-Called Punk, called the basis for satire thin: "To seasoned ears, Blink-182 sounded and looked just as manufactured as the pop idols they were poking fun at."[17] In a similar vein, in 2011, The New York Times wrote, "Fame doesn’t discriminate based on origin, though: soon the group was as famous as those it was parodying."[11]

During rehearsals for the video, bassist Mark Hoppus met his future wife, Skye Everly. According to a 2004 interview, Everly, who was then an MTV talent executive, initially said no to dating Hoppus: "Tom [DeLonge] always used to embarrass me. Any girl he'd talk to, he'd say, 'Hey, you wanna go on a date with Mark?' He asked Skye [Everly], my wife, who looked at me and said 'No.' That's how it all started."[7] Hoppus would marry Everly on December 2, 2000.[18]

In 2012, the video attracted attention when a blogger at BuzzFeed noticed similarities between the video and boy band One Direction's video for "What Makes You Beautiful" — the video was filmed on Santa Monica Beach and is shot from the same camera angle as in "All the Small Things", leading media outlets to joke that the band parodied One Direction eleven years prior to their formation.[19]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Blink-182

All the Small Things US Single CD and Cassette
No.TitleLength
1."All the Small Things"2:54
2."M+M's"2:39
All the Small Things UK Single CD #1
No.TitleLength
1."All the Small Things"2:48
2."Dumpweed" (Live)2:24
3."What's My Age Again?" (Live)2:58
All the Small Things UK Single CD #2
No.TitleLength
1."All the Small Things"2:55
2."All the Small Things" (Live)3:15
3."Dammit" (Live)2:38
4."All the Small Things" (Video)3:00
All the Small Things UK Single Cassette
No.TitleLength
1."All the Small Things"2:48
2."Dammit" (Live)2:45
All the Small Things Australian Single CD #1
No.TitleLength
1."All the Small Things"2:48
2."Dammit" (Live in LA)3:05
3."Family Reunion" (Live in LA)0:51
4."I Won't Be Home for Christmas"3:16
All the Small Things Australian Single CD #2
No.TitleLength
1."All the Small Things" (Single edit)2:54
2."Dumpweed" (Live in London)3:25
3."What's My Age Again?" (Live in London)3:18
4."All the Small Things" (Live in London)4:05
5."Dammit" (Live in London)2:36
All the Small Things Italian Promo 12" Vinyl
No.TitleLength
1."All the Small Things"2:48
2."Dumpweed" (Live) 
3."What's My Age Again?" (Live) 
  • All live tracks on the UK release were recorded at the Electric Ballroom, London, England, on November 30, 1999.

Chart positions

Preceded by Billboard Modern Rock Tracks number-one single
December 25, 1999 - February 19, 2000 		Succeeded by

Jedward version

"All the Small Things"
Song

"All the Small Things" served as the second single from Irish pop rap duo Jedward's debut studio album, Planet Jedward. The single was released on July 16, 2010. The song performed relatively modestly, peaking at number 21 on the Irish Charts and at number 6 on the UK Indie Chart.

Music video

The music video for "All The Small Things" premiered on YouTube on July 15, 2010. The video was filmed in June 2010. The video is inspired by the original video by Blink-182, parodying popular music videos that have been seen worldwide. The videos parodied by Jedward include "SOS" by the Jonas Brothers, "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" by Beyoncé, "Telephone" by Lady Gaga, and "...Baby One More Time" by Britney Spears. The video was given its first television airplay by 4Music on July 16. Since its premiere, the video has more than 1.6 million hits on YouTube.[36]

Track listing

  1. "All the Small Things" (Radio Edit)

Chart positions

Chart (2010) Peak
position
Ireland (IRMA)[37] 21
UK Indie (OCC)[38] 6
UK Singles (OCC)[39] 80

Release history

Country Release date
Ireland July 16, 2010
United Kingdom July 19, 2010

References

  • Hoppus, Anne (October 1, 2001). Blink-182: Tales from Beneath Your Mom. MTV Books / Pocket Books. ISBN 0-7434-2207-4. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  • Shooman, Joe (June 24, 2010). Blink-182: The Bands, The Breakdown & The Return. Independent Music Press. ISBN 978-1-90619-110-8. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e Shooman, 2010. p. 74-75
  2. ^ a b c Browne, Nichola (November 20, 2005). "Punk Rock! Nudity! Filthy Sex! Tom DeLonge Looks Back On Blink-182's Greatest Moments". Kerrang! (1083). London: Bauer Media Group. ISSN 0262-6624. {{cite journal}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  3. ^ Allsworth, Steve (May 30, 2006). "US Punk: Blink-182". Total Guitar. Bath, United Kingdom: Future Publishing: 70–71. ISSN 1355-5049. {{cite journal}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  4. ^ Gee, Alyson (August 16, 2006). "Blink-182 Rocker & Wife Welcome a Son". People (magazine). Retrieved December 30, 2010.
  5. ^ DeLonge, Tom (2000). Blink-182: The Mark Tom and Travis Show 2000 Official Program. MCA Records. p. 17.
  6. ^ a b Allsworth, Steve (May 30, 2006). "Learn to Play "All the Small Things"". Total Guitar. Bath, United Kingdom: Future Publishing: 90. ISSN 1355-5049. {{cite journal}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  7. ^ a b c Weiner, Jonah (2004-11-23). "The Greatest Songs Ever! All the Small Things – Blender". Blender. Retrieved 2010-06-02.
  8. ^ "SNL Transcripts: Jamie Foxx: 01/08/00". Snltranscripts.jt.org. 2000-01-08. Retrieved 2011-10-11.
  9. ^ "Blink 182 Interview Tonight Show With Jay Leno Burbank CA USA 15/10/1999". YouTube. Retrieved 2011-10-11.
  10. ^ [1][dead link‍]
  11. ^ a b Jon Carimanica (September 16, 2011). "Not Quite Gone, A Punk Band Is Coming Back". The New York Times. Retrieved September 17, 2011. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  12. ^ "Blink-182 Spoofs Boy Bands With New Video". MTV News. 1999-08-11. Archived from the original on 12 June 2010. Retrieved 2010-06-02. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  13. ^ Manning, Kara (1999-09-17). "Blink-182 Shoots Boy-Band Video, Prepares To Tour With Silverchair". MTV News. Retrieved 2010-06-02.
  14. ^ Mancini, Robert (2000-08-30). "Slipknot Steals Spotlight At Kerrang! Awards". MTV News. Retrieved 2010-06-02.
  15. ^ Hoppus, 2001. p. 98
  16. ^ Footman, Tim (September 1, 2002). "Chapter 8: Keeping It Clean". Blink-182: The Unauthorised Biography in Words and Pictures. Chrome Dreams. pp. 52–55. ISBN 1842401688.
  17. ^ Diehl, Matt (April 17, 2007). My So-Called Punk: Green Day, Fall Out Boy, The Distillers, Bad Religion - How Neo-Punk Stage-Dived into the Mainstream. St. Martin's Griffin. pp. 75–76. ISBN 0312337817.
  18. ^ "Mark Hoppus's Biography – Discover music, videos, concerts, stats, & pictures at Last.fm". Last.fm. 2009-02-11. Retrieved 2011-10-11.
  19. ^ Luke Lewis (September 12, 2012). "Blink-182 Mocked One Direction. 12 Years Ago". NME. Retrieved November 11, 2012. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  20. ^ "Eminem Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 2012-07-18.
  21. ^ "Billboard Top 100 - 2000". Retrieved 2010-08-31.
  22. ^ "All The Small Things" music video by Jedward at Vevo
  23. ^ "Chart Track: Week 30, 2010". Irish Singles Chart.
  24. ^ "Official Independent Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company.
  25. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
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