"Not Now" is a song by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band Blink-182 that was released on November 28, 2005. It was the lone

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

from the group's first

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

, '' Greatest Hits'' (2005), because it was the only song on the compilation that was previously unreleased in the US. The song had been composed and recorded during the sessions that produced the group's self-titled 2003 album (it first appeared as a bonus track on the UK version of that album). "Not Now" would be the group's last single as a band before their four-year hiatus from 2005 to 2009. "Not Now" was released to radio on October 18, 2005. The song reached number 18 on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart and number 30 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

Background

"Not Now" was originally recorded by the band for its self-titled 2003 album. Its lyrics have been interpreted as written from the perspective of someone on the verge of death.

Composition

The song's guitar riffs were compared to the Descendents by journalist Joe Shooman, and are interspersed by verses containing a church organ. Matt Mitchell of '' Paste'' also noted the similarities to the Descendents, dubbing the song "a tight, riff-heavy,

pop-punk Pop punk (or punk pop) is a rock music genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop. It is defined for its emphasis on classic pop songcraft, as well as adolescent and anti-suburbia themes, and is distinguished from other pu ...

performance".

Release and commercial performance

"Not Now" was first released for download on the nascent

iTunes Music Store The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,000 ...

on the day of the album's release. It was included as a bonus track on the UK edition of ''Blink-182'', although it is unclear why it was originally left off the track listing of the international edition.Shooman, 2010. p. 124 The song was also included on '' Atticus: ...Dragging the Lake, Vol. 3'' (2005), a compilation album released by DeLonge's clothing company,

Atticus Clothing Atticus is a brand of clothing founded in 2001 by Blink-182 members Mark Hoppus and Tom DeLonge, along with their childhood friend Dylan Anderson. Name The name Atticus Clothing was derived from several places, one being the main character's ...

.Shooman, 2010. p. 139 Both of these physical releases are a slightly shorter edit, where the

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

is shortened, making it roughly 15 seconds shorter. When the song was selected to be a

for the band's post-breakup ''Greatest Hits'' album, it ran into trouble with the trio's management, which were split between DeLonge (who remained with original Blink manager Rick DeVoe) and Hoppus/Barker (who switched to

Irving Azoff Irving Azoff (; born December 12, 1947) is an American entertainment executive and chairman of Full Stop Management, which represents recording artists. In the mid-1980s, he brought success to MCA Records. Since September 2013, he has been chai ...

to handle their new project, +44). The Azoff camp lobbied for the Hoppus-led "

Another Girl, Another Planet "Another Girl, Another Planet" is a song by English rock band the Only Ones. It is the second track on their debut studio album, ''The Only Ones'', released in 1978. The song is the band's most successful and has since been covered by several oth ...

" as the lead single, while DeVoe argued for "Not Now", which eventually won. The song peaked at number 30 on the

Critical reception

"Not Now" received positive marks from contemporary music critics. Kieron Passaway in ''

Kerrang! ''Kerrang!'' is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock, punk and heavy metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent (the same company that owns electronic music publication ''Mixmag''). It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one- ...

'' called it among the band's best, observing, "You can feel and hear the friction in the track ..DeLonge appears to be pushing a separate sonic agenda which he eventually realized with Angels & Airwaves, while vocalist/bassist Mark Hoppus and drummer Travis Barker are busy reinforcing the trademark Blink sound." Matt Mitchell of '' Paste'' interpreted it as suggestive of the band's impending demise, writing, "DeLonge sings from the perspective of the song's protagonist, who, on the brink of death, much like the band at the time, keeps his loved ones close and promises to wait for them once he passes on."

Music video

The music video features clips of the band's past music videos, concerts, and tours. There are two released versions of this video, but the only significant difference between them is that different clips from all of their videos are used. There is also a third, possibly unofficial, video; this is seen on Australia's Channel In this version, the video is black and white and is made up of some of the band's previous music videos as well as some footage of their live performance in the 2000 Big Day Out during the bridge of the song.

Format and track listing

;US

Enhanced CD Enhanced CD is a certification mark of the Recording Industry Association of America for various technologies that combine audio and computer data for use in both Compact Disc and CD-ROM players. Formats that fall under the "enhanced CD" ca ...

(2005) # "Not Now" – 4:09 # " I Miss You" (Live In Minneapolis) – 3:57 # " I Won't Be Home for Christmas" – 3:16 # "Not Now" (music video) ;UK CD single (2005) # "Not Now" – 4:09 # "

Dammit "Dammit" (sometimes subtitled "Growing Up") is a song by American rock band Blink-182, released on September 23, 1997, as the second single from the group's second studio album, ''Dude Ranch'' (1997). Written by bassist Mark Hoppus, the song con ...

" – 2:45 ;UK 7" single part 1 (2005) # "Not Now" – 4:09 # "

" – 2:45 ;UK 7" single part 2 (2005) # "Not Now" – 4:09 # "

All the Small Things "All the Small Things" is a song by American rock music, rock band Blink-182. It was the second single and eighth track released from the band's third album, ''Enema of the State'' (1999). The track was composed primarily by guitarist and vocal ...

" – 2:52

Charts

Weekly charts

Release history

References

Bibliography *

External links

* {{Authority control Blink-182 songs 2005 singles 2003 songs Geffen Records singles Island Records singles Songs written by Mark Hoppus Songs written by Tom DeLonge Songs written by Travis Barker