"Wasting Time" 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
Blink-182 (stylized as blink-182) is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Poway, California in 1992. Their current lineup consists of bassist/vocalist Mark Hoppus, guitarist/vocalist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker. Though their ...
, released on May 20, 1996 in Australia, and on June 28, 1996 elsewhere, as the second and final single from the group's debut studio album, ''
Cheshire Cat
The Cheshire Cat ( or ) is a fictional cat popularised by Lewis Carroll in ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' and known for its distinctive mischievous grin. While now most often used in ''Alice''-related contexts, the association of a "Ch ...
'' (1995).
Background
An early version of "Wasting Time" appears on the band’s 1994 split 7-inch with the Iconoclasts, ''Short Bus''.
[Shooman, 2010. p. 25]
"Wasting Time" largely centers on an attempt to gain the attention of a girl, to the point of writing a song about her. The line "In my town, you can’t drive naked" was suggested by engineer
Jeff Forrest
Jeff Forrest is an American recording engineer.
Bio and Career
Jeff Forrest was born in Flint Michigan and attended Central Michigan University and The Berklee College of Music.
Jeff Forrest is a recording engineer from the San Diego area who i ...
when Hoppus was recording vocals for the track at Doubletime Studios in San Diego. "Jeff never offered any further insight into what may have been the source material for this pro-active free association, and we never asked," remembered drummer
Scott Raynor
Scott William Raynor, Jr. (born May 23, 1978) is an American musician, best known as the original drummer of the rock band Blink-182. Born in Poway, California, Raynor first approached the drums in his preteens as a fan of Metallica. He joined ...
in 2010.
[Shooman, 2010. p. 26]
Mike Halloran of
XETRA-FM
XETRA-FM (91.1 MHz), branded as 91X, and sometimes identified as XTRA-FM, is an English-language radio station licensed to Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. It airs an alternative rock radio format. The studios and offices are on Cornerstone Cour ...
and producer
O considered "Wasting Time" to be the band's debut single, but chose "M+M's" instead.
"Wasting Time" was released as a single by Cargo/Grilled Cheese in the summer of 1996, and was the final single from ''Cheshire Cat''.
[Shooman, 2010. p. 31] It was released as an "Australian Tour EP", and contains early versions of two songs later re-recorded for the band's major label debut, ''
Dude Ranch
A guest ranch, also known as a dude ranch, is a type of ranch oriented towards visitors or tourism. It is considered a form of agritourism.
History
Guest ranches arose in response to the romanticization of the American West that began to occur ...
'': "Lemmings" and "Enthused".
Reception
MTV News
MTV News is the news production division of MTV. The service is available in the US with localized versions on MTV's global network. In February 2016, MTV Networks confirmed it would refresh the MTV News brand in 2016, to compete with the likes ...
journalist James Montgomery wrote that "I grew up a Blink fan
..I used to blare "Wasting Time" in my
1988 Caprice Classic and put it on a
mixtape
A mixtape (alternatively mix-tape, mix tape or mixed tape) is a compilation of music, typically from multiple sources, recorded onto a medium. With origins in the 1980s, the term normally describes a homemade compilation of music onto a cassette ...
for my high school girlfriend."
Format and track listing
Chart positions
References
*
*
Notes
{{Blink-182
Blink-182 songs
1995 songs
1996 singles
Songs written by Mark Hoppus
Songs written by Tom DeLonge