Wasting Time (Blink-182 song)

"Wasting Time" is a song by American rock band Blink-182, 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 (1995).

"Wasting Time"
Single by Blink-182
from the album Cheshire Cat
Released	May 20, 1996 (Australia) June 28, 1996 (elsewhere)
Recorded	1994 at Westbeach Recorders, Los Angeles, California
Length	2:49
Label	Cargo Music / Grilled Cheese / Rapido
Songwriter(s)	Mark Hoppus and Tom DeLonge
Producer(s)	O (Otis Barthoulameu), Blink-182
Blink-182 singles chronology
"M+M's" (1995) "Wasting Time" (1996) "Apple Shampoo" (1997)

Background

An early version of "Wasting Time" appears on the band’s 1994 split 7-inch with the Iconoclasts, Short Bus.[1]

"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 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 in 2010.[2]

Mike Halloran of XETRA-FM and producer O considered "Wasting Time" to be the band's debut single, but chose "M+M's" instead.[3] "Wasting Time" was released as a single by Cargo/Grilled Cheese in the summer of 1996, and was the final single from Cheshire Cat.[4] 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: "Lemmings" and "Enthused".

Reception

MTV News 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 for my high school girlfriend."[5]

Format and track listing

CD (1996)

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Wasting Time"	2:46
2.	"Wrecked Him"	2:56
3.	"Lemmings" (different from the version that appears on Dude Ranch)	2:50
4.	"Enthused" (different from the version that appears on Dude Ranch)	2:43

Chart positions

Chart (1996)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)[6]	90

References

• Hoppus, Anne (October 1, 2001). Blink-182: Tales from Beneath Your Mom. MTV Books / Pocket Books. ISBN 9780743422079.
• Shooman, Joe (June 24, 2010). Blink-182: The Bands, The Breakdown & The Return. Independent Music Press. ISBN 978-1-906191-10-8.

Notes

1. Shooman, 2010. p. 25
2. Shooman, 2010. p. 26
3. Dumpweed (Live) - Radio Promo Single (liner notes). Blink-182. US: MCA Records. 2000. MCAR-25268-2.CS1 maint: others (link)
4. Shooman, 2010. p. 31
5. James Montgomery (February 11, 2009). "Will The Blink-182 Reunion Change The World?". MTV News. Retrieved November 17, 2013.
6. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.