“Feeling This” is the first track on Blink 182’s self-titled album that jolted thousands of pop rock fans. The band really impressed major music critics with the release of this single due to its maturity. Even though “Feeling This” keeps the same up-beat flavor as most of the songs on Take Off Your Pants and Jacket, Blink 182’s fans could feel a definite progression.
As impressive as Blink 182’s melody skills are, comparatively their studio work is impeccable. The subtle aspects of their studio engineer brings “Feeling This” to another level of listening enjoyment. 6 studio effects really stand out to me why “Feeling This” is such a great composition by Blink 182.
1. Flange in the intro sounds classic.
You don’t hear too many contemporary bands from the punk genre use this effect anymore. Blink 182 uses flange on Travis Barker’s drum intro however to add dimension. It reveals a new classic side to the band since “Feeling This” is the first track on their first serious album.
2. Bass booms add bulk.
Do you hear that rumble in your speakers at the start of the first chorus? That’s a very low pedal tone in the key of the song, commonly called a bass boom. When you hear that tone resonate behind Mark Hoppus’s vocals, you can feel a whole new powerful depth to what he sings.
3. They diversify with guitar filters.
After the first chorus of “Feeling This,” Tom Delonge’s guitar is covered with a filter that creates the illusion of depth. Effects like this create a broad variation in sound throughout Blink 182’s song, ultimately to make it more interesting with each listen.
4. Barker uses drum filters.
As Delonge is singing aggressively during the bridge, Barker is banging on his drums, sounding as if he’s clipping the tracks. That “clipping effect” is actually a simple distortion filter applied to the percussion. It’s pretty similar to that of the intro to Underoath’s “Down, Set, Go.”
5. Sometimes Mark Hoppus sings through a phone.
Similarly how Travis Barker’s drums are distorted in the bridge, so is Hoppus’s voice. All of a sudden Mark Hoppus is singing through a phone! It’s a really cool and simple filter to add to create intimacy and I feel Blink 182 picked a good part for it.
6. The final fade-out to A Capella is magical.
Probably the coolest, yet simplest studio element in Blink 182’s “Feeling This” is the instrument fade-out at the end of the tune. The engineer really puts that pitch corrector to work on the boy’s vocals as they begin to overlap in harmony. It’s a great way for the song to finish.
There are so many studio production elements that went into Blink 182’s “Feeling This” to form a strong composition that it would be difficult to list them all. The more prominent studio effects include filters, bass booms, and fading. Take these into consideration when mixing your own music.