"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 Wale ...

band

Blink-182 Blink-182 is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Poway, California, in 1992. Its current and best-known line-up consists of bassist and vocalist Mark Hoppus, guitarist and vocalist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker. Though its so ...

, 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 ( ) 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 "Chesh ...

'' (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 ...

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 a founding member and the original drummer of the band Blink-182. Born in Poway, California, Raynor first approached the drums in his preteens; he joined Blink-18 ...

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 Cou ...

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 agrotourism. 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 was the news production division of MTV. The service was available in the US with localized versions on MTV's global network and an online news team. In 2016, MTV refreshed the MTV News brand to compete with the likes of BuzzFeed and ...

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 In the modern music industry, a mixtape is a musical project, typically with looser constraints than that of an album or extended play. Unlike the traditional album or extended play, mixtapes are labeled as laid-back projects that allow artists mo ...

for my high school girlfriend."

Format and track listing

Personnel

– drums * Tom DeLonge – guitars, vocals *

Mark Hoppus Mark Allan Hoppus (born March 15, 1972) is an American musician and record producer. He is the co-lead vocalist, co-founder, and bassist for the rock band Blink-182 and the only member to appear on every album. Hoppus became interested in ska ...

– bass, vocals

Chart positions

References

* *

Notes

{{Blink-182 Blink-182 songs 1995 songs 1996 singles Songs written by Mark Hoppus Songs written by Tom DeLonge