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Tom DeLonge Blasts "Bullsh-- Pop Bands"

It's been well documented that former Blink-182 singer/guitarist Tom DeLonge thinks the world of his new band, Angels & Airwaves. But apparently he doesn't feel so charitable about his last gig. At a recent concert appearance, DeLonge broke it down for his audience.

"I do not want to be in some bulls*it pop band with bulls*it pop songs while you drive your fu*king bulls*it car and sing along to it like you're some 14-year-old girl," DeLonge said. He then caught himself and offered a warm welcome to any actual 14-year-old girls in the audience.

When Blink-182 ended their 11-year career last year, DeLonge said that he was lured away by the chance to raise a family. He's still singing that same tune, telling the Des Moines Register this week that "nothing was worth negotiating my family over… I came from a broken family, and so I needed to make sure mine didn't end up that way."

His former Blink bandmates, Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker, have gone on to form (+44), and have a record release planned for November 14th. While DeLonge's comments were widely interpreted to be directed at his former band, it might also have been aimed at (+44), whose sound is much closer to Blink's than the epic arena rock of Angels & Airwaves.

Hoppus told Spin that DeLonge tried to turn the Blink democracy into a dictatorship, and when Hoppus and Barker weren't buying it, DeLonge bailed -- and changed his phone number. Said Hoppus, "These are things I would have said if he called: Your selfish nature is destroying everything that the three of us, our crew, and everyone worked so hard to do."

--The ARTISTdirect Staff
11.02.06