Tom DeLonge’s inspiration fueled a genre-shaping creation, not a midlife crisis.
You’re better than you think you are. People are taking notice. Stop comparing yourself to others, and keep being uniquely you. The rest will come with time.
One thing I’ve been thinking about lately is how people evaluate themselves in the workforce.
Many people, including myself, compare themselves to others. Of course, that’s fine. We all have our inspirations, people we aspire to be like.
However, as much as we’d like to copy our heroes, we need to be bold enough to pave our paths — making a name for ourselves in the process.
For example, some of our favourite musicians were inspired by someone. I’ve been learning a lot about Tom DeLonge’s catalogue lately. Bands like The Cure, the Melvins, Bad Religion, and Fugazi heavily influenced DeLonge.
You can see those influences in his musical arrangements and lyrics. That said, the music is uniquely his own. And let’s be honest, it’s some of the best stuff to come out of that time period.
Did DeLonge sit around in his studio and say to himself, “I’ll never sound like Robert Smith. My shit sucks.” No, he didn’t. He whipped out his shitty acoustic guitar, wrote some riffs, and became one of the more respected musicians on the pop-punk scene.
Are his songs minimalistic in nature? Yes, but they’re beloved by many. Not because he’s pop-punk’s version of Stevie Vai, but because his stuff is memorable. It makes people feel something. That’s why, four decades later, his band Blink 182 is selling out stadiums; people can’t get enough of his signature series guitars and have invested heavily into his other side projects like Angels & Airwaves and To The Stars.
The point is, even if you think your stuff sucks because you can’t reach the level of whoever it is you aspire to be; your stuff isn’t bad. If you put your best foot forward with everything you do, somewhere out there, someone will remember you for it, and they’ll want to be like you.
Go out there and give ’em hell, soldier.
