NOFX have shared new song, Punk Rock Cliché, which was originally intended to feature on the Blink-182 record California.
The song was written by NOFX frontman Fat Mike alongside Matt Skiba, who at the time had just replaced guitarist Tom DeLonge in Blink.
When California was released in 2016 however, Punk Rock Cliché did not feature on the tracklist. Now, NOFX have picked up the track for their upcoming new record, Double Album, which is set to arrive on December 2.
NOFX's Double Album may be their last, following news of the band's farewell tour scheduled to take place in 2023, which will coincide with their 40th anniversary. Dates will be announced soon.
Speaking of how the song came about in an interview with Spin, Fat Mike explains, "I said 'Hey, check this out.’ I played the song, and I said ‘I think this would be a great Blink-182 song.’ He [Skiba] worked on some of the lyrics with me – some of them were already written."
Back in 2015, drummer Travis Barker told NME of five songs recorded with Skiba for the new Blink album. He said at the time: “There’s a song called Punk Rock Cliché which I love the most right now. It’s about friends of ours and their relationships."
Recalling how he felt after finding out Blink liked the song and were planning to feature it on California, Mike continues, “It was the first time we wrote together. He brought it to the band, they recorded it, and a few weeks later, Travis Barker did a bunch of interviews with NME and Exclaim! and whoever else, and in all the interviews, he said, 'We have a new song called Punk Rock Cliché, and it’s the best song on the album. I’m really excited about it.’"
Punk Rock Cliché was set up to be California's first single, however was soon dropped from the album altogether. Recalling the moment he heard about this, Mike says: “At first, it felt really, really bad for me. It really bummed me out because I got my hopes up, and I really liked the song.
"So about a year or two later, NOFX recorded it – because it was still my song. It didn’t make it on [2021’s] Single Album, but it was recorded four or five years ago. Now, it’s coming out on our new album.”
Of the new project, Fat Mike says: "I wanted to do a double album 'cause it’s a challenge and I don’t think there’s any really good double albums out there. All these songs were recorded in the same month, but I didn’t finish the second album until two years later. I think it’s a very enjoyable album, and maybe our funniest. I think it is what a lot of our fans will want to hear. I think it’s a great side three and four for a double album. I believe I accomplished my goal of making a solid double-album, but it just took a lot longer than I expected."
Listen to Punk Rock Cliché below:
