The Insane Genius Of Tom DeLonge (2024)

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I think the defining thing about Tom is his embrace of a childlike wonder and creativity. It probably made him an annoying bandmate at times, but he never let fear of looking stupid get in the way of the things he wanted to achieve.

Def best Tom D video I’ve ever seen. It’s totally fair, no cheap shots, and wholly accurate and fun to watch/listen to

Tom is someone I have followed, and will continue to do so..
My dad recently passed away, and my buddy, SOMEHOW got in touch with To The Stars, explained my situation and overall love & admiration for him, that a few weeks later, I received a handsigned poster by Tom, written to me, about sympathizing with losing a father. Tom will never know just how much that meant to me.
He went out of his way, to do that. For me. Wild to think of. Someone who has a great personality, great sense of humor, great musician, but even a BETTER PERSON. He will, 100% without a doubt, have my full support, with whatever he chooses to do.

Huge respect for Travis after being on Joe. I love Joe but he was constantly trying to make Tom look like a knob, and Travis didn't budge. Travis is a good mate.

As time goes on the more I empathize with Tom and Mark. Mark is like “Why do you keep leaving the family? Aren’t we enough?!” And Tom is like “I’m sorry I need to be more than a Punk Rock artist.” I feel like Tom’s body of work explains this may have been what was going on. I’m glad Tom got to do a lot but I’m thrilled Blink is back together. I just hope Tom can make time for the Blink “family” this time.

I am happy Joe Rogan's still alive to see Tom thrive on these projects as he made fun of him with other invitees

What's awesome is he has a lot more in him. What kind of crazy and genius things is he gonna do over the next 20 years. Dude is legit.

He has written some of the best melodies of all time

Geniuses think outside of the box, which is sometimes uncomfortable for others. What “normal” people think is “weird” is actually truly exceptional and merely something they are not used to.

He is very underrated as a musician. It takes a lot of talent to come up with all these cool melodies and riffs. Sometimes simple = better and nobody does it better than Tom. And I've always liked how his guitar tone sounds, especially on Enema of the State and TOYPAJ.

Angels & Airwaves have such an uplifting vibe like no other. Tom is excellent at making fundamentally simple music with big atmospheres. He's for sure a creative genius

It’s to my understanding, BoxCar Racers was formed when Mark had a child and wanted to slow down Blink and Tom did not. Fast forward a few years and Tom was starting his family and wanting to slow down and Mark did not, which led to him quitting and later forming Angels and Airwaves.

Can we speak about his legacy? that man himself is the reason many musicians decided to pick up a guitar on the first place

Tom is literally a f**king magician and an amazing soul. I had a spiritual awakening/kundalini experience whilst listening to AVA looking at the stars on top of a garage roof in the winter of 2012.

Thanks for being you Finn. I appreciate what you do.
Respectfully,
A healthcare working, motorcycle riding, gym lifting, marathon running, loving dad from Texas.

Dude is literally the Arnold Schwarzenegger of pop punk

You're videos are great, man. Especially ones like this where I don't even listen to the band in question but you put their story out there in a clear interesting way. Keep it up brother!

Tom is super unique and a massive inspiration for so many of us, nothing but love for that man

Such a great breakdown. I dismissed Tom as a loon years ago. This completely changed my outlook.
And to be fair, you have to be a little bit crazy to think this big.

He never let anyone doubt his journey.

He really is a creative genius

Tom is a creative soul. He lives and dies for his passion. You don't have to know him personally to understand he's moved by emotion and that everything he does is because he feels like doing it, in spite of any backlash or controversy his decisions may bring.
And I think you're right, you don't get one without the other, but we wouldn't change him for the world.
He approaches everything with exceptional curiosity, almost like a kid would. Which is why he's always pushed himself and those around him both musically and outside of it.

And he just came out with an actual full featured movie that I believe he co-directed “Monsters of California.” He still has so much life to offer that who knows what else he’s going to cook up.

The Tom DeLonge interview on Steve-O's Wild Ride is well worth a watch. It's a super interesting interview overall, plus, just seeing the two of them - both of whom were huge influences on my teenage years, together - is pretty amazing.

We Don't Need To Whisüer and I-Empire are absolute masterpieces. I remember the first time I listened to those records and man, I was completely blown away.

Toms novels are amazing as well as the company To the Stars they are doing truly amazing things. He is an amazing human being

Finn! That was very well researched, well written & great presentation / editing. One of the best you’ve produced.

Tom's the first celebrity I ever saw live during the first AVA tour. It was so awesome. Been listening to Blink since before middle school. Tom has pretty much been the soundtrack to my life. Great video!! 🙏❤

Most successful creative and business types are insane. You have to be. You also have to have a giant ego in a lot of respects. There's something missing with these types. They are obsessives. That's why they're so rare. They're not better than anyone else. They just have a different gear. Sometimes these types go into crime. Great video!

I have the Love logo tatted down my shoulder. Angels and Airwaves i always thought was an amazing band that didn't get the recognition it deserved

This is actually very good. I don’t even think it gives enough credit to what he was doing with to the stars and the impact it made on getting info out to the public that the government has. He was one of the sparks that has gotten us to where there are congressional investigations happening into secret government programs that would simply just never have happened without him. It’s insane and genius both at once, but it’s clear that his efforts have been genuine the whole time, and I love and appreciate him for that.

Finn, this is probably the best video about Tom and his whole career. I'm really happy about it 😊

Tom DeLonge and Bob Lazar: an iconic duo we never thought would happen

Oddly enough. I saw AvA at the Joint inside the Hard rock hotel here in Las Vegas. The AvA set was a big mix of Blink , Box car and AvA. Great show!

In my opinion, when Tom left Blink, thry went from Blink to Alkaline Trio with Travis on drums. It wasnt Blink without Tom. Toms pop sensibility made Blink stand head and shoulders above everyone else in their cohort except maybe New Found Glory.

Big fan of Tom. Yeah he’s an oddball, but that’s why we love him. Undeniably massively talented.

I still adore the first 2 angels and airwaves albums. As a matter of fact the song breath has been me and my husband's song since it came out and his my ring tone for him since it came out. So I hear the song daily. Tom is just a mad scientist of art and I love it

I see Toms name and I jump straight in!

I’ve been meaning to listen to BCR for years now, and today is when I realized “I Feel So” wasn’t a Blink song. Oops lol

Thankyou Finn for making this about one of the most if not the most influential people to me! Appreciate it!

Almost wrote him off as crazy after years and years of holding out hope on his passion driven stories and then he was proved right Wow Bravo Tom you’ve always amazed me 🎉

Tom DeLonge: established rock icon, well-versed entrepreneur/ investor, Aliens/ Technology conspiracy enthusiast/ investigator, and pretty will turn into an enigma from our generation. And I here for all of it!

Revisited the early Angels & Airwaves albums after years not listening, because of this video. Those were great albums, thanks for recognizing them

I've been a lover of Tom since I was 13, and I've had all the ups and downs you describe. Is he for real, is he insane, is he an egomaniac, all that. And I've had some serious doubts over the years, but seeing his achievements stacked up like this, in 20 minutes, really blew my mind. It's easy to write him off as a lunatic based on a recent interview in 2006, 2009, 2012, whenever, but you can't deny his body of work. This man is truly a genius, and I can't believe that, for me, it started with a song about a girl at a rock show,.

To be honest: People are talking about Tom and Travis all the time, but I like Mark most. He is, to me, the most important blink member and the only reason Blink 182 still exists. I always liked his Bass, his way to sing and the lyrics. I don t know why, but Marc is the guy I would really like to have a chat and talk abbout music and stuff. I think that would be nice.

"...turn to a friend, someone who understands, and sees through the master plan..."

Another new video from Finn. Great way to start the day 🙌🌞

I’m in my late 30s and loved Blink as a teen. I have t kept up with the bands of my youth pretty much since leaving for college, so I had no idea about any of this about Tom. That is wild. What a Renaissance man.

Tom did an episode of Ernie Ball: The Pursuit of Tone, which was pretty interesting to watch, it's talks a lot more about his personal life and musical career but shows his secrets on his Angels and Airwaves sound effects and whatnot

Awesome video dude! That’s deep what you said there at the end. Bout time people started putting respect on Tom’s name!

Another great video (but I always enjoy your rock history videos) I think one of the most under rated things about AvA is that each album is set up like a rock opera. Each has a theme and tells a grand story and is meant to be listened to as an album. Hats off to Tom for the ambition and vision it takes to create the way he does. I know a lot of people were sh*tting on AvA when they dropped their first album, but damn...these albums are sonically amazing. Blink and AvA are my all time favorites and I'm so glad the boys are back and the new album is stellar!

Wouldn’t be making pop punk if it wasn’t for this man

There are two billion trillion stars in the universe making up 2 trillion galaxies, believing in other life should be a given.

Amazing video, thanks for putting this together, Tom has always been an inspiration, and its great to hear this summary of how truly exceptional person he is!

It's wild that Mark Hoppus is listed as being worth more than Tom by $10 million.
I loved Atticus as a brand so much, and I still have some of the old shirts that are in tatters with patches etc.
I think Tom's To The Stars endeavor is probably a form of psychological operation.
I know people tend to assume aliens exist, but the fact that the govt now tells you they exist should be a red-flag.

Tom is the reason why I started playing guitar. “What’s My Age Again” is probably the first song I learned on guitar. I was a huge Blink fan and it they were my gateway into punk.
It’s still one of my favorite bands. “Take Off” is probably my favorite album of theirs because it feels like the distillation of everything that Blink had been and would become while keeping that signature Blink sound. When the self-titled album came out, I was already into heavier stuff like AFI, Thrice, Thursday, The Used, etc. By the time Angels and Airwaves came around, I wasn’t looking for new music like I was years before. Any new stuff I found was either post hardcore, metalcore, or Japanese rock. It’s only a decade later that I started checking out some of Angels and Airwaves stuff. I like some of it a lot and some of it doesn’t connect with me like other bands do.
But Tom is probably the most influential person on my life that I’ve never met. He sparked a love of music that I didn’t have before.

Awesome summation of Tom's impact and insane creativity 😎 newest A&A/new Blink are both 🔥

Wow the ending of this "script" was some good stuff! Great writing, Finn.

The first minute of AVA - The Adventure is the most hype sh*t ever made.

He’s been my hero since the Enema days. I’ve literally followed EVERYTHING he has done. I met him in 2008 and he is polite and laid back.
He is a an anomaly.

Tom DeLonge is my hero, and I know that is either a good thing or a bad thing to some but he is 100% my hero. I have watched SO much about him in his documentaries, read a lot about him in articles, and listened to his music. blink-182 and AVA are my top 2 fav bands of all time because of him.
I love what he is doing, I can't believe he is still going and I hope he can continue to do this stuff. I aspire to be like him in the sense that I want to be the person who just goes for it and doesn't really care if people think I am crazy or weird for doing it. That is why I love Tom, he isn't just a musician, an Entrepreneur, or an Alien-obsessed man, he is all of them and I love it.

Excellent vid. I love ur journalism and "voice" as a communicator. U know what I mean. Thanks

Lets petition to get Tom on the channel!

We’re on the same page with this one man. Excellent summary of events and perspective.

I watched his Steve-O episode, he truly is David Icke in Hurley board shorts

I was always listening to rap for most of my teenage and early 20s but I remember listening to the first two A&A albums and loving them to the point where it was all I was listening to while at work.

wow finn, this video might be the best you ever done in my opinion, loved every second of it and i felt the love you put into it, thanks for the video and stay rad, much love!

thank you for making this video
tom will always be the underdog of this generation, musicheads wants tortured artists making depressing music to glorify, tom will never fit this RYM tier, but he is a genius
the fact he did back to back box car, untitled and ava is a run not many can claim, let alone the growth that led up to it from the lofi of dude ranch to the pop punk of enema

I knew he was right, but I didn't know he was part of THE REASON that alien info got admitted to.

Now this is the content I need from this channel. I strted watching because of the truly informational and well-researched videos that spoke about bands' histories and the progression of music genres through history and I'm really tired to see such great content displaced by tiktok cringe and tier lists.
Great video. Hope more of this is to come.

the on bed helix shot was top tier

Everyone forgets to give credit to Screeching Weasel for writing I Believe In UFOs.

Grat job man, very cool and intresting video !

While I'm not too into the UFO talk in general, I loved seeing Tom's detractors proven wrong a few years ago, and I love to see my love for Angels & Airwaves in particular being reinforced, being my favorite band for well over a decade, and I-Empire being my favorite album of theirs. Great video, might be your best!

This was a FANTASTIC video. Thank you.

Love his fascination with alien stuff. I’m pretty sure he got me into them (aliens) over 20 years ago. Seeing them in August and can’t wait. Great video!

Angels and Airwaves is one of the most underrated bands of all time.

Dude the atticus compilations were sooooo good.

You forgot about the solo album called Tom DeLonge: To The Stars.

That Ikea Malm bed frame is always out to break my shins

I love seeing my old friend Matt Wachter pop up in one of your videos ❤

Great work, mate. Some of your best. Regards, the only surviving 80s OC/LA punk Brit

My incredibly unpopular opinion: Neighborhoods and California are Bilnk's best albums

Those Sekret Machines novels are actually really great. I really recommend you read them.

Just like DeLonge I was amazed by the 3 veterans' testimonies in front of the US congress regarding UFOs.

I think Tom goes outside each night, stares at the stars, and sings “WHERE ARE YOU?”

"You can't do what we do." - Tom Delonge

After watching this video, I really do appreciate his genius, he’s eccentric but he can absolutely back it up

Great video as always!

That very first Angels & Airwaves album was a huge part of my 2006 experience. I haven't listened to it in probably 5 or 6 years but I still consider it an incredible album.

I’m reading part II of his novel Sekret Machines right now. Part 1 was one of the best books I’ve ever read.

Tom Delonge is a legend.

Gosh, what should I say about him? He is my hero and always will be! That's all I can say 😊

16 year old me my mom taking me to Fred Meyer for new music Tuesday buying AVA debut and the following albums on release day and +44 around that time. Good times.

Tom is the reason we have the info we do today about ufos. Tom has been a big part of the information being released. Thank you, Tom!

Great informative video. 👏

Ive always loved tom as well. I was a huge fan of blink in highschool and i even remember a dream i had around that time where i traveled back in time and met tom when he was a highschooler and told him that one day hed be the lead singer of the one of the greatest bands in the world and he was stoked. Ive also always been fascinated by ufos and E.Ts and actually loved it when i heard he had left blink to persue ufo research. I was sad they had split but i thought it was super cool that he persued, what id consider, the greatest mystery of our time

Gonna need a Tom interview after this Finn

I had no idea he had done so much across different art genres - interesting video