Blink-182’s ‘All the Small Things’ Video Turns 25
7 things you didn’t know about the iconic ’90s music video
When director Marcos Siega suggested Blink 182 parody boy bands in their next music video, the band weren’t exactly “down.”
It was mid-1999 and groups like the Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC and 98 Degrees were infiltrating every crevice of pop culture, so Siega felt their polished, passionate and often cheesy videos were calling for parody, however Blink’s Mark Hoppus, Tom DeLonge and Travis Barker weren’t convinced.
“They were aware of these bands because they were huge, but I don’t know how well they knew the music videos,” Siega tells us as the “All the Small Things” video turns 25. “Their manager was really keen on the idea, but I remember Mark in particular being like, ‘I don’t get it.’ And Travis was super-shy, so he would do everything we needed him to do, but he wasn’t like, ‘Let’s go fucking do this!’ There was hesitation in not knowing if it would work — if people would find it amusing, strange or odd.”
The trio — who recently released One More Time … Part-2, a deluxe edition of their latest album — didn’t just put their faith in Siega and his producing team (Shirley Moyers and AJ Schnack), but realized they had to go all in to optimize the concept. And they ended up having a blast in the process.
“They got so into it,” recalls Moyers. “They went all out and had the best time. I think that was them knowing, ‘If we’re going to do this, we have to give 100%. We can’t go halfway, or it won’t come across well.’ I think that’s why the song and video were so popular.”
“They were the most up for anything, willing to play guys,” agrees choreographer Donielle Artese. “They were like, ‘Teach us, teach us! We want to know these steps.’ The more invested you are, the better your product comes out.”
The Grammy winning band’s commitment helped make the video a hit and it wasn’t just blink-182 followers who loved it. Boy band fans still recall the video as a key ‘90s musical moment, while many of the musicians who were parodied felt flattered, rather than offended.
Backstreet Boys members Nick Carter and AJ McLean covered the song at the boy band’s 30th anniversary celebrations in April, while 98 Degrees also perform the track. “You haven’t made it until people make fun of you in their music video,” Drew Lachey told the crowd before the foursome launched into “ATSM” during a 2021 Las Vegas show.
As the video turns 25, here’s seven things you didn’t know about the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards’ Best Group Video winner.
The concept
Having had success with the band’s previous “What’s My Age Again?” video — during which the trio ran around Los Angeles naked — Moyers thought she, Schnack and Siega had secured the “ATST” job and took a family trip to Disney World in Florida. However, the magical vacay almost lost its happy ending after she heard “through the grapevine” that blink’s label had sent the song to other directors to have a go at writing a video concept.
“AJ and I were in Florida, swimming where Creature from the Black Lagoon was filmed then we met his family in Disney World, where I ended up having an hour-long conversation outside Rainforest Cafe to fight for the job. I missed the entire Animal Kingdom! But by the end of the call, we had the job back. Sometimes you have to stick to your guns and if I hadn’t, this iconic video might never have happened.”
The toilet
Rolling down his pants before sitting on a toilet and rolling out a wad of toilet paper, DeLonge had no hesitations about creating what Siega describes as the most absurd moment of the shoot. The director already had hopes to include a toilet during the shoot, but wasn’t sure if any of the guys would be up for it. The only thing stranger than having a toilet ready and waiting for cameras to roll on it was that it was used for scenes intended to portray sexiness.
“It was one of those slow-motion shots where a boy band singer would have wind blowing on them or water falling on them for no reason and was meant to be overtly sexual,” says Siega. “I said to Tom, ‘It’d be funny if you were sitting on a toilet.’ I remember thinking how absurd that sounded and everyone was saying, ‘This is ridiculous,’ but the fun thing with Tom and I was that shared humor. He was like, ‘Oh, I get it.’ It landed with him. It’s one of my favorite dumb moments in the video.”
The fake teeth
While watching endless videos by groups like the Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC and 98 Degrees in preparation for the shoot, Siega couldn’t help noticing how boy banders had perfect pearly whites. So, he decided to give Blink the opposite look, with DeLonge’s crooked and missing teeth stealing the show during a parody scene of the Backstreet Boys’ “All I Have to Give” video. “I remember watching those videos and thinking, ‘These guys have perfect teeth!’” says Siega. “So, we put [fake] bad teeth in their mouths. There are so many silly little things like that which I don’t even know if people noticed.”
The budget
When Moyers first met Blink at the Universal offices in Los Angeles ahead of their “WMAA?” shoot, one of her first impressions of the band was their “earnest” approach to budget. “They had come out of that same indie rock scene that we had done videos for, so while the label person was talking about how they were going to make them a priority and that the money was going to be big, the guys were smart. They turned to me and said, ‘No matter what they’re saying about throwing all this money around, we know that ultimately – somehow, somewhere – that money is coming out of us. So, think of us when you’re budgeting.’”
The same financial awareness was evident when it came to “ATSM.” “They were always very smart with [budget], which made me go, ‘They can have some longevity because they get the art part, but also the business part,’” says Moyers.
The dancers
Spot the former Pussycat Doll! When it came to parodying boy bands and pop stars, Artese knew all the right people. She immediately recruited friends who had danced for the Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears. “I was a dancer too at the time and those were the popular groups to dance for. There are some iconic people in those videos – Carmit Bachar from the Pussycat Doll is in ‘ATST.’”
There’s another cameo fans should look out for — Artese herself. “I’m the only little Black, chocolate drop in there and I forget I even did it,” she says. “They were like, ‘You’ve gotta be in the video!’”
The turnaround
Moyers believes the timeliness of the video was one of the keys to its success. “The videos we parodied came out in spring, then our video came out in September. It was such a quick turnaround, which is another reason it was a hit. It wasn’t like we were looking back at something in a nostalgic way later on. It was all still happening hard and we were able to do something very quickly, so it hit.”
The thongs
“If you can’t take it, then don’t dish it” – while acts like the Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera bore the brunt of the parody, the group happily imitated themselves, reenacting a scene from their “WMAA?” video, in which they ran around naked. Stylist Jeanne Wang spent days shopping up a storm for the band’s videos and finding the right garment to make them appear nude was one of the biggest challenges.
“I’ll never forget I had to go to a men’s strip shop to find nude underwear the guys could run around in,” she tells us. “Nude men’s underwear wasn’t a common thing. You could go to places for male ballet dancers, but those were more like a jock strap and barely covered anything. So I went to a male strip joint in the middle of Hollywood and had to buy tons of these little thongs!”
Buying thongs in bulk turned out to be a good thing, as Yang had a stash leftover for the video’s reenactment in “ATSM.”
“It’s hilarious because shortly after that shoot, I did Ocean’s 12 with Brad [Pitt], Matt [Damon], George [Clooney] and all those guys. You’re either dressing these guys in beautiful leather Gucci jackets or men’s thong underwear!”
VIDEO: blink-182 “All the Small Things”
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Blink-182……a blight on punk rock. Actually…. on music in general.