Blink-182 - "Josie" (forgotten song)

For Danette's birthday... last year it was "Punk Rock Girl" and we might as well continue the punk theme this year too, in part because I think pop-punk band Blink-182 has written the world's best love song -- "Josie". A single from their 1998 LP "Dude Ranch", it received a good deal of airplay when it came out, but it seems to have fallen through the radio genre cracks: not new enough for progressive rock, and certainly not quite classic rock.

The world's best love song? Absolutely, and here's why: Blink-182 has a sharp sense of humor (unlike, say, Green Day), but in this case they've laid bare the unvarnished truths of the male psyche, which are too simple for Cosmo, Sex and the City, et al. to explain:

Yeah my girlfriend takes me home when I'm too drunk to drive
And she doesn't get all jealous when I hang out with the guys
She laughs at my dumb jokes when no one does
She brings me Mexican food from Sombrero just because
Yeah, just because

And my girlfriend likes UL and DHC
And she's so smart and independent
I don't think she needs me
Quite half as much as I know I need her
I wonder why there's not another guy that she'd prefer

And when I feel like giving up like my world is falling down
I show up at three a.m. she's still up watching Vacation
And I see her pretty face it takes me away to a better place
And I know that everything's gonna be fine

Yes, that's pretty much it. From Blink-182's perspective "Josie" is fictional (the name comes from the neighbor's dog), but that's only because Mark Hoppus doesn't know Danette.

"Josie" (unofficial video with lyrics; watch this one)
"Josie" (official video; it's funny but the video's story has absolutely nothing to do with the lyrics)