| You Don't Know What You've Got | |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Blink-182 |
| Album: | One More Time... |
| Length: | 3:19 |
| Label: | Columbia |
| Producer: | Travis Barker |
| Prev Title: | Fell in Love |
| Prev Year: | 2023 |
| Next Title: | All in My Head" / "No Fun |
| Next Year: | 2024 |
| You Don't Know What You've Got | |
"You Don't Know What You've Got" is a song recorded by American rock band Blink-182. The song was released on October 18, 2023, through Columbia Records as the sixth single from their ninth album One More Time.... It was written by bassist Mark Hoppus, guitarist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker, alongside additional songwriters Michael Pollack and Nick Long.[1]
In 2021, Blink-182 bassist Mark Hoppus revealed that he had been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, and was currently undergoing chemotherapy.[2] The treatment ultimately left him, as he described it, "a hollow shell," as he sustained significant damage to his body and vocal chords. Later that year though, he was declared cancer free.[3]
Lyrically, "You Don't Know What You've Got" was written about his experience with cancer, recounting the toll it took on both his physical and mental health, and the effects on his family. Even during recording for One More Time..., Hoppus was still experiencing symptoms:
"Getting back into the studio to make this record was like, learning how to play bass again. Chemotherapy wrecked my vocal cords; I had to go to a vocal coach, I had to rebuild my throat to the point where we could walk on stage at Coachella." - Mark Hoppus
Maya Georgi at Rolling Stone praised the song's "explosive bridge" and subject matter.[4] Pranav Trewn from Stereogum commended the "tumbling tin [drum] pattern" intro, commenting: "Barker’s technical onslaught, which can sometimes feel like a party trick seeking a purpose, coheres into rich rhythmic tapestries on [the song]."[5] Andrew Sacher of BrooklynVegan stated that the song has "got those classic clean Blink guitar arpeggios and somber Mark vocals in the verses, and an explosive Tom & Mark-sung chorus."[6]
Others bemoaned the song's perceived unoriginality. Pitchfork writer Arielle Gordon felt the song "strips the haunting guitar riff from "Adam's Song" for parts, just different enough that you might miss it at first."[7] Slant Magazine's Fred Barrett agreed, calling the "trite and repetitive" song a "flavorless approximation of the sticky hook that the band has been churning out since the late '90s."[8] Bobby Olivier from Spin, while viewing its theme sober, admitted its melodies felt too similar to past hits by the band.[9]
Credits adapted from the song's YouTube video.[10]