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“Cynical” is the the first song from blink-182’s California, and the track details co-lead singer and bassist Mark Hoppus' struggle every time he writes a song, fighting back the cynicism and anxiety that he’ll never be able to write a good song again. It also represents Hoppus' feeling and concerns regarding what fans may or may not think about a new version of the band with a new member replacing long-time guitarist and co-founder Tom Delonge, and grappling with the overall state of cynicism the world can sometimes find itself in.
In a track by track breakdown recorded for NME, bassist Mark Hoppus said:
“I think ‘Cynical’ is a really great opening track for the album. When we wrote that song, (producer) John was like, “This should be the first track on the record.” And it really made sense. I think the little bass intro, the sad kind of bass intro, with dark lyrics happen. And then Travis' drums kick in. And then the guitars. And Travis is doing this big giant drumroll and he’s recording this big giant drumroll and he messes up and he goes “Ah!”. And then we kept that part in and so, when you hear Travis scream, it’s in frustration. Then the song kicks off, and it’s just a really kick-ass song.“
Further elaborating on Barker’s drumming, Feldmann noted:
“The thing with Travis, one of the many things, is that he plays so consistently. Whether it’s a half-time, Zeppelin-y kind of feel or this super fast ‘90s punk thing, like we have in this song. We hits with the same velocity every time.“
Feldmann also provided further insight into the song-writing process and the lyrical content of the track:
“Mark had this idea of what people may or may not think about a new version of Blink, with a new member, making a record with a producer—they haven’t made a record with a producer in eight or nine years—the idea of thinking the world is in a cynical place in general. He came up with this really cool concept and (Alkaline Trio’s Matt) Skiba had the outro, half-time melody in his head and it worked perfectly. We’re starting the album out with “This is who we are, this is what we’re doing.”“
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