Release of Take Off Your Pants and Jacket

In response, a conscious effort was made to make the trio appear more authentic with their next album—the comically titled Take Off Your Pants and Jacket (2001). It became the first punk rock album to reach number one in the U.S., and spawned the singles ” The Rock Show “, ” First Date “, and ” Stay Together for the Kids “. The band supported the LP with the Pop Disaster Tour , a series of co-headlining dates with Green Day . The relentless pace began to wear on the group: they felt rushed into making a follow-up album, with record executives reportedly penalizing the group if they did not “make their quarterly revenue statements.” Meanwhile, with time off from touring, DeLonge felt a desire to broaden his musical palette. He channeled his chronic back pain and resulting frustration into Box Car Racer (2002), a project emulating post-hardcore influences. Finn naturally returned to produce and DeLonge invited Barker to record drums, leaving Hoppus the odd man out. It marked a major rift in their friendship: while DeLonge claimed that the omission was not intentional, Hoppus nonetheless felt betrayed. With A&R representatives from MCA eager to market a new band by the guitarist, Box Car Racer quickly evolved into a full-fledged side project, launching two national tours throughout 2002. In the meantime, Barker also extended his love of hip-hop into the rap rock outfit Transplants , a collaboration with Rancid ‘s Tim Armstrong .