Madi Diaz has released a full-album cover of Blink-182’s Enema of the State to support the Defending Our Neighbors Fund. Titled Enema of the Garden State, Diaz’s album is available exclusively on Bandcamp, via Anti-. Listen to “Don’t Leave Me” and “Anthem” below and click through to buy the album on Bandcamp.
The Nashville singer-songwriter, who released Fatal Optimist last month, says in press materials that the covers record “started out as a fun light exercise fueled by an eternal love and fandom” for the band and album. “I wanted to see if I could let the nostalgia drive my memory for the lyrics and tear through a punky acoustic arrangement. No planning, no overthinking, no analyzing allowed, just ripping into the songs. It was pure fun, pure joy.”
Diaz adds that she did not plan to release the record until the extent of the Trump administration’s mass-deportation program became clear. “I started thinking about how incredible the name Enema of the State is for a record,” she says. “How the title is somehow so current and politically, culturally, socially, insanely ironic. And we thought maybe we could use this version of Enema of the (Garden) State to raise awareness and money for people in need of defense and aid in their right to live and work and breathe and be and stay on American soil. Every penny this project generates will go to Defending Our Neighbors Fund. This will help give immigrant families, adults, young children, and so many of those in need of advocates, access to resources through this support system. Thank you so much for listening. For me, it’s become so much more than just a nostalgia for teenage rebellion against mom and dad. Fuck ICE. Enema of the State Forever.”
