Blink-182's Mark Hoppus Remembers Michael Jackson

Mark Hoppus is well known for his irreverent sense of humor, but when speaking to Spinner about the death of pop icon Michael Jackson, the Blink-182 singer/bassist struck a serious tone. "I was in the studio with Motion City Soundtrack producing their album, and I think I found out on Twitter," Hoppus says. "It kind of devastated the whole studio. It was really a day where it just felt like the bottom dropped out. I can't really describe it any other way than that."

The bassist also shared his thoughts on the future of pop music in a post-MJ world. "Everything's so fragmented nowadays and it's so rare that you have a performer of the caliber of Michael Jackson in the first place," he says. "And then to have that kind of career arc where he was in the limelight and redefining pop music for what, 20 years? For decades he was taking pop music to new heights. I don't know if that's possible to do again."

Hoppus, with a discography going back almost 20 years and a slew of production credits under his belt, is, by all accounts, a veteran music industry insider, and Spinner asked him who, if anyone, he felt was on track to take the crown as the next King or Queen of pop. Despite his reputation for championing new artists, Hoppus was pragmatic. "I guess time will tell, but it's gonna be a long time before anybody comes close to accomplishing anywhere near what he did."