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duga · 06-09-2013, 10:57 PM

Ok, so I have a bit of a reprieve from the really embarrassing stuff for now. Realizing the likes of Savage Garden weren't going to win me any cool points at school, I knew I had to go in a different direction. As a result, I went straight for the band that had the number one video on MTV...

THE PRETEEN YEARS
The Offspring - Americana (1998)

I'm sure the first song you thought of when you saw the album title was "Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)". Yep...not only was it a huge hit and popular with everyone at school, but I actually liked it a lot, too. Couldn't miss, right? Well, this actually represents the first album in this journal that I actually didn't like.

Dexter's voice annoyed me. At the time, my exposure to punk was Green Day and while Americana most certainly had pop punk elements, it was still edgier than Green Day which I just didn't get. There was nothing really bad per say...it just didn't click with me. Still, I figured there must be something to it if it was so popular so I force fed myself the Offspring for months. As a result, I absolutely can't stand the Offspring to this day. In fact, Dexter's backing vocals on the AFI album Black Sails in the Sunset pull an otherwise great album down a notch. Jesus, man...just sing in key.

So, I still wanted to listen to the album again for this entry. It's basically exactly how I remember it...the singles are admittedly pretty good. "Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)" is still as ridiculously catchy as ever. "The Kids Aren't Alright" actually has a pretty intense chorus and I'm surprised I didn't like it more when I was first listening to the album. "Why Don't You Get a Job?" is straightforward but it's pretty clear why it was popular. The only single I didn't enjoy on some level was "She's Got Issues"...mostly because of the incredibly grating off-key singing. The rest of the album is pretty forgettable, if you ask me.

This album created a false impression of punk that lasted for years. It wasn't until I learned about "real punk" and heard the classics (The Clash, the Ramones, the Sex Pistols, etc.) and subsequently other bands that obviously knew what punk was about better than Green Day and the Offspring (Black Flag, Dead Kennedys, etc) that I could actually start to say I liked punk. While I can say that I like those bands on some level, punk will never be as big as other genres will be for me and it may all be the Offspring's fault.

You probably know these songs, but if you were living under a rock here are a couple:

06-09-2013, 10:57 PM	#28 (permalink)
duga MB quadrant's JM Vincent Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Washington, DC Posts: 3,762	Ok, so I have a bit of a reprieve from the really embarrassing stuff for now. Realizing the likes of Savage Garden weren't going to win me any cool points at school, I knew I had to go in a different direction. As a result, I went straight for the band that had the number one video on MTV... THE PRETEEN YEARS The Offspring - Americana (1998) I'm sure the first song you thought of when you saw the album title was "Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)". Yep...not only was it a huge hit and popular with everyone at school, but I actually liked it a lot, too. Couldn't miss, right? Well, this actually represents the first album in this journal that I actually didn't like. Dexter's voice annoyed me. At the time, my exposure to punk was Green Day and while Americana most certainly had pop punk elements, it was still edgier than Green Day which I just didn't get. There was nothing really bad per say...it just didn't click with me. Still, I figured there must be something to it if it was so popular so I force fed myself the Offspring for months. As a result, I absolutely can't stand the Offspring to this day. In fact, Dexter's backing vocals on the AFI album Black Sails in the Sunset pull an otherwise great album down a notch. Jesus, man...just sing in key. So, I still wanted to listen to the album again for this entry. It's basically exactly how I remember it...the singles are admittedly pretty good. "Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)" is still as ridiculously catchy as ever. "The Kids Aren't Alright" actually has a pretty intense chorus and I'm surprised I didn't like it more when I was first listening to the album. "Why Don't You Get a Job?" is straightforward but it's pretty clear why it was popular. The only single I didn't enjoy on some level was "She's Got Issues"...mostly because of the incredibly grating off-key singing. The rest of the album is pretty forgettable, if you ask me. This album created a false impression of punk that lasted for years. It wasn't until I learned about "real punk" and heard the classics (The Clash, the Ramones, the Sex Pistols, etc.) and subsequently other bands that obviously knew what punk was about better than Green Day and the Offspring (Black Flag, Dead Kennedys, etc) that I could actually start to say I liked punk. While I can say that I like those bands on some level, punk will never be as big as other genres will be for me and it may all be the Offspring's fault. You probably know these songs, but if you were living under a rock here are a couple: __________________ Confusion will be my epitaph...