The Offspring

Sound Familiar?

“Come Out and Play,” “Self Esteem,” “Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)”

Who Are They?

One of the bands responsible for reviving mainstream interest in punk in the ‘90s.

Way back in 1983, Bryan “Dexter” Holland and Greg Kriesel decided to form a band after being refused entry to a Social Distortion show. They called themselves Manic Subsidal and eventually picked up Doug Thompson, James Lilja and Kevin “Noodles” Wasserman. (Fun fact: Noodles was a school janitor and quite a bit older than the other guys. Dexter and Greg allegedly let him join the band because he was old enough to buy them alcohol.)

After a small lineup change, the band changed its name to The Offspring in 1986. The boys recorded a few demos, lost a drummer (who went on to pursue a career in gynecology) and signed to Nemesis Records in 1988. The Offspring’s self-titled debut was released in limited numbers in 1989 and a proper CD release didn’t surface until 1995. After a six-week national tour, the band ditched Nemesis Records for Epitaph and released Ignition in 1992.

Ignition exceeded everyone’s expectations and led The Offspring to tour with the likes of Pennywise, No Doubt and Voodoo Glow Skulls.

But these California punk rockers didn’t achieve mainstream success until the release of the aptly-titled Smash in 1994. Thanks to huge singles like “Self Esteem” and “Come Out and Play,” Smash went on 16 million copies, a record for an independent label band.

Since they had a ton of cash to blow at this point, Dexter and Greg created their own label called Nitro Records. The label signed quite a few punk bands, including The Vandals and Guttermouth.

Smash’s follow-up, 1996’s Ixnay on the Hombre, didn’t do as well. The album marked a departure from the band’s signature punk sound with more mainstream rock songs like “All I Want” and “Gone Away.”

The Offspring’s ascension to mainstream status reached critical mass with 1998’s Americana. The album spawned three of the band’s biggest hits to date: “Pretty Fly (For a White Guy),” “Why Don’t You Get a Job?” and “The Kids Aren’t Alright.”

The boys rounded out the decade by appearing at Woodstock '99. (As always, I have included the entire set for your viewing pleasure.)

Where Are They Now?

Riding the success of a brand new album and tour.

The Offspring greeted the new millennium with just a hint of controversy. Conspiracy of One, the band’s sixth studio album, was originally supposed to be online through the official website, but the bigwigs at Sony put a stop to that. The Offspring just wanted to show its support for downloading music on the Internet. What’s so bad about that? (Fun fact: The band sold T-shirts with the Napster logo on them and donated the money to Napster founder Shawn Fanning.)

Drummer Ron Weity split in 2003 and replaced by Josh Freese during the recording of Splinter, then by Adam “Atom” Willard after the album’s release. Splinter’s original title was supposed to be Chinese Democrazy (You Snooze, You Lose), named after the long-delayed Guns N’ Roses album. Axl Rose got wind of this and did what he does best: pitch a bitch fit. He filed a cease and desist order against The Offspring, but took it back once he realized the album’s title was announced on April 1.

After a greatest hits album and an appearance at Warped Tour, The Offspring went on a short hiatus. During this time, Atom left the band to join Tom DeLonge’s pet project Angels & Airwaves.

The band’s eighth studio album, Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace, was released in 2008 to mixed reviews. The second single, “You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid,” landed at number one on the Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart and stayed there for 11 weeks.

The Offspring’s most recent album, 2012’s Days Go By, has also received mixed reviews, with particularly negative ones from Spin and Rolling Stone.

But Why The Offspring?

Along with having a brand new album to tour behind, the band will co-headline the 2013 Soundwave Festival in Australia with Metallica and Linkin Park.

What Does Sam Think?

I love ‘90s pop punk bands and you should, too. They helped bring punk to the mainstream, and no, I don’t consider that a bad thing. It’s accessible music that’s a little jagged around the edges. It doesn’t try to be hardcore or no wave or anarcho-punk. Pop punk is fun, but not “bubblegum pop” fun. Of course, I’m talking early pop punk, not the lame bands you see today (ahem, All Time Low). Green Day, Rancid, Operation Ivy, Social Distortion, The Offspring. These are names you should know.

Now let’s look at The Offspring. This band, along with Green Day, rode the mainstream wave longer than the rest of the scene and doesn’t show signs of stopping. Granted, The Offspring continues to dive into modern rock territory (see the decidedly mediocre Days Go By), but the pop punk roots are still there.

Smash is the band’s best album. Period. It’s a prime example of where punk was going in the ‘90s (see also: Green Day’s Dookie and Rancid’s …And Out Come the Wolves). It’s fast, but not too fast. You can hear the influence from The Ramones, but the songs have a bit more substance. “Self Esteem” remains one of the best Offspring tunes because it’s just so punk rock, man. No, but seriously, that riff is so heavy, sometimes I wonder how it reached all those teenyboppers.

This band is just coasting along now. These guys will always have a loyal fan base, but they really haven’t put out a solid album in a while. Yeah, they’ve passed the point of having to prove themselves to an audience, but come on. The Offspring is capable of so much more than Days Go By.

My advice to this band is to go back underground, experiment a little and come back with a fresh outlook on music. (Same goes for you, Green Day.)

-- Sam Boyer, reporting from the ‘90s.

Weezer

Sound Familiar?

“Buddy Holly,” “Say It Ain’t So,” “El Scorcho”

Who Are They?

Power pop geeks with enough successful singles to make blink-182 jealous.

Four geeks from Los Angeles played their first show in 1992 opening for Keanu Reeves’ band Dogstar (yes, that was a thing). A year later, Weezer recorded its debut album with producer and Cars frontman Ric Ocasek. The band’s first single, “Undone (The Sweater Song),” was an instant hit, but Weezer’s popularity really exploded with “Buddy Holly.”

The Spike Jonze-directed video for “Buddy Holly” featured Weezer spliced into an episode of Happy Days. If you’ve never seen this video, shame on you. It’s hands down one of the best music videos of the ‘90s (and perhaps of all time).

Fueled by the success of “Buddy Holly” (the four VMAs and two Billboard awards kind of success) and the fairly popular third single “Say It Ain’t So,” Weezer (or “The Blue Album”) went triple platinum.

After that whirlwind of fame and fortune, Weezer took a break from touring and frontman Rivers Cuomo began to piece together the next album with an eight-track recorder. The original concept was a space-themed rock opera called Songs from the Black Hole. Thankfully, that idea was dropped in favor of Pinkerton.

Though initially viewed as a commercial failure and labeled as “one of the worst albums of 1996” by a Rolling Stone readers’ poll, Pinkerton eventually achieved cult status and is considered one of the greatest albums of the ‘90s. (And if I can’t convince you, and Pitchfork’s perfect 10 rating can’t convince you, maybe you should just listen to it for yourself.)

(Fun fact: Rivers took college classes at Harvard and Berklee College of Music off and on between 1995 and 2006. He graduated from Harvard with a bachelor’s degree in English.)

Following Pinkerton, Weezer decided to take a break. Due to frustration and creative disagreements, the break turned into a hiatus until 2000.

Where Are They Now?

Releasing mediocre albums and playing shows on cruise ships (this sounds worse than it really is).

Weezer reunited in 2000 for the Fuji Rock Festival in Japan and released Weezer (or “The Green Album”) in 2001. Thanks to heavy MTV rotation of “Hash Pipe” and “Island in the Sun,” Weezer was able to enjoy renewed success.

Meanwhile, bassist Mikey Welsh was checked into a psychiatric hospital. He mysteriously went missing after the filming for the “Island in the Sun” video.

The recording process for 2002’s Maladroit was a little different from previous albums. Weezer decided to download demos on to its official website in return for fan feedback. The fans weren’t exactly helpful. The band’s original A&R rep Todd Sullivan said Weezer fans chose the “wackest songs.”

So Maladroit was released without fan feedback and ended up receiving generally positive reviews from critics. (And can I just say that "Keep Fishin'" is one of the best Weezer videos? I mean, it features The Muppets! How can you not love that?)

Make Believe, Weezer (or “The Red Album”) and Raditude followed Maladroit. I group them together because they’re basically the same mediocre album released under different titles. “Beverly Hills” (off Make Believe) and “Pork and Beans” (off Weezer) did do very well on the charts, but that doesn’t really make up for all the other songs.

After the release of Hurley in 2010, the band was hit with devastating news. On October 8, 2011, former bassist Mikey Welsh was found dead in a Chicago hotel room. Weezer performed in Chicago the next day and dedicated the concert to Mikey.

But Why Weezer?

There’s supposedly a new album in the works, but we may not see that for a while. For now, the band is heading to Australia in early 2013 for its first Australian tour since 1996.

What Does Sam Think?

Weezer was heavily influenced by my favorite band (Green Day, if you’re new to this blog), so me liking this band is kind of a given. (Also, check out the cover of "Worry Rock.")

Weezer is a band that floats between power pop and pop punk. What’s the difference, you ask? Answer: the word “punk.” I’m not going to get into an argument with anyone about what punk really means, so let’s just keep it simple, stupid. Power pop = bands like The Kinks, The Knack and Cheap Trick. Pop punk = bands like Green Day, blink-182 and Hüsker Dü. Listen and learn.

Back to Weezer. This band’s first few albums are golden. The Blue Album is an almost flawless debut album and Pinkerton is just genius. Songs like “Buddy Holly” and “Say It Ain’t So” are poppy enough to be played on mainstream radio, but have an underlying abrasiveness to them that appeals to the underground kids.

And let’s not forget about the “geek sheik” image. Rivers Cuomo’s black-rimmed glasses make all the ladies swoon and gave all those nerdy guys in bands something to hope for. That image definitely gave the band a universal appeal, as everyone seems to like nerdy boys-next-door.

Before I leave you, we should probably talk about Pinkerton in detail. I do consider it to be Weezer’s best album to date (and I’m probably not alone on this). It’s a bit more abrasive than The Blue Album and feels a bit more personal, especially with songs like “Tired of Sex” and “Across the Sea.” Each track is virtually flawless (both musically and lyrically), and admit it, "El Scorcho" is the best drunk sing-a-long song. I know from firsthand experience.

-- Sam Boyer, reporting from the ‘90s.