The Offspring Appreciation Thread

[carl320]

After searching I was surprised to not find a similar thread.

Lately I've been listening to newer Offspring... At first I didn't really care for Conspiracy of One, but lately it's all I've been listening to.  And atm I'm listening to Splinter.

Aren't they working on a new album?

[Zook]

I guess I would have started this thread some years ago had I not been "betrayed" by them with Rise And Fall, Rage And Grace. Although, they started slipping with Conspiracy of One. The Offspring was my unhealthy obsession in middle school (overtaken by Disturbed in High School) and looking back, me being that into them was a bit silly, but I still love their work up Americana. Co1 and Splinter haven't aged that great, but have a few great songs on each.

There was a time when I thought The Offspring could do no wrong, defending them at every turn, but that all changed with Co1. I had to keep convincing myself that there wasn't a bad song on the album even though deep down, I really didn't like Want You Bad. Yes, it was that song, not Original Prankster, although I think that song is shit now. Like I said, unhealthy.

Ignition is my favorite album by them with Ixnay second. I Still remember buying Ignition at Circuit City on my (I believe) 14th birthday*. Not a bad song on it to this day. Ixnay has a couple I don't care for now, but that's only 2 out of 14 songs (12 if you don't count Disclaimer and Intermission, which really you shouldn't...).

I'm not expecting much from a new album which I think they are working on. They're where they want to be, and unfortunately it's not where I want to be with them. I still own Co1 and Splinter as they hold a special place in my heart even if they aren't that special

*Appreciates*







* Looking back, I'm not really sure when the hell I got Ignition. Rob Zombie's Hellbilly Deluxe was the first CD I ever bought and that was on my 13th birthday. At that same CD store I tried getting Ignition (not sure if it was on the same day) but the CD was scratched. Maybe my step dad took me to Circuit City on a different day so I could get the CD with birthday money. GAAHH! Oh well. This has been: Random thoughts with Zook.

[ariich]

Although, they started slipping with Conspiracy of One.

Hell no, they were consistently excellent up to and including Splinter. I haven't actually heard the whole of Rise and Fall, just a couple of songs, but they didn't sound great.

[Phoenix87x]

Damn this thread brings back memories. I absolutely LOVE The Offspring.

  They were one of the first bands I ever got really into, but even today I still really like them.

 Smash and Ignition are killer and I also like Ixnay on the Hombre (especially Gone Away). They are the perfect band to listen to when Skateboarding or Snowboarding.

It was around Americana where I started to tune out though.

[wolfking]

Amazing band.  I think they have been pretty good all the way through their career, Splinter I really do enjoy, although nothing can beat Smash, Ixnay and Americana.

The last one was okay, but nothing spectacular.  Simply my favourite band in my early years in high school.

[AcidLameLTE]

I thought we did have a thread but I guess not.

OH WELL. Yeah, The Offspring are awesome. The first CD I ever got was Americana (got it not long after it came out) and I still listen to it.

Although, they started slipping with Conspiracy of One.

Hell no, they were consistently excellent up to and including Splinter.

Also, I agree with this.

[Zook]

I thought we did have a thread but I guess not.

OH WELL. Yeah, The Offspring are awesome. The first CD I ever got was Americana (got it not long after it came out) and I still listen to it.

Although, they started slipping with Conspiracy of One.

Hell no, they were consistently excellent up to and including Splinter.

Also, I agree with this.

I would have agreed too way back when. I played the hell out of Co1, don't get me wrong. I was an Offspring fan boy until July 18 2001 (FUN FACT: After seeing Jurassic Park 3 on its release day, we went to K-Mart and I bought The Sickness)

I think it's the fact that the songs started getting goofier and goofier. I think they just did the goofy or non-serious stuff better back in the day. Ever since Pretty Fly, they had to one up it, but Original Prankster was worse, and Hit That was just awful. Americana also had Why Don't You get A Job which I wouldn't skip if listening to the album, but is definitely not a favorite of mine. The only songs I'd want to listen to from Co1 now are Come Out Swinging, Million Miles Away, Denial Revisited, and Vultures.

I remember buying Splinter on my lunch break and having to drive further away to K-mart since they have unedited CDs, and although I downloaded a crappy leaked version beforehand and was underwhelmed, I was still somehow more underwhelmed by the actual CD. The album was really short, which wasn't anything new for The Offspring, but with 2 non-songs (yes When You're In Prison is a non-song, ugh what a waste of CD space) the album's run time is like 26 minutes. The Noose, Race Against Myself, and Lightning Rod are really the only songs worth listening to still. I did like Worst Hangover Ever even for a Ska-ish song. It has a nice bass line. Spare Me The Details was also one I didn't mind, but not something I care to listen to anymore. The others songs might as well be So Alone and All Along. And Fuck Da Hui.

Kudos to you guys if you love those albums, but they aged terribly for me, but then Splinter wasn't that good at its start. The Offspring always had 2-3 minute songs, but back in the day, the songs were so much more memorable for their length. When (Can't Get My) Head Around You was getting played on the radio, one time when it finished the DJ said "wait, that was it?". The song was over before it started and left nothing.

So yeah, I'm an angry Offspring fan. Disturbed did the same thing with less material under their belt.

Grrr I'm steaming mad.

[Ultimetalhead]

Here comes my massive tirade:

The Offspring were "the" band for me back in middle school. It was catchy, but still heavy enough to satisfy the little metalhead I was quietly nursing before I went to high school and went full-on metal. I told a kid at school who knew how to download music that I really wanted the album "Smash" because my Dad had played some of it for me and Bad Habit was the funniest god damn thing I'd ever heard in my life.

To my surprise, he came to me the next day with a data disc of their ENTIRE DISCOGRAPHY (though this was still up to Splinter). I was extremely impressed that he was able to get it all, and that opened up a lot of doors for my future downloading habits. Most importantly, the music kicked some major fucking ass.

I kind of look at The Offspring in phases. Their first two were really great for what they were, but to me The Offspring are a better pop-punk band than they are a punk band. Beheaded, I'll Be Waiting, Jennifer Lost the War, Burn it Up, and LAPD are all fantastic songs though. Smash, Ixnay, and Americana are the golden era for me (and pretty much everyone else, it looks like). CO1 and Splinter are both pretty good, but I much prefer CO1. When they're all said and done, Splinter will be viewed as the one that started the downward spiral. There's just way too much stupid shit on that album, and the real songs don't match up to anything they did in the past.

Now for the curveball, I honestly love the fuck out of RAFRAG. It's samey, poppy, and the soft songs are pretty jarring at first, but it's superior to Splinter in every way. The dance track (You're Gonna Go Far, Kid vs. Hit That) is way better, and there's no stupid intro tracks or extraneous outro tracks that serve absolutely no purpose to the album (Just a disclaimer, the intro/outro stuff from Smash-Americana was fucking brilliant, but Splinter's were an embarrassment).

I'm very curious to see where they go with their new one. I'd like them to maybe back off on the softer songs next time (Fix You is pretty bad, I know) and get back that vibe they had on Americana.

Oh yeah, and Feelings is a great song.

[Zook]

I like Feelings too. My older brother hates it, and my mom hates the original.

[AcidLameLTE]

"Just a Disclaimer"? I think you'll find that it's called "Disclaimer"

I didn't see anything wrong with Splinter's intro track. Nothing too great but nothing bad about it either.

Hit That was indeed terrible. Didn't like Feelings either.

Can't Repeat was their last good song for me.

[Zook]

"Just a Disclaimer"? I think you'll find that it's called "Disclaimer"

Can't Repeat was their last good song for me.

I was wondering what the hell he meant by that. Thought he accidentally something...

Also, I forgot about Can't Repeat. Listening now, and you're right, it's the last good song they made.

Fo shame.

[Ultimetalhead]

So wait. You don't find a single good song on RAFRAG? I thought Hammerhead was at least reasonably well-liked.

[AcidLameLTE]

Nope. Hammerhead was the first one I heard and I did not enjoy it.

[Zook]

The first thing I noticed when I heard Hammerhead was that the guitar was almost the same as in Take It Like A Man, only palm muted.

[Ultimetalhead]

The first thing I noticed when I heard Hammerhead was that the guitar was almost the same as in Take It Like A Man, only palm muted.

There's a definite similarity. Never noticed that before. Still, there's enough little changes to where it wouldn't bother me. Besides, it's hard to be a punk band and not repeat yourself once in a while.

[Zook]

The first thing I noticed when I heard Hammerhead was that the guitar was almost the same as in Take It Like A Man, only palm muted.

There's a definite similarity. Never noticed that before. Still, there's enough little changes to where it wouldn't bother me. Besides, it's hard to be a punk band and not repeat yourself once in a while.

True, but you can say that about any genre really. It bothered me though, but mostly because the song wasn't that good.

Also according to Wikipedia:

On March 24, 2012, frontman Dexter Holland announced on the band's Twitter page that the album was finished

[ariich]

I really like Hit That.

[AcidLameLTE]

You word, jerk.

[ariich]

I word.

[AcidLameLTE]

I regret nothing.

[Ultimetalhead]

New 30 second snippet, album art, and tracklist.

I like the snippet. Sounds like they're progressing more in the style of RAFRAG, which I'm sure people here won't be thrilled with, but whatevs.

[OsMosis2259]

Link?

Offspring reminds me of my middle school days as well.

[Zook]

Oh bollocks, they remade Dirty Magic.

EDIT: As for Days Go By.... Sounds like generic Foo Fighters...

[Ultimetalhead]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPzumOXKsaU&feature=player_embedded

Sounds way better than Foo Fighters though.

[Ultimetalhead]

https://soundcloud.com/theoffspringsc/days-go-by

New song. Chorus is pretty catchy.

[ReaPsTA]

The new song hurt me.  Americana is one of my top five favorite albums ever.  What happened to this band?

[OsMosis2259]

This song put me in a mood

[orcus116]

Smash is probably in my top 10 of all time. Just an all around solid band.

[wolfking]

Hmmm.....Times Like These anyone?

[ariich]

Nice, fun song. I would hope that there's something that grabs me more on the album though. I can see the Foos comparisons, definitely, although that's no bad thing as I love the Foos!

I also finally got round to listen to RAFRAG, and it's not bad at all. A couple of really good songs and the rest are decent enough. It's definitely their weakest album since their first two though, as there's not much that really jumps out as being particularly exciting.

[Zook]

This song is meh, and it sounding like Foo Fighters just makes it worse.

[RobD]

Splinter kind of 'Phantom Menaced' me, and RAFRAG (while having an AWESOME acronym) seemed like a lot of rehashing and pretty weak attempts at trying new things.
Listening to the new song now. Not sure what to think yet. Certainly feels more mature, which is something they should've been aiming for the last two albums. Intrigued by the new album to say the least.

[Ultimetalhead]

God damn. The Offspring finally released a song that I can't defend at all. Holy fuck this is bad.

https://www.triplem.com.au/sydney/music/news/blog/listen-the-offsprings-new-song-days-go-by/20120430-g71h.html#ooid=ZpbDhsNDr89USI9zXQ8QYOLaVCVbrYU-

[True Death of Life]

oh



oh god



no



that is truly abominable

[Ultimetalhead]

That re-recording of Dirty Magic had better be damn good or I might have to jump ship. Bob Rock may have officially murdered yet another once great band.