Smash

Offspring is like Taco Bell for Punk. If someone said "I want Mexican food" it isn't my recommendation, but it deserves it own category for just how tasty it can be, ya dig?

It’s been nearly 30 years since I listened to this album. I remember sitting on the bus down to Washington DC for my 8th Grade class trip and playing this on my Walkman. As an angsty 14 year old, this album was the shit. In my 40’s it just reminds me of being an angsty teenager. Musically, it’s aggressive pop-punk of its time, and more enjoyable than the music The Offspring would later have hits with - they still had a bit of indie cred on this one, if you will. Damn you, generator, for reminding me of the unstoppable passage of time. I still can’t believe 1994 was almost 30 years ago. Oooh…and it’s got a secret song. How 90’s is that?

super nostalgic crazy taxi tony hawk's pro skater vibes. I can smell the round table pizza, and these songs are catchy gritty fun. a simpler time

I forget how good this is. Messy mid-90's skate punk, the stuff that got me properly into exploring music

This came out when I was 13-14 years old. I was pretty much the target audience for this and it never really grabbed me back then. Still doesn't. I have a certain nostalgic thing for "Self Esteem" but that's about it. That one in particular has a more Nirvana like feel which is probably why I'm more attracted to it. Oh man the "secret track" at the end - forgot about those and how they'd translate to modern streaming. So of it's time.

Nails on a chalkboard

The mere fact that The Offspring is in this list and NOFX isn't perfectly encapsulates what's so goddamn wrong with Dimery's book sometimes. Commercial success is definitely favored over artistic merits once in a while. Usually, punk rock isn't too plagued with that sort of 'commercial concern', which makes a lot of punk albums in the list relevant. But here, it's pretty much the opposite that's going on... And it's quite frustrating. Just so you know, I really tried to listen to the album with fresh new ears, but this didn't really change my initial assessment of this record (and band) when it came out: because that thing's not so good, is it? To be clear, the problem is not merely that the band's music was way overrated by my generation. The problem was that as a songwriter, Dexter Holland was just a shrewd, cynical, opportunistic fox, and it shows. Never bought that pretense that the band didn't see their success coming, by the way. Everything in *Smash*'s singles is formatted so that said success could happen. And by "formatted", I mean *ripped off* from other 'trendy' bands at the time. Which gives an interesting subtext to some of Holland's lyrics. Are his claim that he's not a "trendy asshole" on the song "Smash" to be taken ironically, for instance? You tell me. I mean, how can you listen to *Self-Esteem* and *Gotta Get Away* and NOT see that it's a soulless attempt to replicate's Nirvana's formula? 'Soulless' being the key word to remember here. I know Kurt Cobain himself ripped off a few bands to create his timeless songs--so I guess there's still that to take into account--but at least he ripped off arcane stuff released by Killing Joke or Boston a decade or more before *Nevermind*. He didn't rip off a band that had a massive breakout success a couple of years ago. Well, Holland and his band did. OK, Cobain readily admitted that he also ripped off Pixies, not a breakout success into the mainstream at the time, but still a very important band. But at least Kurt brought his own subtle and elegant vocal harmonies to the whole thing. That's the reason most Nirvana songs sound great on an acoustic guitar and ones by The Offspring don't. What did Holland bring to that template, in comparison? To me, he brought a few simplistic, hackneyed melodies signalling his thing was all about style, not *substance*. And how much more cynical and opportunistic than that can you get, huh? About Dexter Holland's "opportunistic" tendencies, a quick sidenote: when the Nirvana tap petered out, The Offspring had to find other sources of inspiration, obviously. For a subsequent hit single a few years after *Smash*, Holland thus elected to rip off The Beatles' "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da"! How can you rip off The Beatles and choose one of their WORST SONGS EVER??? (instead of their many marvels)... Oh I have the answer: because it annoyingly lingers in people's heads, just like most of the famous songs recorded by The Offspring. Checks out. If enough people remember said tune--even if it's annoying to an extent--a lot of folks in general audiences will buy the damn thing anyway. Simple, eh? To return to *Smash*, it's got a couple of other memorable tracks at the start of the record, "Nitro' and "Bad Habit", and they're more in line with what the Epitaph roster was doing at the time. So I guess those two tracks are less opportunistic than the singles, at least. Speaking of singles, cheek-in-tongue "Come Out And Play" is not so bad, to be honest, but it got overplayed on the radio at the time the album was released, so I can't listen to it anymore. And apart from those few highlights I've listed here, everything else is pretty lame. There's even a mandatory ska-punk track on side two. Just in case that other trend might be useful to sell a few more unit shifters to a few more 'alternative' kids out there, I imagine. Ugh. 🙄 One last thing: Dexter's voice is quite grating in many parts of the record, even in the few good tracks in it. 'Punk' means raw or rough, I get that. Yet, there's also a whiny quality to his vocals that actually goes against the intended energy he displays while singing those songs. Maybe that whiny grain made the whole thing palatable for young mainstream audiences at the time, I don't know. To be fair, those sorts of 'flat', whiny vocals were to be found in many other skate-punk albums released around those years, so this is probably only a matter of personal taste here. But mine says such vocals didn't age well anyway. Holland is still a very talented man, don't get me wrong. It takes a lot of skills to manage the sort of shrewd success he's had with The Offspring. Besides, I've just read on Wikipedia that the man has many other assets I would never have imagined from a guy like him. He's a plane pilot, an entrepreneur, a charity fundraiser, a cook, and a science researcher. The last area is the most impressive endeavor, by the way. Working in molecular biology to potentially help find a vaccine against AIDS is worthy of all the praise you can give someone. So who cares if you never wrote a *truly* essential album when you were younger (and yet had a lot of success with it)? Trying hard to end on a *positive* note here. But it's not enough to make me include this LP in my own list. 2/5 for the purposes of such a list (which means 7/10 for a more general assessment: 5+2). Next, please. Number of albums left to review: 596 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 193 Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 90 Albums from the list I will certainly *not* include in mine (many others are more essential to me): 121 (including this one)

Was never a fan at the time and hasn't aged any better. Barely made it to the end.

Smash is definitely the right title for the album, because every song is like a smash to the face of pure punk ferocity. The Offspring walk the fine line of being tonally aware, hardcore, pissed off, and a little funny all at the same time and it’s flawlessly executed. This was the jumping off point for every 90s kid who didn’t know where to start with punk rock.

Great album. It really shows off the sound that is the offspring. Not a radical departure from their previous works but enough to freshen up their music. This also contains a lot of singles that were, for most people , their intro to the offspring. Well worth a listen and for anyone looking to get into some good punk rock.

The Offspring are a bit of a mystery to me. They're clearly capable of elevating and in some ways redefining punk, but often content to settle down and succumb to the laziest tropes of the genre. Fortunately, most of their best work is captured in one album. If you were to make a true best of compilation, you might grab one or two from elsewhere, but the collection would start and end with Smash. It's filled with allusions and wordplay that reward repeated listens, and you'll want to listen again, because it fucking rocks. I don't know if it's a shame that they couldn't replicate that success or a blessing that they did it once. Best track: Come Out and Play

I don't hate this, it does remind me of uni students with long greasy hair and plans to drink lots of beer once they finish studying with this blasting out and rollups filling their ashtrays. It is a big cheesy lyrically but it has great rhythms and it is really melodic vocally. I honestly am very happy to keep listening to the end.

Really don’t like his voice I felt like my brain was being drilled at one point

“You know who’s good? Nirvana, y’all should try to sound like them” It didn’t work

The extreme urge to start moshing

I'm not a trendy asshole

4.5 stars. Fantastic album. Could do with fewer "ooohhoohhh's and yeaaaheeaaahhs" but this is just a great punk rock album. Lots of energy, catchy choruses. Takes a little edge off of some of the rawer punk, but not overly pop-y. Standouts are "Bad Habit", "Gotta Get Away", and "Self Esteem".

Come out to play and self esteem are particular highlights for me as they are more the vibe of offspring I prefer. The rest of the album is filled with the more thrashier side of punk which I'm less bothered about.

You stupid dumb shit god damn motherfucker!

At the age of 12 I was in the back of mom's car with my best buddy listening to this album on cassette with a portable boom box. Bad Habit starts playing with nervous excitement and anticipation. The breakdown starts and we turn it up knowing what the result will be. Mom grounded me for a week and took my tape away. Luckily it was only a copy of the original I hid in my bedroom.

"Ahh, it's time to relax." This album is amazing. I first listened to it when I was around 10, and it really got me into a lot of the rock and punk that I love now. If I could rate this album higher than 5, I would.

Etant un habitué des albums de musique, j'avais avant même de lancer l'album reperé le derneir son de 10mn, et savait déjà que l'objectif était de cacher une chanson, comme de nombreux illustres groupes l'ont fait par le passé. Cette pratique extrêmement chiante il faut bien le dire, permet toujours au groupe l'utilisant de caler un sample egyptien de pyramide dans la plus grande discrétion. Ici, The Offspring vont plus loin, se déguisant absolument tous en sphynx, et restant immobiles a quates pattes pendant de longues minutes. L'un des membres va même jusqu'a se couper le nez. Un spectacle original, se déroulant donc dans l'intimité la plus totale d'une fin d'album des plus secrètes. Un délice.

Not worth sitting through. No matter what the narrator says.

Быстро! Мощно! Драйвово! Легендарно! Это то, что было есть и будет со мной! Без лишних слов и красивых метафор)) просто идите нахуй ))

A dirtbag masterpiece The Offspring being one of the only groups to come out clean after that Woodstock 99 documentary

punk rock at its most fine ig. Some songs on here were pretty decent so I'm not complaining at all. + what the fuck happened to these guys later Jesus Christ

Hard not to enjoy this fun album. I own it. Haven’t played it in forever, but it’s solid.

Feel no need to listen a second time, but enjoyed it while it lasted

Not one for me

This music garners the slightest of shrugs from me, but their faithful cover of the Didjits' "Killboy Powerhead" has given the great Midwest rockers an income for life, to which I raise my beret. Otherwise, to my ignorant ears this is all “you like chicken, I like bread, yeah ya-yeah-yeah yeah-yeah yeah”.

I tried really hard to like this. But almost every song sounded the same.

For this album, The Offspring's goal was to convince everyone that they are a one trick pony. In this case, every song sounds nearly identical to the next. Each one was basically guitar banging and yelling. You only need to listen to one song, any song, to check the box for this album. Scale: 5 - My absolute favorites. 4 - Albums I like. 3 - It was ok to listen to but I wouldn't seek it out. 2 - Didn't like. 1 - Absolute shit.

If you're into funk and angsty rock this album is probably for you. I enjoyed a few songs but after a while, it becomes quite dull.

Yikes 90s American skate punk is not really me. Bit like Green Day. Bit angry and sweary and shouty. Gonna try my best bit may not last tbe whole album. Ok got to track 8 then gave up because I'm not enjoying it and lm a bit tired tbh..Hard to compare i know but I prefer it to that Slice in Chains album..

1.5

I would avoid this kind of thing when it came out, how right I was. Boring, tuneless and juvenile; dreadful from top to bottom. Lowlights are the appaling vocals and the rhythm section - simultaneously amateur and unmusical, whilst timid and tedious. This is punk in the way LOL dolls are Simone de Beauvoir

Never really got into this band. Too metal for my taste. Too Midwest college frat bitch. I dont like spending time with the people who listen to this.

Just a regular Offspring album, in other words, horrible

In "Gotta Get Away", Dexter Holland shouts "Life is like a riddle and I'm really stumped". Replace life with music, songwriting, or art and you get the thesis of this album: a group of guys stumped about making music, but for some God-forsaken reason trying to do it anyways. Sometimes the songs aren't half bad ("Come Out and Play (Keep 'em Separated)"; "What Happened to You?"). But, those songs hardly redeem this album. "Bad Habit" sounds like a Bleach C-side where Holland has a quarter of Cobain's charisma and none of his songwriting ability. I assume "Genocide" was some sort of protest against the Rwandan Genocide, but it is filled with trite cliches and meaningless words that are supposed to convince the listener of what exactly? If it wasn't meant as a protest song to the Rwandan Genocide, then these guys are fucking tone deaf idiots. Judging from "It'll Be a Long Time", they probably are. The song says nothing meaningful, and is filled with truly poetic lines like "Superpowers flex their wings/Hold the world on puppet strings". Someone should tell Holland that protest songs are supposed to say something meaningful about the present day (a la System of a Down) and that sarcasm is only effective if the writer has an interesting point to drive home (a la Green Day).

It's inconceivable that I've not heard this before, but here we are. I fucking love it too, and why wouldn't I? Heard before ❌️ Listened this time ✅️ Revisit ✅️ Purchase ✅️ Right properly up my street 9/10

Great one

My only conception of the Offspring is negative because my 8th grade math teacher assigned names of 80s/90s rock bands to each student as secret keys for us to see grades on our tests, and I was assigned Offspring because I'm a twin. He seemed like a dope football coach so I always assumed the band would suck. Now listening to them, it's hilarious to hear songs about revolution and sticking up against corporate and elite cronyism when I have no doubt that the dope eventually became a Trump supporter. Musically, I loved this album. Songs like Genocide are high tempo and relatively strong lyrically with great guitar work, and the songs are much more sophisticated than your basic jam bands with multiple complex progressions on songs like It'll Be a Long Time. In my younger days, this would be my ceiling for how hard I want my rock to be. Songs like Self Esteem were clearly inspired heavily by Nirvana and Green Day. Only downside here is that for the second time this year, I've thought I heard a line that I absolutely loved then after looking up the lyrics realized I misheard. On Genocide, I thought they were saying "On our fellow man we prey", and then turned it around with "For our fellow man we prey", the idea that the working class's oppressors are human, but since the working class does not individually have power, they also must rely on humans to save them. 4.5 rounded up out of surprise

Slowly solidifying my system for this program: First listen with no research, read up on it (unless it sucks too much for me to care or I'm way behind), second listen, with occasional lyric looking up. Not specific here, but if anyone was curious. Also when I have the time, my review set up is standardizing: first impressions/pre-listen thoughts, stray thoughts while listening, actual review. Pre-thoughts: I basically only know Offspring because of "You're Gonna Go Far Kid" which just based on my searching for this album, appears to be a later piece, maybe not even well-liked, that would have gotten a ton of radio play in my riding the bus to school days, but perhaps is not indicative of their thing from their 90s prime (I would never have guessed that this was originally a 90s band). Stray Thoughts: -This has a nice, almost Motorhead, western vibe to it. I'm not sure that makes sense because I don't mean western in the sense of country, but it just has a "yee haw, I'm riding beyond the bounds of normal society" vibe (think Ace of Spades; I don't actually know if this is typical of Motorhead) -Really short tracks here. They are true to the punks of yore. -This is much more distinctive sound than I was expecting from Offspring -Ending with a 10 minute song. I'm not always super friendly to the concept of such long pieces. Oh it's a hidden track thing. These translate funnily to the digital era. Verdict: Freewheeling punk that for whatever reason make me thing of wide open skies and western biker gangs. This is really good; I had no idea the Offspring I know from "Dance Fucker Dance" had this much intensity 5 stars. I was on the fence, and tbh seeing Alex' rating may have biased me, but Imma give it to them.

Great album, used to listen to it a lot back in my twenties.

Dit is top 10 favoriete albums voor mij. Come Out and Play, Self Esteem, Bad Habit, Genocide en zoveel meer geweldige nummers. Echt een aanrader

Mudou a vida! Aqui eu descobri o Punk e nunca mais fui o mesmo.

Amazing album. I’ve owned this for years and it never gets old. When 11 year old me heard these songs for the first time on Y100 in Philadelphia, it definitely turned me on to something I didn’t know existed. It really was one of my main introductions to punk.

What an album! My (and many others) gateway in to punk rock! From that killer opening, spoken word track (that I used on every mixtape/CD as an opening song) right down to the surf infused instrumental that ends the album it’s all soooo good! So many classic songs, this is the pinnacle of their catalogue for me, the follow up album was pretty decent too but I feel like they lost their way after that. How good is the breakdown in “Bad Habit”?!?! 13 year old me loved screaming that out (when my parents weren’t home) but I honestly can’t find a bad track. This is such a seminal album for me and set me up for a lifetime of love of Punk rock!

On a punk or even pseudo punk scale, it is like a 7. On this list, it was awesome. They still have great individual songs.

Such a great album. Surprised it’s on the list, if I’m being honest, but if you got room for 2 dozen Neil Young albums, why not a little 90’s commercial punk? This one spent a lot of time inside my original 1 disc CD player. Offspring & Rancid opened the door to more punk exploration for me, which wasn’t an easy endeavor in the pre-internet days. All killer. No filler. This shit still holds up. Bad Habit & It’ll Be A Long Time are my favorites.

Classic

oh hell yeah so in your face and 90s angsty skater boys vibes, loved itttt, dunno why i haven't gotten into them earlier tbh but im guessing it's mostly because 'pretty fly for a white guy' doesn't make a good ad for the band. Oh and bad habit has been on my frequent rotation for a whillleee now, especially great when driving :)

throwback to them teen days

I have honestly never listened to this album in its entirety before. I knew the hits and that is about it. After listening I was pleasantly surprised how good this album is from beginning to end. It has great energy and never slows down. I. Really enjoyed this album a lot and will add it to my collection. Favorites are “Bad Habit”, “Not The One”, and “Come Out and Play”.

Loved it. Just a great, high energy album. Highlights: Gotta Get Away Genocide It'll Be a Long Time Killboy Powerhead

Exceptional. Love The Offsping.

This is one of those albums I wish I heard when I was younger

incredible

Клевый альбом, крутая группа

It´s Monday, rainy, and the page made me listen to this punk gem. 5/5, a classic that brings me back in the days.

Listened to it a lot

Great album, lots of memories…first car, first job, summer of 1994. Played this a TON

The best part of Grade 6 was yelling, "you stupid dumbshit goddamn motherfucker."

Grew up listening to The Offspring so this album is an all timer for me. Just some absolute classics on this thing.

What can we say about the Offspring?? This is their incredible smash hit (see what I did) album from the 90s and it's still exactly as I remember it: kind of bad, kind of insane, but dripping with heart, honesty, and realness. They were real punks in a time of corporatism. The lead singer's voice is nasally and upsetting. Their songs are about how much they suck. They are shamefully noisy. God I love it.

Bardzo, bardzo fajne. 5/5

Wow wow wow what an album

9.5/10

This came out right in the middle of my punk era and this was an absolute banger. I saw them tour this album and they were amazing!

Punchy, energetic and very enjoyable! Better than the more popular follow up, Americana.

Love this album too

this was my first favorite album growing up

wazny album tbh tbh dobry shit

Verbinde ich immer mit Skateboardfahren lul auch wenn ich damals immer Americana gehört habe

Classic mid-90s punk modern rock

A bit biased here ar I grew up with this record, but talk about executing exactly what you set out to do, all while writing catchy hard rocking tunes

An absolute punk masterpiece. Heavy, mad and fast. Great producing songs are great and although most have the same pace they link perfectly. The songs tjat chance pace help out the flow of the album. skating community salutes the offsprings for keeping it real and making it even more real.

10/10 archetype for punk albums

punkrock

I can listen to this start to finish any day.

Старый добрый офф

It's another one of my nostalgic 5's, but this one is pretty special to me, and it still KICKS ASS. I was about 14 or 15 when I first heard this album. I remember it incredibly vividly. I know the exact spot I was standing in at school when a friend handed me his headphones one lunchtime and I listened to 'Gotta Get Away' for the first time. The Offspring for me weren't just a gateway band into alternative music, it was a whole moment in our lives. I became part of the 'alternative' crowd and embraced that as part of my identity. I wasn't a trendy asshole and I liked good music! I was obsessed with the Offspring from there. They were the first band I saw live (side note: The 'Million Miles Away' video is from that very gig!), and I listened to them all the time. I'm SO happy that they've actually aged well, and that the albums still have heaps of energy and punch to them. I even saw them live again last year for the first time since 2000, and they were excellent! Putting my music critic hat on.. some of this can sound quite samey, or have the same kind of energy throughout. The drum beats and drive is so similar across the album. But I love how relentless it is, and how it barely stops for air. There are some great tunes on here, full of energy and bite and get up and go, and I love it.

The kind of album that makes me lament the fact I can't see them live in their heyday.

Better than solid, the lyrics, hooks, and rhythms blend into a top notch album.

A favorite of mine from my high school days. From start to finish I was jamming out to this one singing along.

One of the very first albums i even listened too

5 stars

A lot of nostalgia points here, but i'm not ashamed to admit it.

reminds me of high school and summer time

Here we go! One of the monster albums of my youth. Skater punk, lets go. I was a teenage white boy when this came out into punk rock and new wave, I could not be any more target audience. Self Esteem was everywhere with that awesome bass riff. Songs about being angry and frustrations of all kinds. Furious drumming. Catchy riffs exploding everywhere. Throw in a song decrying gun violence that was also everywhere in the clubs. Plus some really great punk ska (which I was also heavily into). Songs so fast that they come out fully formed and last just 1:17. Round it off with the title track which is just brilliant. Yep. Sign me up. They didn't do a great deal good after this, basically just Ixnay and The Kids Aren't Alright. But this record and Ignition stand up to their best attempts to piss all over their legacy since. In my heart of hearts I know there's a lot to criticise, and it's dumb, and I don't disagree with some of the negative comments, however this simply got it's hooks into me before I conceived of those notions, and well, job done basically.

I’m definitely biased because I love Dexter Holland. You’d think his voice would become grating after a while, but it doesn’t for me. Angsty lyrics with a touch of wit. Love it.

I hadn't thought about this album in a long time. I was honestly shocked when I saw that it was the album of the day. There's soemthing about this album that really transports me back to this time frame. Waiting to hear Keep em seperated on the radio, or seeing them perform Self Esteem at the X-games. it's also amazing that this album really holds up. I listened to it, 2 times yesterday and didn't feel like it was dated or anything.

Great punk album. No skip songs and no rest throughout.

Classic

This album came out a few years before I got into “secular” music when I was in middle school in the late 90’s (raised super conservatively). Songs from The Offspring’s 1998 album Americana were all over hit radio, and they were some of my early favorites. I didn’t discover Smash until many years later. What a great album from start to finish. It’s pretty much perfectly executed, and there’s really no filler in its 46 minutes except for the silence before the bonus track. The welcoming radio host reminds me of Songs for the Deaf by QOTSA a decade later. I thought I was going to give this 4 stars, but it’s perfect for what it tries to be.

Best album ever

I love me some 80s-90’s west coast garage/punk/rock. Great live in the early 90’s

A classic of mid-90s punk. A lot of people looking at this album, and probably Dookie by Green Day, may blame them for the subsequent watering down and pop-ification of punk. In other words, would there be any Blink 182 if it wasn't for these albums? I'm not sure what the answer to that is, but the answer doesn't change the fact that this album is rock solid, with banger after banger. It holds up from my teenage years--I've actually listened to it quite often in recent months after probably a big break. I'm not as familiar with their albums after this one, but none of the Offspring stuff I've heard gets near this album as a complete package. Raw energy, great melodies, social commentary.

Is this album really well put together and fun? Absolutely. Am I tinted by nostalgia? Absolutely. Is the fact I played this on stage a fair bit stroking an ego I didn't know I even had? Probably. 5* it made me learn something about myself.

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