The Offspring

[soulforce]

I'll be shocked to hear that someone here likes what they've done since the late 90's, but I'm curious to hear your opinions (and band-related stories) of their earlier works.

[JGJR]

I voted for Green Day. I just never liked the Offpsring at all, either on record or the one time I saw them live in '94 right when Smash was getting huge. They played with Rancid and Sheer Terror and it was one of the last shows I ever saw at City Gardens as it was right before it closed. Anyway, The Offspring drew a ton of younger kids I'd never seen before there and the place was packed. I'd imagine that for many of them, it was their first show or maybe even first concert ever. Anyway, Rancid completely blew them off the stage.

[BAIN]

Also saw them at City Gardens w Pennywise. Ignition was a great record to snowboard to. Similar to the Green Day thread, once I saw that the jocks and nerdy girls sporting the colored hair and t shirts it was over for me. Their music drastically got shittier. Ahhhhh 94/95 when punk became trendy.

[patient_ot]

I used to have the Baghdad 7'' which I thought was awesome around '94. I also remember borrowing "Smash" on cassette from a friend and liking it a lot. Other than that, I don't know their catalog too well. I heard a couple of their later songs on tv or the radio and wow, were they awful.

I think they were a big gateway punk band for a lot of people. Obviously they didn't have nearly the impact that Nirvana had in terms of fans digging deeper and discovering more "underground" stuff but look at those t-shirts the singer wore in the video for Self-Esteem.

[jaybird]

One of my old bands opened for them at an all-ages VFW hall-show in Ferndale, MI, circa 1990. We actually didn't even stick around to see them play, because we had another gig at a bar downtown that same night. I still have the S/T first album with the Mad Marc Rude cover art that I bought at the show. It's not very good, like most of their output since.




Looks like it's worth about $50-$60 currently.

http://collectorsfrenzy.com/details/120 ... Rude_cover

Any takers?

[BAIN]

Ignition Full Album = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrscQAUOqeA

[JGJR]

Also saw them at City Gardens w Pennywise. Ignition was a great record to snowboard to. Similar to the Green Day thread, once I saw that the jocks and nerdy girls sporting the colored hair and t shirts it was over for me. Their music drastically got shittier. Ahhhhh 94/95 when punk became trendy.

This is pretty much how I felt circa '94 and '95 re: punk getting trendy back then. However, I did have a copy of Ignition in '93 via Epitaph sending me a promo since I did a zine. I didn't like the vocals and traded it to a classmate of mine during my freshman year of college in exchange for a DYS CD that he didn't like and I did.

[tad ghostal]

If I had to choose between the Offspring and Green Day, I'd take the latter. I like a few of their songs. I never liked the Offspring. All their big hits seemed too gimmicky to me and the singer is really awful. Musically, I guess they're adequate, at least on record, but the singer just kills it, he just seems to wail tunelessly. I'm still surprised that they found a large mainstream audience, even with those gimmicky songs, with that guy singing.

[yourenotevil]

i'll take none of the above.if i had to be forced, i guess green day. offspring were just like bad bro pennywise rock on their best day.

[john stabb]

Is this a trick question I choose C) none of the above.

[FlexMyHead]

No question in my mind, Green Day. Both turned into big cheese, but The Awful-spring and their 'jokey' songs were so pathetic (Pretty Fly For A White Guy). Part of it could be that I just like Green Day's brand of pop-punk better and to be honest the last recording I own is Insomniac, but I'd listen to them or go see one of their concerts. Also, singer for Offspring had braid-locks at one point. Barf.

[Gary]

I loved the first Offspring record when it came out,still like it. Second one I liekd but can't listen to it now at all,it's not stood up at all. After that I could never stand anything at all I heard.

Saw them once,I think it was in Preston,opening for NOFX(now there's a band I can't stand) and thought they were great.
Glad I heard and got to see them before they blew up.

[JGJR]

NOFX(now there's a band I can't stand)

Same here.

[scannest]

I've never heard much more than the singles, but man...those singles have gotten progessively dumber and dumber each time out. The last one I heard was not only atrocious but so far removed from anything resembling rock music (let alone punk rock) that I could only shake my head in dismay. And the kicker is that they obviously didn't have a hit with it, so what the fuck was the point anyway?
Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you... "Cruising California (Bumpin' in My Trunk)"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAlZyajm ... r8l1k2rV9g

[gregpolard]

Green Day are infinitely better.

The Offspring "Smash" has a couple good songs (none of which are the singles) and "Ignition" has some good songs as well, but that's about it. I liked the singles from the major label debut too, but then when they did that "Pretty Fly For A White Guy" stuff it lost me.

[MXV]

The Offspring sent me their first 7" in the later part of the 80s (86 maybe) to review in my fanzine. I still have it. I didn't follow them at all after that so it was pretty mind blowing when all of a sudden when I heard of them again they were huge. I have the first 3 albums and think they are OK but I don't really see the need to listen to them these days since they were all over everywhere in the 90s and there was no escaping hearing them often. I heard some songs from their most recent record and it was god awful and had some auto tune bullshit on it too!

[Neal]

i still listen to the first album sometimes. the 2nd one too. can't really listen to smash anymore since it got so played out. lost interest after that. i think they started out pretty good. but i wasn't too bummed to "lose them" when there were a ton of other epitaph/fat/dr. strange bands at the time to replace them.

i can't really listen to green day after the 2nd album though too.

[WrEtcH]

THE OFFSPRING are one of those bands that I like hearing, but I wouldn't say they are one of my faves. It's just "stuff to listen to." It's like what PANTERA is to metal to me.

[the mean]

Played with them in 93, just before they broke. They were total dicks to the poor kid putting on the show. He ended up going to an ATM to get them more money, and we left the next day for a 6 week tour getting paid nothing.