I want to start this by saying I really like this album. I think it doesn't get nearly enough credit for contributing to the explosion of pop punk with a decidedly more mature take on the genre than what we were getting at the time from the likes of Blink-182. You have to remember that Blink was making waves, but they were doing it with Dude Ranch. Enema of the State hadn't even come out yet so there was no "Adam's Song" to compare this to.
No, this was kind of on its own when it came to radio play. I mean, what else was there? Green Day had Nimrod at that point, but Green Day was far from their politically-charged years and, besides them and Blink, what other punk band was on the radio but The Offspring?
And to young impressionable me, I found it quite deep and socially conscious.
But that was before I found Bad Religion and there's a CRITICAL difference between the two: Bad Religion punches up or, if they ever do punch laterally or down, it's done in a more understanding way. Bare minimum a more empathetic way.
The Offspring? Not so much.
It doesn't really feel understanding. It feels like mockery and, when you make a punk band that gives off those vibes, it comes across as condescending. YOU'D never resort to crime because it's just a choice. YOU'D never pick up pick up a man thinking it was a woman because you're smarter than that. YOU'D never watch Three's Company stoned laughing your head off because to do so would be a waste of your life.
I don't know. As a kid, I thought this was great but as I've grown up it's just taken on kind of a preachy vibe.
That said, this album rips. Despite its flaws in tone, I don't think that mainstream radio has EVER played punk bands - SUCCESSFUL punk bands - that had such fast tempos and fantastic guitar work. And they were saying SOMETHING so they've got to get some credit that.
It was a required buy for me, but one that made me feel conflicted.
#punk #punkrock #punkrecords #records #recordcollection #vinylrecords
(11 April 1980)
