The Offspring

The Offspring's metal-inflected punk became a popular sensation in 1994, selling over four million albums on an independent record label. While the group's credentials and approach follow the indie rock tradition of the '80s, sonically they sound more like an edgy, hard-driving heavy metal band, with their precise, pulsing power chords and Dexter Holland's flat vocals.
Featuring Holland, guitarist Kevin "Noodles" Wasserman, bassist Greg Kriesel, and drummer Ron Welty, the Offspring released their self-titled debut album in 1989. Four years later, their second album, Ignition, became an underground hit, setting the stage for the across-the-board success of 1994's Smash. The Nirvana sound-alike "Come Out and Play," the first single from the album, became an MTV hit in the summer of 1994, which paved the way to radio success. The band was played on both alternative and album rock stations, confirming their broad-based appeal. "Self Esteem," the second single, followed the same soft verse/loud chorus formula and stayed on the charts nearly twice as long as "Come Out and Play." The group got offers from major labels, yet they chose to stay with Epitaph. While they were able to play arenas in the U.S., their success didn't translate in foreign countries. Nevertheless, the band's popularity continued to grow in America, as "Gotta Get Away" became another radio/MTV hit in the beginning of 1995. The Offspring recorded a version of the Damned's "Smash It Up" for the Batman Forever soundtrack in the summer of that year; it kept the band on the charts as they worked on their third album.

"The Kids Aren't Alright" MUSIC VIDEO



Track Listing

1. Can't Repeat
2. Come Out and Play (Keep 'Em Seperated)
3. Self Esteem
4. Gotta Get Away
5. All I Want
6. Gone Away
7. Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)
8. Why Don't You Get a Job?
9. The Kids Aren't Alright
10. Original Prankster
12. Want You Bad
13. Defy You
14. Hit That
15. (Can't Get My) Head Around You

"The Kids Aren't Alright"

When we were young the future was so bright (whoa)
The old neighborhood was so alive (whoa)
And every kid on the whole damn street (whoa)
Was gonna make it big and not be beat.
Now the neighborhood's cracked and torn (whoa)
The kids are grown up but their lives are worn(whoa)
How can one little street
Swallow so many lives?
Chorus:
Chances blown
Nothing's free
Longing for
What used to be
Still it's hard
Hard to see
Fragile lives
Shattered dreams
Go!
Jenny had a chance, well she really did (whoa)
Instead she dropped out and had a couple of kids (whoa)
Mark still lives at home cause he's got no job (whoa)
Just plays guitar, smokes a lot of pot
Jay commited suicide (whoa)
Brandon OD'd and died (whoa)
What the hell is going on?
Cruelest dream reality
Chances blown, nothing's free
Longing for what used to be
Still, it's hard, hard to see
Fragile lives, shattered dreams
Go!
Chances blown, nothing's free
Longing for what used to be
Still, it's hard, hard to see
Fragile lives, shattered dreams

SAMPLE MUSIC