Top 10 The Offspring Songs
Formed in 1984 in Huntington Beach, California, The Offspring first earned success as an indie punk band in the 1980s. They broke out into the mainstream with the 1994 album Smash, translating to further success in the 1990s. They continue to make music today. For this list, we've chosen our entries based on a combination of the artist's fan favorites, and their most commercially successful songs. Welcome to WatchMojo.com, and today we're counting down our picks for the top 10 songs by The Offspring.
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Top 10 The Offspring Songs
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These punks can be playful, but they can also pack an almighty punch! Welcome to WatchMojo.com, and today we’re counting down our picks for the top 10 songs by The Offspring. For this list, we’ve chosen our entries based on a combination of the artist’s fan favorites, and their most commercially successful songs.
#10: “Pretty Fly (for a White Guy) “ Americana (1998)
To open, we’re hopin’ that we’re ‘cool’, ‘hip’, ‘rad’ and all the rest, but we’re just... not! “Pretty Fly” tells the story of a wannabe socialite and his efforts to live the high life. He wants a pimped-out ride, he wants girls in glitzy bikinis, he wants antagonistic tattoos... He gets none of the above! There’s no hope for him, or for us, the angst-ridden listener... But there is a killer chorus, killer guitars, and a classic introductory countdown. ‘Give it to us baby’, because we cannot get enough! And the fact that the punky, comedy tune was the band’s highest charter on the Billboard Hot 100 – peaking within the top 60 – proves it!
#9: “Want You Bad” Conspiracy of One (2000)
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‘I want you bad’... If Barry White or Michael Buble sang those lyrics, you know they’re talking about everlasting love... When The Offspring sing those lyrics... we know they’re talking about sexual deviance! It’s not ‘sweet nothings’ that the band is after here, it’s more ‘dirty everythings’! As punchy, playful and party-startable as all decent punk music should be, this song is as good as its subject is not! An Offspring anthem, it’s tattoos, vinyl suits and rock ‘n’ roll!
#8: “You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid” Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace (2008)
The message gets mature with our next song, as the band picks apart the social aspirer with a little less silliness, and a little more sincerity. The ‘kid’ in question is anyone who craves success, achieves it, and then misuses it. Set against the dystopic, grimly glamorous video accompaniment, the song is power and greed, a truth of everyday life that has clearly irked the Offspring. Dexter Holland’s cautionary voice resonates right inside our heads, his anger hits us ‘right between the eyes’!
#7: “All I Want” Ixnay on the Hombre (1997)
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In many ways, modern punk’s not the same as classic punk, but the best bands can roll back the years with apparent ease. “All I Want” is quick, coarse and quintessential anti-authority! At just under two minutes, it’s one of the shorter songs to make our list, and one of the ‘shoutiest’! ‘All they want’, ‘all we want’, all anybody who listens to The Offspring wants (!) is a life worth living! Rules, regulations and routine? No thanks! We’re quite content jumping around our rooms with this in our ears!
#6: “Bad Habit” Smash (1994)
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Who knew that road rage would make a good record? A racy, raucous, riot of a track, “Bad Habit” is drive music with added danger and extra adrenaline! Sometimes punk’s about politics, but other times... it’s the plain and simple things that really ruin our days! Bad drivers are a nightmare, everyone knows that, but The Offspring voice their frustration unlike the average. It’s insane guitars, it’s souped-up vocals, it’s a crowded highway and a whole lotta hate! Play it while you drive, and watch the roads clear before you!
#5: “Gotta Get Away” Smash (1994)
At our midway point, it’s early Offspring, and a grungy, growling self-examination. Life can lead to pressure, and pressure can lead to paranoia... The band knows this, and they know how to put it to music! A simple-sounding, cyclical song, “Gotta Get Away” didn’t achieve the same levels of commercial success that other tracks from the “Smash” album did, but it still stands as an anthemic offering from the band! Mental health makes good music, and good music helps mental health!
#4: “Gone Away” Ixnay on the Hombre (1997)
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Just missing our podium but achieving mainstream success anyway, “Gone Away” soared to number one on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks Charts when it was released in 1997. A track that deals with tragedy, there’s been speculation that the sombre tune was composed following the death of Holland’s girlfriend. For the frontman, ‘death’ is like going very far away, but the distance is inconceivable... It’s ‘unfair’, and it’s something to which we can all relate. The Offspring is known for their playfulness, but they hit hard, and hit well, with this record!
#3: “Come Out and Play” Smash (1994)
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The first single to be released off Smash, “Come Out and Play” has been surrounded by controversy throughout its history. Lyrically, the focus is frank, and a little bit frightening - from the schoolyard to the streets, gang culture exists and people die because of it! Musically, the Arabic riff is catchy, but it caused problems as well, as the band faced accusations of plagiarism over its usage. The claims came to nothing, though, and a killer breakthrough record remains! ‘Come out and play?’ We don’t mind if we do!
#2: “The Kids Aren’t Alright” Americana (1998)
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Nostalgia’s a fickle friend! One second she has you happily remembering, the next she has you staring at an uncomfortable truth! For The Offspring, the kids were alright once, but then they grew up, and reality struck! While the rest of “Americana” pokes fun at life in the U.S., this song gives us something to chew and choke over! The dizzying video, the eclectic characters, the ‘shattered dreams’... Life might not be as fun as we think it should be, but this record’s reason to sing until your lungs hurt! Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions: - “Dirty Magic” Ignition (1992) - “Can’t Repeat” Greatest Hits (2005) - “Original Prankster” Conspiracy of One (2000) - “Million Miles Away” Conspiracy of One (2000) - “Why Don’t You Get a Job?” Americana (1998)
#1: “Self Esteem” Smash (1994)
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As commercially successful as The Offspring has ever been, “Self Esteem” topped charts in Europe and helped establish the band as a very big thing! The Smash single is a self-explanatory look at an addictively destructive relationship - set against some seriously prickly punk sounds. The guy is the ‘sucker’ with too little of the title commodity. The girl is the player with too many male friends! The vocals are appropriately submissive, the post-chorus guitars are appropriately angry... A gold medal should stop them feeling so low! All hail The Offspring! Do you agree with our list? What’s your favorite song by The Offspring? For more pretty fly Top 10s published daily, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.
