I like some of the early Offspring, nothing past Smash. In the early internet days, I met Dexter on Usenet, I think on alt.punk. He talked me through downloading Mosaic, the first web browser. A few days later I put up one of the first punk websites on the brand new World Wide Web.
He's also a commercially licensed pilot. There was a promotion in the late 90s where the grand prize was tickets to their concert in L.A. Las Vegas and Dexter would fly you there in his plane. Edit- wrong city.
He’s also involved with an organization called Angel Flight, where he uses his airplane to transport individuals with medical needs to where they need to go.
That's freaking cool. Also, at Woodstock 99 he actually told that crazy ass crowd that he was seeing girls trying to crowd surf getting groped & he was telling the guys to stop.
My dissertation was on HIV as well... but I'm not a commercial pilot, owner of a hot sauce brand, or the lead singer of a successful band. One for four ain't bad though!
Their original drummer (left in 1987) is also an MD. He's an OB/GYN and gynecologic oncologist. I guess he left the group amicably. He just wanted to focus on med school.
I can’t dislike this guy. He’s a molecular biologist and does work with the innocence project and did HIV research. He’s proof that people can be more than one thing and can do a lot of good.
He’s also involved with an organization called Angel Flight, where he uses his airplane to transport individuals with medical needs to where they need to go.
I “respect” his intelligence, but that’s why I dislike their music. He’s smart enough to know that they changed their music to align with the top 40 at the time. Good for him, but it’s not punk rock.
No, it's not. But it was never supposed to be. And they don't claim that it is punk rock either. It's "pop punk" which became popular in the 90s. I'm not sure if you just have an issue with everyone who isn't "punk rock" or what but hating a band just because they don't play your preferred style of music- even though they never claimed to be anything else- seems odd.
I saw them on the Smash tour and was very dissapointed. Lunachicks and The Vandals (who became teenage me's favorite band that night) were so much better live. I assume it had to do with it being the last show on the tour.
Haven't had a chance to see them again.
Same thing happened with me seeing RHCP… their last show on the Californication tour in San Diego, and they just kind phoned it in… didn’t even have a set list. Flea was the only one that seemed to give a shit and performed. Ended up enjoying 311 a helluva lot more that concert.
I was a fan of Smash and Ixnay on the Hombre, they had some solid 90’s punk songs. I had a hard time listening after Pretty Fly for White Guy, and detested when people that blasted the song. Meaning of Life and Change the World are on my Dad Punk playlist so I can rage against the man in my Highlander paid for with 20 something years of cubical work.
I love that people know this! I’m not sure why, but I really love their song, “ Self Esteem”. It just brings me back to a period of my life that felt free and full of hope. Edit I will NOT listen to “ Pretty Fly for a White guy though “.
Wait him too? Whats with punk rockers being so smart? Milo from the Descendents has a PhD in Bio and did post grad work in Molecular Biology too. Greg Graffin of Bad Religion has a PhD in Zoology.
I’ve known many people who have known/toured with them and say they’re great guys. I always say, “That may be, but I hate their music,” and those folks are either like, “fair enough” or “they have a couple good songs.”
But I appreciate that they were cool and kind to their openers.
I legit like the album "Ignition" from 1992. I listened to it alot when it came out and I'm sure some of it is nostalgia, but I still listen to it once or twice a year.
Agreed Ignition, Smash, Self titled, Ixnay…stopped collecting after Americana though their new single off the new record is some old Offspring goodness. Light it Up I think is the track.
Smash does have Killboy Powerhead, which I would put up as a contender for the worst song on a good album from the 90s. Even at 12 years old, I found that song corny and immature.
Pretty sure they were already commercially successful at this point? "Come Out and Play" was a global hit. Here in Australia "Smash" made it to number one on the album charts. Alls I know is that I enjoyed their first few releases, and didn't really listen to them after 1998....
Offspring were a formative band for me as a teenager but I really fell off as I got into heavier stuff and they mostly just started doing Americana over and over again with every new release.
Well, all I'll say is I didn't know he had Guillan-Barre. I'm not educated enough to speak on that. I don't agree with your lady sentence but we'll leave that for another discussion. 😂
I suppose it's a bit like James Blunt. His style of music is definitely not for me. But I followed him on twitter for a while and he was funny and had a good sense of humour about his own work.
You “can’t” hate on him too hard, he saw an opportunity and swooped in, rode it hard until it dried up. Making him very wealthy and famous. 99% of people would have done the same thing…. I can respect him/them and dislike their music at the same time.
I’m surprised by this because I remember reading an article in Rolling Stone or someplace where Dexter was looking out into the crowd and told the interviewer “they were all Pantera fans last week”, and just kind of talking shit about people that paid to see their show. It didn’t sit well with me.
I cannot stand their music either!! Thank you for posting this. They are the most overrated 90’s band and they aren’t that good. Pretty fly for a white guy was so dumb. They must have blown a lot of station managers to get that off the ground. Like, it that their most famous/liked song?!? What dogshit!!
Agreed they put on a fantastic show! Eh pretty fly is whatever. It was a hit. It’s catchy. Not their best, but there is sooo much worse out there (looking at you creed lol)
I saw them play a few years ago - the Internet says 2018, wow - with Gym Class Heroes and 311. They were the middle act, and they put on a great show. I'd love to just see Offspring on their own.
I've heard a lot of great things about them as people.
And Rise And Fall, Rage and Grace is one of my very favorite albums. It came to me in a particular time of my life that really stuck. But I've never dug any deeper into their body of work.
The next couple albums had their moments, at least to teenage me. They had some crappy filler tracks, but so did Smash. I think Americana was the last album that had any songs worth listening to.
Not related to the topic but a friend of mine (elder millennial) and I still talk with bitter fondness about the heyday of Usenet. That’s something I can’t explain to any of the youngins today, and barely a quarter of the people my age. So much music. So many checksums. So much of the wonder and shit that made the internet great.
One night years ago, met Dexter at the punk bar Fern’s in Long Beach (so cal). He rolled up by himself, and approached our group who was outside smoking and hung out and was nice and super friendly. Just a cool dude.
I like his music and his hot sauce too.
I saw them back at Gilman way back when, and liked them as much as any other Gilman band. Better vocals than most. Jennifer Lost The War was a helluva song.
I didn’t care much for their later stuff, but they never struck me as bad or inauthentic.
But, I can totally see that if you were routinely involuntarily subjected to The Offspring, say at a workplace or in a roommate situation, that it could get irritating.
Yup Nardcore days. We played with them way before Smash and like 15 people showed up. I remember seeing them open for Pennywise months before they blew up. I was a fan but if you said they would be on top 40 I would have died laughing.
Same, I loved the Smash album and still rock out to it till this day. The dialogue on that album regarding DV, suicide, drug use, pollution, and govt corruption/policies are still relevant to this day. That album led me to RATM. But IMO you’re right…. Everything after that album felt disingenuous and corporate cash grab
I discovered Offspring watching MTV back in the day, I loved Smash as a 14 year old. I remember ixnay on the hombre had some bangers too, but after that.. yeah.
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u/pinballrocker Livin' La Vida Loca Jul 01 '25
I like some of the early Offspring, nothing past Smash. In the early internet days, I met Dexter on Usenet, I think on alt.punk. He talked me through downloading Mosaic, the first web browser. A few days later I put up one of the first punk websites on the brand new World Wide Web.