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1994 In Review: The Offspring - "Smash"


It's easy to diminish the impact that The Offspring's third album had on rock, just as it's easy to forget what a great story they used to be as a band. In the two decades since Smash dropped, they haven't exactly built a legacy of integrity; nowadays seen more as a novelty act than simply a good band that doesn't take themselves too seriously, they manage to underwhelm with every comeback attempt they make no matter how much I root for them.

However, in 1994, it seemed everyone rooted for The Offspring. An inspiring tale of grassroots success, Smash was a really good album by The Little Band That Could; signed to (at the time) up-and-coming punk imprint Epitaph, it was a minor coup to see the video for Come Out And Play shown on TV.

It's also easy to forget how fresh sounding this was twenty years ago. On Smash, The Offspring melded together punk, surf rock and alt rock into something much bigger. Rather than cater to just the punks, stoners or mall crowd, Smash extended a handshake to all, offering something for you no matter what level of crunch you were looking for. Want to break things? Bad Habit is a fine choice. Chillin' with a fat spliff? There's What Happened To You? Feeling angsty? Can I interest you in some Self Esteem? You get the idea.

With strong word-of-mouth and smart single choices, Smash became a, well, smash. Now, having a multi-platinum album in the mid '90s was certainly not unheard of, but for The Offspring to do it on an independent label was a pretty big deal. In fact, Smash still stands as the best selling independent label release of all time.

You don't make such big waves without waking up sharks, and The Offspring were highly sought after by major labels in the wake of Smash's success. They'd end up signing to Columbia and releasing the uncompromising Ixnay On The Hombre in 1997, pissing off indie hipsters and fairweather fans alike. It would go on to sell less than half the amount Smash did, leading some to call it a failure despite going platinum. In retaliation, they recorded the hokey, sunny Pretty Fly (For A White Guy). Released on 1998's Americana, it propelled the band to even loftier mainstream heights than Smash and practically (arguably?) ruined them in the process.

In the fifteen years and four albums since, they've attempted no less than three times to recapture the lightning in a bottle that was Pretty Fly's crossover success, with exceedingly embarrassing results. Maybe they'd be a much more relevant band today if they'd looked instead to replicate the success of Smash. It may not hold up quite as well as other albums of '94, but how much of that is due to the record and how much is due to the legacy of the band? Maybe bits of both, but it doesn't hurt to revisit and remember that, for a brief moment in time, The Offspring felt really important.

April 8, 1994 • Epitaph
Highlights Bad Habit • Come Out and Play • Self Esteem

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