SOUND BITES

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...

I didn't want to call this article the "worst", as that implies that the soulless, mindless drivel some bands have been trying to pass off as music is somehow better than the trio of bands singled out here; that's not the case. If I haven't talked about (insert random shitty synthpop and/or bro-rock band here) in 2012, it's because I simply don't care enough about them to sit through their songs, let alone write about them. This article is a chance to talk about three bands which have qualities I actually admire; it just so happened they, surprisingly or not so much, released albums I had at least moderate expectations for and found myself sad, shocked and/or disgusted at the lack of quality they brought in 2012.

This is a real thing: The sad part is this: even if The Offspring position this song as a blatant mockery of the current pop music scene, they're making a much bigger mockery of themselves. If you're a 12 year old girl, Days Go By is out June 26.

Well, at least it's better than a Pretty Fly (For A White Guy) rehash. The Offspring return with new album Days Go By in June, and they've released the title track as its first single.  Bob Rock worked the knobs for the follow-up to 2008's Rise And Fall, Rage And Grace , and if you rolled your eyes because that album's title sounded like a bit of a rip on Foo Fighters' Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace , um... prepare to go nuclear. Try to listen all the way through without imagining Dave Grohl gritting his teeth and crushing his coffee cup in his hand: Kids, it's bad enough that the intro has a lead riff that calls Times Like These to mind.  When you throw in a similar melody, a similar lyrical theme, and a similar song structure (complete with the same quiet ending ), it gets a little uncomfortable.  This is not to say that the new Offspring single is a bad song; in fact, it's really pretty great.  But saying that is kind of like complimen...