Disclaimer guy knows what he's talking about. From Hail Maries to doggie doo, Ixnay has everything.
The Offspring: Ixnay on the Hombre (1997) - singles marked with red
video links provided where available
- Disclaimer: Basically a spoken intro. but it comes with a cool little song in the background. A fair warning about the lyrical content, although it's melted into a joke, and it sets up the half-serious mood that rules most of the record. Well played, clever and simple: If it sounds sarcastic, don't take it seriously, if it sounds dangerous, do not try this at home, or at all. And if it offends you, just don't listen to it.
- The Meaning of Life ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ - mv - Taking off with an inspiring classic. Has the sound of Smash, maybe a tad friendlier, with classic "gotta find my own way"
teenage angstpunk topic. It almost comes off too naive, but with the "gonna go make my own mistakes" line it avoids the trap. Yes, sometimes you screw things up, but this is who you are and this is your... eh, fuck it, you know what I'm talking about. Do listen to this one. - Mota ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ - Another sad, but on the surface really fun chapter from a junkie's life. Bad things might happen to you (heh) on the wrong side of the pot, but man, losing it feels so alright. This song does too, with that ironically uplifting chorus. Good to listen when you're drunk.
- Me and My Old Lady ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ - Dat bass! This one has some Jane's Addiction inspiration in its DNA, and is pretty heavy on the Eastern stuff. The crazy, montonous anthem of... let's say, Glenn Quagmires of the world, although Family Guy didn't hit the screens unti '99. Still, just change the "She ain't no ball and chain" intro to "Giggity giggity, alriiight" and you'll see what I mean.
- Cool To Hate ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ - A mocking, half-serious ride, hating on the type of haters I'm sure you too have to deal with before. Funny things is, you can find them among jocks, geeks, trendies and freaks. The chorus is catchy as hell, but it's that wicked breakdown that sticks with your ears for a long time.
- Leave It Behind ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ - 2 minutes of I'll Be Waiting-type meditation on relationships and forgiveness. Really cool chorus, but overall it's a brief "goes in on ear, right out the other" shorty. A sudden idea, brace yourself, I'm going to be really cheap now: It leaves you behind without much of an impression. Ha!
- Gone Away ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ - mv - Proving that a basic four-chord punk melody can be breathtakingly beautiful if you slow it down a little, this one is really something special. Not just one of the best Offspring songs, one of the most beautiful and coolest songs written about grief, a heavy, emotional rock ballad. We can only guess whom the lyrics are about - there has never been a definitive comment on that from the band -, but they hit hard into your heart and mind. Just the right amount and mix of emotions, backed up by both ass-kicking and heart-warming music. Since 2009, Dexter has been performing it on a piano during live shows (althugh it might be nothing more than a coincidence, it was the same year when that eerily similar sounding Transformers song by Linkin Park hit the air), but the Ixnay track should and will always remain the definitive version. It's a forsaken masterpiece.
- I Choose ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ - mv - Sudden change of tone, but it works: probably their catchiest feelgood song ever, with a nice life lesson, served along a huge glass of liquid naivité. Leave your brain at the door, and give a listen to this one whenever you're feeling down. Don't think too much about it, just listen, and I promise you, by the time Noodles kicks in with that solo, you'll be grinning.
- Intermission - King of all fillers, a 50 seconds long little song, composed by Vincent Youmans. Nothing more than a show-stopping joke, but it fits in there quite nicely, actually. If you hear it during a show, you might go home with a beach ball.
- All I Want ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ - mv - A short punk ride in the same vain as The Meaning of Life. Originally this one was called "Protocol", and it started out as a song specifically written for Bad Religion. Guitarist and Epitaph Records co-founder/owner Brett Gurewitz didn't really want it then, so eventually it landed on Ixnay with altered lyrics. Story doesn't end here though, once The Offspring left Epitaph and released the new album with All I Want on it via Columbia Records, Brett grew very fond of the song suddenly, calling it a profound Bad Religion rip-off. Well...
- Way Down the Line ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ - Strange breed: pretty upbeat, almost cheerful melody and riffs against very pessimistic lyrics. The curse of Elders and Not the One hits hard on a personal level, as we realize we can't cheat fate - we're going to turn out and fuck up things exactly like our parents did.
- Don't Pick It Up ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ - Essentially it's a short ska track without a trumpet. As far as I'm concerned, this is probably the best song ever written about the exciting topic of dogshit consuming. Just what we needed before the album's finale begins.
- Amazed ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ - It starts out with an almost happy intro that quickly sinks into a melody bit similar to While My Guitar Gently Weeps. Easily the most depressing Offspring song I've heard so far, but I can't stop listening to it, Dexter's voice, the lyrics, the bass and drums, those solos... ah, man. Everything is powerful and dark in this one. Has that kind of chilling feel of sadness that is actually somewhat comforting to experience for some reason. I won't say that it's amazing, but goddamn, is it Wunderbar or what.
- Change The World ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ - The drumbeat and Genocide riffs from the end of Smash, evolved into a full-length message to pseudo-saviours. I may come off lazy here, but this is really the kind of song that speaks for itself. Couldn't write much about it. It's great. Epic. Grand-scale. Friggin' cool. Listen to it.
Other stuff:
- After two minutes of silence at the end of Change The World, we get to hear The David Letterman Show's Larry Melman's good wishes for the band.
- Cocktail: More from Larry, found on the vinyl versions only.
As The Cereal Professor would put it: Nope, nothing wrong here. Not a single stinker on Ixnay land. 15 years ago it was considered to be somewhat of a disappointment though, and compared to Smash, an epic commercial failure. (It has still became a Platinum in the USA - how many punk bands could achieve that nowadays?)
People were expecting a big budget follow-up to the last album (kinda what Smash was to Ignition in reality), but this record has its own identity. Besides making a killer collection of songs, the band established two of its trademark things here, the kind of sarcastic humor that has defined most of their fun songs since then, and their fondness of Mexican culture and mariachi style. Just take a look at the artwork, listen to Intermission or taste Dexter's very own hot sauce brand, called Gringo Bandito... Spoiler alert: Days Go By will also have a song with heavy Mexican influence in it.
All in all, in 1997 people were ready to announce The Offspring's death. They had no idea about what was about to go down in the near future.
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