A simple message released through Nemesis Records in 1989, and two more times via Epitaph and Dexter's own Nitro Records: War, politics and untrustworthy people suck, all hail Aliens, Fender and bloody axes. Let the carnage begin.
The Offspring (1989) - singles marked with red
- Jennifer Lost the War ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ - Jennifer lost the war today, they'll find her burned and raped, we hear after a catchy intro, while some drum beats straight out of Lawrence of Arabia set the mood for us. The real tragedy isn't some kind of war here though, but the world's total ignorance towards the news of a little child's death. This track - a pretty strong opener, which is fortunately a tradition of Offspring albums - is 23 years old now, so we might have some answers for its repeated What are we heading for? question (this was also the song's working title), but with moody wondering about the future from now it is still as powerful as it was in the late '80s.
- Elders ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ - The guys realized that growing up sucks and grownups suck too, always relying on younger people to clean up their mess in the world. It's nice to hear some teenage angst that's not coming from girl troubles and partying, even though the musical part isn't that memorable.
- Out on Patrol ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ - Similar structure to Elders, but pumped up with some neat acoustics. Mr. Just Doing My Job Army Guy gets the rap here during his last moments before death. It ends with Dex shouting uno, dos, tres, cuatro - some years later this countdown would reappear in another Offspring song, in a hit single that has been heard by every living soul. Several times.
- Crossroads ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ - Basic thinking-about-my-life-gotta-find-my-way-and-I-miss-my-ex-girlfriend punk stuff. Kinda strange hearing these Blink-182/Sum 41/Pop-punk Random Number-esque lyrics with this fast, aggressive stlye. Also, it sounds like the intro - my favorite part - was written for a totally different song. The rest of it ain't that bad, either.
- Demons ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ - Watch an Evil Dead movie with twelve cans of beer and a guitar, you'll probably come up with something similar to this. Pretty good song with a great solo, but a tad too similar to Beheaded - which overshadows it in almost every way.
- Beheaded ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ - Story of a serial killer and his blood-filled nights, co-written by Dexter, James and Jay Flinchwood, according to some sources. Essentually it's a horror-comedy song, the funniest and most disturbing on the record, with lyrics like Daddy called me a silly bore / Bet he won't say that any more / 'cause the way his body is severed in too / His vocal chords are gonna be hard to use. You gotta love it. The music is catchy as hell, the breakdown is simply awesome and Dexter's voice is at its finest here, really reflecting his future self, probably because he didn't take the thing seriously at all. You can tell the guys were having some fun with this one.
- Tehran ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ - America sends its sons to war where the mindless drones are willingly lined up to become nameless casualties and... yeah, you've heard it all before. I'm not sure if anti-war songs of this kind weren't a cliché even that time. The music is pretty kick-ass though, with a great bassline and some Eastern atmosphere again (that became kind of an Offspring tradition too, although it lasted only until Conspiracy of One).
- A Thousand Days ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ - Personal tragedy, presented in a really overdramatized, but somehow also objective point of view. Huge, cold and sad truths can be found in these lyrics. We just can't let it go, we need other's company, carve to be close to some people, and usually the result is just all of us getting hurt.
- Blackball ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ - The final version, as heard in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4. Probably the most complex track of S/T, both musically and lyrically. The message isn't banal here at all. I would summarize it like this: the only way to feel good in today's world - in this high tech dog eat dog existence - is by giving up all of your natural good intentions. At least this is my interpretation. Dexter's vocals aren't the best here, but it's still a good piece.
- I'll Be Waiting ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ - Fire and Ice, as it was called last time we met him. Another ode to the tragedy of failing relationships (of friends and lovers alike), and the trust that has rightfully gone missing from this world. Starts with the album's best intro, then turns into a rocking, angry ride, with one of the riffs from Jennifer reappearing. Boys don't cry, but when they do, they do it the coolest way possible. I love this song.
- Kill the President ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ One clichéd thought after another, and the melody fits it, but that short solo is somewhat remarkable. The band and Nitro Records pretty much try to bury this song from the ears of the world, allegedly because of legal pressure. One has to wonder if the real reason is that nowadays they find it way too cheesy.
Overall it's a bit ironic, but The Offspring is the least offspringish album of them all. It's a dark, noisy record with only traces of fun or sarcasm, heavily influenced by T.S.O.L., The Vandals, and other punk bands the guys have been listening to.
Only 4999 copies of the original 1989 release exist - one has been destroyed in The Wally George Show (see the video in the early years post). The cover of this 12" vinyl record credits Dexter as Keith Holland (after his middle name) and features that rocking Alien-inspired cover with a xenomorph-type creature - with guitar in his hand - bursting out from a gentleman's chest.
Best cover ever. Well, not really, but the artwok by the late Mad Marc Rude certainly does rock. Too bad they had to change it for the CD re-releases (by Epitaph in 1995, after Smash made a fortune for them, and Nitro in 2001, not featuring Kill the President).
1995/2001 re-release cover
Trivia: the band's name on the Mad Rude one (essentially the band logo on every release before Smash) was lifted from this 1987 movie poster:
You might think that the band were a little bit nerdy back then. Trivia #2: did you know that Dexter has a master degree in molecular biology?
That's all for today, Friends, thanks for reading it. Next time we're going to pay a brief visit to Baghdad.
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