For the tru punx crowd this meant the beginning of their sell-out era, for everyone else, Smash is the definitive sound of one-nine-nine-four, the unforgettable year in which mainstream air got completely taken over by punk, grunge, alternative & popular rock and rocking pop songs.
And The Offspring ('xcuse me, I meant simply Offspring, as all Smash-era artwork dropped the "the") had all of the above.
Offspring - Smash (1994) - singles marked with red
music video links provided where available
- Time to Relax - Spoken track intro. Our wise guide (he'll get to talk to us a few times throughout the record) gives out some advice about how to get comfy and ready for the upcoming melodies. It's a bit like listening to a short lullaby right before a nuclear explosion.
- Nitro (Youth Energy) ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ - And here it is, a real taste of what's to come. The drums rip into your ear like a handful of machine guns, the chords build a well-ordered melody out of pure chaos, and Dexter shouts some nihilistic teachings. Live fast, because you can't even imagine how young one can die nowadays. A sweet adrenaline-pumping two and a half minutes.
- Bad Habit ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ - Starts out with an intro which is basically the band's own variation of the JAWS theme, then it explodes into the story of a crazy driver and his adventures on the highway. This is the Beheaded/Burn it Up-esque 'mad dog' type song of the album, dark and ridicoulusly fun at the same time. Also, that breakdown is legendary and has the most quotable swearing ever written.
- Gotta Get Away ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ - mv - Reportedly this one was the last song completed for Smash, and the lyrics were heavily influenced by some hardcore pressure Dex was experiencing that time, due to the upcoming deadline. Probably this is my favorite track, I love the held back, but sharp tempo, and its monotony. Not just that it makes it a successful meditation on paranoia, but it's also a great song to listen to if you go jogging or to hit the gym. Recommended activities, but always make sure no one is following you.
- Genocide ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ - This is the closest you can get to a classic Offspring song if there are no whoas or Eastern tunes. It's fast, dark, angry, but for the most part it manages to stay an objective "this is who we are" song, similar to We Are One.
- Something to Believe In ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ - Another dose of nihilism, this time some bitching about how worthless religions and sacred things have become. That breakdown always gives me chills, good stuff.
- Come Out And Play (Keep 'em Separated) ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ - mv - Their very first hit single, a fan favorite and an essential song at almost every live show. It's incredibly catchy, makes great use of that unmistakable Eastern tune, the progression creates at least four eargasms, and Dexter's voice has some of its finest moments, too. The lyrics are an ode to gang violence, the title possibly being a reference to the 1979 movie The Warriors (don't quote me on this, though). Truly one of their best.
- Self Esteem ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ - mv - The main riff is really similar to that famous Smells Like Teen Spirit intro, but otherwise it's pretty much a one-of-a-kind song. It has lyrics about an abusive relationship in which the guy is the victim (inspired by the real case of a friend of the band) and a 20 second long chorus composed only of the words whoah and yeah. And it works. 18 years later, along with Come Out and Play it's still among the best known Offspring songs.
- It'll Be a Long Time ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ - Time to reach into some politics again, with some kick ass riffs and clichéd observations. Luckily it's more of a "meh, you know how those leades are" than a simple "fuck the leaders" message, and this suits the band well. Another great breakdown here, sounds a bit sad and somehow really cute at the same time.
- Killboy Powerhead ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ - Originally by The Didjits, heavy, fast and powerful, it's the perfect soundtrack to kill yourself with a skateboard. Could have been half a minute shorter (one of the few tracks that get kinda repetative after a while), but still a cool little song.
- What Happened To You? ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ - Story of a drug abusing friend, the only somehwat serious topic among all the Smash angst, so naturally they wrote the most fun track about it. It has a ska lead, and the nicest, friendliest tone from Dexter yet (although soaked with stinging irony). A mostly upbeat, really fun piece with a clear, not overexplained life lesson, just perfect.
- So Alone ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ - Heavy, punky, shorty. A decent filler, has its moments, but everything feels kind of underdeveloped, and it's over before you could really get into it.
- Not The One ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ - Basically Elders with a bit more mature (heh) approach, accusation-free moaning about all the things the previous generations did wrong. The main riff, the melody and the whole song is a bit calmer, somehow more quiet than expected, and it gives off a surprisingly sad vibe.
- >Smash ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ - An anthem against becoming trendy, oh, how much I loved it during my school years! The music itself is a bit too dramatic for these lyrics, and this stains the song with a hint of cheesiness, but it's still a good closer.
Other stuff:
- Change The World proto-intro: Following the spoken outro with another album's promise, drums similar to those from The Blurb, and Geonicde's guitar riffs kick in. This combination will compose the basic sound of Change the World, the last track on the next record.
- Come Out and Play (Acoustic Reprise): After five minutes, this little gem fades in, with that Eastern tune that makes you want to do a little Egyptian dance, now put upon a magical drumbeat that would later reappear in one of the best songs The Offspring has ever recorded.
The overwhelming success of Smash is some kind of paradox, surprised everyone at the time, and it's still a bit hard to understand. It wasn't a feelgood, funny punk record like Dookie, it wasn't sold by boy band image, the singles were hardly happy or romantic, and it had nothing to do with any kind of civil movements, movies, TV shows or freak an hero cases. Probably it just came out at the right time with the right sound.
20 years from now, people might refer to this record as a classic, which is a good thing, it is a neat album. But. Fans sometimes feel like it has come to overshadow everything else the band has ever put out, and that's a valid accusation. There are many great moments in their discography beyond Smash, worthy of anyone's attention. Then again, who got enough time to relax and listen to everything nowadays?
Next time: MOTAAAAA! \m/,
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