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 | The OffspringIxnay on the Hombre1997 Columbia 
  Review by: AtomicGarden See others by this writer The Offspring (link) Only registered users can post comments 
 
Published on July 26th 2001 I was in an Offspring mood. So I popped in Ignition and Ixnay on the Hombre - two incredible albums that really had gotten me into punk rock when a few years ago. Looking through the reviews index, I noticed all the Offspring albums have at one point or another been reviewed - with the exception of this one and their 1989 self-titled release. I flipped a coin and decided to review this. I always wanted to do a review because I noticed some kid was mentioning how Blink182 were better than The Offspring, and that enraged me. See, this is me enraged. The Offspring had just left Epitaph, because good 'ol Mr. Brett was supposedly trying to control their music and make them "the poster boys of punk rock", which is what Dexter Holland and the rest of The Offspring didn't want. So they signed at Columbia Records for less money - but this didn't stop some people from already calling them sellouts (and boy would they have fun when they later released Americana... insert somewhat bitter smile). Anyway, so what's this album all about? It's a mix of some pop-punk and hardcore punk that The Offspring is so known for. The sound was actually a bit more similar to Ignition, rather than Smash... albeit a tad poppier sounding. The album starts out with very generic Offspring sounding songs. I really don't want to use the word 'generic', but there is no other way to describe it. But trust me, I mean that in the best way possible, because from about 1993-1997, I'd say the generic Offspring song is probabaly the most interesting and best music you would really ever hear on the radio (well, more like 1995-1997 then). What makes this album standout are the singles, which ironically was the reason Americana failed so miserably in the mind of many close-minded punks including myself. What were the singles to Ixnay, you must ask? Gone Away, I Choose, and All I Want. There might have been another, but I'm not positive. Point being, these three songs are fucking incredible and there's nothing else anyone can say to that. Gone Away is one of the saddest songs I've heard in my life, and this is coming from a punk band. I Choose, on the other hand, is a song that features Dexter's incredible songwriting ability. It even took me a little while to understand the true meaning of this song. As for All I Want, that's a very generic punk song. But once again, I use generic in a good sense because, let's face it, everyone loves the good generic punk song about how you hate your family and you just want to live your life.
Another standout song, in my opinion, is Amazed which is the second to last song on the album. It's another tear-jerker! Well, I mean, if you are a very sensitive person. Other songs like Leave it Behind and Change the World help fill this very good track list, which is one of the first and still best punk rock albums I've heard.
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I occasionally listened to the Offspring because of Smash. i hate mr. brett. I also think that gone away is a very sad song it it is extremely sad that ppl make fun of it. He expressed the loss of his wife by writing a song that I personally like very well. It must have been very depressing, especially when that song can still be heard. album that followed "smash"....still some great tracks but on major label so 3 or 4 written for radio play Soundtrack to Crazy Taxi Gone Away. It's the most POWERFUL song I've every heard. It's about Dexter's first wife and mother to his daughter. His wife died in a car accident not long after Smash came out. He wrote this song about her. It makes me so sad, to think about how he must have felt. The pain he had to endure. It sounds stupid maybe...but it's so incredibly heart felt. He wasn't writing for the radio guys...he was writing from his soul. So...I hate when people make fun of that song, because it's so dissrespectful...and it's about something that could kill any of us. good exampel, that good records could be released on majors too.... I haven't dragged this album out and listened to it in years. The only standout song I recall is "Meaning of Life" and the cool Jello Biafra intro (Why, Jello? Why?!) Boo hiss Guerwitz is your pagan god. This album is, in my opinion, Offspring's best. On just the first song you hear their incredible talent with Meaning Of Life. Have you heard their new song? I swear, it sounds exactly like Linkin Park in one place, no joke. They were real influential in the giant blowing-up of punk in '94, but I really think they should've stayed underground. All I Want is a great song. me and my old lady is the only song i still listen to.- fathead It's marriage that ruined them. Damn happiness. offspring's best and last good album. Mota! cool to hate was a good song on this album too, i think that it has one of the best lines ever Unlike you people. I am a die hard Offspring fan. I love all of their albums. Sure the last two are more poppier, but there is still descent punk songs, and during the poppy songs there are punkish-like guitars. the other albums were better, but these are still good. Offspring is great Baaaaaaaaaaaaadddddddddddddddddddd Buy their first 3 albums. This is around the time Offspring hit their slump. Don't even think of buying the new album, even the band is sick of their recent albums. I give S/T, Ignition, and Smash a 10, I'll give this an 8 just cause their live show was still pretty good around this time. This is a great CD..Its just fuckin fast, to the point and shows you that the offspring at least used to be good. Go buy their first 4 albums.. This CD, in my opinion, is the Offspring at their best. Unfortunately, I think that the Offspring at their best is still a lot worse than a ton of bands out there. I really dislike Dexter's voice so that kinda decreases the fun factor for me. This is worth buying, if only for the songs "Meaning of Life," "All I Want," and "Change the World." Wow..that's pretty interesting. I actually thought this was easily the offsprings worst album. Gone Away wouldn't sound out of place on Monster ballads. But hey, if you guys like it, you must really like their other albums. You really got this review right. I adore this album, it's the one I listen to the most out of all of their CDs. From Jello Biafra's introduction, to the intermission, to all the great songs like "Mota" and "All I Want," this CD rules. I put it in a few weeks ago after misplacing it for some time, and was surprised to realize that I still knew every single word. This is a great punk rock album, whether it's the Offspring or not. |
