Song:Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)
Album:Greatest Hits
The Offspring were very successful in the 90s through MTV play of videos like Pretty Fly (For A White Guy) in 1998. They never had a big radio hit but their albums did very well. The Offspring are from Garden Grove, CA led by lead singer, songwriter and guitarist Bryan "Dexter" Holland. They were called Manic Subsidal when Holland formed the band in 1984 with bassist Greg Kreisel and guitarist Kevin "Noodles" Wasserman of the band Clowns of Death. Drummer James Lilja was also from Clowns of Death. Supposedly Wasserman was in the band because he was older and could legally buy booze. The name The Offspring came from a horror movie. Lilja left to attend medical school and was replaced by Ron Welty. After releasing a single and recording a couple of demos, The Offspring released the 1988 album The Offspring on Nemesis Records. Though distribution was limited, it led to a deal with Epitaph Records owned by Brett Gurewitz of Bad Religion. Their first album was Ignition in 1992 followed by Smash in 1994. Smash was a huge success. It was certified 6XPlatinum. It rode on the coattails of bands like Green Day and Rancid and MTV playing The Offspring's videos. They decided to leave Epitaph for Columbia after Gurewitz tried to sell their contract to a major label. This was very controversial within the punk music community at the time. And The Offspring's first album for Columbia, 1997's Ixnay on the Hombre, was a critical and commercial disappointment. They returned to form with the 1998 album Americana and Pretty Fly (For A White Guy) became a big hit mostly through MTV playing the video. Holland says the song is about white kids at the mall trying to act black. The album was certified 5XPlatinum. The Offspring tried to release their 2000 album Conspiracy of One for free on their website to show their support for downloading over the internet. But Columbia threatened legal action so they didn't do that. Ron Welty left in 2003 and for the album Splinter he was replaced by Atom Willard. By this time The Offspring had faded. They left Columbia in 2012. This comp covers their Columbia recordings. The Offspring are supposed to have a new album coming out. but Kriesel was kicked out of the band last year and he's suing them. That is pending. They have been touring but a lot of things are on hold because of the lawsuit. Of course The Offspring is well past their prime of the 90s. Here's the video for Pretty Fly (For A White Guy) by The Offspring.
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