History Music / TheOffspring

* ThreeChordsAndTheTruth: They tend to get chewed out for recycling their chord progressions. Example: "Self Esteem" is only a half step off from "The Kids Aren't Alright", and the same as "you're gonna go far kid"

* RepurposedPopSong: ESPN uses "All I Want" and "You're Gonna Go Far Kid" in adverts for their college basketball coverage.

* {{Plagiarism}}: "Come Out and Play" caused the band some trouble in 1994 when Posh Boy Records owner Robbie Fields submitted a claim to Epitaph Records accusing them of having plagiarised the Arabian melody from Agent Orange's "Bloodstains" (a song Dexter Holland had previously admitted to being a big fan of, claiming it was the song that sparked his interest in PunkRock). However, Epitaph rejected the claim, and Fields refused to file a lawsuit. The Offspring's labelmates The Vandals mocked the accusations in the song "Aging Orange", and Frank Agnew of The Adolescents also criticised the claim as "real petty".

* {{Plagiarism}}: "Come Out and Play" caused the band some trouble in 1994 when Mike Palm of Agent Orange accused them of stealing the riff from his band's "Bloodstains" for their song, and threatened to file a lawsuit.

The band's constant members have been Dexter Holland (vocals, guitar), Kevin "Noodles" Wasserman (guitar, backing vocals, NerdGlasses) and Gregory "Greg K." Kriesel (bass, backing vocals). Their best-known drummer was Ron Welty, who was in the band from 1987 to 2003. Afterwards they cycled through a few extra drummers before settling on Pete Parada, who has been in the band since 2007. Amusingly, Wasserman was the janitor at Holland and Kriesel's high school, and he was initially brought into the band because he was 21 years old and could buy everybody else beer.

The band's constant members have been Dexter Holland (vocals, guitar), Kevin "Noodles" Wasserman (guitar, backing vocals, NerdGlasses) and Gregory "Greg K." Kriesel (bass, backing vocals). Their best-known drummer was Ron Welty, who was in the band from 1987 to 2003. Afterwards they cycled through a few extra drummers before settling on Pete Parada, who has been in the band since 2007. Amusingly, Wasserman was the janitor at the school Holland and Kriesel attended, and he was initially brought into the band because he was 21 years old and could buy everybody else beer.

** Also "Bad Habit", which includes the gem "You stupid, dumbshit, Goddamn motherfucker!"

* ConceptAlbum: ''Americana'' is about the degradation of America. ''Smash'' is seen as this because almost all of its songs are about violence in some form or the other[[hottip:*:violence against others on "Bad Habit", "Killboy Powerhead" and "Come Out and Play", violence against the world on "Not the One" and "Genocide", being victimised on "Self Esteem" and "Gotta Get Away", violence against the self on "What Happened to You?", and so on)]], an interpretation reinforced by the album and accompanying singles' cover art which depicts distorted X-rays of skeletons. Meanwhile, ''Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace'' is often interpreted as the journey of a school shooter.

* ConceptAlbum: ''Americana'' is about the degradation of America. ''Smash'' is sometimes interpreted as this because almost all of its songs are about violence in some form or the other. Meanwhile, ''Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace'' is often interpreted as the journey of a school shooter.

* ConceptAlbum: ''Americana'' is about the degradation of America. ''Smash'' is sometimes interpreted as this because almost all of its songs are about violence in some form or the other.

* DrugsAreBad: "Mota" which is about a day in a stoner's life, and "What (in the world) happened to you", which is about a friend who is trying to get his friend to quit.
* EpicRocking: "Pay the Man".

* ThreeChordsAndTheTruth: They tend to get chewed out for recycling their chord progressions. Example: "self esteem" is only a half step off from "the kids aren't alright", and the same as "you're gonna go far kid"

** "Why Don't You Get a Job?" is an excellent example of this: a rather happy song about people annoyed by their mooching spouses.

* RapeAsComedy: "When You're In Prison".

The Offspring are a popular punk-rock band from Orange County, California. They formed in 1984 and released their first album, self-titled, in 1989. They have made eight albums in total and are working on a ninth. Credited along with GreenDay and a few others with helping to bring punk rock into the mainstream. Their 1994 album ''Smash'' was their biggest commercial success and remains the highest-selling album ever released on an independent label, having sold over 16 million copies.

Their mostly punk music contains elements of [[PopPunk pop]], {{grunge}}, [[Music/HeavyMetal metal]] and {{ska}}. Lyrical topics are very wide-ranging; one of their most famous songs, "Self Esteem", is about a personal relationship involving an ExtremeDoormat LoveMartyr, but they also released a concept album dedicated to the degradation of America, for example.

* ''[[GreatestHitsAlbum Greatest Hits]]'' (2005)

* AlbumTitleDrop - [[InvertedTrope Inverted]] in the album ''Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace'' - the title was taken from the title of one song and the second line of another ("Fix You").
* BerserkButton - "Bad Habit"
* BlackSheepHit - "Kristy, Are You Doing Okay?"
* BodyHorror - The video for "The Kids Aren't Alright" transitions between characters by having them coming out of the previous person's body.
* CensoredTitle - "Stuff is Messed Up". The chorus actually says "Shit is fucked up"
* TheChessmaster - "You're Gonna Go Far, Kid"
* ClusterFBomb + PrecisionFStrike - A lot. ''Conspiracy of One'' became notable since it was their first album to lack an F-bomb.

* ConceptAlbum - ''Americana'' is about the degradation of America. ''Smash'' is sometimes interpreted as this because almost all of its songs are about violence in some form or the other.

** Done by Jello Biafra of the DeadKennedys, no less
* CorruptTheCutie - "Want You Bad"
* CoverVersion - "Killboy Powerhead" by The Didjits, on ''Smash'', and "Next to You" by ThePolice in the GreatestHitsAlbum (as a HiddenTrack). As well as a crapton of random covers on their singles albums and rare [=EPs=]. Additionally, "Feelings" from ''Americana'' is a parodic cover of Morris Albert, with [[TheCoverChangesTheMeaning lyrics rewritten to be about hatred instead of love]].

* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: The girl's movements with a beer can at the end of the "Want You Bad" video, and the guy's reaction. Doesn't help that she ends up covered in white from the [[DoubleEntendre eruption.]]
* DrivesLikeCrazy: the reason the narrator of "Bad Habit" is AxCrazy.

* LongRunnerLineUp: The lineup of Dexter Holland, Kevin "Noodles" Wasserman, Gregory "Greg K." Kriesel, and Ron Welty lasted from 1987 (when Welty joined) until 2003 (when he quit)--16 years.

* MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness - Usually range from 4 to 7 ("Kristy, Are You Doing OK?" is arguably a 3).
* MurderIsTheBestSolution - "Hammerhead"
* MurderBallad - "Beheaded"
* OurLawyersAdvisedThisTrope - "Disclaimer".
* PigLatin - ''Ixnay on the [[GratuitousSpanish Hombre]]'' (as Dexter explained: "fuck TheMan")
* PrettyFlyForAWhiteGuy: The TropeNamer.

* PrisonRape - "When You're In Prison"
* RapeAsComedy - "When You're In Prison"
* RemonstratingWithAGun - "Bad Habit".

* SarcasmMode - most often.

* ShoutOut: "The Kids Aren't Alright" references the song "The Kids Are Alright" by TheWho and more or less presents the exact opposite message of that song.
* SophisticatedAsHell - "When You're In Prison"
* StageName - Dexter's first name is Bryan, Noodles is Kevin Wasserman, Gregory Kriesel shortens his name to Greg K... and one of the drummers was Atom Willard (who only played with the band in tours, not studio albums).
* StalkerWithACrush - "Special Delivery"
* StepfordSuburbia - "The Kids Aren't Alright". Most of its album, ''Americana'', also fits.
* StuffBlowingUp - The video of "Want You Bad", where everything blows up in bubbles.

* TomatoSurprise - "Hammerhead" [[spoiler: The lyrics make it sound like a Cop or a Soldier, but the last verse reveals it is a [[AxesAtSchool school shooter]].]]
** The video changes this somewhat. [[spoiler: The video indicates it may be this combined with a tract on war. The first half shows soldiers climbing a pile of Military SUV's (simulatinhg the tough training they go through), saluting a General (showing their loyalty and trust), then allowing the General to push them off to their deaths (the throwing away of expensive training and irreplaceable human life in war). And the very end shows several animals, (a donkey, a bear, an elephant, and a camel if I remember correctly) carrying missiles on their backs, apparently representing....''something.'']]

* TroublingUnchildlikeBehaviour - The armed gangs of schoolkids killing each other in "Come Out And Play" and all of "The Kids Aren't Alright."
* UnwantedSpouse - "Why Don't You Get a Job?"
* {{Wangst}} - "She's Got Issues" chews out the titular girl for this.[[invoked]]

** Of course "All I Want" was also famously on the soundtrack for the original Crazy Taxi

* TomatoSurprise - "Hammerhead" [[spoiler: The lyrics make it sound like a Cop or a Soldier, but the last verse reveals it is a [[AxesInSchool school shooter]].]]

Their mostly punk music contains elements of [[PopPunk pop]], {{grunge}}, [[HeavyMetal metal]] and {{ska}}. Lyrical topics are very wide-ranging; one of their most famous songs, "Self Esteem", is about a personal relationship involving an ExtremeDoormat LoveMartyr, but they also released a concept album dedicated to the degradation of America, for example.

* RepurposedPopSong: ESPN uses "All I Want" and "You're gonna go far kid" in adverts for their college basketball coverage.

** The video changes this somewhat. [[spoiler: The video indicates it may be this combined with a tract on war. The first half shows soldiers climbing a pile of Military SUV's (simulating the tough training they go through), saluting a General (showing their loyalty and trust), then allowing the General to push them off to their deaths (the throwing away of expensive training and irreplaceable human life in war). And the very end shows several animals, (a donkey, a bear, an elephant, and a camel if I remember correctly) carrying missiles on their backs, apparently representing....''something.'']]

* SampledUp - "[[AsLongAsItSoundsForeign Gunter glieben glauchen globen]]" is from DefLeppard's song "Rock of Ages". But, if you're too young to remember it (or haven't known the song before), you'll most inevitably associate it with "Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)".
* SarcasmMode - most often

* TomatoSurprise - "Hammerhead" [[spoiler: The lyrics make it sound like a Cop or a Soldier, but the last verse reveals it is a school shooter.]]

* TeensAreMonster[=/=]YouthIsWastedOnTheDumb: Several of their songs, most notably "Come Out And Play", which deals with gang violence ("You gotta keep'em separated") and "Walla Walla", which is about a young offender who's finally going away ("Slap on the wrist--not this time!")

* DrugsAreBad