|
.
|
Offspring finds punk success in mainstream
"Punk rock means never having to say you're sorry."
That's been The Offspring's motto, according to guitarist Kevin "Noodles"
Wasserman. On the eve of the band's fifth release, "Americana" (in stores
Tuesday), Noodles says Offspring is comfortable being a contradiction in terms: a punk
band that has achieved multi-platinum success in the mainstream.
"Americana" may be the equivalent of The Beatles' White Album for the
Southern Californian quartet, and not just because the bouncy chorus to "Why Don't
You Get a Job" borrows liberally from "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da." The 13 tracks
stretch The Offspring musically more than earlier efforts, from a wonderfully bratty cover
of Morris Albert's "Feelings" to the sitar-like grooves of "Pay the
Man." The album's first single, "Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)," parodies
every suburban Wonder Bread kid who's ever tried to convince people -- including himself
-- that he's from the 'hood.
The new album may be their finest yet but, according to Noodles, the band couldn't care
less if "Americana" recaptures the phenomenal success they enjoyed with 1994's
"Smash," which yielded the catchy pop-punk hits "Come Out and Play"
and "Self Esteem."
"As far as commercial success goes, there's not a whole lot you can do about
that," said Noodles. "You have to make the music you make. You can't say, 'Oh,
the kids are into that swing thing, let's add some horns.' "
Topping the charts and achieving rock stardom were never really on the minds of The
Offspring.
"I hate rock stars like Axl Rose and David Lee Roth with the whole ego
thing," he said. "None of us (in Offspring) have let ourselves get out of
hand."
Noodles, along with singer/guitarist Dexter Holland, drummer Ron Welty and bassist Greg
Kriesel, all raised on the dulcet tones of Black Flag and the Dead Kennedys, released
their eponymous debut in 1989 and followed it with "Ignition" in 1993 on the
independent Epitaph label. Both albums were well-received in the punk community, and the
band emerged as a leader in a burgeoning punk revival.
Then, in 1994, The Offspring exploded into the mainstream with "Smash."
Boosted by heavy rotation on radio and MTV, "Smash" sold more than 10 million
copies worldwide and became the best-selling independent album of all time. After clashes
with Epitaph's management, however, The Offspring left for a juicy contract with Sony.
The major label move angered many in the punk community who felt the band was
abandoning their roots. Their major label debut, 1997's "Ixnay on the Hombre,"
did respectably but failed to match their "Smash"-ing success, giving
anti-Offspring contingents something to smirk about.
Noodles shrugged off the accusations of selling out: "We're the same four guys who
piled into Dexter's van and drove across the country, playing gigs when nobody would come.
We're not punk enough for some people, but we are punk."
Like The Clash two decades ago, The Offspring represent a rare punk-pop harmonic
convergence: their music is in-your-face enough to please the moshing masses, but doesn't
scare away mainstream listeners. Working over bedrock-like rhythms, guitarists Noodles and
Holland flirt with thrashy chords but never lose the melody. Holland delivers
tongue-in-cheek observations about modern society in a deadpan reminiscent of early Gordon
Gano. And, unlike many more hardcore acts, Offspring's lyrics are usually intelligible.
On "Americana," The Offspring take aim at what they've called the "freak
show" of today's pop-culture landscape, where talk shows featuring society's most
wretched are considered entertainment.
"It's a freeway chase mentality, a morbid curiosity that absorbs us (and makes us)
want to watch," said Noodles. "Take 'Jerry Springer.' These people are car
wrecks waiting to happen . . . (but) they're really just extreme examples of common
problems, God bless 'em. We wanted to counterbalance the Norman Rockwellian America with
what we really see."
As The Offspring launch a North American tour, which swings through Milwaukee Nov. 30,
Noodles reduced the band's outlook to punkish simplicity: "We have a good time doing
this. We just really love playing music."
© Gemma Tarlach
We can't dance either
Noel Gallagher: Thinking of packing in live singing Oasis songwriter Noel Gallagher says he cannot sing or play the guitar well - and is thinking of giving them up.
But refusing to sing live is also a way of getting brother Liam to turn up for concerts, he told to NME. "I'm sick of doing backing vocals live," he said.
"I've actually realised I can't sing! I'm not doing any harmonies on the demos I've done. Obviously, if I don't do any harmonies it means Liam's got to turn up for gigs, because I won't have a microphone," he told the music weekly.
Liam Gallagher: Lead vocalist, but nearly didn't sing on WonderwallHe also said he was fed up with playing lead guitar, his other job on stage.
"I've never considered myself a very good guitarist. I always end up playing the same guitar solo over different songs, and hoping no-one will notice."
Noel, 31, has had to step in for wayward Liam several times on tour, including when he backed out of a special for MTV and when he stormed off a flight to the United States to "look for a house". He also told NME his of his continuing hatred for the Spice Girls.
He refused to join his heroes The Faces on stage for an ITV tribute to Rod Stewart because it would mean performing with Emma Bunton. The group were to reform to sing the Oasis song Cigarettes and Alcohol, with Noel joining them.
Emma Bunton: Noel refused to perform with Baby Spice
He said: "They wanted us to do that Audience With Rod Stewart. Of course, I was well up for it until I found out that wotsit, Baby Spice, was going to be on it". "No way! No, no, no! So I decided to watch it on telly."
A collection of Oasis' B-sides, The Masterplan, has just been released, and Noel added the group's most well-known song, Wonderwall, was nearly relegated to a B-side - with him singing lead vocals.
He said: "Imagine if Wonderwall had been a B-side! We would not be here now, I tell you that. "I always wanted to sing Wonderwall, but I am glad he [Liam] sang it because he sings better than I do."
Click Here To Read More Music News....
|
.
|
