Americana (The Offspring album)
Americana is the fifth studio album by American rock band the Offspring, released on November 17, 1998, by Columbia Records. Following a worldwide tour in support of Ixnay on the Hombre (1997), the band commenced work on a new album in July 1998.
Americana | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | November 17, 1998 | |||
Recorded | July–September 1998 | |||
Studio | Eldorado Recording, Burbank, California | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 43:37 | |||
Label | Columbia | |||
Producer | Dave Jerden | |||
The Offspring chronology | ||||
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Singles from Americana | ||||
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Americana was a major success, debuting at number six on the US Billboard 200 and selling over 198,000 copies in its first week.[9] It is the band's second best-selling album after their 1994 breakout, Smash, and has sold over ten million copies worldwide.[10][11] Americana spawned the hit singles "Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)", "Why Don't You Get a Job?" and "The Kids Aren't Alright", and was promoted with a worldwide tour and an appearance at the Woodstock '99 festival.
Background and recording
After the unexpected success of Smash (1994), the Offspring were signed to Columbia Records in 1996, releasing the fourth studio album, Ixnay on the Hombre (1997). Although Ixnay on the Hombre was not as well received as Smash, it managed simultaneous gold and platinum certifications in the United States in April 1997. After touring in support of Ixnay on the Hombre, the Offspring began writing new material for their next album. Frontman Dexter Holland told Rolling Stone in August 1998, "I wanted to write a record that wasn't a radical departure from what we've done before. I feel like we have managed to change stuff up from Ignition to Smash to Ixnay. We're in a place where we more or less set the boundaries where we can do a lot of stuff without having to stretch it out farther ... and do a swing song or something."[12]
Recording took place from July to September 1998 at Eldorado Recording Studios with producer Dave Jerden, who also produced Ixnay on the Hombre. Holland told Guitar World, "The idea wasn't to reinvent the wheel. We expanded our horizons on our last record and that's okay, but I don't feel like you have to be a completely different band on every record."[13] While most songs are the regular punk rock the band popularized, others such as the Latino-influenced "Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)" and the psychedelic "Pay the Man" add variety, "so that there's enough in there so people don't get bored".[14] "Pay the Man" was even left off Ixnay on the Hombre for sounding too different from anything else the band had currently made at that time. The structure of the song more resembles progressive rock (having no repetitive sections and no continuous musical theme).[15] Holland also contributed the song "Too Much Drama" to the Vandals' album Hitler Bad, Vandals Good, which was released five months before Americana. The chorus melody is reused on this album on the song "Walla Walla".
Composition
"I was thinking about how American culture is distorted really. It's not Norman Rockwell anymore; it's Jerry Springer. It's not living on the farm, it's going to Burger King. So, I kind of expanded on that and made a lot of the songs kind of vignettes of my version of America in 1998"
—Dexter Holland on Americana's lyrics[14]
Americana contains themes of unhappy American lifestyles. Speaking of the album shortly after its release, Holland explained, "The songs on Americana aren't condemnations, they're short stories about the state of things and what we see going on around us. We want to expose the darker side of our culture. It may look like an episode of Happy Days out there in America, but it feels more like Twin Peaks."[16] He detailed that Americana was not thought right away as a concept album and "this really cool social statement", though once the band recorded a few songs complaining about 1998 America, "then we realized we had a theme".[17]
Holland also explained that Americana served as "a commentary on American culture", satirizing hypocritical lives and political correctness.[18] One of the influences was The Jerry Springer Show, with the band even considering naming the album after the show's news tickers such as "Stripper Wars".[16] A major source of inspiration was seeing the people in Holland's hometown of Huntington Beach, such as the "wiggers" who were mocked in "Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)". Despite dealing with aimlessness and disillusionment, derived from how the generation that had just got to adulthood was having problems in getting jobs and sustaining themselves, Holland declared that "I didn't want it to be a record that made you feel hopeless. At the end of the day I hope that you can get something positive out of it."[19]
Packaging
Artist Frank Kozik was hired to do the artwork for the album, as Holland found that his concert tour posters "had all the connotations we associated with Americana: very glossy, innocent and 1950s, but with a twisted aspect."[16] Kozik, who had known the singer for a long time, was reluctant to work for the band due to the reception his fans would have, eventually demanding $75,000 to do the Americana illustrations. The album's cover art features a blond boy with an orthopedic boot seated on a swing holding a sand flea with a tentacle reaching out to him. Kozik had originally done said illustration for a Nebraskan band, Ritual Device, and reused it as the cover of his book Man's Ruin: The Poster Art Of Frank Kozik.[20] On the booklet, which Holland described as "a little Kozik picture book", every song has its own accompanying illustration.[16]
Some pressings of Americana are also enhanced CDs and contain the karaoke videos of "Staring at the Sun", "Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)" and "Why Don't You Get a Job?", and the previous MTV music videos from its predecessor, Ixnay on the Hombre.
Release and reception
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
The Baltimore Sun | [21] |
Entertainment Weekly | B+[22] |
Los Angeles Times | [23] |
NME | 3/10[24] |
Rolling Stone | [25] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [26] |
Select | 4/5[27] |
Spin | 5/10[28] |
The Village Voice | A−[29] |
Americana was released on November 17, 1998, and peaked at number 2 on the Billboard 200 album chart,[30] the highest position the band has attained as of 2023. Shortly after its release, the album was certified gold and then later platinum.[31]
The album received mixed reviews. Michael Gallucci of AllMusic described the album as a "raucous ride through America as seen through the eyes of a weary, but still optimistic, young kid". Gallucci praised the music as "a hearty combination of poppy punk" and a "blend of salsa and alterna-rock sounds", stating the band's music was taking a different direction. The album received a rating of three out of five stars, while "Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)", "Why Don't You Get a Job?", "The Kids Aren't Alright" and "She's Got Issues" earned the Offspring its heaviest airplay on MTV and radio stations to date.[1] Entertainment Weekly reviewer Dan Snierson considered Americana as post-punk done right, "with crafty yell-odies and winky lyrics".[22] In his review for the Offspring's next album Conspiracy of One, The A.V. Club critic Stephen Thompson called Americana "the unbearable result being the kind of stupidity that thinks it's clever", considering it "bad enough to create a backlash against not only pop-punk, but also novelty songs, guitars, smug thirtysomethings, and the human race."[32]
Americana is the 224th best selling album of all time according to Billboard as of 2009.[33] The album was included in Rock Sound's 101 Modern Classics list at number 79.[34] The album was included at number 23 on Rock Sound's "The 51 Most Essential Pop Punk Albums of All Time" list.[35] NME listed the album as one of "20 Pop Punk Albums Which Will Make You Nostalgic".[36]
The album was named at the 2000 Juno Awards as one of the best-selling albums that year.[37]
Track listing
All songs written and composed by Dexter Holland, except where noted.[38]
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Welcome" | 0:09 |
2. | "Have You Ever" | 3:56 |
3. | "Staring at the Sun" | 2:13 |
4. | "Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)" | 3:08 |
5. | "The Kids Aren't Alright" | 3:00 |
6. | "Feelings" (Parody/cover of Morris Albert's 1975 single) (Morris Albert and Louis Felix-Marie Gaste, lyrical parody by Dexter Holland) | 2:52 |
7. | "She's Got Issues" | 3:48 |
8. | "Walla Walla" | 2:57 |
9. | "The End of the Line" | 3:02 |
10. | "No Brakes" | 2:04 |
11. | "Why Don't You Get a Job?" | 2:52 |
12. | "Americana" | 3:15 |
13. | "Pay the Man" | 10:21 |
Total length: | 43:37 |
- "Pay the Man" ends at 8:10, followed by the hidden track "Pretty Fly (Reprise)" at 9:15. The track is a mariachi reprise of the song "Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)". The online download release of Americana has "Pay the Man" and "Pretty Fly (Reprise)" separately, with the reprise as track 14. The main riff on "Pay the Man", particularly the drum part, is the same as found on the title track of Smash during the acoustic version of "Come Out and Play".
Charts
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
Decade-end charts
|
Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Argentina (CAPIF)[80] | Gold | 30,000^ |
Australia (ARIA)[81] | 5× Platinum | 350,000^ |
Austria (IFPI Austria)[82] | Platinum | 50,000* |
Belgium (BEA)[83] | Gold | 25,000* |
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[84] | Platinum | 250,000* |
Canada (Music Canada)[85] | 8× Platinum | 800,000^ |
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[86] | Platinum | 52,798[86] |
France (SNEP)[87] | 2× Platinum | 600,000* |
Germany (BVMI)[88] | Gold | 250,000^ |
Italy (FIMI)[89] sales since 2009 |
Gold | 25,000‡ |
Japan (RIAJ)[90] | Platinum | 200,000^ |
Mexico (AMPROFON)[91] | Gold | 100,000^ |
Netherlands (NVPI)[92] | Gold | 50,000^ |
New Zealand (RMNZ)[93] | 4× Platinum | 60,000^ |
Norway (IFPI Norway)[94] | Platinum | 50,000* |
Poland (ZPAV)[95] | Platinum | 100,000* |
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[96] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
Sweden (GLF)[97] | 2× Platinum | 160,000^ |
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[98] | Platinum | 50,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI)[99] | Platinum | 300,000^ |
United States (RIAA)[100] | 5× Platinum | 5,000,000^ |
Summaries | ||
Europe (IFPI)[101] | 3× Platinum | 3,000,000* |
Worldwide | — | 10,000,000+[10] |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
Personnel
The Offspring
- Dexter Holland – lead and backing vocals, rhythm guitar
- Noodles – lead guitar, backing vocals
- Greg K. – bass, backing vocals (uncredited for backing vocals)
- Ron Welty – drums
Additional musicians
- Chris "X-13" Higgins – backing vocals, additional vocals on "Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)"
- Heidi Villagran and Nika Frost – additional vocals on "Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)"
- Calvert DeForest - spoken word on "Why Don't You Get a Job?", additional vocals on "Pretty Fly (Reprise)"
- John Mayer – spoken word on "Welcome", additional vocals on "Pretty Fly (Reprise)"
- Davey Havok, Jack Grisham and Jim Lindberg – backing vocals
- Gabrial McNair – horn on "Why Don't You Get a Job?" & "Pretty Fly (Reprise)"
- Alvaro Macias – vihuela on "Why Don't You Get a Job?" & "Pretty Fly (Reprise)"
- Phil Jordan – horn on "Why Don't You Get a Job?" & "Pretty Fly (Reprise)"
- Carlos Goméz – guitar on "Why Don't You Get a Job?" & "Pretty Fly (Reprise)"
- Derrick Davis – flute on "Why Don't You Get a Job?" & "Pretty Fly (Reprise)"
Production
- Dave Jerden – producer, mixing
- Bryan Carlstrom – engineer
- Annette Cisneros – assistant engineer
- Eddy Schreyer – mastering
Artwork
- Sean Evans – art direction
- Justin Beope – artwork
- Frank Kozik – artwork
References
Notes
- Gallucci, Michael. "Americana – The Offspring". AllMusic. Retrieved December 1, 2007.
- Spyder Darling. "Americana in Action: the Offspring at Irving Plaza, 12/8/98 (NY Rock Concert Review)". NY Rock. Archived from the original on 2013-07-31.
- Diehl 2007, pp. 71–72.
- Gemma Tarlach (November 16, 1998). "Offspring finds punk success in mainstream". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. p. 1E.
- "THE OFFSPRING Americana, Columbia". Star-News. November 20, 1998. p. 4D.
- Thompson, Stephen (14 November 2000). "The Offspring: Conspiracy Of One". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
- Chuck Armstrong. "The Offspring to Reissue 'Americana' On Red Vinyl". Diffuser.fm. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
- Peacock, Tim (September 12, 2017). "Heaven Is A Half-Pipe: The Joys Of Skate Punk". uDiscover. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
- Between the Bullets, Billboard
- THE OFFSPRING HISTORY Archived 2015-03-09 at the Wayback Machine offspring.com/thehistory. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
- "The Offspring - Americana". Rockfreaks.net. Retrieved 2012-01-09.
- Turman, Katherine (August 26, 1998). "Offspring Prep for Next Album". Rolling Stone.
- Gill, Chris (November 1998). "The Song Remains the Same". Guitar World.
- Offspring Explores Theme Of 'Americana' in New Columbia Set, Billboard
- "Interviews: The Offspring". 1 January 2009. Archived from the original on 1 January 2009.
- Chonin, Neva (November 22, 1998). "An All-'Americana' Punk Band / The Offspring keep social criticism at the fore of new CD". The San Francisco Chronicle. Frank J. Vega. Retrieved June 20, 2011.
- Norris, Chris (March 1999). "White Punks on Dope". Spin. SPIN Media LLC.
- Dexter Holland's Americana Tour
- How to Survive in Suburbia, Los Angeles Times
- Tobias, Scott (26 January 2000). "Frank Kozik". The A.V. Club.
- Considine, J. D. (November 19, 1998). "The Offspring: Americana (Columbia 69661)". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
- Snierson, Dan (November 20, 1998). "Americana". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 4, 2012.
- Masuo, Sandy (December 3, 1998). "Offspring Grows Musically but Its Themes Remain the Same". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on August 22, 2016. Retrieved October 25, 2012.
- Grogan, Siobhan (November 5, 1998). "The Offspring – Americana". NME. Archived from the original on August 17, 2000. Retrieved August 6, 2016.
- Kot, Greg (November 17, 1998). "The Offspring: Americana". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 16, 2007. Retrieved March 3, 2012.
- Harris, Keith (2004). "The Offspring". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 600–01. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
- Upton, Sam (December 1998). "The Offspring: Americana". Select (102): 99–100.
- Lepage, Mark (January 1999). "The Offspring: Americana". Spin. 15 (1): 114. Retrieved August 6, 2016.
- Christgau, Robert (March 23, 1999). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
- "The Offspring Chart History". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2007-12-01.
- "RIAA Certification (type in "Offspring" in the artist box)". RIAA. Archived from the original on 2007-06-26. Retrieved 2007-12-01.
- Thompson, Stephen (14 November 2000). "The Offspring: Conspiracy Of One". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
- "Billboard Magazine: 300 Best Selling Albums". Billboard. 2009. Retrieved January 31, 2015.
- "Rock Sound's 101 Modern Classics: 101 - 75". Rock Sound Magazine. June 27, 2012. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
- Bird, ed. 2014, p. 71
- "20 Pop Punk Albums Which Will Make You Nostalgic". NME.com. June 9, 2014. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
- Larry LeBlanc (12 February 2000). "Morissette leads Canada's Juno nomination list". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. pp. 45–. ISSN 0006-2510.
- BMI Entry Archived 2015-10-16 at the Wayback Machine
- "Australiancharts.com – The Offspring – Americana". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
- "Austriancharts.at – The Offspring – Americana" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
- "Ultratop.be – The Offspring – Americana" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
- "Ultratop.be – The Offspring – Americana" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
- "The Offspring Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
- "Dutchcharts.nl – The Offspring – Americana" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
- "The Offspring: Americana" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
- "Lescharts.com – The Offspring – Americana". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
- "Offiziellecharts.de – The Offspring – Americana" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
- "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 1999. 19. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
- "Discography The Offspring". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
- "Classifica settimanale WK 8 (dal 19.02.1999 al 25.02.1999)" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
- "アメリカーナ/オフスプリング-リリース-ORICON STYLE-ミュージック" [Highest position and charting weeks for Americana by Offspring]. oricon.co.jp (in Japanese). Original Confidence. Retrieved 2014-03-11.
- "Charts.nz – The Offspring – Americana". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
- "Norwegiancharts.com – The Offspring – Americana". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
- "Polish Charts Database - Search for The Offspring - Americana" Polish Albums Chart.
- "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
- "Swedishcharts.com – The Offspring – Americana". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
- "Swisscharts.com – The Offspring – Americana". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
- "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
- "The Offspring Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
- "ARIA Top 100 Albums for 1998". ARIA. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
- "Year list Album (incl. Collections), 1998" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
- "ARIA Top 100 Albums for 1999". ARIA. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
- "Jahreshitparade Alben 1999" (in German). austriancharts.at. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
- "Jaaroverzichten 1999 – Albums" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved November 9, 2015.
- "Rapports annueles 1999 – Albums" (in French). Ultratop. Retrieved November 9, 2015.
- "RPM 1999: Top 100 CDs". RPM. Archived from the original on October 21, 2012. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
- "TOP20.dk © 1999". Hitlisten. Archived from the original on January 13, 2015. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
- "Jaaroverzichten - Album 1999". DutchCharts.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved November 9, 2015.
- "Europe's Top Albums of 1999". Billboard. December 25, 1999. p. 49. Retrieved July 5, 2021 – via Google Books.
- "Classement Albums – année 1999" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique (SNEP). Archived from the original on September 25, 2012. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
- "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
- "Classifica annuale 1999 (dal 28.12.1998 al 02.01.2000) – Album & Compilation" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
- "Top Selling Albums of 1999". The Official New Zealand Music Chart. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
- "Tabla 13. Los 50 Álbumes Con Mayores Ventas En Las Listas de Ventas de AFYVE en 1999" (in Spanish). AFYVE. p. 204. Retrieved April 27, 2023. Click on the section Música grabada.
- "Year list Album (incl. Collections), 1999" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
- "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1999". Hitparade.ch (in German). Retrieved January 6, 2021.
- "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 1999". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
- "1999 Year-End Chart – Billboard 200". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 11, 2014. Retrieved June 30, 2014.
- Geoff Mayfield (December 25, 1999). 1999 The Year in Music Totally '90s: Diary of a Decade - The listing of Top Pop Albums of the '90s & Hot 100 Singles of the '90s. Billboard. Retrieved October 15, 2010.
- "Discos de oro y platino" (in Spanish). Cámara Argentina de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Archived from the original on July 6, 2011. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
- "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1999 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association.
- "Austrian album certifications – The Offspring – Americana" (in German). IFPI Austria.
- "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – albums 1999". Ultratop. Hung Medien.
- "Brazilian album certifications – The Offspring – Americana" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil.
- "Canadian album certifications – Offspring – Americana". Music Canada.
- "Offspring" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
- "French album certifications – The Offspring – Americana" (in French). InfoDisc. Select THE OFFSPRING and click OK.
- "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (The Offspring; 'Americana')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
- "Italian album certifications – The Offspring – Americana" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved May 2, 2022. Select "2022" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Select "Americana" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Album e Compilation" under "Sezione".
- "RIAJ > The Record > December 1999 > Certified Awards (October 1999)" (PDF). Recording Industry Association of Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved 2014-01-01.
- "Certificaciones" (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Type The Offspring in the box under the ARTISTA column heading and Americana in the box under the TÍTULO column heading.
- "Dutch album certifications – The Offspring – Americana" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Enter Americana in the "Artiest of titel" box.
- "New Zealand album certifications – The Offspring – Americana". Recorded Music NZ.
- "IFPI Norsk platebransje Trofeer 1993–2011" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway.
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- "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (The Offspring; 'Americana')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
- "British album certifications – The Offspring – Americana". British Phonographic Industry.
- "American album certifications – Offspring – Americana". Recording Industry Association of America.
- "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards – 1999". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.
Sources
- Americana (CD liner). The Offspring. Columbia Records. 1998.
{{cite AV media notes}}
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Bibliography
- Bird, Ryan, ed. (September 2014). "The 51 Most Essential Pop Punk Albums of All Time". Rock Sound. London: Freeway Press Inc. (191). ISSN 1465-0185.
- Diehl, Matt (2007). My So-Called Punk: Green Day, Fall Out Boy, The Distillers, Bad Religion---How Neo-Punk Stage-Dived into the Mainstream. St. Martin's Griffin. ISBN 978-0-312-33781-0.
External links
- Official page for the album
- Americana at YouTube (streamed copy where licensed)