When The Offspring was at the peak of their popularity, I didn’t have much respect for them. To high school me, “Come Out and Play” was just a lousy novelty song about violence and anger. It wasn’t until years later that I stumbled on “She’s Got Issues,” which happened to coincide with my dating a girl with… issues. All of a sudden, these guys seemed like sarcastic geniuses, and I came to respect and relate to lyrics like:
I don’t know why you’re messed up
I don’t know why your whole life is a chore
Just do me a favor
And check your baggage at the door
From there, it was easy to find lots to like in “Self Esteem,” and suddenly even “Come Out and Play” held some appeal. I found myself an unlikely fan of The Offspring and bought subsequent albums with the hope of finding more material that matched whatever self destructive phase I happened to find myself in at the time. Nothing really clicked for me, either because I was getting less self destructive or they were.
And so we find ourselves in 2012, with the lead singer pushing 50. Surely there’s lots to be self destructive about now? Let’s see, we’ve got an album cover with a kid and an old guy — that’s a good start.
I didn’t find the perfect relatable song on this album, but I did find an affinity to the final track, “Slim Pickens Does the Right Thing and Rides the Bomb to Hell.” It has all the hallmarks of a great Offspring song. Tragic relationships (“We’re pouring gasoline, so dance around the fire that we once believed in.”), insistence that someone dances (“Dance, fucker, dance. Let the motherfucker burn! Hey!”) and the obligatory self destruction:
Watch the pulse, it quickens after every little sting
If you’re gonna go to hell
Drink it up, you might as well
Sure, it has nothing to do with anything that’s going on in my life (or anybody else’s, unless they’re really angry that some motherfucker isn’t dancing), but it’s a fun track on a pretty solid album.
Other notables include “Cruising California (Bumpin’ In My Trunk),” which is as catchy as it is ridiculous. The title track (“Days Go By”) is surprisingly earnest, oddly familiar in a non-Offspring sort of way, and a pretty good listen.
Of course, it’s up to you as to whether or not you dance… fucker…