The Offspring

The post-Nirvana ‘90s saw all manner of freaks crop up from the underground and make a bid for MTV glory, but no one could’ve predicted that the biggest-selling independent album of the era would come from these skate-punk pranksters. Originally formed by frontman Dexter Holland and bassist Greg K. in Orange County circa 1984, The Offspring (né Manic Subsidal) spent nearly a decade in the SoCal hardcore trenches before blindsiding the alterna-nation with “Come Out and Play”, a muscular rocker about gangland violence that nonetheless boasted a quirky, cheeky appeal thanks to guitarist Noodles’ snake-charming lick and a shout-it-out catchphrase delivered in a faux-Latino accent. That song served as the centrepiece of the group’s third album, Smash, whose equally potent follow-up singles “Gotta Get Away” and “Self Esteem” further mined the middle ground between circle-pit punk and hooky hard rock. Released in the spring of 1994, Smash blasted through the mainstream pop-punk portal that had been pried open by fellow Californians Green Day, and went on to sell a historic 11 million copies for indie label Epitaph Records. But as Green Day turned more serious, The Offspring thrived by playing the court jesters on 1998’s blockbuster Americana, mocking white kids’ appropriation of gangsta-rap culture on “Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)” and spinning the ska-tinged anti-freeloader anthem “Why Don’t You Get a Job?” into the Warped Tour generation’s “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da”. Firmly ensconced among the world’s biggest alt-rock bands, The Offspring could afford to record more sporadically in the 21st century. But as their 2007 disco-grooved mega-hit “You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid” and their 2015 chart-topping glam stomper “Coming for You” attest, whenever this group decides to come out and play, they play to win.