What's the good word?
It's been a beautiful day, here. Relaxed. Hit the farmer's market. Went for a run around the lakes. My better half made four different kinds of salsa from scratch, which means I am full of peppers of all types. Life is good. It's a crisp, clear fall night and I feel good about things. While I was running, another frenetic punk track came on my shuffle that took me back to my former years. It's manic, blasting and full of piss and vinegar. It's also a hell of a single, one that came was released at an odd time. I'm referring to 'All I Want' by The Offspring. Sure, I'm guessing most of you have heard it from its use in the Dreamcast game Crazy Taxi, but I remember being blown away by it when it first came out.
The Offspring are kind of an odd band. They make a very specific kind of music - its punk, no doubt, but it also is kind of static and removed. I don't mean to slag the band at all, I just find them to be playing from a place I don't connect with. I guess I dug Smash when it came out. Their singles are always pretty reliable for a good listen. But they seem to have this middling sense of non-descriptiveness that keeps them from being really distinct. Simply continuing to exist as a band isn't enough to warrant my attention. It ought to be strong, right? Maybe I'm just being a jerk. Anyway, point is I've never been a huge fan of the Offspring, especially once 'Pretty Fly for a White Guy' broke big. It just seemed obnoxious. I did dig them, though, when they were at their most passionate and intense, the rare sincere song breaking through their gimmicky discography.
Released in December of 1996, 'All I Want' was the lead single off their 1997 album Ixnay on the Hombre, an album that didn't really break new ground for the band. They had had a huge success with Smash but this album was a bit more of the same. This song, though, always has struck a nerve with me. It's intense and urgent, somehow more desperate than their other offerings. Maybe it can be traced back to the chord progression, or Dexter Holland's bleak wailing of the title over the refrain. Whatever it is, there is something very vivid happening here. The lyrics speak of desperation and wanting to change life for the better. It's not a grand Bad Religion-esque take on political machinations, but it sounds like one in its instrumentation. The main riffs are definitely in the Epitaph wheelhouse. The vocals, delivered in Holland's every-man, no frills manner, are simple and sincere. The song is short, sweet and powerful.
This isn't the best endorsement for The Offspring, but then again I don't have strong allegiance to the band. They've never really done it for me. This song, though, has always been a bright spot in what I perceive to be a substandard canon. I certainly love my California punk bands, especially on Epitaph, but The Offspring have never made much of an impression on me other than this song. It's fantastic, a vibrant buzz saw cutting through the radio at the time it was released. Now I look back and see it for the great little ditty it was. It mostly gives me a boost as I run these days. Doesn't mean it's a bad song - quite the opposite, in fact. It's fantastic. I just with the band did more like it.
It's been a beautiful day, here. Relaxed. Hit the farmer's market. Went for a run around the lakes. My better half made four different kinds of salsa from scratch, which means I am full of peppers of all types. Life is good. It's a crisp, clear fall night and I feel good about things. While I was running, another frenetic punk track came on my shuffle that took me back to my former years. It's manic, blasting and full of piss and vinegar. It's also a hell of a single, one that came was released at an odd time. I'm referring to 'All I Want' by The Offspring. Sure, I'm guessing most of you have heard it from its use in the Dreamcast game Crazy Taxi, but I remember being blown away by it when it first came out.
