Writing a comment on another ‘Stack yesterday, I earwormed myself but good. It persisted through the night, so of course I’m going to share it with you. It took me a minute to find the song on YouTube because I remembered just one distinctive line. It isn’t the song’s title, but is sometimes used as a parenthetical subtitle.
“Come Out and Play (Keep ‘Em Separated)” was the Offspring’s first big hit; it’s off their 1994 album Smash. I remember hearing it a lot on the radio, which meant that I didn’t get a lot of the lyrics. That was but a minor frustration, because the music gave me plenty to like, from the snappy drum intro to the last crunchy chords. Today it’s clear to me that the song is about gang violence. That’s undoubtedly still an issue in many parts of the US; these days, the lines about “your never-ending spree of death and violence and hate is gonna tie your own rope” encompass too many people who seem to accept that as a corollary to their Second Amendment rights.
By 1994, my fantasies of being a DJ were long gone, so I wasn’t focused on details about the Offspring or their discography. Thus, I sidestepped the issues around categorizing them: punk? grunge? metal? alt rock? indie? I didn’t care! And I still don’t care, as long as I can get my fill of “Come Out and Play.”1 For those interested in the matter, the Offspring are categorized as a punk band.
Today I learned via Wikipedia that Smash’s success was unprecedented: it peaked at number four on the Billboard 200 and as of 2015, was RIAA certified as 6x platinum. What’s unprecedented about this is the album was released by independent label Epitaph. It’s still considered the best-selling album released by an independent record label.
Given the number of punk-fan friends I’ve had, I was surprised to discover that I don’t have Smash or any of the Offspring’s albums in my music library. As I seem to be becoming an old punk, I’m torn between exploring their music or that of their peers that I do have. Those include Green Day and Social Distortion. If you have thoughts on this issue, please share in the comments.
yes, this is a nod to the Twisted Sister album of the same name