Quote:
Originally Posted by SoundgardenRocks
Ok, so Dookie is only the real essential from them? When it comes to Punk Pop, most people tell me the essentials are Smash and Dookie. Are there any other albums by Green Day and Offspring that are essential? Do you really think Americana and American Idiot are worth it? Warning? PopPunk by other bands?
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I honestly think that if you want a solid pop punk album from Green Day and The Offspring you need to look beyond their big success albums and look to their followups,
Insomniac (1995) and
Ixnay on the Hombre (1997) respectively.
Insomniac is a bit heavier in sound and has some pretty decent gallows humor about it, particularly the song "Brat", about waiting for your rich parents to die so you can get your inheritance. It didn't have as many radio hits as
Dookie (1994) but I think it's far more solid as an album as opposed to
Dookie's collection of radio hits and filler. It also has my favorite Green Day track on it, "Stuart and the Ave." It's a catchy fun album that had the unfair task of living up to an album that spawned 4 instant '90's classics that are fondly remembered by anyone listening to rock radio at that time, and 1 that is really only remembered by fans.
As far as
Ixnay on the Hombre is concerned, it's a pretty polarizing album (for whatever reason). It was their first album on a major label, so I'm sure that led to some fans of
Smash (1994) instantly disliking it because of that superficial fact. It's quite a bit lighter in tone than
Smash was, with a lot more humor, specifically the songs "Mota", "My & My Old Lady", and "Cool To Hate", which is a big middle finger to the misanthropic and cynical attitudes attached to punk. That said though, this album probably has The Offspring's most serious and best song, "Gone Away" which was released as a single and deals with loss. It really is a song that creates a contrast on the album and even people who dislike the album will say that "Gone Away" is a good song.
Both albums had the difficult task of living up to instant classics that nobody predicted would be as popular as they were when they came out. That kind of pressure is incredibly hard to live up to, but I think both bands responded like champs and left worthy followups that need a deeper examination than just another list of radio hits.
Here's a few of the songs from each album that I think really stand out.
Incidentally, if you like bass guitar then you'll like both albums.