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{{Unreferenced|date=August 2007}}
{{Infobox album| <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Albums -->
{{Infobox album| <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Albums -->
| Name = Americana |
| Name = Americana |

Revision as of 01:02, 15 February 2011

Untitled

Americana is the fifth studio album by the American punk rock band The Offspring, released on November 17, 1998 (see 1998 in music). Following a worldwide tour in support of its previous album, Ixnay on the Hombre (1997), The Offspring commenced work on a new album. The music on the album marked a change, expanding their sound and exploring more alternative rock/pop punk/ska punk sounds.

Americana was a huge success, debuting at number two with around 175,000 copies sold in its first week[1] on the Billboard 200, becoming the Offspring's highest ever chart position. It is the band's second best selling album. The Offspring supported the album with a worldwide tour and appeared at the infamous Woodstock 1999, where their performance was broadcast live on pay-per-view television. Americana has sold more than 15 million records worldwide[2], while going platinum 5x in the United States. The album contains the hit singles "Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)", "Why Don't You Get a Job?", "The Kids Aren't Alright" and "She's Got Issues". The singles (except "She's Got Issues") can also be heard on the band's Greatest Hits compilation.

Americana was nominated for the 1999 MTV Europe Music Awards for Best Album, but lost to Boyzone's By Request.

Background and recording

After the unexpected success of Smash (1994), The Offspring were signed to Columbia Records in 1996, releasing the fourth studio album Ixnay on the Hombre (1997) to moderate success. Although Ixnay on the Hombre was not as well received as Smash, it managed simultaneous gold and platinum certification in the United States in April 1997. After touring in support of Ixnay on the Hombre, The Offspring began writing new material for their next album. Frontman Dexter Holland told Rolling Stone in August 1998 that, "I wanted to write a record that wasn't a radical departure from what we've done before. I feel like we have managed to change stuff up from Ignition to Smash to Ixnay. We're in a place where we more or less set the boundaries where we can do a lot of stuff without having to stretch it out farther ... and do a swing song or something."[3] Recording took place from July to September 1998 at Eldorado Recording Studios with producer Dave Jerden, who also produced Ixnay on the Hombre. On the album's direction, Holland told Guitar World, "The idea wasn't to reinvent the wheel. We expanded our horizons on our last record and that's okay, but I don't feel like you have to be a completely different band on ever record."[4]

One of the songs, "Pay the Man", was actually recorded during the making of Ixnay on the Hombre, but was left out because it sounded too different from anything else the band had currently made, in a dark, psychedelic rock/heavy metal sound, comparable to stoner rock. The structure of the song more resembles progressive rock (having no repetitive sections, and no continuous musical theme).[5] Holland also contributed the song "Too Much Drama" to The Vandals' album Hitler Bad, Vandals Good, which was released five months before Americana. The chorus melody is reused on this album on the song "Walla Walla."

Release and reception

Americana was released on November 17, 1998 and peaked at number 2 on the Billboard 200 album chart,[6] the highest position the band attained at the time, and so their highest thus far. Shortly after its release, the album was certified gold and then later platinum.[7]

The album received positive reviews, Michael Gallucci of Allmusic described the album as a "raucous ride through America as seen through the eyes of a weary, but still optimistic, young kid". Gallucci praised the music as "a hearty combination of poppy punk" and a "blend of salsa and alterna-rock sounds", stating the band's music was taking a different direction. The album received a rating of three out of five stars, while "Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)", "Why Don't You Get a Job?", "The Kids Aren't Alright" and "She's Got Issues" earned The Offspring its heaviest airplay on MTV and radio stations to date.[8]

Packaging

The album's cover art, illustrated by Frank Kozik, features a blonde boy seated on a swing holding a lobster/bee creature. Pictures in the booklet are also illustrations for the songs and these pictures are also used on the single covers. In the booklet of the album, where the lyrics to "Pay the Man" are, there is an image that is extremely similar to a design of a poster for the No Control tour, featuring Bad Religion. Considering both pieces of art are by Kozik, it is likely that The Offspring requested this piece of art to be used in the booklet. The typeface used for the band's logo on the album cover, Friz Quadrata bold, has also been used by Bad Religion.

Some pressings of Americana are also enhanced CDs and contain the karaoke videos of "Staring at the Sun", "Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)" and "Why Don't You Get a Job?", and the previous MTV music videos from its predecessor, Ixnay on the Hombre. Many of the lyrics are of unpleasant realities of American life.

Track listing

All songs written by the Offspring except where noted.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Welcome" 0:09
2."Have You Ever" 3:56
3."Staring at the Sun" 2:13
4."Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)" 3:08
5."The Kids Aren't Alright" 3:00
6."Feelings" (Parody/cover of Morris Albert's 1975 single)Morris Albert and Louis Felix-Marie Gaste, with lyrical parody by Dexter Holland2:51
7."She's Got Issues" 3:48
8."Walla Walla" 2:57
9."The End of the Line" 2:59
10."No Brakes" 2:06
11."Why Don't You Get a Job?" 2:52
12."Americana" 3:15
13."Pay the Man" 10:19
  • "Pay the Man" ends at 8:08, followed by the hidden track "Pretty Fly (Reprise)" at 9:16. The main drum riff on "Pay the Man" is the same drum riff found on the title track of Smash during the acoustic version of "Come Out and Play". The track is a mariachi reprise of the song "Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)" that lasts for only a minute.

Notes

  • "Walla Walla" is an alternative name for Washington State Penitentiary.
  • Between the tracks "The End of the Line" and "No Brakes", there is an interlude with a telemarketing attendant saying "Thank you. One moment please".
  • A clip from the song "Americana," specifically the introduction, was used in the Michael Moore film Bowling for Columbine.
  • Between the tracks "Why Don't You Get a Job?" and "Americana" is the line "Hey, that's something everyone can enjoy", spoken by Calvert DeForest.
  • The lyrics in the booklet for the song "Americana" leaves out the line "Well, fuck you" and the interjection "but I wanna fuck it up" after "so don't blame me, I just work here." The CD also does not feature a Parental Advisory sticker, despite the fact that other profanities were kept in the booklet.
  • The song "Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)" features the same first 2 seconds as the Def Leppard song "Rock of Ages" from their 1983 album Pyromania.[9]
  • The song "Americana" features a stutter to the lyric "generation" at 1:53, possibly a reference to The Who's "My Generation".

In the booklet for the album. The image for the song "Pay the Man" is equally similar to the image seen in a concert tour poster for the "No Control" album tour by American Hardcore punk band Bad Religion.

Chart positions

Album

North America

Albums - Billboard (North America)
Year Chart Position
1999 U.S. Billboard 200 2
1999 Top Canadian Albums 3

Australia

Albums - ARIA (Australia)
Year Chart Position
1999 Australian ARIA Albums Chart 1

Singles

North America

Singles - Billboard (North America)
Year Single Chart Position
1998 "Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)" Modern Rock Tracks 3
1999 "Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)" U.S. Billboard Hot 100 53
1999 "Why Don't You Get a Job?" U.S. Billboard Hot 100 74
1999 "Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)" Mainstream Rock Tracks 5
1999 "Why Don't You Get a Job?" Mainstream Rock Tracks 10
1999 "She's Got Issues" Modern Rock Tracks 11
1999 "The Kids Aren't Alright" Modern Rock Tracks 6
1999 "The Kids Aren't Alright" Mainstream Rock Tracks 11
1999 "Why Don't You Get a Job?" Modern Rock Tracks 4
1999 "Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)" Rhythmic Top 40 31
1999 "Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)" Top 40 Mainstream 13
1999 "Why Don't You Get a Job?" Top 40 Mainstream 21
1999 "Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)" Top 40 Tracks 36
1999 "She's Got Issues" Mainstream Rock Tracks 19
2000 "She's Got Issues" Mainstream Rock Tracks 19

Australia

Singles - ARIA (Australia)
Year Single Chart Position
1998 "Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)" Australian ARIA Singles Chart 1
1999 "Why Don't You Get a Job?" Australian ARIA Singles Chart 2

End of decade charts

Chart (1990-1999) Position
U.S. Billboard 200[10] 75

Sales

Chart (1998-1999) Peak
position 		Certification Sales
Australian Albums Chart[11] 1 5x Platinum[12] 350,000+
Austrian Albums Chart[11] 1 Platinum[13] 20,000+
Brazilian Albums Chart[14] Platinum 250,000+
Belgium Albums Chart[11] 4 2x Platinum[15] 60,000+
Canadian Albums Chart[8] 3 8x Platinum[16] 800,000+
Finnish Albums Chart[11] 2 Platinum[17] 52,798+[18]
French Albums Chart[11] 2 2x Platinum 400,000
German Albums Chart[19] 5 Platinum[20] 200,000+
Japanese Albums Chart[21] 1 4x Platinum[22] 800,000+
Mexican Albums Chart 3 Gold[23] 100,000+
Netherlands Albums Chart[11] 6 Gold[24] 25,000+
New Zealand Albums Chart[11] 1 5x Platinum[25] 75,000+
Norsktoppen[11] 2 Platinum[26] 30,000+
Polish Albums Chart[27] 1 Platinum[28] 30,000+
Swedish Albums Chart[11] 1 2x Platinum[29] 80,000+
Swiss Albums Chart[11] 5 Platinum[30] 50,000+
UK Albums Chart[31] 10 Platinum[32] 300,000+
U.S. Billboard 200[8] 2 5x Platinum[33] 5,000,000+

Personnel

The Offspring

Other musicians

  • Carlos Gomez - Guitar
  • Bryan Carlstrom - Engineer
  • Annette Cisneros - Assistant Engineer
  • Derrick Davis - Flute
  • Higgins - Vocals (background)
  • Dave Jerden - Producer, Mixing
  • Eddy Schreyer - Mastering
  • Sean Evans - Art Direction
  • Frank Kozik - Artwork
  • Gabriel McNair - Horn
  • John Mayer - Vocals
  • Justin Beope - Artwork
  • Alvaro Macias - Biguela
  • Phil Jordan - Horn
  • Davey Havok- Vocals (background)
  • Jack Grisham- Vocals (background)

References

General references

  • Americana (Media notes). Columbia Records. 1998. {{cite AV media notes}}: |format= requires |url= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameters: |publisherid=, |mbid=, and |notestitle= (help); Unknown parameter |albumlink= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |bandname= ignored (help)

Notes

  1. ^ [1]
  2. ^ [2]
  3. ^ Turman, Katherine (1998). "Offspring Prep for Next Album". Rolling Stone. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  4. ^ Gill, Chris (1998). "The Song Remains the Same". Guitar World. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  5. ^ Interviews: The Offspring
  6. ^ "Americana's entry at Billboard.com". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2007-12-01. [dead link]
  7. ^ "RIAA Certification (type in "Offspring" in the artist box)". RIAA. Retrieved 2007-12-01.
  8. ^ a b c "Americana". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 2007-12-01. Cite error: The named reference "allmusic" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  9. ^ http://www.funtrivia.com/askft/Question74100.html
  10. ^ Geoff Mayfield (December 25, 1999). "1999 The Year in Music Totally '90s: Diary of a Decade - The listing of Top Pop Albums of the '90s & Hot 100 Singles of the '90s". Billboard. Retrieved October 15, 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Americana - Chart Positions" HitParade.ch.
  12. ^ "ARIA Charts - Accreditations - 1998 Albums" Australian Recording Industry Association.
  13. ^ "IFPI - Austria - Search for Offspring" IFPI Austria.
  14. ^ http://abpd.org.br/certificados_interna.asp?sArtista=The%20Offspring
  15. ^ "BEA Database" Belgian Entertainment Association.
  16. ^ "CRIA Database - Search for Offspring" Canadian Recording Industry Association.
  17. ^ [http://ifpi.fi/tilastot/artistit/offspring Kulta- ja platinalevyt IFPI.fi IFPI Finland.
  18. ^ "The Offspring Albums - Total Sales and Certifications" IFPI Finland - Certifications.
  19. ^ "Media Control Charts - The Offspring" Media Control Charts.
  20. ^ Template:Cite gold platin
  21. ^ "Oricon Album Charts Search for The Offspring" Oricon.
  22. ^ "RIAJ Database - Search for The Offspring - Americana" Recording Industry Association of Japan.
  23. ^ "Amprofon Database - Search for Offspring" Mexican Association of Producers of Phonograms and Videograms.
  24. ^ "NVPI Database - Search for Offspring" The Dutch Association of Producers and Importers of image- and sound bearers.
  25. ^ "RIANZ Charts - Search for The Offspring - Americana" Recording Industry Association of New Zealand.
  26. ^ "IFPI - Norway - Search for Offspring" IFPI Norway.
  27. ^ "Polish Charts Database - Search for The Offspring - Americana" Polish Albums Chart.
  28. ^ "ZPAV Database - Search for OFFSPRING" IFPI Norway.
  29. ^ "IFPI - Sweden - Search for Offspring" IFPI Sweden.
  30. ^ "IFPI - Switzerland - Certifications for The Offspring" Hitparade.
  31. ^ "Chart Log UK (1994–2006) The O – Ozric Tentacles" Zobbel.
  32. ^ "BPI Database - Statistics - Certified Awards - Search for Offspring" British Phonographic Industry.
  33. ^ "RIAA Database Search for Offspring" Recording Industry Association of America.
Preceded by Australian ARIA Albums Chart number-one album
January 4 - February 7, 1999 		Succeeded by
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