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Americana (The Offspring album)

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Untitled

Americana is a concept album and the fifth album by The Offspring, released on November 17, 1998 (see 1998 in music), and has sold more than 11 million copies worldwide. This was their most successful album since their 1994 breakthrough Smash.

Americana is also an Enhanced CD and contains 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. The album's main themes are of unpleasant realities of American life.[citation needed]

Production and marketing

Americana was recorded in 1998 at Eldorado Recording Studio in Burbank, California, with Dave Jerden, who also produced Ixnay on the Hombre.

Reception

Americana was released on November 17, 1998 and peaked at number 2 on the Billboard 200 album chart,[1] the highest position the band attained at the time. Shortly after its release, the album was certified gold and platinum.[2]

The album received positive reviews, Michael Gallucci of All Music Guide described the album as a "raucous ride through America as seen through the eyes of a weary". 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.[3]

Track listing

  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) – 2:51
  7. "She's Got Issues" – 3:48
  8. "Walla Walla" – 2:57
  9. "The End of the Line" – 3:00
  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 (for a White Guy) (Reprise)" at 9:16

Hidden Tracks

The "Pretty Fly (for a White Guy) (Reprise)" hidden track is accessed by rewinding from the beginning index of the "Pay the Man" track. On some versions, the "Pretty Fly (for a White Guy) (Reprise)" hidden track is 1 minute after "Pay the Man". The track is a mariachi reprise of the band's single "Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)" that lasts for only a minute.

Picture booklet references

Although not confirmed by the band to be an intentional effort, the pictures in the CD's booklet represent the lyrics to some of the tracks. Examples:

  • The falling scarecrow, representing the lyric "Falling, I'm Falling" (from "Have You Ever")
  • The bullet going through the windshield of a car while the driver is sweating, representing the lyric "Dodging bullets while your trying to find your way" (from "Staring at the Sun")
  • The young child with a 31 tattoo, representing the lyric "Now he's getting a tattoo, yeah/He's getting ink done/He asked for a '13', but they drew a '31'" (from "Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)")
  • The young child reaching for a gun, with ominous blood near to it, representing the lyric "Jay committed suicide" (from "The Kids Aren't Alright")
  • The woman with butterfly wings holding a baseball bat and using the finger, representing the lyric "You're not very nice" (from "Feelings")
  • The young lady holding her teddy bear, representing the lyric "I'm seeing this girl, and she just might be out of her mind" (from "She's Got Issues")
  • The man sitting in prison with a cigarette, representing the lyric "Goodbye my friend, you've messed up again" (from "Walla Walla")
  • The casket, representing the lyric "When the Pastor's music plays/And that cakset rolls away" (from "The End of the Line")

Trivia

  • On 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 the artist Frank Kozik, it is likely that The Offspring requested this piece of art to be used in the booklet. The font of its band logo from the cover of Americana is also similar to Bad Religion's original logo.
  • "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. However, it was used on Americana. [4]
  • Dexter Holland contributed the song "Too Much Drama" to The Vandals' album Hitler Bad, Vandals Good. The chorus melody is reused on this album on the song "Walla Walla."
  • 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.

Chart positions

Album: North America

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


Album: 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)" The Billboard Hot 100 53
1999 "Why Don't You Get A Job?" The 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 "Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)" Canadian Singles Chart 18
1999 "She's Got Issues" Mainstream Rock Tracks 19
2000 "She's Got Issues" Mainstream Rock Tracks 19


Singles: 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

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 Grimsham- Vocals (background)

References

  1. ^ "Americana's entry at Billboard.com". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2007-12-01.
  2. ^ "RIAA Certification (type in "Offspring" in the artist box)". RIAA. Retrieved 2007-12-01.
  3. ^ "Americana". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 2007-12-01.
  4. ^ Interviews: The Offspring
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