Like much of his origin album, track brings criticism of trivial aspects of United States culture at the time
Often good ideas are simple. Dexter Hollandvocalist and guitarist of Offspringyou know that.
That was exactly the impression that the musician had when the band composed one of his biggest hits. It is about “Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)”track released on the album American(1998).
In conversation with Classic Rock (via Guitar.com), Holland He remembered the hurry to publicize the song, which came out a few days before the album. For Frontman, a fun criticism of white men who liked to seem “cool” was so obvious that he thought: How did no one think about it before?
The artist said:
I felt that something was happening at that time. When we were recording in studio, I felt like: ‘We have to release it now because someone will do it before me. I don’t believe anyone made a song about a white guy trying to be cool. We have to do that ‘. ”
Despite the obviousness of the theme, the initial reception of “Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)” It was quite divided. Holland He recalled the disclosure process when he received the news that opinions about the track were diverse.
I remember doing one of our first press dissemination sessions in Australia and a woman said, ‘We don’t know what to do with this song, half of us love her and half of us hate it.’ I don’t know if that’s what I wanted to hear in my first interview in this cycle! Perhaps it is one of those songs you love or hate, and that makes it more flashy. ”
Happily, Dexter had a positive confirmation shortly thereafter, during a show of the Offspring in Italy. After the event, there was the following interaction with a fan:
This guy with a very strong Italian accent said, ‘I know a guy just like this at my school.’ For me that was the most amazing thing, because I knew guys like this in Orange County. In my head, I could see this in California or perhaps in the United States. But the idea that a guy in Italy had the same reaction, the same feeling, was like, ‘Wow, that’s really a global thing.’
Offspring and American
American(1998), one of the most famous albums of Offspringwas launched in a moment of popularity growth of the band, which took place throughout the 1990s. Ixnay on the Hombre (1997) brought some of the group’s most beloved songs, as “Why Don’t You Get to Job?” and “The Kids Aren’t Alright”besides the mentioned “Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)”.
The album is not exactly conceptual, but has a common theme in most tracks: a critical and realistic view of United States culture, with all its problems. Successful in sales, AmericanHe even gained platinum record in Brazil. He got first place in Charts of Austria, Australia, Greece, Poland, New Zealand, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
+++ Read more: Offspring in Brazil: Noodles talks to RS about shows, popularity and new music
+++ Read more: Dexter Holland, from The Offspring, says I was going to stay ‘
Collaborated: André Luiz Fernandes.
Source: Rollingstone
Earl Johnson is a music writer at Gossipify, known for his in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the industry. A graduate of USC with a degree in Music, he brings years of experience and passion to his writing. He covers the latest releases and trends, always on the lookout for the next big thing in music.
