7. “California Cruising (Bumpin’ In My Trunk)” – The Offspring: An Artist A Week/A Song A Day – A History of Alternative Music

7. “Cruising California (Bumpin’ In My Trunk)” – The Offspring

(From the album Days Go By)

2012

By the time The Offspring released their 2012 album Days Go By the alt rock scene they had come from was largely gone and they had become respected elder statesmen in the genre. This might have been a difficult transition for a band that rarely took themselves or their songs too seriously and increasingly had become a party band more than angry punks. However, Days Go By finds The Offspring writing songs that draw on all the various eras of their career while also carefully pushing the boundaries of their sound into some newer corners. The lead single and title track “Days Go By” feels a lot like a lost Foo Fighters song and is pretty good. Opening track “The Future Is Now” would sound fine on the radio alongside the emo bands that were all the rage in 2008 and “Turning Into You” has echoes of the post-grunge crunch of Nickelback (which isn’t as bad as it would sound like it should be). On “Hurting As One” The Offspring even sound a lot like themselves at their Smash era prime. However, it is the second single “Cruising California (Bumpin’ In My Trunk)” that feels most like the band that The Offspring have become. “Cruising California” is, in truth, a pop song with a good beat that only hints at their punk past (although it never sounds like anyone other than The Offspring) and could have just as equally been recorded by Gwen Stefani, Smash Mouth, Snoop Dogg, or any other artist that embodies the warm, summer vibes of southern Califonia. Days Go By has something for fans of all eras and sounds of the band (and maybe even some new ones) but, for good or bad, it’s the party pop of “Cruising California” that seems to be who The Offspring has become. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing as the song is fun and very catchy but it’s also a long way from the work of a band that started out emulating Bad Religion and Social Distortion. Days Go By would be the band’s final album for nine years, not releasing another until 2021’s Let The Bad Times Roll. Another album titled Supercharged has been announced for late 2024.

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2. “Come Out & Play” – The Offspring: An Artist A Week/A Song A Day – A History of Alternative Music

2. “Come Out & Play” – The Offspring

(From the album Smash)

1994

Following the tours in support of Ignition The Offspring went back into the studio to begin work on their third album Smash. In the time since the release of Ignition and the recording of Smash the music scene for a punk band like The Offspring had changed significantly due to the success of Nirvana’s Nevermind. Now, a punk band like The Offspring could aspire to real mainstream success. Indeed, even as Smash was being recorded fellow California punks Green Day and Rancid were finding a degree of mainstream success. However, in spite of this The Offspring changed their sound very little, opting to work with Thom Wilson, the same producer that had helmed Ignition, and following a similar punk blueprint as their earlier work. Some of this was forced on the band due to the relatively small budget they had been given to record the album. In spite of the changing musical trends and potential for more success, Epitaph Records was an independent label that couldn’t invest a lot of money into their bands. Nevertheless, when Smash was released in the spring of 1994 the album’s lead single “Come Out & Play” found success. A punk rock tale of teenage school violence that featured the double hook of a silly snake charmer guitar riff and the Hispanic-accented refrain of “you got to keep ‘em separated” helped the song stick in the memory, while a hard-charging punk rock song with just enough melody to appeal to a mainstream audience served to keep the song from becoming a mere novelty hit. As “Come Out & Play” earned increased airplay on radio and MTV, sales of Smash also increased and soon the album was a genuine hit. 

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