WORST Single By Green Day or the Offspring

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Well, it's only fair. My money's on "Original Prankster," the song whose "Featuring Redman" tag prompted my roommate to finally declare, "Redman needs to get a fucking job."

Poll Results

OptionVotes
OS: Pretty Fly (For a White Guy) 21
GD: Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life) 9
OS: Original Prankster 9
OS: Why Don't You Get a Job? 8
OS: Hit That 5
GD: Wake Me Up When September Ends 3
GD: Basket Case 2
GD: The Saints Are Coming (with U2) 2
OS: Self Esteem 2
OS: Defy You 2
GD: Warning 1
OS: Come Out and Play 1
GD: The Simpsons Theme 1
GD: American Idiot 1
OS: She's Got Issues 1
OS: The Kids Aren't Alright 0
OS: Can't Repeat 0
OS: Spare Me The Details 0
OS: Gotta Get Away 0
OS: (Can't Get My) Head Around You 0
OS: Smash It Up 0
OS: All I Want 0
OS: Million Miles Away 0
OS: Want You Bad 0
OS: Gone Away 0
OS: The Meaning of Life 0
OS: I Choose 0
OS: Next to You0
OS: Blackball/I'll Be Waiting 0
GD: Working Class Hero 0
GD: Walking Contradiction 0
GD: Brain Stew/Jaded 0
GD: Stuck With Me 0
GD: Geek Stink Breath 0
GD: J.A.R. 0
GD: She 0
GD: When I Come Around 0
GD: Welcome to Paradise 0
GD: Hitchin' A Ride 0
GD: Redundant 0
GD: Nice Guys Finish Last 0
GD: I Fought The Law 0
GD: Jesus of Suburbia 0
GD: Holiday 0
GD: Boulevard of Broken Dreams 0
GD: Poprocks and Coke 0
GD: Macy's Day Parade 0
GD: Waiting 0
GD: Minority 0
GD: Longview 0


Doctor Casino, Thursday, 13 December 2007 16:27 (eighteen years ago)

"Boulevard of Broken Dreams", obv

Dom Passantino, Thursday, 13 December 2007 16:29 (eighteen years ago)

Boulevard is shit, but Time of Your Life is unbearably awful.

Lolpez, Thursday, 13 December 2007 18:49 (eighteen years ago)

american idiot

69, Thursday, 13 December 2007 18:59 (eighteen years ago)

I didn't even look at the choices before I decided on "Hit That."

Dexter Holland's "boy, white people like to act like black people" schtick had gone from cutesy to crypto-racist at that point. Plus the video makes me sick.

Whiney G. Weingarten, Thursday, 13 December 2007 19:06 (eighteen years ago)

Whiney OTM. I'd say about half of the Offspring singles are twelve times worse than the worst Green Day single ("Holiday", btw).

jon /via/ chi 2.0, Thursday, 13 December 2007 19:10 (eighteen years ago)

pretty fly for a white guy

chaki, Thursday, 13 December 2007 19:20 (eighteen years ago)

Seconded. Or the "keep 'em seperated" one. All Offspring is interchangeable.

Bobbi Peru, Thursday, 13 December 2007 20:27 (eighteen years ago)

"Defy You"

da croupier, Thursday, 13 December 2007 20:33 (eighteen years ago)

"boy, white people like to act like black people"

where in Hit That do they reference the race of the song's subjects?

da croupier, Thursday, 13 December 2007 20:34 (eighteen years ago)

Wow, I haven't heard quite a few of those Offspring singles, its possible they've got some others as excruciating as "Defy You."

da croupier, Thursday, 13 December 2007 20:35 (eighteen years ago)

GD: Wake Me Up When September Ends

Curt1s Stephens, Thursday, 13 December 2007 20:36 (eighteen years ago)

Pretty Fly for a White Guy has got to be one of the top 5 lamest songs of all time.

Does anyone have any scientific evidence to back this up? Premature deaths, onset depression, suicide, etc.?

marzoni, Thursday, 13 December 2007 20:41 (eighteen years ago)

"Time of Your Life" is unbearable.

Alex in NYC, Thursday, 13 December 2007 20:43 (eighteen years ago)

I think I hate the entire repertoire of Green Day more than I even hate that fucking Paul McCartney christmas song. next to those two a marathon of offspring songs would be a walk in the park. I voted for Good Riddance. Hoary bullshit.

El Tomboto, Thursday, 13 December 2007 20:43 (eighteen years ago)

where in Hit That do they reference the race of the song's subjects?

He has a open disdain for people who use the phrase "babydaddy."

Whiney G. Weingarten, Thursday, 13 December 2007 20:59 (eighteen years ago)

Thus CRYPTO-racism

Whiney G. Weingarten, Thursday, 13 December 2007 21:00 (eighteen years ago)

I voted for the U2 song. Because U2 was on it.

Mordechai Shinefield, Thursday, 13 December 2007 21:18 (eighteen years ago)

"Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)" is still 10x better than anything Green Day has ever done

Curt1s Stephens, Thursday, 13 December 2007 21:20 (eighteen years ago)

I don't understand the hate for Green Day! Warning and Insomniac are fun albums.

jon /via/ chi 2.0, Thursday, 13 December 2007 21:27 (eighteen years ago)

all a bit rubbish, to be fair.

pc user, Thursday, 13 December 2007 21:56 (eighteen years ago)

Thus CRYPTO-racism

It's definitely a class thing like Idiocracy, but you couldn't call the song racist without some "i don't have to back it up" prefix like that.

da croupier, Thursday, 13 December 2007 21:58 (eighteen years ago)

whichever one i've heard the most.

Billy Pilgrim, Thursday, 13 December 2007 21:59 (eighteen years ago)

oops, got that backwards. I say nobody votes so they all "win"

Billy Pilgrim, Thursday, 13 December 2007 22:00 (eighteen years ago)

You all really love Time of Your Life, and you're big fat liars.

Mordechai Shinefield, Thursday, 13 December 2007 22:01 (eighteen years ago)

I probably haven't heard the worst single by either. Might have voted for "Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)", but the lyrics and the video are just too good to vote for.

Geir Hongro, Thursday, 13 December 2007 22:39 (eighteen years ago)

"Why Don't You Get a Job?"
Fuckin irritating

zeus, Thursday, 13 December 2007 23:01 (eighteen years ago)

It's definitely a class thing like Idiocracy, but you couldn't call the song racist without some "i don't have to back it up" prefix like that.

Fine, whatever. The guy with the masters degree in molecular biology is making fun of poor people instead of poor black people. I'm totally zinged here!

Whiney G. Weingarten, Thursday, 13 December 2007 23:47 (eighteen years ago)

Also, I put crypto- because it IS crypto-.

I know there's nothing racist in Offspring songs, but Holland should have definitely thought about how it could be percieved when you have three hit singles that all include hilarious juxtapositions of slang that originated in african american communities

Seriously, the last thing I want to do is join the ILM Let's Out A Racist LOL-Time Party Fun Bus.

Whiney G. Weingarten, Thursday, 13 December 2007 23:52 (eighteen years ago)

Even with its offensive claim that kids are having kids, its obviously still better than goddamn "Original Prankster."

da croupier, Friday, 14 December 2007 00:17 (eighteen years ago)

Yeah, upon relistening to both of those songs, you're right.

Whiney G. Weingarten, Friday, 14 December 2007 00:22 (eighteen years ago)

But, fuck, man. The video to "Hit That" makes "Original Prankster" look like Citizen Kane. Holy shit it annoys the hell out of me. It's like Def Leppard's "Let's Get Rocked" but talking about teen pregnancy.

Whiney G. Weingarten, Friday, 14 December 2007 00:23 (eighteen years ago)

Well in the context of the video it winds up being about pet population control. And I never actually saw the video until I looked it up on youtube when this thread started. On the radio its a lot more enjoyable than a lot of their more turgid numbers.

da croupier, Friday, 14 December 2007 00:39 (eighteen years ago)

"Time of your Life" is so awful that I didn't have to spend the time remembering all the other awful stuff on this list.

John Justen, Friday, 14 December 2007 00:52 (eighteen years ago)

'Time of Your Life'. It pissed me off two days ago when I heard a version from a horrible cover band floating out of the pub, down the street and through my window like a sentient bad odour. Sure, the later Offspring songs are probably more annoying, but this one seems to have staying power (again sentient fart etc).

Also didn't the TV show 'Friends' use it or something? Another black mark against it.

S-, Friday, 14 December 2007 01:31 (eighteen years ago)

Yeah, but "Original Prankster":

* brings Redman on board for a guest appearance that begins and ends with proclaiming "Original prankster"

* attempts to follow up on success of "Pretty Fly" by elevating pranksters to the level of corny white hip-hop wannabes, when in fact pranksters barely exist as a demographic. It's like an eleven-year-old's idea of a novelty song for sixteen-year-olds.

* has some of the most rambling, inane and impenetrable lyrics ever foisted on a novelty song, for example:

Crime, crime, rockin' like Janet Reno
Time time, eighteen and life in chino
Void void, all along it's true
Well you see the coming day catches up to you yeah

"Good Riddance" at its worst is trite and cliched; "Original Prankster" charts entirely new territories of badness.

Doctor Casino, Friday, 14 December 2007 01:41 (eighteen years ago)

GD: The Saints Are Coming (with U2)

^^^this was for a good cause, but no.

J0rdan S., Friday, 14 December 2007 01:42 (eighteen years ago)

Also, "Good Riddance" has the disadvantage of being played continuously for about four months. For this to be fair you have to imagine a world in which "Original Prankster" had enjoyed that kind of success.

Doctor Casino, Friday, 14 December 2007 01:45 (eighteen years ago)

Also

YOU CAN DO IT

Whiney G. Weingarten, Friday, 14 December 2007 01:59 (eighteen years ago)

Yeah, could someone please explain to me how Green Day are worse than the Offspring? Green Day have committed their crimes, but least they're semi-tuneful. The Offspring's songs are usually just a grating mess fronted by one of the most annoying singers in the history of recorded sound. "Pretty Fly for a White Guy" is the kind of thing that needs to be brought before an international tribunal.

adamj, Friday, 14 December 2007 02:49 (eighteen years ago)

God. Want You Bad is so bad. So fucking bad.

Mordechai Shinefield, Friday, 14 December 2007 04:12 (eighteen years ago)

pretty fly takes this with no effort whatsoever

electricsound, Friday, 14 December 2007 04:21 (eighteen years ago)

Green Day have committed their crimes, but least they're semi-tuneful. The Offspring's songs are usually just a grating mess fronted by one of the most annoying singers in the history of recorded sound.

This is the absolute polar opposite of my opinion. I hate Billie Joe's voice with a passion, and I don't like a lot of what the Offspring have but at least they've made some decent tunes.

Curt1s Stephens, Friday, 14 December 2007 05:41 (eighteen years ago)

have done

Curt1s Stephens, Friday, 14 December 2007 05:41 (eighteen years ago)

Want You Bad sounds like Green Day!

Whiney G. Weingarten, Friday, 14 December 2007 05:51 (eighteen years ago)

Offspring sound like Green Day with extra Ian Astbury and fart machines, which can lead to singles both better and worse than Green Day's.

da croupier, Friday, 14 December 2007 05:53 (eighteen years ago)

I vote for all of them.

Hurting 2, Friday, 14 December 2007 05:55 (eighteen years ago)

Why the hell is this not two separate polls? This is retarded. It's a like a poll that was "Worst Led Zeppelin/Bad Company single." Also retarded: Hating on "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)," clearly a classic.

I can't understand how anyone could like The Offspring more than Green Day.

My name is Kenny, Friday, 14 December 2007 08:38 (eighteen years ago)

"Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)," clearly a classic.

Kenny, you are so money, you don't even know you're money.

Mordechai Shinefield, Friday, 14 December 2007 08:44 (eighteen years ago)

^this is probably true. i love "time of your life"

J0rdan S., Friday, 14 December 2007 08:46 (eighteen years ago)

'Time of Your Life' assaulted me again at a crappy Irish bar on Sunday, I suppose I was asking for just by being there, but I've never been subject to bad acoustic Offspring covers in theme bars...

S-, Tuesday, 18 December 2007 01:12 (eighteen years ago)

But then they are great because so-called "wiggers" deserve all the mocking and dissing they can get.

Why?

da croupier, Tuesday, 18 December 2007 01:13 (eighteen years ago)

BECAUSE WHITE PEOPEL SHOULD BE LISTENING TO YES!1!11

Bo Jackson Overdrive, Tuesday, 18 December 2007 01:28 (eighteen years ago)

In what way? Granted I know you didn't say you liked the song necessarily, but Pretty Fly is a gimmick tune that was yes, funny on first listen, irritating by the third, and really has nothing going for it outside of its novelty. The melody is crap.

Green Day, I will admit to not being a fan of...however for the most part they write listenable pop-punk and at the very least when they got semi-gimmicky ("Hitchin' a Ride") it was listenable and entertaining.

The melody's fine IMO. Pretty generic riff, yes, but catchy.

I think Green Day are unlistenable and not entertaining even when they're not being gimmicky. "Basket Case" is the closest thing to a good tune they've released and it's even more cookie-cutter than "Pretty Fly."

Curt1s Stephens, Tuesday, 18 December 2007 01:51 (eighteen years ago)

I might also add that I heard Weird Al's parody of "Pretty Fly" before the original. I don't really focus on the lyrics.

Curt1s Stephens, Tuesday, 18 December 2007 01:52 (eighteen years ago)

to each his own I suppose. I wouldn't have even found Pretty Fly entertaining at all if not for the spoof of pop club music at the beginning.

Bo Jackson Overdrive, Tuesday, 18 December 2007 02:04 (eighteen years ago)

this thread is bonkers

latebloomer, Tuesday, 18 December 2007 02:10 (eighteen years ago)

bonkers i tell you

latebloomer, Tuesday, 18 December 2007 02:10 (eighteen years ago)

bonkers!

latebloomer, Tuesday, 18 December 2007 02:10 (eighteen years ago)

Here comes the rain again falling from the stars

Of all the sins these bands are guilty of, Green Day's poor grasp of meteorology pisses me off the most.

kingkongvsgodzilla, Tuesday, 18 December 2007 02:31 (eighteen years ago)

It's just insane to me that these bands had so many singles and so much success. Why couldn't it have happened for Bad Religion in their heyday instead? Neither of these bands has written a tune that I find as engaging as anything off Suffer.

Nate Carson, Tuesday, 18 December 2007 03:30 (eighteen years ago)

there's no "offspring's entire catalogue" option. though green day have made a run at them with recent albums, offspring are the kings of this castle. "self esteem" makes me wanna puke.

pipecock, Tuesday, 18 December 2007 03:51 (eighteen years ago)

well Nate I do agree Bad Religion destroys them both (I love BR) but they had at least moderate success for a little while. not like either other group, but hey, Graffins words were too big for the middle schoolers!

Bo Jackson Overdrive, Tuesday, 18 December 2007 11:59 (eighteen years ago)

I like green day. Even that one. But that one I don't really know as well.

I'm voting "Ob la di, ob la da" by The Osspringf.

Mark G, Tuesday, 18 December 2007 12:53 (eighteen years ago)

BECAUSE WHITE PEOPEL SHOULD BE LISTENING TO YES!1!11

Black people should too.

Geir Hongro, Tuesday, 18 December 2007 12:55 (eighteen years ago)

I wouldn't have even found Pretty Fly entertaining at all if not for the spoof of pop club music at the beginning.

You are aware the beginning is sampled from Def Leppard, right?

Geir Hongro, Tuesday, 18 December 2007 13:42 (eighteen years ago)

Has to be "Why Don't You Get a Job?" Nothing in the Green Day catalogue even comes close.

Boxing Kangaroo, Tuesday, 18 December 2007 18:48 (eighteen years ago)

That one was the BEST single by either until Green Day released "Boulevard Of Broken Dreams".

Geir Hongro, Tuesday, 18 December 2007 22:34 (eighteen years ago)

,,,for a white guy

Whiney G. Weingarten, Tuesday, 18 December 2007 23:06 (eighteen years ago)

You are aware the beginning is sampled from Def Leppard, right?

I don't mean the "very" beginning, I mean when it goes "give it to me baby, uh huh uh huh". That unter gleeben part, duh, I own Pyromania!

Bo Jackson Overdrive, Tuesday, 18 December 2007 23:22 (eighteen years ago)

BECAUSE WHITE PEOPEL SHOULD BE LISTENING TO YES!1!11

Black people should too.

OMG WHAT ABOUT ALL THE OTHER RACES UR RACIST RACIST RACISTSSDFAALJDKDA

Bo Jackson Overdrive, Tuesday, 18 December 2007 23:28 (eighteen years ago)

alright now worst single by Weezer thread.

Bo Jackson Overdrive, Tuesday, 18 December 2007 23:37 (eighteen years ago)

I belonged to one of those middle-school classes that had to sing "Time of Your Life" at graduation. Apparently, those who gave the song the "okay" did not know the "good riddance" part of the title. Totally obnoxious lump of turd, anyway. I like Green Day when they're singing about pot and masturbation. None of this violin shit.

I kinda wish "Special Delivery" were a single so I could vote for it. Since it's not, "Pretty Fly" wins/loses.

I didn't know that was Redman on "Original Prankster" until this thread. I'm not sure how to feel about this. Confused? Crushed?

babyalive, Wednesday, 19 December 2007 02:14 (eighteen years ago)

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

ILX System, Monday, 31 December 2007 00:01 (eighteen years ago)

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

ILX System, Tuesday, 1 January 2008 00:01 (eighteen years ago)

Offspring blows this one away with 49 votes of hatred spread over eight songs, Green Day 19 votes over seven songs. The message is clear. My only question is, who voted for "Warning" and why? It's a pleasant little ditty with a nice hook that was barely ever played - so I'm curious what aspect of it could have aroused such loathing.

Doctor Casino, Tuesday, 1 January 2008 03:41 (eighteen years ago)

49 for Offspring and 18 for Green Day. My vote for the Saints was really a vote for U2. I didn't find Green Day's participation as bothersome.

Mordechai Shinefield, Tuesday, 1 January 2008 05:10 (eighteen years ago)

three years pass...

Now he's getting a tattoo
Yeah he's getting ink done

truly the

Well I heard mister Young sing about her
Well, I heard ole Neil put her down

of its time

e herbiest unum (Whiney G. Weingarten), Friday, 22 July 2011 13:25 (fourteen years ago)

ughhhhhhhhhhhh "yeah, he's Gettin' Ink Done" some of the worst delivery ever in a ubiquitous novelty hit

Doctor Casino, Friday, 22 July 2011 13:47 (fourteen years ago)

always heard it as "getting it done", although that's no better. song's pretty racist really.

Post-Manpat Music (dog latin), Friday, 22 July 2011 13:55 (fourteen years ago)

yeah, it always had this vague air of "KNOW YOUR PLACE, WHITEY" that rubbed me the wrong way. Probably the cracker version of Ice Cube's "Stay True To The Game"

jay r?tard (Whiney G. Weingarten), Friday, 22 July 2011 14:00 (fourteen years ago)

GD: Wake Me Up When September Ends

This is the worst one though.

Post-Manpat Music (dog latin), Friday, 22 July 2011 14:01 (fourteen years ago)

Even though I'd take Green Day over Offspring any day of the week.

Post-Manpat Music (dog latin), Friday, 22 July 2011 14:01 (fourteen years ago)

It's not just "know your place, Whitey" it's also "look at you trying to be all LOLblack and stuff. Why do you want to associate yourself with that stuff when you should be listening to rubbish pop punk music?".

Post-Manpat Music (dog latin), Friday, 22 July 2011 14:04 (fourteen years ago)

Then again, it's a reflection of the attitude a lot of rock kids had around that time anyway - people throwing bottles of pish whenever a rapper or pop act dared to grace the stage at Reading etc..

Post-Manpat Music (dog latin), Friday, 22 July 2011 14:06 (fourteen years ago)

man apparently i missed some really terrible offspring singles after "white guy."

apichathong song (strongo hulkington's ghost dad), Friday, 22 July 2011 14:06 (fourteen years ago)

Huh, always took it as a little more like "We, the Offspring and our fans (born largely after 1980 and well-accustomed to hip-hop) look down on this character as an outsider faker trying to pull it off." Not really better, mind you, but it never seemed like Holland and co looked down on black culture, just that they thought they were hipper to it than they probably were.

Doctor Casino, Friday, 22 July 2011 14:07 (fourteen years ago)

Then again, it's a reflection of the attitude a lot of rock kids had around that time anyway - people throwing bottles of pish whenever a rapper or pop act dared to grace the stage at Reading etc..

― Post-Manpat Music (dog latin), Friday, July 22, 2011 10:06 AM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

i mean, also, in 1978 with DISCO SUCKS, and 1988 with RAP IS CRAP and 2003 with whatever shitty Victory Records band was trying to TAKE THE ROCK BACK

jay r?tard (Whiney G. Weingarten), Friday, 22 July 2011 14:16 (fourteen years ago)

I mean, race politics aside, "Pretty Fly" was basically a rant against "posers," which is understandable, but it's not like their own scene wasn't just brimming with posers of all stripes.

Could have done the JNCO-era version of this if they wanted
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pKkOOQR7_o

jay r?tard (Whiney G. Weingarten), Friday, 22 July 2011 14:18 (fourteen years ago)

2003 with whatever shitty Victory Records band was trying to TAKE THE ROCK BACK

This was a thing?

Walter Galt, Friday, 22 July 2011 15:32 (fourteen years ago)

it was actually 2005/6, if i remember correctly, but there was a concerted effort by victory's pr people to get hawthorne heights to beat ne-yo to the number one spot.

apichathong song (strongo hulkington's ghost dad), Friday, 22 July 2011 15:37 (fourteen years ago)

yeah, i didn't remember the details, but thats what i was talking abt.

jay r?tard (Whiney G. Weingarten), Friday, 22 July 2011 15:39 (fourteen years ago)

i can't remember if that was the same year pretty rickey spanked the shins, but it was a good time for pop r&b acts slapping down the dreams of indie bands.

apichathong song (strongo hulkington's ghost dad), Friday, 22 July 2011 15:41 (fourteen years ago)

The Kids Aren't Alright is a kool song

DEHUMANIZE YOURSELF AND FACE TO BLOODSHED (Princess TamTam), Friday, 22 July 2011 17:17 (fourteen years ago)

who the fuck voted basket case

69, Friday, 22 July 2011 17:40 (fourteen years ago)

Boulevard of Broken Dreams

iatee, Friday, 22 July 2011 17:41 (fourteen years ago)

three years pass...

Man, it didn't get any votes or hate above, but man am I glad that "Gone Away" has basically disappeared from the radio landscape etc. If one good thing came out of the demise of alt-rock it was the purging of that particular kind of late-90s gritty loud dirge. In its moment it was played I think once every fifteen to twenty minutes and one could have easily believed that it would never ... go away.

Gorefest Frump (Doctor Casino), Wednesday, 15 July 2015 15:38 (ten years ago)

I saw a commercial this weekend for some televised concert series which featured the Offspring performing 'Come Out And Play'. And I felt some deep existential empathy for those dudes, still plugging earnestly away twenty years later on a number that probably induces more 'hey, remember this stupid song?'-s among the general populace than it does genuine enjoyment.

Something Called Fudge (Old Lunch), Wednesday, 15 July 2015 15:44 (ten years ago)

while the ultimate winner would probably be the same this is a poll that would definitely be worth a re-do!

Terrible:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r00ikilDxW4

skip, Wednesday, 15 July 2015 17:04 (ten years ago)

You can pretty much take your pick from any of the Offspring tracks here for the worst.

You’re being too simplistic and you’re insulting my poor heart (Turrican), Saturday, 18 July 2015 21:47 (ten years ago)


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