•
Rating:
The day is exactly this one, the year is 1994; "Dookie" has only been out for two months, but it has already cost Green Day their ousting from 924 Gilman Street. While alternative music enthusiasts around the world are still drying their eyes following the tragic loss of Kurt Cobain, Epitaph Records by Mr. Brett Gurewitz releases "Smash" by The Offspring.
Costing just $20,000, the third record for Dexter Holland and company will become the best-selling release by an independent label in the history of music, a record still unbeaten.
Like a resin cast that time transforms into amber, this album joins 4-5 other titles that have crystallized a specific moment in the lives of those who loved it. The people of my generation will surely remember the scent of gel soaked in the helmet, the clumsy attempts to learn to stand on a skateboard, the puzzled looks from girls, the curiosity towards those who had already chosen to embrace alternative looks and attitudes, but for some reason, it's not all there.
Because it cannot be said it was their intention, but with "Self Esteem", The Offspring officiate the farewell of grunge from international charts. For this reason, it would have been interesting to be a teenager back then to understand its immediate impact.
What is certain is that these 14 songs still make perfect sense today. The oriental riffs of Noodles, the hooks of Greg Kriesel, and the gallops of Ron Welty are well-known; every chorus is a classic, but thirty years later it all hits even harder, if possible: the initial doublet "Nitro"-"Bad Habits" is the emblematic answer to the question "but at 36, still obsessed with punk? That’s not normal, come on..."
I don't know, as long as the world goes on like this, it's always a good day to listen to punk rock, and it's always a good day to listen to "Smash".
Loading comments slowly
