• Voto:
Nessuna riedizione celebrativa, nessun enorme cofanetto con tre o più vinili, farciti di registrazioni live o pseudo bootleg all’interno. Non avremo un libro pieno zeppo di fotografie di repertorio, in occasione del trentennale di un album che ha venduto più di undici milioni di copie in tutto il mondo.
Nell’epoca dello streaming, che ha costretto le major a trovare nuove soluzioni per movimentare il mercato, tra long playing colorati e versioni deluxe per allungare il brodo, manca un degna festa in maschera per “Smash”, il terzo iconico lavoro degli Offspring.
La cosa stona un po’ ma ci restituisce quella dimensione che apparteneva all’ultimo decennio del vecchio secolo. Una dimensione meno evanescente e più concreta, dove un disco venduto aveva davvero un peso importante. Si vocifera che il padre di Epitaph, Brett Gurewitz, già chitarrista dei Bad Religion, abbia dovuto ipotecare la casa per poter stampare ulteriori copie di “Smash” e far fronte alla folle richiesta del pubblico. Qui si parla delle fortune di un’etichetta indipendente, l’unica fino ad oggi a detenere il record di vendite per una singola pubblicazione.
Se pensiamo che con due album dignitosi alle spalle (The Offspring/Ignition), Dexter Holland faceva ancora il galoppino per l’etichetta, Noodles il bidello per una scuola media, Ron Welty il panettiere e Greg K l’addetto alla copisteria, il prequel della storia assume tinte cinematografiche. Il tutto dopo un tour molto impegnativo appena ultimato in giro per l’America, in compagnia dei Pennywise e nel Vecchio Continente a fianco dei NOFX.
E se la fame vien mangiando…Gli ingredienti non mancavano affatto, la voglia di affermarsi e vivere della propria passione, la musica, nemmeno. La coda dell’occhio vedeva i colleghi più famosi ingrandirsi e il tempo passare in fretta. Fu così che Dexter e compagni decisero di mettere anima e corpo in quelle quattordici tracce, fondendo tra loro sonorità punk, surf, ska e tanta rabbia giovanile.
La voce dell’attore John Mayer (sarà presente anche in “IXNAY” e “Americana”) apre le danze con la spoken track “Time To Relax” e da questo punto in poi sarà solo energia. Dal rullante forsennato di “Nitro”, si passa alla follia di “Bad Habit”, pensata da Dexter durante i lunghi e lenti viaggi a bordo del suo scassatissimo pickup Toyota. Un vero e proprio ossimoro, viene da pensare durante l’ascolto.
“Gotta Get Away” fa rifiatare, da buona midtempo, poi ci viene restituito quel rullante di cui prima in “Genocide”, che non si esime dalla denuncia politica:“Dog eat dog, to get by, hope you like my genocide” grida all’impazzata Holland sui refrain. Della stessa pasta è fatta “Something To Believe In”, che ha l’ingrato compito di precedere il singolo iconico per eccellenza: “Come Out And Play”. A Jason McLane, fan sfegatato della band, è stata data la possibilità di consegnare alla storia la voce mentre sussurra quel “You Gotta Keep’em Separated”, che sfocia nei riff orientaleggianti che, da quel lontano 1994, non ci sarebbero più usciti dalla testa. Sarà questo il singolo che contribuirà al successo travolgente di “Smash” e fornirà soluzioni per la realizzazione di altri pezzi iconici come “Original Prankster”, “Pretty Fly(For a White Guy)" oppure “Hit That”. “Self Esteem”, che non a caso occupa la posizione successiva, è la seconda iconica smash hit, seppur più lenta e macchinosa. A metà della tracklist si raggiunge il picco, poi non si rallenterà più fino alla fine, eccezion fatta per “What Happened to You”, che ci spinge nella dimensione ska, facendoci divertire e sbracciare sui ritornelli.
“It’ll Be a Long Time”, “Killboy Powerhead”, “So Alone”, “Not the One” e la closing omonima “Smash”, sono unicamenteriff e potenza. I quattro di Garden Grove non vogliono nascondere la loro ammirazione (e ispirazione) verso “Bad Religion”, “Pennywise”, “NOFX”, “Dead Kennedys”, “Social Distortion”, “Black Flag” e lo fanno capire a parole e fatti.
“Smash” è un lavoro che attraversa i decenni raccogliendo continui consensi. Non nasconde i segni del tempo, che riesce anche a mascherare, per quanto suoni sempre attuale. La voce urlata e la timbrica nasale di Dexter Holland, i riff di Noodles che spaziano dal punk rock al metal, le note di basso di Greg Kiesel e le bacchette incendiarie di Ron Welty, hanno dato un’impronta irripetibile a un disco storico e iconico, arrivato a ridosso della scomparsa di Kurt Cobain, che ha traumatizzato la continuità di un genere a sua volta iconico per il periodo che ha rappresentato.
“Smash” è l’inno di una generazione e il simbolo del punk californiano Anni Novanta, come fu “Nimrod” degli illustri colleghi “Green Day”.
Se ne è già parlato tanto, si è già ascoltato tanto ma a quanto pare non basta mai.
Perché, come si suol dire, l’importante è che se ne parli. Ma ancor più importante, è che se ne senta parlare.
Elenco tracce testi samples e video
01 Time to Relax (00:25)
Ah, it's time to relax.
You know what that means.
A glass of wine, your favorite easy chair,
And of course, this compact disc
Playing on your home stereo.
So, go on, and indulge yourself!
That's right, kick off your shoes,
Put your feet up!
Lean back and just enjoy the melodies.
After all, music soothes even the savage beast.
02 Nitro (Youth Energy) (02:26)
Our generation sees the world
Not the same as before.
We might as well just throw it all
And live like there's no tomorrow
There's no tomorrow
There's no tomorrow
There's no tomorrow
We are the ones
Who are living under the gun, everyday.
You might be gone before you know.
So live like there's no tomorrow
(ain't gonna waste this life)
There's no tomorrow
(ain't gonna live it for me)
There's no tomorrow
(ain't gonna waste this life)
There's no tomorrow
(ain't gonna live it for me)
Hey, believe it,
the official view of the world has changed
in a whole new way.
Live fast cause if you don't take it
you'll never make it.
So if you understand me
and if you feel the same
Then you will know what nitro means.
You'll live like there's no tomorrow
(ain't gonna waste this life)
there's no tomorrow
(ain't gonna live it for me)
there's no tomorrow
(ain't gonna waste this life)
there's no tomorrow
(ain't gonna live it for me)
There's no tomorrow!
04 Gotta Get Away (03:53)
I'm gettin' edgy
All the time
There's someone around me
Just a step behind
It's kinda scary
The shape I'm in
The walls are shakin'
And they're closing in
Too fast or
A bit too slow
I'm paranoid of people
And it's starting to show
There's one guy that
I can't shake
Over my shoulder
Is a big mistake
Sitting on the bed
Or lying wide awake
There's demons in my head
And it's more than I can take
I think I'm on a roll
But I think it's kinda weak
Sayin' all I know is
I gotta get away from me
I tell you something
Just ain't right
My head is on loose
But my shoes are tight
Avoiding friends 'cause
They all bug
Life is like a riddle
And I'm really stumped
If you reason
Don't you know
Your own preoccupation
Is where you'll go
I think I'm bein' followed
I look around
It's only my shadow
Creepin' on the ground
Sitting on the bed
Or lying wide awake
There's demons in my head
And it's more than I can take
I think I'm on a roll
But I think it's kinda weak
Sayin' all I know is
I gotta get away from me
Gotta get away from me
Gotta get away from me
Whoa-oah-oah, whoa-oah-oah
Whoa-oah-oah, whoa-oah-oah
Sitting on the bed
Or lying wide awake
There's demons in my head
And it's more than I can take
I think I'm on a roll
But I think it's kinda weak
Sayin' all I know is
I gotta get away from me
Gotta get away from me
Gotta get away from me
Gotta get away from me
05 Genocide (03:31)
Our lives run different ways
Through the rain I see you in the sun
Our star shines anyway
If you wish upon it we are one
1,2,3,4
[chorus:]
Dog eat dog
Every day
On our fellow man we prey
Dog eat dog
To get by
Hope you like my genocide
I find it such a shame
Through the pain I see things as they are
We're served up on a plate
The pedestal is high enough to fall
And if in time
We can see the errors of our ways
Would anyone change it anyhow?
Our time is up......
1,2,3,4
[chorus x2]
I bet you'd only run,
If you saw what goes inside our own,
I bet you'd lead the way,
If it were up to you to decide,
But it's not
[chorus x2]
Like a silver flame,
Like a suicide,
Like killing boy,
1,2,3,4!
06 Something to Believe In (03:17)
I believe that reality's gone
Disillusion's real
I believe that morality's gone
And there's nothing to feel
If you take the sacred things
The things that we hold dear
Empty promise is all you'll find
So give me something
Something to believe in
I believe in a changing of the guard
Put our feet on the ground
See it happen in your own backyard
Everything breaks down
Do you accept what you are told
Without even thinking
Throw it all and make your own
And give me something
Something to believe in
Where they lead
You will follow
Well I guess that's just the way it goes
And if you look away
You'll be doing what they say
And if you look alive
You'll be singled out and tried
If you take home anything
Let it be your will to think
The more cynical you become
The better off you'll be
07 Come Out and Play (03:17)
You gotta keep 'em separated
Like the latest fashion
Like a spreading disease
The kids are strappin' on their way to the classroom
Getting weapons with the greatest of ease
The gangs stake their own campus locale
And if they catch you slippin' then it's all over pal
If one guy's colors and the other's don't mix
They're gonna bash it up, bash it up, bash it up, bash it up
Hey - man you talkin' back to me?
Take him out
You gotta keep 'em separated
Hey - man you disrespecting me?
Take him out
You gotta keep 'em separated
Hey they don't pay no mind
If you're under 18 you won't be doing any time
Hey come out and play
By the time you hear the siren
It's already too late
One goes to the morgue and the other to jail
One guy's wasted and the other's a waste
It goes down the same as the thousand before
No one's getting smarter
No one's learning the score
Your never ending spree of death and violence and hate
Is gonna tie your own rope, tie your own rope, tie your own
Hey - man you disrespecting me?
Take him out
You gotta keep 'em separated
Hey - man you talkin' back to me?
Take him out
You gotta keep 'em separated
Hey they don't pay no mind
If you're under 18 you won't be doing any time
Hey come out and play
It goes down the same as the thousand before
No one's getting smarter
No one's learning the score
Your never ending spree of death and violence and hate
Is gonna tie your own rope, tie your own rope, tie your own
Hey - man you talkin' back to me?
Take him out
You gotta keep 'em separated
Hey - man you disrespecting me?
Take him out
You gotta keep 'em separated
Hey they don't pay no mind
If you're under 18 you won't be doin' any time
Hey come out and play
08 Self Esteem (04:17)
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
I wrote her off for the tenth time today
And practiced all the things I would say
But she came over, I lost my nerve
I took her back and made her dessert
Now I know I'm being used
That's okay, man, cause I like the abuse
I know she's playing with me
That's ok cause I got no self esteem
Oh, yeah, yeah
Oh, yeah, yeah
Oh, yeah, yeah
Oh, yeah, yeah
We make plans to go out at night
I wait till two then I turn out the light
All this rejection's got me so low
If she keeps it up I just might tell her so
Oh, yeah, yeah
Oh, yeah, yeah
Oh, yeah, yeah
Oh, yeah, yeah
When she's saying that she wants only me
Then I wonder why she sleeps with my friends
When she's saying that I'm like a disease
Then I wonder how much more I can stand
Well I guess, I should stick up for myself
But I really think it's better this way
The more you suffer, the more it shows you really care
Right?
Yeah!
Now I'll relate this a little bit
That happens more than I'd like to admit
Late at night she knocks on my door
She's drunk again and looking to score
Now I know I should say no
But it's kind of hard when she's ready to go
I may be dumb, but I'm not a dweeb
I'm just a sucker with no self esteem
Oh, yeah, yeah
Oh, yeah, yeah
Oh, yeah, yeah
Oh, yeah, yeah
When she's saying that she wants only me
Then I wonder why she sleeps with my friends
When she's saying that I'm like a disease
Then I wonder how much more I can stand
Well I guess, I should stick up for myself
But I really think it's better this way
The more you suffer, the more it shows you really care
Right?
Yeah!
10 Killboy Powerhead (02:02)
He's a pistol grip
And a lightning rod hammer step
He always busts his knukles
When he's wrenchin' up his shit
He's a killboy powerhead.
Killboy powerhead
Killboy powerhead
Yeah.
You know I saw his woman
She was writin' his name in blood
You know i saw his woman
Hard as a rock
She said she was his baby
Who looked just like the hoover dam
You know I saw his woman
Hard as a rock
He's a killboy powerhead
Killboy powerhead
Killboy powerhead
Yeah.
He's a pistol grip
And a lightning rod hammer step
He always busts his knukles
When he's wrenchin' up his shit
He's a killboy powerhead.
Killboy powerhead
Killboy powerhead
Killboy Powerhead yeah
Killboy Powerhead yeah
Killboy Powerhead yeah
11 What Happened to You? (02:12)
What in the world happened to you?
Before you started tokin'
You used to have a brain
But now you don't get even the simplest of the things
I can draw a little picture
Or even use my hands
I try to explain but you just don't understand
[Chorus]
Man you're really losin' it
And you've really done a lot of junk now
But you keep abusin' it
What in the world happened to you
It's bad enough you do it to yourself
But taking someone with you well you know that's something else
I say I'm not that kind of person
I'm not that kind of man
I try to explain but you just don't understand
[Chorus]
Man you're really losin' it
And you've really done a lot of junk now
But you keep abusin' it
What in the world happened to you
[2x]
I might be sympathetic or cut a little slack
If I thought that you were willing to give a little back
But you do it in the morning
You do it in the night
You lie to refrain from just facing your life
So I'll see you man tomorrow
You'll be gackin' up again
I'll see you in a coffin by the time your wad is spent
I think of all the times that I tried to lend a hand
I try to explain but you just don't understand
[Chorus]
Man you're really losin' it
And you've really done a lot of junk now
But you keep abusin' it
What in the world happened to..
What in the world happened to..
What in the world happened to you
12 So Alone (01:17)
Look at the crowd and tell me whether
All are surrounded
But none are together
If you're awake
Look all around at
All of the people
Still you're so alone
So alone
So alone
So alone
So alone
(Yelling)If I could make a suggestion
Without sounding preachy
Or begging the question
Melt with your minds
Melt with each other
Don't be surrounded
Don't be so alone
So alone
So alone
So alone
(KILL)
(FUCK OFF)
(HATE)
(DIE)
Carico i commenti... con calma
Altre recensioni
Di let there be rock
il binomio voce-chitarra negli Offspring funziona alla grande!
Due capolavori del gruppo californiano: "Come Out & Play" e "Self Esteem".
Di El Kor
"Smash rappresenta una traccia obbligata del Punk americano degli anni '90, da sentire assolutamente, che il genere piaccia o meno."
"Seppur la poca sostanza commerciale presentata, viene venduto più di 11 milioni di volte in tutto il mondo, infrangendo il record di vendite da parte di un'etichetta indipendente."
Di Kiodo
"Finché il mondo va così è sempre un giorno buono per ascoltare il punk-rock, ed è sempre un giorno buono per ascoltare 'Smash'."
"Con 'Self Esteem' i The Offspring ufficializzano il commiato del grunge dalle charts internazionali."
