Americana

1	Welcome 0:09
2	Have You Ever 3:56
3	Staring at the Sun 2:13
4	Pretty Fly (For a White Guy) 3:08
5	The Kids Aren't Alright 3:00
6	Feelings 2:51
7	She's Got Issues 3:48
8	Walla Walla 2:57
9	The End of the Line 3:02
10	No Brakes 2:04
11	Why Don't You Get a Job? 2:52
12	Americana 3:15
13	Pay the Man 12:51

Barnes & Noble

Only a band as willfully dumb as the Offspring could inspire a controversy like the one surrounding their hit "Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)." The song, a kiss-off to a white wannabe b-boy, incensed hip-hop fans and P.C. music critics alike. And who can blame them? Few singers flaunt their idiocy as charismatically as the 'Spring's Dexter Holland. His yowl channels the beer-guzzling gusto of America's frat-boys just as Jewel's high-school poesy channels the dreams of millions of teenage girls. Throughout AMERICANA, the Offspring rocks out behind Holland with hard-core abandon. Yet no rocker can thrive on pure testosterone alone, and AMERICANA is so much fun because it's as heavy on cheesy humor as it is on unabashedly raucous surf-punk power. Listen to their loud-fast update of Morris Albert's "Feelings," which goes: "Feelings, nothing more than feelings/Feelings of HATE!" Take note of "Pretty Fly"'s head-banging reference to Def Leppard's "Rock of Ages," an inspired moment that ingeniously marries '80s junk-metal and the '90s punk that blew it off the charts. Pretty fly -- for a dumb guy. Jon Dolan

All Music Guide

With integrity intact and a hearty combination of poppy punk and wit throughout, the Offspring's fifth album is a raucous ride through America as seen through the eyes of a weary, but still optimistic, young kid. Riffs on political correctness, '70s radio fodder, and suburban disquiet are spread thick on Americana. If the band's targets seem a bit simple and predictable, its music rarely is. The SoCal roots aren't played to a fault, the blend of salsa and alterna-rock sounds natural, and the Offspring pretty much laugh at their culture, as well as themselves, the entire time. Best track is "Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)," which manages to bridge Def Leppard and Latin hip-hop (and the musical timeline they represent) and, in the process, disrobes Middle America's average white teen's quick fascination with and instant disposability of a once-regional heritage. With Americana, the Offspring are merely contributing their part. Michael Gallucci