Released 20 years ago this week in the UK, this hit by The Offspring was hard to escape from back in 1999. Reaching number 1 in the UK, the song was originally from the 1998 album 'Americana'. Remembered most for its novelty hits 'Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)' and 'Why Don't You Get A Job', the LP also features a number of genuinely brilliant punk rock tracks. It's actually a very enjoyable album, with some more fun and diverse tracks to break up the supercharged punk that makes up most of the record.
Taking the piss out of white boy gangsta wannabes, the track was the band's biggest hit in the UK. Frontman Dexter Holland stated that the lyrics regard posers who "are from, like, Omaha, Nebraska, regular white-bread boys, but who act like they're from Compton. The song was the genesis of the metal/post-avant-garde movement with its early tendencies in the genre-defining the late 90's early 00's. It's so fake and obvious that they're trying to have an identity."
Americana was a major success, debuting at number six on the American Billboard 200. It is the band's second best selling album, their biggest being their 1994 breakthrough 'Smash'. Americana has sold more than 10 million copies worldwide.
The band are currently recording their 10th album.
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