"Why Don't You Get a Job?"

For some reason, Alamo gave me a rental car featuring XM satellite radio without telling me. Once I figured it out, I naturally turned to Lucy where every day is the ultimate nineties alt-rock party. At any rate, "Why Don't You Get a Job" by The Offspring came on, and while I'd remembered it as a bad song, oh my God it's terrible.

In addition to its pure sonic badness, it's just an egregious rip-off of "ob-la-di ob-la-da," and is conveying what I've got to believe is the least punk message in human history. I'm almost inclined to believe that the whole thing is a kind of deeply ironic joke about the willingness of commercial radio programmers to give airtime to whatever crap the record companies feed them.

Comments

Just imagine what those poor souls endure as fans of country music! Every song, 24/7, excruciating sounds from hell.

Posted by steve duncan | June 29, 2007 2:21 PM

If I remember correctly that song became a hit before it was a single which makes it indicative of a deeper rot in society.

Posted by Dan Panorama | June 29, 2007 2:22 PM

That aside, though, Lucy is brilliant.

Posted by jhupp | June 29, 2007 2:31 PM

The lifeguard at the Y had the radio tuned to country, which meant I swam my regular distance without stopping (i.e. with my ears safely underwater, mostly). The only song I heard (while stretching) mentioned whiskey and Oklahoma farms needing rain. If I'd have heard the whole thing I'm sure a dog or horse would've made an appearance.

Matt's comments about Offspring, the least punk of all 'punk' bands, and exactly right.

Posted by American Citizen | June 29, 2007 2:42 PM

I'm almost inclined to believe that you're a kind of deeply ironic joke, Mat. The kind that isn't funny. Please, no music, no basketball, and no cats. (I don't think you've done cats yet, but I'm afraid you're going to start.)

Posted by Alan Vanneman | June 29, 2007 2:48 PM

Lucy rather than XMU? You're losing your edge, man.

Posted by lemuel pitkin | June 29, 2007 2:50 PM

I'm glad someone agrees with me about that song being a rip-off of the Beatles' classic. I've tried to convince people of that before, but to no avail.

Posted by Khaled Shaheen | June 29, 2007 3:38 PM

XMU is definitely the way to go XM-wise.

Posted by Betty Black | June 29, 2007 3:55 PM

Not commenting on the quality itself, I'll just note that Offspring isn't so much "punk" as west-coast skater-punk.

It might seem like nitpicking, but skater punk has a different set of ethos and cultural concerns. They are not so-much with the raging as the establishment as much as commenting on suburban ennui, the lameness of their peers and themselves, and employment.

In fact, menial employment is probably one of the big themes of skater punk, much like how god, booze, and cheating hearts are themes in country.

Posted by Enjie | June 29, 2007 4:11 PM

The record, if you actually listen to it, is a deliberate tribute/pastische of a bunch of different rock styles, particularly California styles. It's a DELIBERATE choice and a deliberate joke as well. (If you don't get it, listen to the extra track at the end with the groovy quasi-Donovan sitar/Led Zepplin thing going.)

Enjie, BTW, is correct: they aren't East Coast/Britpunk, they're skatepunks. See also Suicidal Tendencies, and Black Flag.

m, geez

Posted by max | June 29, 2007 4:27 PM

Back when I hung around punks, there was nothing unpunk about 'get a job, ya bum'. Most of the punks I knew did menial jobs with varying degrees of commitment/success.
The attitude of most of them was something like 'work if you want to/have to, don't if you don't want to, but don't whine about it'.

As for the song in question, of course it's a rip off/homage to the beatles, and it's not great art or great pop or punk but it was well above the average of most radio fare at the time (not to mention ... now).

Posted by michael farris | June 29, 2007 4:48 PM

Probably because Offspring was not a punk band. The punk movement was over and done with by the time you were about 8 years old, Matt.

Offspring is pretty clearly a pop band. That's why they got played on the radio, unlike Suicidal Tendencies and Black Flag (which was from the East Coast, btw, and certainly not "skatepunk," whatever that may be).

Posted by Toad | June 29, 2007 5:18 PM

The punk movement was over and done with by the time you were about 8 years old, Matt.

That implies it lasted until 1989--in my opinion, an extremely generous estimate.

Posted by James Gary | June 29, 2007 5:30 PM

Toad, while Henry Rollins may have been from the DC area (as he was), Black Flag was not an East Coast band. West Coast all the way -- out of the beach cities. Henry joined the band after several records and a couple years of local playing -- and some of the stuff the group did before Henry joined is excellent.

Posted by Mark Goldstein | June 29, 2007 5:44 PM

Deliberate joke or not, I could never stand the Offspring--particularly that song. I'd never noticed the resemblance to the Beatles, but then again I never listened long enough.

But Black Flag! Funny the things you get nostalgic for.

Posted by mwg | June 29, 2007 6:05 PM

"I'm almost inclined to believe that the whole thing is a kind of deeply ironic joke about the willingness of commercial radio programmers to give airtime to whatever crap the record companies feed them."

Like rain on your wedding day?

But seriously, isn't this almost the same argument you defended "Ironic" with?

Posted by Sam L. | June 29, 2007 6:06 PM

"Why don't you get a job?"isn't necessarily "the least punk message in human history. A lot of the east coast punk, especially that out of the North East, is heavily influences by British Oi and street punk. This is "working class" punk and those who listen to it tend to be hard working physical laborers. The message to a lot of these songs is "work hard and pull yourself up by your bootstraps." As for this song, it seems to be about people who don't work at all and expect a free ride.

However, what is ironic is that, if this is the message of the song, the song itself is an example of the lifestyle it rails against because it is a rip off of "Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da".

Posted by Drew | June 29, 2007 6:49 PM

Oh, man. I haven't thought about that song, or the far too many times I saw the video, in at least eight or nine years. Sometimes I'm thankful for groups like the offspring, who will forever cut short whatever mid-90s middle school nostalgia I may be insane enough to dream up.

Posted by Jon | June 29, 2007 8:44 PM

Dude, if you like Lucy, try Fred on XM44.

Posted by Adam Villani | June 30, 2007 12:55 AM

For the record, I remember when that song came out -- the first two or three times I heard it, I couldn't tell whether it was by Weird Al Yankovic.

Posted by moron | June 30, 2007 5:47 AM

Are you folks claiming that the song is a ripoff of Ob-La-Di for real? As in, you think they were trying to slip something by you, but you're just too clever for that?

Also, they fit pretty neatly into the alt-rock category last I checked. Sure, they have strong punk influences, but so do a lot of alt-rock bands.

Posted by Bison | June 30, 2007 11:16 AM

Are you folks claiming that the song is a ripoff of Ob-La-Di for real? As in, you think they were trying to slip something by you, but you're just too clever for that?

Thank you.

"Iris" by the Goo Goo Dolls was a rip-off of "Piano Man."

Posted by Barbar | June 30, 2007 11:30 AM

"Iris" by the Goo Goo Dolls was a rip-off of "Piano Man."

Wow, you're right. Not just the melody itself, but the fact that it uses the same melody for both verse and chorus, just like "Piano Man".

Posted by benny | June 30, 2007 12:33 PM

But lets remember how great 'self-esteem' was.

Posted by yoyo | June 30, 2007 1:48 PM