How YOU doin’, friends? Thanks ever so much for tuning into the Dial! On the docket today is a late 90s punk pop jam that calls out those who drag others down with their own personal demons. Read on to determine why The Offspring says “She’s Got Issues”!
“I’m seeing this girl and she just might be out of her mind… well, she’s got baggage and it’s all the emotional kind…”
Featuring lead vocals and guitar work by Dexter Holland, along with bassist Greg K., guitarist “Noodles”, and drummer Ron Welty, “Issues” was the fourth and final single pulled from the California based punk rockers’ 1998 LP Americana. Peaking at #11 on the US alternative singles chart, and #19 on the US mainstream rock chart, the tune did not cross over to the Billboard hot 100, but it did top the UK’s Rock and Metal singles chart.
A hard rocking venting by the male narrator, “Issues” finds him voicing his frustration regarding his angst-filled, victim-playing girlfriend. Holland has explained that the tune is intended to criticize those who do not take responsibility for their own station in life, instead choosing to blame others as opposed to looking internally at their problems.
Now, the lyrics are a little on the crude side, as they mention specific problems in the bedroom, and feature an expletive at one point, but that just plays into the character’s overall exasperation at his girlfriend’s behavior… he’s been pushed to the edge himself by dealing with her.
“She talks about closure and that validation bit… I don’t mean to be insensitive, but I really hate that @!#$”
The music video is a true feast for the eyes, as it depicts everyday mundane occurrences in a young woman’s life (like cooking breakfast and riding the subway) as they distort into grotesque, over-the-top, and hilarious Robert Crumb style animated nightmares. And yes, your eyes do not deceive you, that young woman is indeed a 19 year old Zooey Deschanel! Pre-“New Girl”, pre-“Elf”, even pre-“Almost Famous”, here Zooey plays the girl who’s psychoses manifest themselves as gross cartoons constantly throughout her day, until she returns home to find Noodles and the guys jamming in her apartment.
The Offspring never scored a top 40 hit in the states, with the closest they’ve ever got being another Americana extract, “Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)”, which made it almost halfway up the chart at US #53 in ‘98. However, they’ve earned multiple top tens on the US Mainstream and Alternative rock charts. As a side question, how is it that a song can be a hit on both the “alternative” and “mainstream” formats? Shouldn’t it be one or the other? By definition, isn’t an alternative song supposed to BE an alternative TO the mainstream? Or at least, wasn’t it so, back in the ‘90s? I’ll never reconcile that one. Drop me a comment if you have a take on this…
“If you think I’m controlling… then why do you follow me around… if you’re not co-dependent… then why do you let others drag you down?”
After hearing this tune a few times when it was new, it struck me how similar the song is to .38 Special’s “Hold on Loosely”. Listen to it… The Offspring has basically recorded a skater punk cover of the 1981 southern rock hit, and wrote all new words to it. The guys are no strangers to this method, their “Why Don’t You Get A Job” basically apes The Beatles “Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da”, right down to the melody, cadence, and horn fills, and it even features John Lennon styled background adlibs. (Turns out I’m not the only musicologist that noticed this connection, check online for various mashups of “Issues” and “Loosely”, to see what I mean.)
So check out Dexter and the boys below as they rant against a girl who brings too much baggage to the table. And dig that crazy music video!
Also, check back in another two weeks or so as we continue to comb the musical archives to bring you songs that you forgot that you even forgot about!
"I don't know why you're messed up... I don't know why your whole life is a chore... just do me a favor, and check your baggage at the door."
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