When I got a part time job in high school and actually had some disposable income, I started buying albums for the first time. Before this point, I either was at the mercy of what came on the radio or what was available from other members of my family. Now, I got to choose what I listened to. The first album I bought was The Beatles' 1, which was still not much of a departure of what I had already been exposed to. The first real steps to developing my own individual musical identity was with the second album I ever bought: The Offspring's Americana. My favorite song was the single, "The Kids Aren't Alright."
It was fast, it was hard, it had nice vocal harmonies, and the subject matter was serious. Mostly, it was fun. The whole album was, with songs that didn't take themselves too seriously, including "Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)," which was meant to be funny. The Offspring was a band that, for whatever reason, I really connected with, especially "Have You Ever," which is about social anxiety.
But the really distinction the Offspring holds for me is as a "gateway band." Now, I should say that I recently rediscovered their music, but for a long time I just forgot about them because they weren't heavy enough for me (mostly, they weren't Metallica enough for me).
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