RELATABLE! 🎵 The Offspring "The Kids Aren't Alright" REACTION

[@endocry]

It’s about idealistic dreams of kids being crushed by the reality of growing up, and wishing he could go back in time to experience those idealistic feelings again.

[@christophersantos730]

i grew up on this song when i was like 8 and now realizing this in my mid 20’s, couldn’t relate harder 😂

[@PHILPOP2]

Yep. growing up sux balls

[@endocry]

@@christophersantos730 man, mid 20's is so young. You still have time to do anything you want and not even be behind, wish you the best.

[@daveaglasgow]

Didn't the lead singer go back to the street he lived on after he became famous and found that most of the people he grew up with made nothing of their lives and this song was written about that.

[@christophersantos730]

@@endocry appreciate your words of wisdom. 🙌🏽

[@mpmlopes]

This one has nothing to do with the government. This one might be hard to relate to these days, but this perfectly captures growing up as part of Generation X, with little expectations for the future, there were always a couple of friends who ended up ODing, or commuting suicide. This is just a song about growing up, losing innocence and friends.

[@HideousConformity]

Someone once said, "Life is what happens to you while you're making plans."

[@profanepersonality]

I am part of the "lost" generation which is technically too old for Gen Y, but too young for Gen X. First they considered it Gen X, then Gen Y, and then we were dubbed "lost", lol.

[@mikekirby2085]

Very much this. Wanting to get out of your town, seeing the wreckage around you, coming back later realizing you were lucky to get out. The american dream turned into an unattainable fantasy that your parents talked about.

[@SadPeterPan1977]

I guess that depends on where you grew up. For me the song has always been about how of the transition from childhood to adulthood rarely goes exactly as you dreamed it would as a kid. Every kid on the street dreamt of being something but nobody grows up wanting to be an addict, nobody expects that they might suffer depression and attempt suicide when they're older, most girls probably don't expect to have kids when they're barely little more than kids themselves etc. I went to school with a girl who had sex with her first boyfriend aged 13 and immediately got pregnant. I remember her being one of the smarter kids in class with dreams of what she wanted to do but that one moment changed everything for her.

[@2xkiller]

@@profanepersonality Just so you know, regardless of what you might've heard, unless you were born between 1890-1915 you're not part of the "lost" Generation. The Lost Generation 1890 1915 The Interbellum Generation 1901 1913 The Greatest Generation 1910 1924 The Silent Generation 1925 1945 Baby Boomer Generation 1946 1964 Generation X (Baby Bust) 1965 1979 Xennials 1975 1985 Millennials Generation Y, Gen Next 1980 1994 iGen / Gen Z 1995 2012 Gen Alpha 2013 2025 You're either a Gen X or a Millennial.

[@paulayala4816]

The Offspring are probably one of the most underrated bands. It's a shame they don't get more airplay as they have some kick ass songs. This song is about young kids growing up with big dreams, but over time some of their dreams are unrealized or ife just turned on them for what ever reason. Dexter Holland the lead singer, went to the same high school my kids later did, so he very well could be singing about his experiences growing up in our community. Of course this song and meaning could apply to anybody or any community of friends,

[@CaddyJim]

Nothing about the government he went back & visited his hometown he's talking about the kids he grew up with & life pointed out many of the bad things that happened

[@celebrityinhiding4938]

Sounds gay

[@TheClayCoKid]

@@celebrityinhiding4938 Douchebag much?

[@NoActuallyGo-KCUF-Yourself]

I think Brad confuses the word, "government" with society in general. He had made similar nonsense statements before.

[@LongandWeirdName]

Look at this photograph.

[@jochyrocks8790]

@@celebrityinhiding4938 no bitches ?

[@2xkiller]

Sometimes it seems Brad is looking for the "Deeper" meaning of a song when the meaning is pretty straightforward. This song has nothing to do with liking or disliking the Government. IMHO It's about life, the decisions we make, the consequences of those decisions, and how badly they can affect our lives/the lives of those we care about.

[@vanhattfield8292]

In his defence he is hearing many of these songs for the first time and has no info on them at all and we are seeing his first reaction. I think it is common for most people to be unaware of what a song is about the first time we hear it but we either research it a bit or get feedback from others and over time we feel like we "know" what the artist was trying to convey to his listeners. I always think it is interesting what they both say because it is coming from a different perspective than mine and gives me a new way to look at some of these songs that I have been listening to for a long time. Cheers!

[@2xkiller]

@@vanhattfield8292 Ummm Lyrically this song is pretty straightforward about what it is about. There are songs with in-depth meanings like those from Tool, etc. and then there are songs like this one, that make it clear lyrically.

[@2xkiller]

@@vanhattfield8292 It really wasn't a dis towards him. He's listened to a bunch of stuff that is very deep that needed some background. I just think he overthinks things sometimes.

[@vanhattfield8292]

@@2xkiller I didn't take it that you were dissing him at all, my bad if that is what I projected. I was just adding my thoughts on the topic. 👍

[@khworker1322]

@@2xkiller God knows we don’t want to be thinking too much.

[@leonardvandergriff6241]

He wrote this song after being gone from his hometown for a good while and found out about all this stuff that happened to the kids he went to school with

[@mrhobs]

That sounds made up, but I'll buy it.

[@yaboideviin3240]

@@mrhobs except it's not, that's actually what it's about. research does exist

[@mrhobs]

@@yaboideviin3240 If it made a difference to me, I would research it. That's why I said I'll buy it. Why the 'tude my dude?

[@kevinruney5835]

-“LONGING FOR WHAT USED TO BE”. -“Is this about the government?” Lol

[@EasyZee69]

Love this song! I don't think the song is about government or the system. It's about bad life choices and lost potential.

[@frankspeciale5071]

Your right it's not about getting government it's about the bad choices, drugs

[@psychobartus]

@@frankspeciale5071 these days there is no such thing as bad choices, its all systematic apparently, if your life sucks there is always someone else to blame

[@andrew348]

@@psychobartus Checkout neuroscientist Robert Sapolsky's work and you won't have to add "apparently" to the end of your comment

[@OfficialDZmusic]

Not necessarily bad choices in my view. Kids idealise their parents and how the world works. They dream about a nice life with being healthy, having a good job, loving family, enough money on the bank account etc. but then they grow up and realize that life is not that easy. Most of them will struggle and have to give up on their dreams.

[@brookswashere3339]

I was an independent pro wrestler in the early 2000s and this was my intro music ..still gets me pumped to this day

[@daveg7948]

That's awesome dude! This would have got you over with me off the bat. This band is such a huge part of my childhood. Love them

[@nadaduo1765]

This guy singing about all this destruction and Lex just banging her head and smiling lol Gotta love Lex !!

[@aafjeyakubu5124]

A good tune's a good tune.

[@spiderdeath85]

​@@aafjeyakubu5124probably doesn't understand music 🤦🏻

[@djm4457]

The Offspring are one of the most underated bands that ever walked the Earth.

[@hmpz36911]

How? They're a multi-platinum band, well-loved by 2 generations. I would say they're unjustly hated by most punks though.

[@harbinger8035]

For sure

[@trenchy1990]

They have the record for highest selling LP by an indie-label band. So I'd say not underrated.

[@MacGuffinExMachina]

They're good, but they're famous. Not underrated.

[@mneugent7658]

They are underrated in the sense that music history doesn't have a place for them versus how good they have been as a band with their success as well.

[@SARA-11-1]

He also says "longing for what used to be"! To me that says it all!

[@mmiller1113]

I love the contrast between you two, Brad looks totally stoic, maybe fighting off eating something sour.... whereas Lex reacts like she just discovered rainbows and maybe spotted a unicorn lol

[@martinmiller6984]

We have the same name lol

[@mmiller1113]

Lol Martin... kinda, I'm a michael but close counts bro

[@hopswigh]

Offspring was the truth people weren't listening to. This was my hit during my teens and after my friend died in a car accident at 14, it made a lot more sense. As a child life is full of wonderment. We get told how great we are at things and how bright our future will be if we just work hard etc. As we age out of our teens and become adults, the world turns and starts telling you what you're doing wrong. The positivity and support generally turn into criticism and barriers. This song taught me that if you don't make the right decisions or do the right things, you won't get anywhere.

[@psychobartus]

This^

[@atomant451]

This song reminds me of what happened to Detroit, I lived in Windsor in the 70s and would go around Detroit on a day trip and it looked vibrant, Kids playing in the streets, and you look at Detroit today, with most of those Houses boarded up, entire communities gone. What became of those Kids.

[@chairmanofthebored6860]

The fact that "whoa" was misspelled EVERY TIME, drives me a little crazy.

[@michaeljacyna1973]

I took it as more phonetically the way Dexter does it in the song lol

[@mikethemotormouth]

@@michaeljacyna1973 but then wouldn't that sound more like "wow"? Like Chairman MAO?

[@Vexelpops1]

it's either he doesn't know how to spell whoa or they are trying a phonetic spelling (I think it's that) but either way it's either ganna happen only once because its a typo or every time

[@Sindraug25]

There are soooooo many lyrics videos with misspellings and even wrong lyrics sometimes. It blows my mind that people are that careless with their work.

[@MH-zg5yw]

And the fact that "whoa" is not a lyric

[@xDarkTrinityx]

This song hits after now being 32... I've had high school classmates that have committed suicide, died from illness, died from accidents... classmates have been arrested.. some Ill never know what happened to... it's just sad to look back on your childhood and realize life just hits us all really hard in the ways you least expect. I appreciate this song more than I did when I first heard it.

[@tinaprice3497]

Hickroy Creek Rd, Denver, NC. This song is a great discription of this.

[@tinaprice3497]

This is totally the trailer park I grew up in. This song right here.

[@davidsmother9266]

Some of the most incredible lyrics to a song ive ever heard. It reminds me of so many stops in my own life

[@albaPhenom]

Such a great song, upbeat tempo against crushing lyrical content.

[@XDfunnyguy]

Certified banger

[@ThenDarknessFalls]

They were always good at that.

[@ThenDarknessFalls]

@@XDfunnyguy certified, for sure.

[@lemarechaltateau]

seriously I dont get your overthinking over a such straightforward punk song. Offspring is still amazingly underrated.

[@smalltowndowntown9199]

It’s not about the government. It’s about the innocence, hopefulness, and naivety of childhood being dashed by time and reality.

[@williammatthews693]

Heard this song for the first time during the opening of "The Faculty". I fell in love with the Offspring from then on out!

[@niteynite]

Most people's dreams get shattered.

[@gregoryginder236]

This song hits so deep , so true, hits perfect about my friends in my neighborhood , just young people in general so true

[@amphibeingmcshpongletron5026]

I'll always remember buying the Smash album, by The Offspring, on CD at a record store in Boston when I was a teenager. The girl at the counter was a pretty, "alt" girl in her 20s, circa 2004. She saw me buying Smash by the Offspring, a Misfits album I can't remember, Iowa by Slipknot, and Number of the Beast by Iron Maiden...I'll never forget the compassion and nostalgia in her eyes as she looked at me and rang me up. She said she was so happy that "kids these days were still supporting alternative, punk, and metal music and buying albums like Smash" and that Smash was one of the main albums she listened to at my age. Now that I'm a bit older, I understand the way she reacted to me buying those albums.

[@mikephillips1043]

The people I graduated with calls this the _______ song named after the street I grew up on because either the 16 kids we graduated with are dead from suicide/od or are doing absolutely nothing with thier lives. Only 5 of us are left alive.

[@raptorclaw163]

Such an awesome song! At first it’s this really rockin’ tune with great beats...then you hear what they’re singing and it’s actually a good message about growing up and suddenly realizing how harsh life’s curveballs can be.

[@disclaimer.imjokin]

Used to bang to this but now that 2nd verse I've had and have friends that have done them things... proper relatable and hits hard

[@justinkowalczyk5988]

As someone who has buried a ton of friends and people I grew up with this song hits hard. It's about seeing the world swallow us up after youth seems like everyone is gonna have these long perfect lives

[@NOAHCASAS]

THE SONG IS ABOUT DEXTER GOING BACK TO VISIT HIS HOMETOWN "GARDEN GROVE CA," THE STREET HE GREW UP ON TO FIND OUT THE KIDZ THIS CHILDHOOD FRIENDS HAD ALL BEEN FALLING APART DO TO DIFFERENT REASON I'M FROM "COSTA MESA CA," NEXT CITIES OVER SEEN AND HEARD OF THE OFFSPRING'S WHILE THEY WERE JUST A GREAT LOCAL BAND IN THE EARLY 9O'S NOW THEIR SOUND TRAVELS THE WORLD

[@btnhstillfire]

This song is about life and the reality of when dreams dont come to fruition. Ppl lose themselves. They get depressed. They get lost. Very very deep song.

[@mandanicole9104]

80s and 90s kids anthem. It's really haunting. Especially when you look at where we are now.

[@lastsv.4311]

I loved this song 🎵 😭 in 90's I mean the music because at that time I didn't understand any english word and the offspring voice 😃😅🤘👏

[@christineoliverio120]

The Offspring has been a favorite of mine since they’re first album was released….I love that their music always has a purpose other than just entertaining

[@charlesrose5758]

So you finally nailed it... not the system, not the government... just lives changed, and some lost forever... The lyrics are actually very insightful; coming from a man with several degrees, a PHD and a pretty darn talented band. He's reflecting on his own life; where he's at now, compared to where many of his childhood friends are ("chances lost...").

[@thefatman2780]

THIS IS MY MID-TEEN YEARS. PERFECTION. THE ACTUAL VIDEO ROCKS TOO BUT WILL PROBABLY BE BLOCKED. CHEERS FROM UPSTATE SC.

[@tinamoreland434]

The Offspring was my generations social commentators, we didn't have youtube as a voice. we had music

[@vodkarage8227]

To me this song speaks to individual lives. We think we have so much time to do stuff, but we really don't. A bad decision with your money can leave you recovering for decades. Being raised in a cult, strict family, drug family, bad neighborhood, poor, rich but cold family, and a million other scenarios that leave scars on our minds. By the times we enter the grave, our minds are completely scarred.

[@DaveCosley]

Love this band. Great song. Definitely an under-rated band.

[@franciscomenano]

love you guys, and love all these songs. they bring back so many memories.....Love from Portugal

[@deanhovey8348]

Great review ! Spot on disenchanted youth ... dreams gone people of every creed everywhere slip away ...

[@troylambert1601]

This song can be summed up as the trials of Job. good luck out there, I hope you find meaning out there.

[@jerryarcher1923]

I love the Offsprings…the lead guitarist was the janitor at their school…pretty fly fora white guy.

[@jesuschristpose896]

Its about how a situation can totally eat you up, no matter what it is

[@TheJonasbz]

This song is so fuckin great, life has a tendency to go to hell---

[@mikechmielewski386]

Might be good to counter this with the song this one references: "The Kids Are Alright" by The Who. It's early Who, so it's a bit more straightforward than the Who songs you might have heard before.

[@markrobertdevison1227]

Completely agree! I like The Who song better.

[@klaptongroovemaster]

I think they're kind of obligated at this point.

[@javier3585]

Yes!

[@kryten09]

This song came out when I was in middle school... I'll be 36 in may and it "hits" different now for sure. I've seen it play out around me.

[@tommymcgrory9039]

One of my favourite tunes and always goes down well when I sing it at kareoke

[@anthonymanuge6237]

Dexter wrote this song when he went home to visit his parents and found out about a whole bunch of his local friends that these things were their fate while he went on to be a rich famous rock star.

[@crazycatman5928]

90s had such great toons

[@Anonlb]

Seen a lot of artists live and I gotta say I had the most fun watching the offspring live. They started with this song 🎵

[@profanepersonality]

This song is the anthem of the teens and young adults when this came out. We had to admit that the generation before us, took everything; then didn't want us to have the very same perks they had.

[@aran7teen]

Brad, have you ever considered learning to play the guitar? Until I was about 14 all I heard was pop and hip hop, but mostly hip hop. I think I used to hear music the way you do now. I just wanted lyrics and a decent beat. However, at school I wanted to do music class as part of my high school qualifications, so I had to pick an instrument. Picked guitar because it looked easy and girls liked it and it changed my whole outlook on music. I started hearing things in a new way as I had an appreciation for how the sounds were being made. Started with the bad boys for life riff, then some of the softer nirvana songs and green day. Managed to watch school of rock at the right time and boom I was off. Learning an instrument is probably the greatest gift I’ve ever been given. Totally changed the way I hear music of all kinds. Perhaps learning to play guitar and sing at the same time also helps with hearing (and feeling) music while hearing the lyrics simultaneously - rather than taking in the lyrics but not really getting much out of the music. Just a thought. You do you.

[@ramkraken8242]

Man, dude, you totally enjoyed this song and I am so glad I witnessed this show!!!!

[@jeremiahmclane2374]

My favorite band! All there songs rock!

[@metalmark1214]

Think this is a song that really hits home for some, about real life, some dreams get shattered. A sobering song.

[@irvinepoker3187]

this song came out like '99 I think. at the time I likd it but couldnt relate to it cause i felt it was for an oldr crowd.....20+ years later im 38 now and i can relate so much to this song now. ive lost touch of friends..gf's..and some friends passed on. ive lost a friend to drugs too.

[@tornnomar]

WOW, I'm so glad you guys reacted to to a great song by such an underated band. Thank you>

[@anthonyleger68]

"Gone Away" is another great song by this song.

[@Diggerdog2nd]

The rock band ( The Who) had a song in the 60's called The Kids are Alright. I believe The Off Spring countered that title with the flip side of reality.

[@dimrye]

Love this song and band, ever since crazy taxi as a wee lad haha. Can't wait to see them live in 9 days time

[@runyunhyde4373]

The lead singer has a degree in Rocket science. Genius level IQ

[@Malic430]

Molecular Biology but still a genius. Plus his hot sauce is the shit lol

[@TheBillycrash138]

90s punk was a great resurgence. AFI was one of the best! First 5 or so albums were awesome and so different. So many great songs to choose from.

[@oliverjackson5070]

The hardships of becoming an adult when life used to be so simple as a kid & the whole world stood before you.

[@jckdnls9292]

Brad with the dazed look, like this one hit home, hard.

[@SaltyBagfries]

This song is timeless. I'm in my upper 30s, and everyone from my K-12 years went all over the place. Of my say five closest friends from that time, one ended himself, another died in Iraq, one had 5 kids and I don't know where she is now, one is in DC politics, and one has a wife whose boss is my wife, and we all knew each other. Life get's weird in weird ways.

[@acy2004]

Nice to see Lex enjoy this one. Great reaction guys 🙋🏻‍♀️🙌🏼👍🏼👏🏼💜🇨🇦

[@franklinzappa7043]

OFFSPRING playing Live in Denver Colorado USA 🎸4-30-23🎸🎼🎼🎼 They gonna Shred it.

[@srgfk]

Love her literally getting it the whole song!!!

[@mil2k11]

This is one of those songs where the video ties in really well to understand.

[@jimmyavsfan24]

These guys are AMAZING live. Can’t wait to see them again 🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘

[@rhyssanders9122]

He's feeling the emotions of the lyrics, she's just bopping to the rhythm

[@guycrawshaw]

It was this song that made me pick up the guitar again back in the 90s and I haven’t looked back since, thank you offspring 🤟🏼😛🤟🏼🎸🎸

[@ryanziegler5433]

Learned this from "behind the lyrics" on spotify as I was working out this morning. Also: I was still working there when we were blowing up 'cause I'd promised my boss I wouldn't quit until the end of the school year. There was this one high school girl that I knew [there] and she used to see me in the morning and say to me, 'Man, what are you doing? I just saw you on MTV!'

[@SlyghtMusic]

Honestly this song is kind of a tear jerker for me. Ive grown up in the same area in portland and it really is true. Ive had friends committ suicide. Weve all succumb to drugs. I had one where he hung himself and just a few years later his brother overdosed and died. We were young free and went from playing shows at house partys and having a blast. Grew up in a neighborhood that was very working middle class on the surface but we all saw friends go hungry and power being shut off and now i look around its dead friends graffiti and closed down businesses. It really hits home

[@tukkerintensity5575]

The intro to this song always reminds me of Buffy the Vampire Slayer

[@ezequielacevedo2497]

I love how the face of the guy in this kind of song is allways a Vietnam Flashback face And the woman is allways enjoying the music jajajajaj

[@jeffreekoch9298]

California punk rock 🎸 Offspring 👌

[@m000Theevilcow]

This to me is about life expectations while you´re growing up, the bottom line is there is a limit to what you can blame the system for, you must own your mistakes and stop pointing the finger at all times to the system.. we are the system ... but yeah adulthood really hits some of us hard.

[@andrew348]

Which "some of us"? And why those particular "some of uses"?

[@inadisguise9824]

When you notice those dreams you had when you were young never came true for you. Then you look around and notice it all the kids on the street that you grew up on.

[@bawitback]

First rock album Americana i got as a teenager back in the 90s great reaction.

[@MichaelTaylor-qp2xf]

I don't know if this is your first Offspring song, but one you definitely check out that's almost 30 years old but still is relatable today is "Come Out And Play"

[@mikethemotormouth]

They've also done Self-Esteem and the video on Bad Habit came out last Sunday or might have been the Sunday last week

[@Corvid-w3b]

Lost so many friends to drugs. And we grew up together..... I miss them. Its really hard to go back home

[@soserious4738]

Just the difference in generations. Boomers rocked out to “The Kids Are Alright” by the Who. Gen Xers rocked to “The Kids Aren’t Alright” by Offspring.

[@browntabproductions]

Lead Singer Dexter Holland wrote the song after visiting his home town, Garden Grove, California. Holland said, "You grow up in America, and you're supposed to have a bright future." During his visit he discovered that was not the case for many residents of the town. Holland is also the creator of the hot sauce Gringo Bandito, launched in 2004, and, attained a PhD in molecular biology in 2017. Highly recommend more Offspring. 🤘😎🤘

[@alexbarie4812]

Had the pleasure of seeing the offspring live 3 times. Wonderful band. Tremendous songs I recommend from the offspring is “you’re gonna go far kid” , “gone away” and “pretty fly for a white guy”

[@glenkrisch4844]

I always think this song should be paired with Jim Carroll's "People Who Died." Also, the title is an homage to The Who's "The Kids are Alright."

[@ydoucare55]

This song was the theme song of every senior high school class in my area around that time.

[@kennymccoy662]

The songs about going home years later and seeing whats become of your old neighborhood and the people you grew up with

[@unintelligentlifeform7180]

such a great band. check out more of their songs, you won't regret it!

[@gregheath8106]

Nothing to do with the system. Just people you knew while growing up that ended up making bad life choices or just having bad things happen to them. Many kids have dreams of how their future will look, but for a lot of them, their future ends up being jacked up.

[@robperry5293]

At this time drug addiction was really taking a toll... My little street sure had more then it's share of pain...jail, prison, addiction, broken families I had my share of issues also.

[@joekuul8769]

Sadly, all those things are still happening, maybe moreso. Just read a couple of days ago that 100K Americans have OD'd in the last 12 months. Mostly Fentanyl and other Opioids.

[@robperry5293]

@@joekuul8769 Thanks for the reply...Yep we as people are very slow learners.

[@hollyharvey1986]

This song means something totally different to me now that I’m an adult. Love the Offspring…like the base in “Low Self Esteem”

[@USAmademercantile]

Yes this is about growing up in the 80s and 90 as a teen-20s GenXers like me HS Class of 1984-how appropriate for today's craziness

[@markbaker3013]

Thank you for sharing this with me

[@djC653]

It's unsettling how many ppl my wife knew in high school that aren't with us today

[@ArtsyFartsy1978]

That’s what makes this song hit so hard every time the pure relativity to it.

[@kennethduhaime7899]

OMG!...I grew up i Korn kids... still went to the beach!!!

[@mattdemo7173]

Love that you two are jumping into the punk scene. I would recommend checking out some Dropkick Murphy's songs. I feel like Brad would dig the lyrics for "Heroes Of The Past" specifically.