| "Come Out and Play" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single bythe Offspring | ||||
| from the albumSmash | ||||
| B-side |
| |||
| Released | August 29, 1994 (1994-08-29)[1] | |||
| Genre | Punk rock[2][3] | |||
| Length | 3:17 | |||
| Label | Epitaph | |||
| Songwriter | Dexter Holland | |||
| Producer | Thom Wilson | |||
| The Offspring singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Come Out and Play" onYouTube | ||||
"Come Out and Play" (sometimes subtitled "Keep 'Em Separated")[4] is a song by the Americanpunk rock bandthe Offspring. It is the seventh track on their third album,Smash (1994), and was released in August 1994 byEpitaph Records as its first single. Written by frontmanDexter Holland, it is considered the Offspring's breakthrough song, as it received widespread radio play,[5][6] with first attention brought byJed the Fish ofKROQ-FM.[7][8] The song reached number one on the USBillboardModern Rock Tracks chart, bringing both the band and thepunk rock genre to widespread attention. Its accompanying music video was directed byDarren Lavett.
The song also appears as the second track on theirGreatest Hits album (2005).
Stylistically, the track combines "heavyriff-basedpunk" withsurf-style guitar work.[9]
Dexter Holland said that most songs onSmash "were just about whatever was happening in front of me". In the case of "Come Out and Play", it was about gang and school violence: "Back then I was a grad student and I was commuting to school everyday in a shitty car, driving throughEast L.A. Gangland central. I was there the day ofthe L.A. riots. So I was very aware of that part of the world, and a lot of that gun stuff came out in songs like 'Come Out and Play'."[7] The line "you gotta keep 'em separated" was sung by Jason "Blackball" McLean, a friend and a fan of the band.[10] Inspiration for this line came from Dexter Holland's experience in a laboratory coolingErlenmeyer flasks full of hot liquids.[11]
Jennifer Nine fromMelody Maker named "Come Out and Play" Single of the Week, saying, "If only all sweaty hardcore boys jumping around in their big boots sounded this cool and this happy. A big fat groovy thing."[12] Pan-European magazineMusic & Media wrote, "This single was shipped to Americancollege androck radio a while ago as promo-only. Contrary to expectations, airplay soared and the album Smash has now reached platinum status in the US. It's a quirky, noise-y rock song that sports an interesting rhythm that could go down well withalbum rock programmers in Europe."[13]
"Come Out and Play" was the first Offspring song for which a music video was created. The music video, directed by American directorDarren Lavett, was shot in May 1994[14] and debuted onMTV in the summer of that year. The video is almost entirely inblack-and-white withsepia tone segments, and features the band performing the song in the garage of a house with tinfoil covering the walls. There is also footage involving dogs fighting over a chew toy with a crowd watching, a horse race, a sword fight and some clips of several snakes and snake charmers, as well as some fencing scenes. The song is a nod to theTwisted Sister 1985 albumCome Out and Play.
In 1994,Posh Boy Records owner Robbie Fields submitted a written claim to Epitaph Records via theHarry Fox Agency, alleging that the two-bar Arabian guitar phrase repeated throughout "Come Out and Play" copied the guitar solo from "Bloodstains", a song by theFullerton, California punk rock bandAgent Orange written in 1979 to which Fields, as the song's publisher, owned the copyright.[15][16] Offspring lead vocalist and primary songwriterDexter Holland had cited "Bloodstains" as one of the songs that sparked his interest in punk rock, saying it "really influenced me, especially that Arabian-sounding lead. I've written a lot of stuff like that", and the Offspring's public admiration had brought Agent Orange increased attention.[15][17] Fields contended that the similarity between the two guitar parts amounted to the Offspringsampling Agent Orange, and requested that Epitaph pay a licensing fee ofUS$0.01 for each copy ofSmash sold—equating to $60,000 or more at the time—which he would split evenly with Agent Orange frontman and "Bloodstains" writer Mike Palm.[15] A lawsuit was not filed, as Fields said "Nobody wants topillory anybody. But I feel I have a fiduciary duty to represent Mike Palm's interests."[15] Palm declined to give an opinion on the matter, later noting that he was not involved in filing the claim but did not disagree with it, and invited listeners to compare the two songs, saying "Anyone who listens will know what the issue is."[15][16]
The Offspring's manager Jim Guerinot called Fields' claim baseless, saying the two guitar parts were "not even close to identical. They're both in the same scale, [and] there's no doubt there's an influence, [but] it doesn't mean that it's stolen. If he feels he has something, he'll sue, and if we've done something that is proven wrong [by technical analysis of the two songs] we should be sued. But we don't feel there's any merit to it."[15] Randall Wixen, the Offspring's music publisher, stated that amusicologist hired by Epitaph determined the two guitar parts were not identical, despite being based in the same Middle Eastern scale.[18] "We've told [Fields] a hundred times he's not getting paid. He's not getting a cent", Wixen said in 1996, stating that Fields and Palm would have to sue if they wished to pursue the claim.[18] Although no lawsuit was ever filed, Palm maintained that he still deserved credit for the guitar riff: "I could show you interviews in which Dexter Holland outright admits that he took that riff from my song and used it in his song," he asserted in 2000, "In the rap world, when something like that is taken as a sample, they pay for it the same way I pay for guitar strings and picks."[16] The claim became national news when the Offspring discussed it onMTV, leading to a backlash against Palm: "Some punk kid's perception of that is to think that I'm the bad guy," he said, "but they don't understand that the Offspring are millionaires and I'm just trying to retain whatever little tiny thing is mine."[16]
Some fellow Californian punk rock musicians criticized the allegation.Frank Agnew, guitarist of fellow Fullerton band theAdolescents, remarked "I don't see how you can call that plagiarism; all it is, is an Arabic scale. It just reeks to me [as if] people are after a piece of the pie. If the Offspring did a guitar solo that was reminiscent of one of my guitar solos, I'd be honored, not [antagonized]. I think it's real petty."[15]The Vandals, who were signed to Holland's labelNitro Records, released the song "Aging Orange" on their 1996 albumThe Quickening, with lyrics by bassistJoe Escalante mocking Palm's claim to ownership of a style rooted in ancient Middle Eastern music.[16][18]
Back in ancient Egypt many pharaohs went to jail
For misappropriation of myPhrygian scale
I said "Listen,Tutankhamun, you're driving me insane
It's obvious those bellies are all dancing to 'Bloodstains'
I figured out you owe me, and please try not to laugh
But every time I hear it, I get one moregolden calf"[18]
Palm called the song "nothing but Joe's desperate attempt to brown-nose the Offspring", characterizing it as "lame and out of line. You think there was some ass-licking going on there?", sentiments echoed by Fields.[16][18] Palm noted "Aging Orange" incorrectly implied he had sued the Offspring.[18] Escalante, also an entertainment lawyer, said that Fields' and Palm's attempt to get money from Epitaph and the Offspring represented "the kind of crap I hate" in both the legal system and entertainment business, and that the Vandals—with their long tradition of satirizing things they perceived foolish within the punk scene—would have ridiculed the situation regardless of the parties involved.[18] The Offspring latercovered "Bloodstains" for the soundtrack of the 2000 filmReady to Rumble.[16] "It's great that they recorded 'Bloodstains'", said Palm, "but it doesn't help me personally. Sometimes I feel like an old black bluesman who got ripped off."[16]
As well as appearing onSmash, the song also appears as the second track on their 2005Greatest Hits album. The music video also appears on theComplete Music Video Collection DVD, which was also released in 2005. The song is heard in the carnival fight scene inNobody 2.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Come Out and Play" (Keep 'Em Separated) | 3:17 |
| 2. | "Session" | 2:33 |
| 3. | "Come Out and Play" (Acoustic Reprise) | 1:31 |
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[36] | Gold | 35,000^ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[41] | Platinum | 30,000‡ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
MTV hits Self Esteem and Come Out And Play remain punk-rock party starters...
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