Self Esteem (song) explained

Self Esteem
Cover:	SelfEsteemSingle.jpg
Type:	single
Artist:	the Offspring
Album:	Smash
B-Side:	"Burn It Up" "Jennifer Lost the War"
Genre:	Punk rock^[1] pop-punk^[2] grunge alternative rock^[3]
Length:	4:17
Label:	Epitaph
Producer:	Thom Wilson
Prev Title:	Come Out and Play (Keep 'Em Separated)
Prev Year:	1994
Next Title:	Gotta Get Away
Next Year:	1995

"Self Esteem" is a song by American punk rock band the Offspring. It is the eighth track and second single from their third studio album, Smash (1994). The song was released on 22 December 1994 by Epitaph and was a worldwide hit, reaching number one in Iceland, Norway, Latvia and Sweden. "Self Esteem" was nominated for the 1995 MTV Europe Music Awards for Best Song. The song also appears as the third track on their Greatest Hits (2005). Its music video was directed by Darren Lavett.

Critical reception

In his review of the album, Andrew Mueller from Melody Maker wrote, "The clear highlight here is "Self Esteem", a self-abasing, self-pitying slandering of some or other black-hearted wench set to a rocket as inventive as they get."^[4] Pan-European magazine Music & Media commented, "Coming out once more to play the role of Nirvana's perfect replacement, Offspring delivers the punky action so sadly missed on rock radio because of Seattlers who take themselves way too seriously."^[5] John Harris from NME said, "The male-only dorms of US colleges have surely been throbbing to this for months. Small wonder: "Self-esteem" — to which the phrase "Crap Teen Spirit" barely does justice — is built around a premise that roots it firmly in the odorous world of the knucklehead male adolescent."^[6]

In 2012, Loudwire ranked the song number four on their list of the 10 greatest Offspring songs,^[7] and in 2021, Kerrang ranked the song number two on their list of the 20 greatest Offspring songs.^[8]

Music video

The music video for "Self Esteem" was directed by Darren Lavett (who directed the previous video, "Come Out and Play") and was shot in August 1994 after the Offspring had just gone both gold and platinum with Smash.^[9] In the music video several people are doing stunts, intercut with shots of the band playing on stage.

In the video, Dexter Holland wears three different band T-shirts. Initially, he wears a Sex Pistols T-shirt. Later he dons a T-shirt of the Germs, and then a Vandals T-shirt when he briefly appears as a human skeleton.

In an interview on the Offspring's Greatest Hits DVD, Noodles claimed that he gave his Fender Stratocaster (which he played in the videos for "Come Out and Play" and "Self Esteem") to one of the actors who appeared in the video.

"Self Esteem" remains one of the Offspring's popular videos. Its popularity on MTV helped launch the song to success on mainstream radio. According to Nielsen Music's year-end report for 2019, "Self Esteem" was the sixth most-played song of the decade on mainstream rock radio with 131,000 spins. All of the songs in the top 10 were from the 1990s.^[10]

DVD appearances

The music video also appears on the Complete Music Video Collection DVD. It was released in 2005.

Track listings

CD single, 7-inch blue and 12-inch black vinyl

CD maxi

Personnel

The Offspring

• Dexter Holland – lead and backing vocals, rhythm guitar
• Noodles – lead guitar, backing vocals
• Greg K. – bass, backing vocals
• Ron Welty – drums

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1995)	Peak position
Australia Alternative (ARIA)^[11]	2
Denmark (Hitlisten)^[12]	2
European Hot 100 Singles (Music & Media)^[13]	10
European Alternative Rock Radio (Music & Media)^[14]	10
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)^[15]	3
Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)^[16]	1
Latvia (LAIPA)^[17]	1

Year-end charts

Chart (1995)	Position
Australia (ARIA)^[18]	35
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)^[19]	18
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)^[20]	16
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)^[21]	20
European Hot 100 Singles (Music & Media)^[22]	30
France (SNEP)^[23]	70
Germany (Official German Charts)^[24]	18
Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)^[25]	7
Latvia (LAIPA)^[26]	8
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)^[27]	15
Netherlands (Single Top 100)^[28]	19
Norway Winter Period (VG-lista)^[29]	12
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)^[30]	5

Decade-end charts

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)
United States	1994	Radio	Epitaph
Europe	December 22, 1994	CD
United Kingdom	February 13, 1995			^[31]

Other appearances

• On July 20, 2018, 311 released a "reggaefied" cover of the song, which 311's lead singer Nick Hexum said is "probably my favorite song of theirs." On the same day, The Offspring released a cover of 311's "Down". Those cover versions coincided with the beginning of their 2018 Never Ending Summer co-tour.^[32]
• The song was covered by Steve 'n' Seagulls in 2016.
• The song was released as downloadable content for the video game Rock Band, in the "Offspring pack" which was released on October 7, 2008, along with "Gone Away" and "Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)". It also appears in SingStar Rocks!, ^[33] and The Darkness II. An upgraded version of the song was made available to download on March 1, 2011, for use in the Rock Band 3 music gaming platform in both Basic rhythm, and PRO mode which takes advantage of the use of a real guitar / bass guitar, along with standard MIDI-compatible electronic drum kits / keyboards in addition to up to three-part harmony vocals.^[34]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Lawrence . Alistair . Every The Offspring album ranked from worst to best . . June 26, 2022 . April 19, 2022 . MTV hits Self Esteem and Come Out And Play remain punk-rock party starters....
2. News: Smith. Troy. The 100 greatest pop punk songs of all time. cleveland.com. March 7, 2022. March 9, 2022. 'Self Esteem' was pop punk's 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' merging two genres – pop-punk and grunge – that would come to define 1990s alternative rock..
3. Web site: The 100 Best Alternative Rock Songs Of 1994 . August 18, 2014 . SPIN . March 19, 2022 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210817201009/https://www.spin.com/2014/08/100-best-alternative-rock-songs-1994-alt/. August 17, 2021.
4. Andrew. Mueller. Albums. Melody Maker. October 15, 1994. 38. November 6, 2023. Andrew Mueller.
5. New Releases: Singles . . November 12, 1994 . 16 . March 16, 2021 .
6. John. Harris. Singles. NME. March 4, 1995. 56. December 14, 2023. John Harris (critic).
7. Web site: 10 Best Offspring Songs. Chad. Childers. Loudwire. December 29, 2012. March 16, 2022.
8. Web site: The 20 greatest The Offspring songs – ranked. Sam. Law. Kerrang. April 27, 2021. March 16, 2022.
9. Spoken commentary on the "Self Esteem" video from Complete Music Video Collection, released 2005.
10. Web site: Nirvana Were the Most-Played Band of the Decade on Rock Radio . Trapp . Philip . January 14, 2020 . January 23, 2020 . Loudwire.
11. • February 5, 1995 . Alternative Charts Top 20 . . 260 . 12 . May 18, 2024.
    • February 12, 1995 . Alternative Charts Top 20 . . 261 . 12 . May 18, 2024.
    • February 26, 1995 . Alternative Charts Top 20 . . 263 . 12 . May 18, 2024.
12. June 3, 1995 . Top National Sellers . Music & Media. 20 . November 23, 2018.
13. June 17, 1995 . Eurochart Hot 100 Singles . Music & Media. 22 . August 8, 2018.
14. Web site: European Alternative Rock Radio. Music & Media. 25. 13 May 1995. 4 August 2022.
15. Book: Pennanen, Timo . 2006 . Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 . fi . 1st . Tammi . 978-951-1-21053-5 . Helsinki.
16. News: Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (29.4. '95 – 5.5. '95). Dagblaðið Vísir. is. 26. April 29, 1995. October 1, 2019.
17. Web site: Latavian Airplay. lv. LAIPA. July 1, 2023.
18. Web site: 1995 ARIA Singles Chart. ARIA. October 27, 2018.
19. Web site: 1995 Austrian Singles Chart . Austriancharts . de . April 19, 2010.
20. Web site: 1995 Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart . Ultratop . nl . April 19, 2010.
21. Web site: 1995 Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart . Ultratop . fr . April 19, 2010.
22. December 23, 1995 . Year End Sales Charts - European Top 100 Albums 1995 . . 14. July 29, 2018.
23. http://www.disqueenfrance.com/fr/monopage.xml?id=259376&year=1995 1995 French Singles Chart
24. Web site: Top 100 Singles – Jahrescharts 1995. GfK Entertainment. de. July 2, 2019.
25. News: Árslistinn 1995. Dagblaðið Vísir. is. 16. January 2, 1996. May 30, 2020.
26. Web site: Latavian Airplay Top 50 of 1995. lv. LAIPA. July 1, 2023.
27. Web site: Single top 100 over 1995 . Top40 . nl . April 19, 2010.
28. Web site: Jaaroverzichten – Single 1995. MegaCharts. nl. July 2, 2019.
29. Web site: Topp 20 Single Vinter 1995. VG-lista. May 16, 2021. no. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304115018/http://lista.vg.no/liste/topp-20-single/1/dato/1995/periode/vinter. March 4, 2016. dead.
30. Web site: Årslista Singlar, 1995. Sverigetopplistan. sv. May 30, 2020.
31. New Releases: Singles. Music Week. 27. February 11, 1995.
32. 311 and the Offspring Recorded New Versions of Each Other's Material: Exclusive. . July 19, 2018. July 19, 2018.
33. http://www.punknews.org/article/39484 Punknews.org | Guitar Hero 6 track list includes AFI, Bad Brains, DEP, Rx Bandits, Strung Out, Ramones, Fall Out Boy
34. Web site: Eleven Legacy Rock Band Tracks Getting PRO Upgrades On March 1st . Kyle . Gaddo . 2011-02-25 . 2012-11-08 . The Gaming Vault . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130525005535/http://www.thegamingvault.com/2011/02/eleven-legacy-rock-band-tracks-getting-pro-upgrades-on-mach-1st/ . May 25, 2013 .