"Self Esteem"
Single by the Offspring
from the album Smash
B-side
  • "Burn It Up"
  • "Jennifer Lost the War"
ReleasedDecember 22, 1994 (1994-12-22)
Genre
Length4:17
LabelEpitaph
Songwriter(s)Dexter Holland
Producer(s)Thom Wilson
The Offspring singles chronology
"Come Out and Play (Keep 'Em Separated)"
(1994)		 "Self Esteem"
(1994)		 "Gotta Get Away"
(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

No.TitleLength
1."Self Esteem"4:17
2."Burn It Up"2:43
3."Jennifer Lost the War"2:35

CD maxi

No.TitleLength
1."Self Esteem"4:17
2."Jennifer Lost the War"2:35
3."Burn It Up"2:43

Charts

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[36] Gold 35,000^
Norway (IFPI Norway)[48] Platinum  
Sweden (GLF)[49] Gold 25,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[50] Silver 200,000‡

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United States Radio 1994 Epitaph
Europe December 22, 1994 CD
  • Epitaph
  • Semaphore
  • PIAS
 [21]
United Kingdom February 13, 1995
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • 12-inch vinyl
  • CD
  • cassette
  • Epitaph
  • Golf
 [51]

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.[52]
  • 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!, Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock[53] 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.[54]

References

  1. ↑ Lawrence, Alistair (April 19, 2022). "Every The Offspring album ranked from worst to best". LouderSound. Retrieved June 26, 2022. MTV hits Self Esteem and Come Out And Play remain punk-rock party starters...
  2. 1 2 Smith, Troy (March 7, 2022). "The 100 greatest pop punk songs of all time". cleveland.com. Retrieved 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. ↑ "The 100 Best Alternative Rock Songs Of 1994". SPIN. August 18, 2014. Archived from the original on August 17, 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  4. ↑ Mueller, Andrew (October 15, 1994). "Albums". Melody Maker. p. 38. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
  5. ↑ "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. November 12, 1994. p. 16. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
  6. ↑ Harris, John (March 4, 1995). "Singles". NME. p. 56. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
  7. ↑ Childers, Chad (December 29, 2012). "10 Best Offspring Songs". Loudwire. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
  8. ↑ Law, Sam (April 27, 2021). "The 20 greatest The Offspring songs – ranked". Kerrang. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
  9. ↑ Spoken commentary on the "Self Esteem" video from Complete Music Video Collection, released 2005.
  10. 1 2 Trapp, Philip (January 14, 2020). "Nirvana Were the Most-Played Band of the Decade on Rock Radio". Loudwire. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
  11. ↑ "Offspring – Self Esteem". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  12. ↑ "Offspring – Self Esteem" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  13. ↑ "Offspring – Self Esteem" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  14. ↑ "Offspring – Self Esteem" (in French). Ultratop 50.
  15. ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 7992." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
  16. ↑ "Top National Sellers" (PDF). Music & Media. June 3, 1995. p. 20. Retrieved November 23, 2018.
  17. ↑ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. June 17, 1995. p. 22. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
  18. ↑ "European Alternative Rock Radio" (PDF). Music & Media. May 13, 1995. p. 25. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  19. ↑ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  20. ↑ "Offspring – Self Esteem" (in French). Les classement single.
  21. 1 2 "Offspring – Self Esteem" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
  22. ↑ "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (29.4. '95 – 5.5. '95)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). April 29, 1995. p. 26. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  23. ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Self Esteem". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
  24. ↑ "Latavian Airplay" (in Latvian). LAIPA. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  25. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 15, 1995" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
  26. ↑ "Offspring – Self Esteem" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
  27. ↑ "Offspring – Self Esteem". Top 40 Singles.
  28. ↑ "Offspring – Self Esteem". VG-lista.
  29. ↑ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
  30. ↑ "Offspring – Self Esteem". Singles Top 100.
  31. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
  32. ↑ "Official Rock & Metal Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
  33. ↑ "The Offspring Chart History (Radio Songs)". Billboard.
  34. ↑ "The Offspring Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard.
  35. ↑ "The Offspring Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard.
  36. 1 2 "1995 ARIA Singles Chart". ARIA. Retrieved October 27, 2018.
  37. ↑ "1995 Austrian Singles Chart" (in German). Austriancharts. Retrieved April 19, 2010.
  38. ↑ "1995 Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved April 19, 2010.
  39. ↑ "1995 Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart" (in French). Ultratop. Retrieved April 19, 2010.
  40. ↑ "Year End Sales Charts - European Top 100 Albums 1995" (PDF). Music & Media. December 23, 1995. p. 14. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
  41. ↑ 1995 French Singles Chart Archived March 7, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. Disqueenfrance.com. Retrieved January 30, 2009.
  42. ↑ "Top 100 Singles – Jahrescharts 1995" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  43. ↑ "Árslistinn 1995". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). January 2, 1996. p. 16. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  44. ↑ "Latavian Airplay Top 50 of 1995" (in Latvian). LAIPA. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  45. ↑ "Single top 100 over 1995" (PDF) (in Dutch). Top40. Retrieved April 19, 2010.
  46. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1995" (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  47. ↑ "Årslista Singlar, 1995" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  48. ↑ "IFPI Norsk platebransje Trofeer 1993–2011" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway. Retrieved October 27, 2018.
  49. ↑ "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1987−1998" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 17, 2011. Retrieved October 27, 2018.
  50. ↑ "British single certifications – Offspring – Self Esteem". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  51. ↑ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. February 11, 1995. p. 27.
  52. ↑ "311 and the Offspring Recorded New Versions of Each Other's Material: Exclusive". Billboard. July 19, 2018. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
  53. ↑ Punknews.org | Guitar Hero 6 track list includes AFI, Bad Brains, DEP, Rx Bandits, Strung Out, Ramones, Fall Out Boy
  54. ↑ Gaddo, Kyle (February 25, 2011). "Eleven Legacy Rock Band Tracks Getting PRO Upgrades On March 1st". The Gaming Vault. Archived from the original on May 25, 2013. Retrieved November 8, 2012.
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