- Original Prankster
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"Original Prankster" 
Single by The Offspring featuring Redman from the album Conspiracy of One Released October 24, 2000 Format CD, Digital Download Recorded 2000 Genre Punk rock, ska punk, rapcore Length 3:42 Label Columbia Writer(s) Dexter Holland Producer Brendan O'Brien Certification Platinum (ARIA)[1]
Silver (BPI)[2]The Offspring featuring Redman singles chronology "Totalimmortal"
(2000)"Original Prankster"
(2000)"Want You Bad"
(2001)"Original Prankster" is a punk rock song by The Offspring from their sixth studio album Conspiracy of One and was released as the first single from the album in October 2000. The song features additional vocals by Redman and is included on the band's 2005 Greatest Hits album.
Prior to the release of Conspiracy of One, The Offspring distributed the track for free as a downloadable MP3 file on their official website. A competition was held, featuring a prize of $1 million (USD) which was awarded to a randomly selected participant who downloaded the song.
The name of the song was inspired by the Ice-T song Original Gangster.
Contents
Track listing
Version 1
No. Title Length 1. "Original Prankster" 3:40 2. "Come Out Swinging" 2:40 3. "Staring at the Sun (Live)" Version 2
No. Title Length 1. "Original Prankster" 3:40 2. "Dammit, I Changed Again" 2:40 3. "Come Out Swinging" 2:40 4. "Gone Away (Live)" 4:27 5. "Staring at the Sun (Live)" Music video
The song follows the prankster (the subject of the song), through his life, pulling various pranks on his superiors, being motivated by Redman. As a child, he slips his dog's feces into his father's sandwich. In his teen years, he uses a bunsen burner on a perverted science teacher. When sent to the principal's office, he sets up the principal to be photoed molesting two students. Throughout this part of the video, the band is shown to be playing at their hometown Huntington Beach, California.
Finally, in the present, he switches off the whole city's power supply, though the band still manages to play in the dark and the crowd use flares to light the scene. As the song ends, the prankster is suddenly hit by a bolt of lightning and dissolves. Some think that when he is hit by the lightning he becomes the new "Original Prankster".
DVD appearances
The music video appears also appears on the Complete Music Video Collection DVD (2005).
Charts
Chart Peak
positionU.S. Billboard Hot 100 70 U.S. Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks 7 U.S. Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks 2 Australian Singles Chart 5 Canadian RPM Rock Report 5 Mega Single Top 100 44 New Zealand Charts 34 Swedish Charts 5 Switzerland Charts 20 UK Single Charts 6 Sales
The single went platinum in Australia in 2001.[3] It was the third single by the Offspring to reach platinum after Pretty Fly (for a White Guy) and Why Don't You Get a Job?. It was the largest selling single from the album.
Popular culture
References in the song include Janet Reno and a line from the Adam Sandler comedy, The Waterboy: "You can do it!". The song also references David Berkowitz, the Son of Sam, and his arson crimes, and Sigmund Freud; the father of psychoanalysis. The Original Pranksters referred to in the title allude to the original members of the Merry Pranksters, who took a bus trip from California to New York in the '60s promoting what would eventually become the "hippie" drug culture prevalent of the period. The Offspring are from Huntington Beach, California where many of these "Original Pranksters" resided, and where Prankster leader Ken Kesey lived for a considerable time in his life.
The song was featured in the police test scene in the 2001 comedy film The Animal starring Rob Schneider.
Personnel
The band
- Dexter Holland - Vocals/Guitar
- Noodles - Guitar
- Greg Kriesel - Bass
- Ron Welty - Drums
Other personnel
- Produced and mixed by: Brendan O'Brien
- Engineered: Nick Didia
- Mastered by: Eddy Schreyer
- Track 4 and Track 5 Recorded by: Russ Fowler at Wembley Arena
References
- ^ "ARIA Charts - Accreditations - 2001 Singles" Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved on July 14, 2009.
- ^ "BPI Database - Statistics - Certified Awards - Search for Offspring" British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved on July 14, 2009.
- ^ http://www.aria.com.au/pages/aria-charts-accreditations-singles-2001.htm
Categories:- The Offspring songs
- 2000 singles
- Songs written by Dexter Holland
- Songs produced by Brendan O'Brien
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