Original Prankster

"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."

Track listing

Version 1

Version 2

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 photographed in a compromising position with two students. Throughout 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. It can be interpreted that when 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

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 Conspiracy of One.

Popular culture

References in the song include: Janet Reno; a line from the Adam Sandler comedy, The Waterboy ("You can do it!"); David Berkowitz, the Son of Sam, and his arson crimes; and Sigmund Freud. 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 "hippie" drug culture. The Offspring are from Huntington Beach, where many of these "Original Pranksters" resided. Ken Kesey, leader of the Pranksters, lived there for a considerable time.

The song is featured in the a scene in the 2001 comedy film The Animal starring Rob Schneider.

It was also featured on a episode of the The Cleveland Show entitled "American Prankster."

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

1. ^ "ARIA Charts - Accreditations - 2001 Singles" Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved on July 14, 2009.
2. ^ "BPI Database - Statistics - Certified Awards - Search for Offspring" British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved on July 14, 2009.
3. ^ http://www.aria.com.au/pages/aria-charts-accreditations-singles-2001.htm