The Offspring's Dexter Holland Talks About the Importance of Lyrics in Songwriting

In a recent interview with Loudwire, The Offspring frontman Dexter Holland talked about his songwriting habits and the importance of lyrics, as the band is getting back into their groove. Although he originally believed that lyrics didn't matter much at all, reflecting back on his band's older material has changed his mind.

During the interview, Holland admitted:

I was never focused on lyrics before. I'd always tell people lyrics don't matter. It's all about the music and the melody of what you're singing and it's kind of interesting looking back because some of the songs that have done the best for us are ones that people seem to really relate to the lyrics. It was almost an afterthought a long time ago but now I realize how important lyrics can be so I spend a lot of time working on them.

The 20th anniversary of their successful third album, Smash, caused Holland to further meditate on his songwriting for future releases. When asked how that affects his songwriting, he stated:

I think it’s natural for someone to revisit stuff they've done before if you're trying to make something up, if you're an artist or a writer. Sometimes you try to get away from that because it can be a trap in a way because then it just sounds like you’re putting out the same stuff all the time. But when it's been a while and you go back to it, you can see it from a new angle or perspective and go, 'Wow, that was kind of cool because it was raw and straightforward.' So I think it does. You try and take all of those things in small bits in order to make something new.

Read the full interview at Loudwire. The band are currently on board with The Summer Nationals Tour. Get more info and tour dates here on Zumic. Also be sure to check out our coverage of their NYC show with Pennywise and Bad Religion at Terminal 5 here on Zumic.

Source: Loudwire