The Kids Aren't Alright

Dexter Holland wrote "The Kids Aren't Alright" after a visit to his hometown of Garden Grove, California, where he found that many of his old acquaintances had run into serious trouble. The Offspring singer turned what he saw into lyrics that follow several people from a single town through unplanned pregnancy, unemployment, drug addiction and suicide. Holland summed up the place by saying, "The neighborhood looks like Happy Days, but it's really Twin Peaks."

Guitarist Noodles offered his own take, saying the track overturned the idea that growing up means hoping for a bright future shared with friends. Q reported that the title alluded to the Who song "The Kids Are Alright," from My Generation, and argued that the music borrowed heavily from "Electricity" by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, pointing to NOFX's punk rock cover of that song as evidence.

The song appeared as the fifth track on Americana, the band's fifth studio album, released in 1998, and came out as the album's third single. It reached the top 10 on the US Modern Rock Tracks chart. Beyond the charts, it was used in the opening scene of the film The Faculty and appeared on that film's soundtrack album, played over the end credits of Woodstock 99: Peace, Love, and Rage, and was later made available as downloadable content for the Rock Band video game series.