The band's sound is diverse, utilizing elements of skate punk, hardcore punk, reggae, and other music genres. Their lyrics generally satirize issues such as politics, society, various subcultures, racism, the music industry, and religion, often using a large amount of comedy.
NOFX's first recording was a demo from 1983, produced by The Germs drummer Don Bolles, which did not sell any copies. They released their self-titled debut EP on Mystic Records in 1985, which was later re-released in 1992 as part of the Maximum RocknRoll CD. For a year, Erik Sandin left the band and was replaced by Scott Sellers, then Scott Aldahl. Dave Allen was in the band for about four months, until he died in a car accident. In 1986, the band released So What if We're on Mystic!. Dave Casillas joined the band on second guitar in 1987 and was featured on the EP The P.M.R.C. Can Suck on This!, attacking the PMRC's call for censorship of music. The original cover was an edited S&M photo, but the re-released version was changed to a photo of Eric Melvin.
Eric Sandin returned and they recorded Liberal Animation in 1988 (before Dave was replaced by Steve) with Brett Gurewitz of Bad Religion. Although the title and some lyrics mocked vegetarianism and animal rights, Fat Mike says that he became a vegetarian after he wrote Liberal Animation. 'If a big enough animal had a chance it would eat you up!' The album was re-released in 1991 on Gurewitz's label Epitaph. Dave then left the band and was replaced by Steve Kidwiller. NOFX had signed to Epitaph by 1989, releasing their second album, titled S&M Airlines. 1990 saw the release of Ribbed. By 1991, Aaron Abeyta (aka El Hefe), joined to round out the group. White Trash, Two Heebs and a Bean was released in 1992, which originally had the title White Trash, Two Kikes, and a Spic. The original title was changed because Eric Melvin's grandmother was upset about the racial epithets.
It was not until the 1994 release of Punk in Drublic that the band had a commercial breakthrough, with the album going gold. In the same year, pop punk entered the mainstream with the success of The Offspring's Smash and Green Day's Dookie.
In 1996 they released Heavy Petting Zoo, which wasn't very popular among its fans because it showed a different sound in some tracks. Their 1997 record So Long and Thanks for All the Shoes was faster, with more ska and reggae, and was well received by the public, although its title shocked everybody because it seemed as it was going to be their last album. They soon stated it wasn't true.
In 1999, the band released The Decline, a fiery and pessimistic social commentary. Having a duration of 18 minutes and 23 seconds, it is nearly the longest punk song to date, second only to "Yes Sir, I Will" by Crass, which spans more than 22 minutes.
The coming of a new century marked the end of NOFX in Epitaph Records. In 2000 they released Pump Up the Valuum, which in many people's opinion is a good record but still is missing something.
In 2003, NOFX released War on Errorism, and launched their anti-George W. Bush campaign. Fat Mike organized the website Punkvoter.com, compiled two chart-topping Rock Against Bush compilations, and kicked off a Rock Against Bush United States tour. The band has released many EPs (i.e. Fuck the Kids, The Longest Line) on Fat Mike's own label Fat Wreck Chords. In February 2005, they launched the NOFX 7" of the Month Club, a subscription-based service which saw the release of one new EP almost monthly, from February 2005 to March 2006 (a total of 12 releases). The cover art for these EPs were chosen from fan-submitted entries. The first 3000 subscribers to the club received all of their records on colored vinyl. Fat Wreck Chords later released full sets of the EPs.
On March 14, 2006, an EP entitled Never Trust a Hippy was released. The EP was followed on April 18 by the album Wolves in Wolves' Clothing. On September 12, 2006, the video game EA Sports NHL07 was released, featuring the title track of the latter album on its soundtrack.
The band recorded three nights of shows in San Francisco, California for the live album, They've Actually Gotten Worse Live! that was released on November 20, 2007.
NOFX aired in 2008 a reality show on Fuse TV called NOFX: Backstage Passport, chronicling their recent worldwide tour full of mishaps and fun stuff.
NOFX released their eleventh full length, Coaster, on April 28, 2009.
NOFX released their twelfth full length, Self/Entitled, on September 11th, 2012.
Official site: http://nofxofficialwebsite.com
I Want You to Want Me
NOFX Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But you kept following me all over town
I'll display it, there's no way to say it
I don't just want you,
I just don't want you around,
I don't want you around,
You follow me around
I don't want you around
When it was time to go I had nothing to say
Don't you look at me,
Don't you look at me that way
"I love you!" Oh, really? Please go away
What gave you the idea?
Get it out of your head
You follow us around
We're not the Grateful Dead
I wanted to be friends but you wanted more
So, like I told you before
I don't want you around
These lyrics by American punk rock band NOFX in their song "I Want You to Want Me" express the frustration and exasperation of one party of an unwanted romantic pursuit. The singer, Jenny, has been following the singer around town and professing their love, but the singer tries to make it clear that they do not reciprocate those feelings and just want Jenny to stay away. The singer is feeling suffocated and burdened by this unwanted attention.
At the same time, the song can be interpreted as a commentary on societal norms and expectations surrounding romantic relationships. Even though it's made clear that the singer does not want to be in a relationship with Jenny, there is a certain pressure for them to feel obligated to reciprocate or at least not hurt Jenny's feelings. The lyrics highlight how difficult it can be for someone who is not interested in someone else to navigate this social obligation while still being true to themselves.
Overall, "I Want You to Want Me" is a powerful commentary on the complexities of romantic relationships and the pressures that society places on individuals to conform to certain expectations. It's a relatable song for anyone who has ever been in a situation where they're not interested in someone else, but struggle with finding a way to communicate that without causing pain.
Line by Line Meaning
Jenny, so many times I tried to get away
The singer has attempted to distance themselves from Jenny multiple times.
But you kept following me all over town
Despite the singer's efforts to get away, Jenny continues to pursue and follow them.
I'll display it, there's no way to say it
The singer struggles to express their feelings towards Jenny.
I don't just want you,
The artist has no romantic interest in Jenny.
I just don't want you around,
The artist wishes for Jenny to leave them alone and stop following them.
You follow me around
Jenny stalks and follows the singer constantly.
It's really bringing me down
Jenny's constant presence is negatively affecting the singer.
I don't want you around
The artist reiterates their desire for Jenny to leave them alone.
When it was time to go I had nothing to say
The artist has nothing left to say to Jenny after multiple attempts to distance themselves.
Don't you look at me,
The artist is uncomfortable with Jenny's gaze.
Don't you look at me that way
The singer does not appreciate the way Jenny is looking at them.
"I love you!" Oh, really? Please go away
Despite Jenny's declaration of love, the artist wants her to leave them alone.
What gave you the idea?
The singer questions why Jenny believes they are in a romantic relationship.
Get it out of your head
The singer wants Jenny to stop thinking that there is something more between them.
You follow us around
Jenny follows the singer and their group of friends around.
We're not the Grateful Dead
The artist's group of friends is not a band to be followed around like the Grateful Dead.
I wanted to be friends but you wanted more
The artist intended for their relationship with Jenny to be platonic, but she desired something more.
So, like I told you before
The singer has previously told Jenny that they are not interested in a romantic relationship.
I don't want you around
The song ends with the singer firmly stating their desire for Jenny to leave them alone.
Lyrics Ā© Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: MIKE BURKETT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Anderson-rt7yk
The song is fun enough to fool us into the flow of the music as soon as we hear the first lines that really sounds like fat Mike. The fact that we end up noticing something is off with Fat Mike. We wonder how much of us want to like the music. How much of us just not want because it's not what wanted. the music becomes a mythic artistical creation of which we see the cognitive dissonance of emotional possitivelness and negativeness go up and down in the line of avaliation of the quality (aesthetics + emotional bias) of the music.
A great number seem to just forget that we were supposed to think it was fat Mike, it's a great song anyway. You can see a kind of sense of intensity of how unsure people are that are sure of saying what they have said.
Most say yeah, it's a good song, but leave it at it.
@slash2jimi
I love NOFX songs!
@amberandjustin25
slash2jimi not nofx
@JoseLopez89213
When I heard this as a kid, I could've sworn that it was Nofx.
@fullskapunkalchemist3471
The fact that you only wrote nofx 3 times in the description was great. So long and thanks for all the propaghandi.
@regalbeagle780
š¤£
@aionadevilsadvocate5845
Haha good to know that this is propaghandi, for years I had this track on mp3 ( as in around 98 latest ) and being in new zealand we didn't get much punk over here. Good to have this cleared up. Cheers.
@Sessodj
Me too
@juniorjr6413
i love the ohhh megan part. idc what band did it
@drewallworth
this actually isn't bad... definitely not NOFX but who is it?