Editing The Offspring (section)

===''Ixnay on the Hombre'', ''Americana'', and ''Conspiracy of One'' (1996–2002)===
[[File:The offspring.jpg|thumb|left|The Offspring performing in 2001]]
In 1996, after the success of ''Smash'', the Offspring left [[Epitaph Records|Epitaph]] and signed with [[Columbia Records]]. Epitaph retained its rights to release the next album in Europe, while Columbia had it for all other territories. The band's attorney Peter Paterno had issued a letter to Epitaph stating that the band had "substantial and fundamental reasons" for wanting to leave the label and that Epitaph had "breached its contract".<ref>{{cite news|last1=Borzillo|first1=Carrie|title=Offspring Signs with Columbia: Epitaph Has European Rights for 3rd Set|issue=21|magazine=Billboard|date=May 25, 1996|id={{ProQuest|973451}}}}</ref>

The band began writing and recording their fourth album, titled ''[[Ixnay on the Hombre]]'', in 1996. The album was released on February 4, 1997, which was also Noodles' 34th birthday. This album was not as successful as ''Smash'', although it did sell four million units and spawned five singles. The album saw the band move away from the political-punk themes common to many Epitaph bands and more into mainstream rock with songs like "[[Gone Away (song)|Gone Away]]" and "[[I Choose]]"; the video for the latter was directed by Holland himself. Dexter commented that ''Ixnay'' was probably not as well received as ''Smash'' because it was such a departure, and that many fans probably were expecting ''Smash Part Two''.<ref>''Complete Music Video Collection'' (2005).</ref>

In 1998, the Offspring released ''[[Americana (The Offspring album)|Americana]]''. Three of the album's singles, "[[Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)]]"; "[[Why Don't You Get a Job?]]"; and "[[The Kids Aren't Alright]]", became the band's biggest hits and made the album the peak of the Offspring's mainstream popularity. The former song topped the charts in nine countries including Australia, Japan, Norway, and the United Kingdom. "[[She's Got Issues]]" was also released as a single and was a minor hit.

In 1999, the band appeared as themselves in the film ''[[Idle Hands]]''. They played a cover version of "[[I Wanna Be Sedated]]" (originally by the [[Ramones]]) and "Beheaded" at a school dance before Holland's character is killed. They also appeared at the infamous [[Woodstock '99]], where their performance was broadcast live on [[pay-per-view]] television.

2000 saw the Offspring release their sixth album, ''[[Conspiracy of One]]''. The band intended to release the entire album online through their website to show their support for [[music download|downloading music]] on the internet.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mp3newswire.net/stories/2000/offspring.html |title=Offspring MP3 |publisher=Mp3newswire.net |access-date=April 1, 2014 |archive-date=October 17, 2000 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001017213510/http://www.mp3newswire.net/stories/2000/offspring.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> However, under threat of legal action by Columbia through their parent company Sony, only the first single "[[Original Prankster]]" was released on their website (the rest of the record was leaked to fan sites).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mp3newswire.net/stories/2000/offspring2.html |title=Offspring MP3 |publisher=Mp3newswire.net |access-date=April 1, 2014 |archive-date=November 8, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081108071926/http://www.mp3newswire.net/stories/2000/offspring2.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> The band also sold T-shirts on their website with the [[Napster]] logo on it and donated money to Napster creator [[Shawn Fanning]] with the profits.

The band also released a single "[[Defy You]]" exclusively for the film ''[[Orange County (film)|Orange County]]''.