Green Day

One of my favorite bands (Green Day, Linkin Park, Daughtry, Billy Joel, and Matchbox 20), Green Day is an American rock band formed in California in 1987. Sometimes described as punk rock (although they really are nothing like the punk kings The Clash, The Ramones, or the Sex Pistols), Green Day is comprised of lead singer and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist Mike Dirnt, and drummer Tre Cool. This blog will cover my favorite two albums of theirs, but I will start off with a brief review of their first album Dookie.

Drummer Tre Cool (left), lead singer and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong (center), and bassist Mike Dirnt (right)

Dookie – 1994

Track Listing:

1. “Burnout”
2. “Having a Blast”*
3. “Chump”
4. “Longview“*
5. “Welcome to Paradise“*
6. “Pulling Teeth”
7. “Basket Case“*
8. “She“*
9. “Sassafrass Roots”
10. “When I Come Around“*
11. “Coming Clean”
12. “Emenius Sleepus”
13. “In the End”
14. “F.O.D. / All By Myself”

A solid entry to the Green Day discography, Dookie is arguably Green Day’s finest accomplishment, according to most critics, and many fans. Personally, I enjoy this album immensely and own it on vinyl, but it is still my third favorite Green Day album. However, it  felt wrong not to at least mention the album in this blog, even if I do not go into as much detail on it as with the other two albums. The top tracks on the album are all noted above, if you want to take a listen. The album has some of Green Day’s most popular songs, namely “When I Come Around” and “Basket Case.” Chances are, you’ve heard these songs (although I have said this before and my readers hadn’t even heard of the band…). In short, this is a great album (and on the shorter side), and is worth a listen if you are a Green Day fan or like the selected songs.

Rating: 8.2/10

American Idiot – 2004

Track Listing:

1. “American Idiot“
2. “Jesus of Suburbia“
3. “Holiday / Boulevard of Broken Dreams“
4. “Are We the Waiting / St. Jimmy“
5. “Give Me Novacaine / She’s a Rebel“
6. “Extraordinary Girl / Letterbomb“
7. “Wake Me Up When September Ends“
8. “Homecoming“
9. “Whatsername“

American Idiot is quite possibly my favorite album of all time. Partially inspired by previous concept albums, such as the Who’s Quadrophenia and David Bowie’s The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars, this album follows the story of two characters named Jesus of Suburbia and Whatsername. As a warning, do not listen to the album expecting to hear an overarching plotline or story. As with most concept albums, there is only a loose plot. However, the two characters that are repeatedly named, Jesus of Suburbia and Whatsername, are used to represent contrasting values of rage and love. In fact, the vinyl record of the album is split into two discs: one representing rage (tracks 1-4), and one representing love (tracks 5-9). Furthermore, many of the songs play like they are two different songs. For example, “Holiday / Boulevard of Broken Dreams” has two distinct sections, each of which is played on the radio separately. For this reason, many of the songs on the album are 8-10 minutes each, but they don’t feel as long due to very different sections that make one song seem like two.

The first track on the album, “American Idiot,” is one of the few (if not the only) short songs on the album. It is a fast paced, vulgar satire on America, and is certainly a hype start to such an amazing album. Juxtaposing incredibly negative charged words with the word “America,” this song is an excellent tune showing off Green Day’s punk side. The next song, introducing one of the album’s main “characters,” “Jesus of Suburbia” is a nine minute long song, separated into a few different sections. Although these different sections are still labelled under one identical title, they are different enough that the length of the song doesn’t hinder its replay value. Some of the sections include heavy guitars, whereas others have no guitar. The beginning of the song is harder rock, whereas the end is more of a ballad. With such a complex structure, this song succeeds in being different. There is no predictable pattern to it. Rather than the typical verse-chorus, verse-chorus, bridge-chorus-chorus, the song plays out more naturally, seamlessly transitioning from song to song.

The next song, “Holiday / Boulevard of Broken Dreams,” is usually separated on the radio into “Holiday” and “Boulevard of Broken Dreams,” two completely different songs. However, if you listen to them back to back, they transition perfectly into each other. “Holiday,” an anti-Bush anthem, is similar in style and tone to “American Idiot,” whereas “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” is slightly more reserved and less forceful. The next three songs, also separated into two sections, all follow the same pattern, where the first “song” is a ballad, and the second “song” is a fast-paced rock tune. Personally, I am a sucker for slow songs, so I prefer the first half of these tracks. My favorite of the three is probably “Give Me Novacaine.” Next comes a song that I would be shocked if you haven’t heard it, “Wake Me Up When September Ends.” Albeit slightly overplayed, this song is simply amazing. Fulfilling my love for power ballads, this song is actually very sad, considering it’s about Billie Armstrong’s father, who passed away in September 1982, when Billie was just ten years old. “Homecoming,” a song very similar to “Jesus of Suburbia,” and “Whatsername,” another catchy hybrid ballad, round out the album. With so many good songs on the album, if I were to pick my three favorites, they would be: 1. “Wake Me Up When September Ends,” 2. “Whatsername,” and 3. “Holiday.”

Overall, being my favorite album, I had to give it a 10/10. Realistically, no album is perfect, and this is certainly not the best album ever made. However, since this is my blog, I decided to rank it in terms of my preference, rather than the “best album of all time.” Every song on this album is amazing, and it is worth every minute of an almost hour long runtime.

Rating: 10/10

21st Century Breakdown – 2009

Track Listing:

1. “Song of the Century”

Act I: Heroes and Cons

1. “21st Century Breakdown“*
2. “Know Your Enemy“*
3. “¡Viva La Gloria!“*
4. “Before the Lobotomy“*
5. “Christian’s Inferno”
6. “Last Night on Earth“*

Act II: Charlatans and Saints

1. “East Jesus Nowhere”
2. “Peacemaker”
3. “Last of the American Girls“*
4. “Murder City”
5. “¿Viva la Gloria? (Little Girl)“*
6. “Restless Heart Syndrome“*

Act III: Horseshoes and Handgrenades

1. “Horseshoes and Handgrenades”
2. “The Static Age”
3. “21 Guns“*
4. “American Eulogy (A. Mass Hysteria / B. Modern World)”
5. “See the Light”

Five years after the release of American Idiot, the album 21st Century Breakdown, my second favorite Green Day album, is a pleasant follow up to its predecessor. The album is another loose concept album, perhaps more loose than American Idiot, but it vaguely follows Christian and Gloria and their struggles in Detroit after the administration of President George W. Bush (can you tell that Billie Armstrong wasn’t a big Bush fan?). The album is actually separated into three distinct acts, which are all labelled above.

The album opens with “Song of the Century,” a brief clip that serves only as the album’s introduction and as a musical phrase that appears throughout the album. The first true song of the album and the title track, “21st Century Breakdown,” is a catchy rock anthem with an unforgettable chorus and complex musical structure. “Know Your Enemy” is more of a basic song, similar in likeness to older Green Day songs like “When I Come Around.” The third and fourth songs, both obscure, are actually among my favorites on the album. They both start off relatively slow, before transitioning into a faster tempo with incredibly catchy hooks. “Last Night on Earth” is another standout ballad, incorporating uncommon chords in a minor key to create a sense of foreboding. “Last of the American Girls, “¿Viva la Gloria? (Little Girl),” and “Restless Heart Syndrome” are also standout songs, with very unique rhythms and instrumentation, showing off more of Armstrong’s skills as a songwriter. The last track I want to make note of is “21 Guns,” a power ballad rivaling “Wake Me Up When September Ends.” The song features a very powerful chorus, with more sensitive verses, exposing Armstrong’s voice.

Overall, I love this album, but it is not for everyone. Its length can be off-putting to some, and some of the mediocre tracks may deter repeat listening. However, as a person who loves obscure deep cuts, I appreciate many of the lesser known songs on the album. In fact, only two of the songs on this album appear on Green Day’s greatest hits album – “Know Your Enemy” and “21 Guns.” Thus, it is unlikely that anyone reading this blog will recognize any of the songs on the album. That being said, if you are interesting in listening to Green Day, I would start off with American Idiot, then try Dookie. If you really enjoy these two albums and are committed to a deeper, longer listen, check out 21st Century Breakdown, or at least the songs I recommend.

Rating: 8.7/10

Works Cited

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Day
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Idiot#Lyrics
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/21st_Century_Breakdown#Track_listing