<---A Rock Journalist Rock Journalism- A dream job for me. I took a step toward that this summer with some intense photography stuffs at some shows and lined up some interviews. In an atempt at boosting my rock journalist cred here's a stab at a sacred cow of modern rock. It's a loving stab, kinda like how Brutus stabbed Ceaser.
If you keep up with former punk rock outfits, you surely know that once great East Bay out fit Green Day dropped a new album back in May. Right around the time my cat died, my girlfriend left me, and I turned 23 and felt like I was living my favorite Blink 182 song[What's My Age Again?](Screw off, Enema of the State was good for what it was(the album that opened my mind to punk music) at the time). That's a fragment. So anyway, Green Day is a band that, while I hold lots of nostalgia for, I hold no continuing respect for after Warning and American Idiot, so I didn't give the new one a fair try. So here's a track by track review:
Last of American Girls- Poppy, kinda bland. Very much a throw back to the botched Warning album. Wow... Really poppy and way too long. There's a solo in here that needed to be omitted or used as on outro. Which is one of the short comings of this album. The songs go on too long saying the same thing over and over
Song For the Century: Fluff. nothing of real value here, they book end it on the last song(s).
21st Century Breakdown- Starts out like a Weezer song. Not awful, but not "Armitage Shanks" either. It then goes into some celtic inspired Drop Kick Murphys stuff. generic, but it couldn't brace me for the sudden 80's KISS that ends the song.
Know Your Enemy- This song sounds like it came off of Warning. I imagine this must be one of the lead singles. Its catchy, and doesn't stray too far from the sound they built between Nimrod and Warning, so its pretty safe for Mr. Radio™. Anyone can like this if they enjoy what the radio foists upon us.
¡Viva la Gloria!- This starts out as a piano ballad. It sucks. Then it stops, Tré clicks out a count off, and it goes into some rollicking pop-punk goodness with lots of melody. I actually like this one. It reminds me of some of the stuff on Nimrod. Pleasant Surprise.
Before the Lobotomy- What's up with the cheesy acoustic intros then exploding into rock? But hark! THIS SONG IS "WALKING CONTRADICTION" WITH A FEW EXTRA LICKS AND NEW WORDS!!! Shit you not... Check it at 1:20 and compare with the hit single from Insomniac
Greenday has aped everyone from the Doughboys, to Dillinger 4, to the Kinks. This doesn't speak to the originality of the band, when they recycle their 15 year old hits. I know that when you work with song structures that only use 3-6 chords in a song, you are gonna have some stuff that sounds similar to your other work, but Green Day by this stage knows how to write stuff that doesn't sound like Green Day.
Christian's Inferno- Weird new wave intro gives way to 3 chord rock and does that a couple times. Kinda Devo-ish at parts. The chorus is awful; I can't back this track... its lame. The outro reminds me of "Welcome to Paradise"
Last Night on Earth- Piano rock intro... I hate piano rock for the most part. I take that back... this is a piano rock song... its not God awful. Kinda Ben Folds-y; I like him. I'd make out to this song. Its nice, but not captivating so you can focus on technique.
East Jesus Nowhere- Remember that Holiday song? Not the one by Weezer or Madona, the one off American Idiot. "East Jesus Nowhere" is the same style. Green Day first used this percussive guitar style with "Hitchin' a Ride" as I recall. I would not be surprised if this one gets heavy radio play. This song is a bit too long
---It is at this point I realized the shortest song the record is 2:54, most being over 4 minutes. This is not Punx.---
Peacemaker- I point you too this Mitch Clem Comic-..... well I couldn't find it, but back in the late 90's every punk band had at least one ska song, and this sounds kinda like the band wrote a pretentious concept album ska song. poorly executed, totally forgettable. Its also has hints of kelzmer. Once again, trend hopping(lol folk/gypsy punk)
Last of American Girls- Poppy, kinda bland. Very much a throw back to the botched Warning album. Wow... Really poppy and way too long. There's a solo in here that needed to be omitted or used as on outro. Which is one of the short comings of this album. The songs go on too long saying the same thing over and over
Murder City- Straight forward pop-punk. I really like this one. Its the shortest track, and sounds the most like the Green Day I love, but has a nice solo in the middle that doesn't come across as forced displays of talent(like many others on this album) This one is a keeper.
¿Viva La Gloria? (Little Girl)- Very Klezmer intro. If you don't know what Klezmer is, think "Hava Nagila". Its a folk music with roots in Jewish European culture. This song has little in common with ¡Viva La Gloria! earlier on the record sound wise. The connection must be in the lyrics which advance the concept of the album, which I've not paid much notice of
Restless Heart Syndrome- Mid career Beatles intro. Very Brit-pop sounding song. I guess this one was supposed to appeal to fans of "Boulevard of Broken Dreams". I'm sure its all through out the album, but this song has a distinct wall of sound: string sections, layered guitars that strum and drone and twinkle at the same time. This is a well produced song, but really not what I come to Green Day for. If you can't tell, I'm trying to be as fair as I can. I don't want to lam baste the whole thing, so if something stands out on a track, I'll mention it. I can't help it if a lot of what stands out is how bad some of these songs are. In the case of this one, its a solid song, but not a Green Day song in my mind. If Oasis or Suede had cut it though...
Horseshoes and Hand Grenades- So much like the Hives and other neo-garage rock bands, its uncanny. I swear if you had Jet or Jack White singing this, you wouldn't know it was Green Day. I like that stuff, but it just seems out of place here.
The Static Age- Despite the title, the Misfits don't abide in this song. Its pretty generic rock and roll, nothing stands out here. Its not bad, but it certainly isn't good. Mediocrity oozes from this one.
21 Guns- I think this is one of the lead singles. Total radio trash balladry. This is 21st Century Breakdown's "Boulevard"
American Eulogy (Mass Hysteria/Modern World) Song For the Century repeats then goes into two excellent tracks that wrap up the story. "Mass Hysteria" bleeds out into "Modern world" in the way "Brainstew" broke down into "Jaded". Modern World is classic Green Day sound. I love this track. They two songs sort of converge at the end, and they partner perfectly. This is what the majority of the album SHOULD have sounded like. You have mature songwriting and musicianship that does not compromise the sound the band established in their early heyday on Reprise
See The Light- Some Who homage is going on here. Not bad, but like the rest of the album, is cleaned up to appeal to the masses. Which leads me to this conclusion-
21st Century Breakdown would have been an excellent album from another band or a post Green Day project from Armstrong(who from certain sources, is currently the driving creative force in the band). There are some very good songs on this that will never get proper attention because of the direction the band seems to want peruse musically. I stand by my statement I made after American Idiot came out– Green Day should have quit after Nimrod and done these projects under a different banner.
Nimrod, while not the band's magnum opus (I maintain that honor goes to 1996's Insomniac), was a perfect album, capturing a band that had run its course in the best way possible, by burning bright, working hard, and growing up. Now we see this band some 10 years later still trying make buck off a revered moniker. People forget that Green Day's second wind came after a hiatus, a piss poor album(Warning), an aborted album, and a near break up that was only resolved through band therapy. That's some Spinal Tap shit.
I make this claim about performing under a new moniker, because I know that all of these members could do it. Ever hear of Pinhead Gunpowder? This San Francisco punk super group has had moderate success despite limited performances, focusing mostly on recording. Armstrong plays guitar and does some vocals. How about Foxboro Hot Tubs or the Network? Both of these Green Day side projects sound nothing like the classic Green Day albums(meaning they are of the same ilk as the last three Green Day albums) but enjoy moderate success with limited promotion. Mike Drint also enjoys some side project success, filling in with Screeching Weasel around the time of How to Make Enemies and Irritate People, and more recently with The Frustrators. Is there really any need to drag the old East Bay pop punk institution through the mud anymore?
I can understand why some rock journalists are praising this album, but I feel that when reviewing albums, many people don't look at history of groups. But I guess that's why I'm a blogger and not making the big bucks with Rolling Stone.
*note: the term sellout did not appear in this blog until now. Let's not resort to petty name calling, after all.
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