The Power Of Green Day!

The Power Of Green Day!

Since their introduction into the flamboyant circle of Punk/Rock 1n 1989. The Berkeley Trio have glorified and saved a genre from trashy grunge-lite bands who where more concerned over their look than their musical value. Green Day became formidable, overpowering competitors, suffocating the norm. Reinventing Punk/Rocks status as a genre steeped in class and worthiness. Becoming firepower for Rocks gun of justice, shooting down mediocrity. After the modest sales of their debut product 1059/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours and second release Kerplunk, Green Day ventured into new territory. A smash hit was on the Punk radar. Major status came calling in the form of Frank Sinatras foundation Reprise, and the band couldn’t refuse the uplift. Dookie reeked of sweat, sex, abrupt break ups and shit heaps of angst when its tenderness arrived in 1994. Green Day were evolving into a major fixture in Rocks progression and Dookie would push the band into a market completely alliterating their future and musical abilities.

Green Day were still young minds when Dookie was produced, still minds littered in thoughts of masturbation, horniness, weed and beer. Who would blame the trio for experimenting with marijuana and alcohol? Living in a humdrum existence with the same experiences everyday must really hurt the brain. Drugs were a suppressant for boredom, masturbation dyed down the urge of wanting to get laid every 5 minutes, that’s teenage culture for you. But Music was an angle, a revelation the band soaked themselves in, jumping around in Music’s bath of passion.

Dookie harboured some of Green Day’s groundbreaking offerings including the electrifying shout for notability Welcome To Paradise song of Family dysfunction and a broken home. Longview was a song that stuck to the ribs of dissatisfaction, a track centering around incompetence, stupidity and the old feeling of boredom. s what Green Day substantially zoned in on when creating their eventful piece. Boredom was a real issue as well as sexual neglection and all Green Day did was write about it. Those issues were so vivid in Dookie’s masterpiece, so strong you could even smell the stale scent of perspiration and smoke from a joint rolled with compassion.

When it came to the daunting task of trying to surpass Dookies groundbreaking stance as a Punk/Rock phenomenon however, Green Day ventured into darker tones, a bracket more mature and serious. Insomniac would be the new platter of surprises, a new rise in lyrical terms, a fast paced analysis of parenthood and sleepless nights. Insomniac would not touch the immaculate, purifying sound of Dookie, but it would be a fresh route for a band on the trail of self-realisation. Insomniac overtones were a mask, a overcoat for Dookie’s young rawness.. Lingering upon a mature lookout, was Green Day finally growing up? Or was it a new chapter to a ever enchanting saga? People can question that belief, but Green Day entered a darker side of Punk, no disputes about that! Insomniac became a non-starter for Green Day’ s hopes of breaking the cuffs of Dookie’s ever digging stronghold, the act certainly couldn’t rely on Dookies brilliance to keep them a float forever.

Insomianic wasn’t a terrible instalment for Green Day; it just didn’t hit the golden heights as Dookie did prior. Insomniac did however rear some of Green Days most important songs like the volatile Armatage Shanks song of lost in your on self-pity and cognition. Stuck With Me was a catchy portrayal of being downgraded or down classed by an elite of some kind, it showed that Green Day could write lyrical gems. Geek Stink Breath circled around a human being rotten away and losing the attribute of self-image. Insomniac just didn’t t master the same flamboyance and diversity as Dookie did. It may have been the equivalent to Nirvanas In Utero, a great album but not a work of art like Nevermind. Maybe it reared sign’s of a Berkley Trio’s fall from grace, just before they even started.

Green Day would stray away from public view for two years. The Faithful started to become restless over the lack of Green Day vibe and new material. The act really cut off from Media attention, never surrendering to the masses. As those years past by, Green Day would yet again open up to Music with a
collection of Brutal catchy numbers. The 5th record in Green Day array was named Nimrod. Sentimentally intact, Nimrod contained new layers that grew over the long vacation that Green Day took; it was produced on higher scales. Not overly-tangled up in Punk/Rock’s strewn wires, Nimrod excelled, flushing out the norm of its predecessor. Nimrod was a stamp upon Punk, or was it a Punk album? The perception on Green Day at that time was of discouragement, people thought of Green Day as a band moving slowly away from the sweaty underground of Punk/Rock. Nimrods underbelly was of superior value, filling the void that was left open at the hands of hit and miss contribution Insomianac and the fans didn’t fully approve of Nimrods magic.

Nimrod was real boost for Green Days recovery process, a shift of styles. A record that sounded almost alive. The albums quick swift of loud to mellow was a never used formula Nice Guys Finish Last
would start the track list on a pacy note. A song bearing all the components of being branded a deadbeat Outcast living a life of self-loathing. Hitching A Ride stands as one of Green Days major offerings. Green Day seemed to model Nimrod on conflict and guilt and Hitching A Ride is prime for the catwalk. A harmonic intro gives the drums time to warm up as the song falls into a fit of guitar madness.

Punk/Rock bands are not supposed to let their emotional guard down, their supposed be rough round the edges, vocally mediocre and the utmost crude. But Green Day burnt a big hole into the rule book when they crafted together a sweet mellow gem in the form of Good Riddance(Time Of Your Life). A song that suffocates its pacy counterparts, snuffing out the cranky guitar riffs replacing them with raw, melodic sounds of acoustic genius. Good Riddance cemented Billie Joe Armstrong as an elite songwriter. With Nimrod, Green Day finally realised that they grew up, releasing away from the clutches of a prized asset they once prided themselves on, and that star merit could now finally retire.

As Nimrod placed Green Day back into public perception, it took them another 3 years to bounce back with any new stock. Labouring around brought out an audacious spark in early 2000, Warning was on the production line and it would make an impact in terms of music development and maturity. Green Day were entering a new path in their lives, growing up in modern America, leaving behind the radiance of the 90s. The World was changing and so was the Music industry, generic acts burrowed themselves out of their cotton wool to inflict plastic pop upon the musical World. Bands like Sum 41, Matchbox Twenty would become challengers to a much more emphatic and experienced band, But Green Day were not finished yet.

Warning was freakishly different to anything that Green Day had done prior. Sounding puckish in an alliterated fashion, but it was Green Day who produced it with their on hands. Green Day ventured into independence when coordinating a first millennium release. Letting go the mastermind in Rob Cavallo, a man who rightly should receive acclaim for his tiresome work on Green Days major albums. But Green Day wanted to go it alone, become their on bosses, really taken music by their on admission. Warning was tweaked with political underlays That statement became vivid in songs like Minority. Presidential issues were highlighted strongly in Warning, George W Bush was appointed the leader of the Worlds most powerful nation, and a Berkley Trio highly disapproved of it. Warning was the opening track to the album. A bashful realisation of dangerous cycles of life.

Warning carefully eased into Punk/Rock’s pot of gold. A glittering album full of catchy songs that emphasized fresh lookouts and maturity. That factor annilated the masturbation ridden past. The members of Green Day had family values to contend with. Beer, drugs, fart jokes were all thrown out of their lives, this was a changed band, and it bettered them. Warning wasn’t 100% clean or groomed however uncanny that sounds, It still contained the rightful remedy that Green Day stood by. Shouts of overly-worked angst. The band even took time to slate the ferch’e franchise with a song bearing the old temperament. ‘Fashion Victim’ was cool, technical and full of pure ‘cheek’ did Green Day care? Of course they didn’t. This is a band of former latch-key, weed smoking extraordiners were describing here.

Green Day carefully strung together a career milestone with ’Warning’. Becoming noble professionals in the cycle of independence, and it wasn’t a shabby first outing for the Berkley Trio. Calculated wonderfully with a desire to be wanted by fans and media alike, casting aside their stamp of being the ‘underdogs’ of Rock music. Green Day didn’t fall into a fit of desperation. ‘Warning’ oozed out class, it masterminded some Green Day’s live belters like Minority, Castaway, Deadbeat Holiday, and the ever engrossing soft touch of ‘Macy’s Day Parade’ . But was Warning enough to sooth the bands fight for notability? Since the groundbreaking introduction of ‘Dookie’ Green Day’s album sales were sloping off a cliff of uncertainty.

We got used to Green Day taken time with releasing any new material. It was the bands trademark and who could berate them for substantial breaks. Green Day did however release a greatest hits album named ’International Superhits’ a collection involving their most memorable scores. Could this have been the end of Punk’s darlings?. It has became a ritual that when major band release compilations just before their malfunction. Green Day were in that category of major acts and people were classing the extinction as ’inevitable’. Green Day didn’t subside, they moved upwards, straight up the hill of reckoning. Because what would happen next would change the lookout of a band wandering the streets of Punk/ Rock disarray.

Trapping the ghost of Dookie would be complete. Green Day ventured into a whole different realm of musical development in the 2004. Releasing an album that would reinstate them as a prominent act. American Idiot touched the inner area of America’s supposed downfall. Green Day branched out, using every ounce of their musical know-how, wit and talent. Creating a Rock opera with a story attached to its potent underskin. America was stricken, broken and manufactured under the influence of a President that Green Day outspokenly disapproved of. American Idiot was produced on the basis of ’Alienation ’, politics. The Album would however outweigh the blistering brilliance of Green Day’s finest release, well in album sales at least. American Idiot carried Green Day outwards, making them more prone to media attention. The inclusion of magazine deals, excessive interviews and performances became more relentless. Green Day may have looked different, but their musical persona didn’t differ.

Since Warning and B side contribution Shenanigans. Green Day were sanctioned off from the World. So American Idiot was a medication, a supplement for Green Day’s derailment. The album was of high class even classed as a work of art. Not to say that Green Day didn’t bust a gut to develop American Idiot, it was masterminded on the lines of anger and disorientation. Full to the brim with electrifying jewels and 9minute train rides. American Idiot would open the doors for the album. A song steeping itself in warm water, but Green Day couldn’t care less, they wanted their point across even if it took a rush of hysteria to showcase it.

Jesus Of Suburbia could be one of Green Day’s most accomplished spine tinglers. A song deeply swollen with anger, delirium and drug relation. A spicy infusion for American Idiot’s gelling process, Jesus Of Suburbia really shows Green Day can stray away of three cord music. Green Day enlist the help of a rebel amidst the tedious, unproductive suburban America. St Jimmy is that rebel. A boy lost in his own mind, stuck in a rut under the drugged up eyes of his hapless excuse for a Mother. Living a life of dysfunction, laying around in a broken home.

Moving out of the strong grip of JOS. ‘Holiday’ is an advanced lyrical gem. A real monumental leap in the political wave. Billie Joe writes angst, disapproving, and about the state of affairs that puts America under colossal scrutiny. St Jimmy has his own song dedicated to him. A fast-paced bone cruncher, formed by an anger waiting to flood the ears of people who stand an listen. ‘Are We The Waiting’ mellows down euphoric vibes. St Jimmy walks in silence under dark skies feeling complete disownment from peers and family, in a dreamland but not of bliss, in a nightmare he cant breakaway from. Green Day portray wonderfully how alienation and neglect can swallow someone’s dreams and potential up without mercy. Are We The Waiting does contain a rip of magic beyond a magicians capabilities.

American Idiot zones in on the alteration of America’s feel good factor. Becoming a story really telling the downfall of America after plights and heartbreak. If 9’11 was prevented, America would still be classed as a country to be modelled on. Not a Country people fear or back away from. ‘Boulevard Of Broke Dreams’ may stick to the same formula as ‘Are We The Waiting’ St Jimmy still finds himself walking alone with no one to comfort his broken body or his signified rage I Walk This Lonely Road, The Only One I Have Ever Known’ A beautiful ballad tearing at the skin of insignificance.

Was Green Day stating that they didn’t want shrivel up and say to themselves ’We Did Ok, Dookie Did Us Proud’ Grow into old men and sit rich. Green Day are not a band who class themselves as leaders, they class themselves as underdogs and their comfortable with that. ‘Give Me Novacaine’ another mellow triumph that is reminiscent of BOD and AWTW. St Jimmy still has demons taking liberties in his brain, and he begs for pills to surprises the agony. ‘Give Me Novocain’ is written with conviction, emotion and a shit load of tears. Billie Joe becomes a true writing general with American Idiot. Mastering the right meaning of producing overwhelming ballads.

She’s A Rebel is a rasping guitar riffed abused short piece. It could be that St Jimmy is thinking about lost love or a girl in his bloodied dreams. Whatever the answer, She’s a rebel still harbours a great tone on the record. ‘Extraordinary Girl’ seems to lie on being shy of branching out a hard skinned comfort zone. St Jimmy loses his will and is drenched in self pity. On the lines of a relationship turning sour, it is the final nail in the coffin for a rebel swamped in his own thoughts.

Good Riddance(Time Of Your Life) goes down as one of Green Day’s most relentless tear jerker. And there is a song hidden under the fast paced sensations. That song is Wake Me Up When September Ends. An analysis of a lead singers own pain of losing someone dear, a protector who was taken from him at a tender age. Billie Joe sings with the utmost grace and respect, a song that certainly gells togher a story deep filled with all the emotions. Taking off from its older predecessor, Wake Me Up When September does a fine job of becoming the next heart clencher. A song bright eyed and wisdom fuelled.

Green Day progressed through the barricade of self-realisation, bracing all the controversial, eating it, chewing it and spitting it out. Making their point with a concept masterpiece. Yeah they made money, yeah they selled Millions, yeah they collected numerous awards . But the best of all, they showed they could come back with a bang too blow the eardrums of hierarchy, sceptics and journalists who thought they would fall flat on their faces. Now what next?

By Mark McConville