CMJ NEW MUSIC REPORT - dookie review
punk stalwarts sign to major label! maximum rock `n' roll
readers in a tizzy! With the help of the warner empire, green day is
going to reach skate rats and disaffected teens in every hamlet in
america.
t's a bit of a shock to see that green day got on the reprise
bandwagon; after all, its earlier records came out on the staunchly
independent bay area label lookout! the band isn't avant-anything, but
it is extremely good at what it does, which is 1978-style clean-cut punk
rock.
lyrically, green day is the epitome of suburban-boy vision, or
lack thereof. a typical lyric goes "i sit around and watch tv, but
there's nothing on," while somewhere else singer Tre Cool
(seemingly afflicted by a permanent case of sinusitis) snorts "call
me pathetic, call me what you will."
most songs on dookie are
guaranteed to whip the most apathetic mosh-pit into a frenzy, or make
you drive a little faster if you happen to be in a car. after a while,
you realize that most of the songs come from the exact same mold (they
all have a drum-bass break two-thirds in), but by the time dookie is
over you couldn't care less. completely mindless and completely fun.
elisabeth vincentelli
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