CMJ NEW MUSIC REPORT - dookie review green day has been the pride of the east bay scene for quite a few years, and the band's plunge into major labeldom comes after two successful lps on lookout! and enough touring to support a travel agency. where some bands feebly use their first major-label budget to hide a sloppy sound with studio theatrics, green day uses it to make its strongest, most palatable and most immediate album to date (after kerplunk!'s meager $1,000 pricetag, it must've seemed like the band was using my bloody valentine's studio budget!). billie joe's vocals and mike dirnt's backing vocals are crisper, making their sing-a-long choruses stronger than ever, and billie's adrenalin-pumped power chords jump right out of the mix - like the ramones, green day happily eschews ego-boosting guitar maneuvers in favor of a crunchier, more explicit sound. and that's why green day taps so directly into our present (or dormant) post-teen angst: because its appeal is so direct, so visceral and so damn fun. this band makes punk rock that's more obvious than pedantic, tackling issues like girl trouble and identity crises with the same intensity as that which fugazi tackles individual and social responsibility. What's dookie?: "burnout," "longview," "pulling teeth," "basket case" and "coming clean." lydia anderson