Green Day Albums
{albums and reviews}

Dookie
{1994}




This was Green Day's first major label album. Many will argue that this is Green Day's best, and possibly the best punk/rock album of the 1990's. I don't quite agree, but I will not deny that this is a very well-done album. Not quite as aggressive as the subsequent "Insomniac," but still very punk. Billie Joe is quite skilled as a writer, and they are all excellent musicians. The only reason I wouldn't reccommend it is because of use of inappropriate language. How the hell did they get away without a parental advisory? I don't get it. . .
Well anyway, here's a track-by-track review. I'm grading them on a scale of 1-10:
1. Burnout- A short song about a kid who feels, "I'm not growing up, I'm just burning out." Good vocals and tune. |8/10|
2. Having A Blast- Supposedly about a suicide bomber. This song is really good, and gets stuck in my head a lot. |10/10| 3. Chump- Not my favorite song, by far. It's pretty short, but I like the instrumental and how it leads into "Longview." |7/10|
4. Longview- A very popular song, and I can see why. Very catchy tune. It's basically a song about some bum who sits at home all day watching t.v, and the phone. . . Great bass line too. Supposedly Mike wrote the base line while he was high, then forgot it the next day.|10/10|
5. Welcome to Paradise- I like this song a lot too. It's about a guy who moves away from home to a big city. This version is the more polished of the two, obviously, and I like it for that reason. Another catchy tune. |10/10|
6. Pulling Teeth- This song gets stuck in my head all the time. It's based on a party/pillow fight where Mike ran into a ceiling, and fell and broke his elbows. VERY catchy |9/10|
7. Basket Case- About going insane. . . arguably one of the best Green Day songs ever. The lyrics are GREAT! I love this one! |10/10|
8. She- I don't even have to say this is great, as all of the songs on this album are. This track starts off slowly, but speeds up, and then it gets really good. A song about a girl (duh). |10/10|
9. Sassafras Roots- Not my fav, but it's still good. It's about wasting time- "may I waste your time too?" |8/10|
10. When I Come Around- Perhaps the longest-lasting hit from this album. . . I knew it before I knew who Green Day were. Still a classic though. |10/10|
11. Coming Clean- "seeeventeen and strung out on confuuusion" sings Billie Joe to start this song. It's about a guy who's figuring out who he is in the world. I like this one, even though it's short (1:33) Good tune and beat. |9/10|
12. Emenius Sleepus- About seeing an old friend for the first time in a while, and not knowing "exactly just what he became." Pretty Good |9/10|
13. In The End- About knowing a girl who's very materialistic, someone who found "someone to look good with and light your cigarette," and not wanting to be there when she finally "comes around." Short but sweet. |9/10|
14- F.O.D.- Starts off really quiet and then breaks into a great rocker. Also has a hilarious hidden track, "All By Myself" |9/10|
Overall, I love this album, and it's hard to tire of it. GREAT!!!!!!!



Insomniac
{1995}




This was Green Day's second release on Reprise records. Billie Joe's voice changed slightly on this one, though it's hard to explain how. But he's still an amazing singer, don't get me wrong. "Insomniac" contains slightly darker lyrics, extremely well-written by Billie Joe; even the songs about drug addicts. The music is also heavier and louder. But so many of these songs are amazing. They really stand out. The opinions of this album are varied. Many have mixed feelings about this album, while others think it is without a doubt Green Day's best. Personally, I believe that it is very close to the top of the "Best Green Day Albums" list.
Another track-by-track review (scale of 1-10):
1. Armatage Shanks- Nice introduction song. About someone who's "stranded, lost inside myself." Basically about a misfit guy who really has no point in life. Billie Joe sings "I must insist on being a pessismist." and "I perfected the science of the idiot." Cool Song. |9/10|
2. Brat- About a snobby kid who's waiting for his parents to die so he can get his money from them. It's not as good a track as many of the others, but I wouldn't skip over it either. It's just not as original as the others. |7/10|
3. Stuck With Me- Probably my fav song on the cd, or one of them. "cast out- buried in a hole. struck down- forcing me to fall. destroyed- giving up the fight. i know i'm not all right." It's good, trust me. And the instrumentals are original and really well done as well. |10/10|
4. Geek Stink Breath- Probably the most well-known song off of this album. It's strong and the instrumentals are great. It's about a guy who decides to "lead a path of self destruction," and is based on a friend's drug addiction, I think. But it's still really good. |10/10|
5. No Pride- Not a stand-out track, but, of course, it's still good. Obviously, it's about a guy without any pride. Billie sings "You better swallow your pride, or you're gonna choke on it. You better digest your values, because they turn to shit. Honor's gonna knock you down, before your chance to stand up and fight. I know I'm not the one, I got no pride." I like it. |8/10|
6. Bab's Uvula Who?- They end every line with "all wound up," and that could get a bit annoying, I guess (it didn't for me). A very fast-paced track, sometimes it's hard to understand what they're saying (what else is new?) Good though. |9/10|
7. 86- many people think this song is about being 86 years old and not gettign to be young ever again. This song is actually based on how Green Day can't return to their old "home away from home," Gilman Street, which was a club they used to play at. The "punk purists" they used to be friends with basically ditched them when they signed on to Reprise. It's about how when BJ came back to see his old friends they basically said "what the hell are you doing here?" Hence "what brings you around, did you lose something the last time you were here?" which is the opening line of the song. Catchy chorus. |9/10|
8. Panic Song- This song has a two-minute intro, which is pretty good, though a bit repetitive. Once past that, the song itself isn't much to talk about. I'm pretty sure it's about Mike and his panic attacks, considering he co-wrote the song with Billie. It's pretty good. |8/10|
9. Stuart and the Ave.- This song is about a guy "standing on the corner of Stuart and the Avenue, ripping up a transfer and a photograph of you." Stuart St. and Telegraph Avenue are real streets in Berkeley, CA, too. I like this song, which I guess is about a guy leaving his girlriend, hence "I may be dumb, but I'm not stupid enough to stay with you." I really llike this song |10/10|
10. Brain Stew- Billie Joe wrote this song when he had just had his first son, Joey, who kept him awake all night crying, hence "I'm having trouble trying to sleep. . ."I like this one. It's sort of slow at first and then it speeds up by the end. It reminds me of "Hitchin' A Ride" in that respect. |9/10|
11. Jaded- The end of "Brain Stew" ties right into this song. This song is anything but jaded. It's really fast paced. And since they rhyme "nowhere" with "nowhere" in the chorus, you can sort of tell what it's about. Cool beans. |9/10|
12. Westbound Sign- This isn't one of their better songs, in my opinion. It's got good lyrics, about a girlfriend who's leaving to go across the country. Actually, I really like the lyrics. But the song itself is kind of boring. |8/10|
13. Tightwad Hill- It's based on some druggie hangout (Tightwad Hill) in the town they grew up in. It's about a drug dealer and how he's not doing anything with his life. The lyrics are pretty cool, though cynical- "Cheapskate on the hill, a thrill-seeker making deals, sugar city urchin wasting time" or "drug store hooligan, another white trash mannequin, on display to rot up on the hill" |9/10|
14. Walking Contradiction- Another popular song. It's one of my favorites. It's just a bunch of verses put together that make no sense, such as "a smart-ass, but I'm playing dumb" and "I beg to differ on the contrary." It's cool, and a great way to finish the album. |10/10|

I wouldn't (and don't) skip any of these songs. This is a well-put-together album. Great job, Green Day.



Nimrod
{1997}



Green Day's third Reprise album, and their fifth studio album. This is my all-time favorite Green Day album. Though it didn't sell as many copies as their previous albums, Nimrod has an exceptional line-up of songs, from the fast-paced, loud "Nice Guys Finish Last," all the way through "Prosthetic Head." The variety of these tracks is amazing. There isn't as much three-chord punk influence as on their earlier albums, yet it isn't quite as "subdued" as their newest studio release, "Warning." From a ska-like beat on "King For A Day" to the slow, acoustic guitar on "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)," and some good old punk on "Nice Guys Finish Last" and "Reject," even some very heavy, fast punk on "Take Back." It's amazing, and not at all a "sell-out." (neither is "Warning," by the way)
Well so here's the track by track (scale of 1-10):
1. Nice Guys Finish Last- I love this song! It's classic Green Day punk rock at it's best! "Nice guys finish last, when you are the outcast, don't pat yourself on the back, you might break your spine." Great song. |9/10|
2. Hitchin' A Ride- One of my favorite Green Day songs of all time. It starts off plodding along at a slow pace with a great base line. The guitar part gets proggressively stronger, and in the end it's a great rocker. The lyrics are cool too. |10/10|
3. The Grouch- It's about an old guy who "wasted youth and a fist full of ideals" and is now "just a grouch, sitting on the couch." It's pretty cool, but EXTREMELY EXPLICIT-they should have put parental advisory on this cd just for this song!: "The wife's a nag, and the kid's f*cking up, I don't have sex cuz I can't get it up" "Glory days don't mean sh*t to me" "Life's a b*tch and so am I, the world owes me, so f*ck you." That's the only reason I wouldn't recommend this song. |9/10|
4. Redundant- I love this song SO much. It's a bit slower than the others, but not by much. I don't know whether to go so far as to call it "beautiful," but it's amazing lyrically and musically. It's bascially a love song, but it's also about how everything seems the same, and "we're living in repitition." |9/10|
5. Scattered- I like this song a lot too. It's got a great tune, and the lyrics make you think. It's starts "I've got some scattered pictures lying on my bedroom floor, reminds me of the times we shared and makes me wish that you were here." You might have heard this song before; I recognized the tune when I first go this CD. |9/10|
6. All the Time- Not the most creative song on the cd, but it's okay. I think it's about a guy who's addicted to drugs. |8/10|
7. Worry Rock- It's about a couple in a fight not knowing where to go next, I think. It starts "Another sentimental argument, and bitter love" and ends "Where do we go from here and what did you do with the directions? Promise me no dead end streets, and I'll guarantee we'll have the road." The vocals and tune are strong here. It's really quite a song! |10/10|
8. Platypus (I Hate You)- This is a really strong hate song. It's got a heavy melody and guitar part, and the lyrics are pure malice. They didn't even print them in the booklet with the other lyrics, because their lawyer wouldn't let them. I like it though, when I overlook the message of the lyrics, because, like on most of their songs, the tune is strong. |9/10|
9. Uptight- It's about a suicidal person; "uptight, I'm a nag with a gun, all night suicide's last call. . ." Billie is basically just singing as a guy who has nothing left for him in life, a guy who "woke up on the wrong side of the floor," "got a new start on a dead end road" and "peaked at reaching new lows." Despite the negative perspective of the lyrics, it's a good song musically and tune-wise. |9/10|
10. Last Ride In- An instrumental that's surprisingly strong. It sounds sort of like cowboys riding through a town out west, or perhaps just a lazy day at the beach. Not the most exciting track on the album. Still, good for an instrumental. |8/10|
11. Jinx- Not very creative, but I still don't skip it. I think it's about some guy getting arrested. I like how it ties into the next song. |8/10|
12. Haushinka- Pretty cool song, about a guy who's girlfriend moved away, or he moved away from her or something. It's based on a girl Billie met in Japan, whose name was actually Haushinka. |9/10|
13. Walking Alone- It starts off "come together like a foot in a shoe, only this time I think I stuck my foot in my mouth." I think it's about someone who doesn't really fit in. Great harmonica part too. Billie's so damn talented. . . |9/10|
14. Reject- Again, not so creative, but it's good old Green Day rock. It's a guy telling someone "who the hell are you to tell me who I am and what's my master plan?", and that no matter what anyone says, "when the smoke clears here I am, your reject all-American." It's sorta a pretest song, and reminds me a bit of "Minority," from the "Warning" album.|8/10|
15. Take Back- Another hate song, about a guy who "can't take any more" and is getting revenge on someone. Billie Joe growls and snarls in the chorus, so it's worth listening to for that. |8/10|
16. King For A Day- This has more of a ska beat, and they use horns which sound really cool. It's about some little kid parading around his mom's room in a thong, and about drag queens. Overlooking THAT, it's good. I especially love the part where the guitar comes in right before the chorus, don't ask me why, it's just so cool to here guitar come in after the horns. |9/10|
17. Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)- Obviously the most well-known song on the album. Everyone knows this song, people sing it at camp, and it was in my yearbook in sixth grade. I think they even played it @ Princess Diana's funeral! Not to mention tons of sporting events, etc. It's a great song for all ages, cuz it has no swears, and it's pretty quiet and slow. The lyrics are also really nice, even though Billie Joe meant them as a cynical farewell to an old girlfriend. But you've probably already heard it anyway. |10/10|
18. Prosthetic Head- This song starts off light but the chorus is really loud and catchy. Billie is singing about a guy who's completely fake, with "plastic eyes, looking through numbskull, self-effaced, what's his face, you erased yourself fo shut up." Fun song. |10/10|
This, in my opinion, is Green Day's best album. It is one of my two favorite albums, along with "The Process Of Belief" by Bad Religion (a SERIOUSLY kick-butt good album). Variety and great lyrics, vocals, and instrumentals put it way up to the top of the list. I don't skip a single track; even though some aren't as good as others, they're all above-average. YAY GREEN DAY!!



Warning
{2000}

Ah. . . gotta love a controversial album. This is perhaps the most lyrically and musically deep of Green Day's albums, though don't expect them to have "grown up" TOO much. Many songs here are accoustic, and the hard, fast punk is mostly gone. "Church On Sunday" and "Minority" are probably the most similar to Green Day's previous songs, and even they have a completely different sound. I love this album. Many people don't, though, and what they have to realize is that Green Day did NOT "sell out"!! Selling out would be if they had made music that appelaed to the masses, just for material gain. Another stupid myth is that this album is "pop music." To which I say, WTF?!! How is this album pop??!! It still has great instrumentals, which by itself makes it un-pop. And they use such a variety of instruments (from the basic guitar-bass-drums to harmonica, farfisa, accordion, etc.) Also, this album was a much-needed break from 3-chord, 3-minute pop-punk, and most of the haters of this album would complain just as much if Green Day put put something that sounded just like their previous efforts. Not that any of their albums sound the same. Anyway, their next album is supposedly harder, faster, and punkier, so that's always promising. But here's a track-by-track to satisfy your curiosity (though many people already have this album, some of us our a little BEHIND the times, eh? hehe) (scale of 1-10, as is shown by the |?/10| following each track): (drumroll, please)

1. Warning- The title track (no really?) is really quite good. This is actually the first "title track" they've had, of O'm not mistaken. It's so slow it might bug people, and it's also accoustic, so that might bug you too. But the bass is strong here. Billie lists lots of warnings such as "keep out of reach of children," "may impair your ability to operate machinery," and "caution: police line, you better not cross." He then states that he "can't quite tell just what it means to me." hehe I love this song and the music video where the guy's ignoring all the warnings it's GREAT! yeah, okay, spaz. . . |10/10|
2. Blood, Sex, and Booze- Wow isn't that a pleasing title? But seriously, it's a good song. "I'm in distress, Oh mistress I confess so do it one more time, these handcuffs are too tight. . ." Yeah okay. I like how he banishes the "damsel in distress" stereotype, by saying he's in distress. Yeah maybe that's just me. . . |9/10|
3. Church On Sunday- Aww, a LOVE song. And about Billie's wife Adrienne, no less. Supposedly he was going through a "rough spot" in his mariiage in between the albums "Nimrod" and "Warning," so I guess he wrote this to help make it up to her. I dunno. . . I think this song is good but the chorus is kinda repititive. . . Oh well it IS funny when BJ shouts "let's go!" in the middle, I swear it sounds like Good Charlotte. And the lyrics are kinda endearing. . . wish he wrote 'em to me. . .hehehe I'm such a LOSER. . . yeah. |9/10|
4. Fashion Victim- The meaning of this song is SO great. i have never understood fashion at all, thank you Billie Joe for putting such a great perspective on it. . . It's a song about models and such, and how "you auctioned off your life, for the 'most expensive' price." God, how can ppl pay like 500 bucks for a frickin pair of pants? or a shirt? what about $10? yeah that makes more sense to me. Anywho, good song, though the interlude with the guys going "oh-oh-oh" kinda scares me. ahahaha. . . ahem |8/10|
5. Castaway- YES!! J'adore (I love) this song!! Ha I played it for my brother and he was like wtf? and yet now he loves it too. Ah, it's about a person who's taking his life into his own hands and "going at it alone." Also, he's a "conscientious objector to the war that's in my [his] mind." It's QUITE the catchy song. |10/10|
6. Misery- OMFG! I love this song too! It's about a bunch of druggies who screw up their lives and end up in "misery." Mike plays farfisa organ in this song, which is wicked cool. This song's actually kinda freaky, and it sounds sorta like a Disney movie when BJ sings "well Hell hounds on your tail now once again, BOY," and the way he says "boy" is creepy. Sometimes I skip this track, if I'm just in the mood for rock. |8/10|
7. Deadbeat Holiday- "Wake up, the house is on fire, and the cat's caught in the dryer, philosophy's a liar when your home is you headstone. . ."


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