My iPod #39: Green Day - Android

One for the hardcore Green Days fans out there.

Those fans who see the album artwork and think "Ooh, what's this?' Well, it's a song from Green Day's second album, Kerplunk.

"Kerplunk? That sounds stupid, I don't want to listen."

Yes, I felt the same way. American Idiot was my first Green Day album, I really liked 'Holiday' when I was younger, I thought it was one of the best songs around. And Dookie, well that's breakthrough album isn't it? The major label debut, the dogs in the planes and the monkey with the poop in its hand thinking 'Throw?', Basket Case.

"Exactly! What makes Kerplunk so good, or even... 39/Smooth?'

I can't really answer that. They were recorded when the band were on the independent label 'Lookout! Records.' Nobody knew who they were at the scale that they are recognised now, but people still 'knew' about them, you know? Like, people heard they were good stuff so they wanted to find out more about them.

".... OK. I'll have a listen."

Away from that scenario, Kerplunk was one of the last Green Day albums I downloaded. Only for the reason that Green Day: Rock Band came out, and I thought I should download all their stuff for the hell of it. I got 1039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours' in 2004/05 but after getting it I realised that I had no clue about the songs on the compilation.

Kerplunk has grown on me as time has gone by, and this song is one of the reasons why. It's just a really punk, four chord sequence song with great playing by all three members.

Another song by them about time and ageing, Billie Joe asks the questions that we all want to know about our lives:

"Will I grow that old, will I still be around?

The world will carry on, I'll end up six feet underground.

Waste away."

The song carries on at this fast pace for the first few verses and choruses, then it all slows down (with a weird sample placed in, I don't know where it's from), everything starts to sound quite sad and introspective especially when Billie Joe is backed up with the child-like sounding vocal during the bridge:

"It seems so frightening, time passes by like lightning.
Before you know it you're struck down."

But then the music picks up again, and you're head banging to the instruments again.

It's pretty much a sad lyrics but confident music song, and it's executed brilliantly.

So check out the first two albums by GD, and I don't mean Dookie and Insomniac.

Until next time.

Jamie.