My iPod #264: Green Day - Desensitized

The hours have rushed by, haven't they?

I am now back from my venture to Liverpool for the weekend, and it is time for the first of two posts.

First up is "Desensitized", a song by Green Day which was recorded whilst the band were working on "Nimrod". Apparently, they didn't feel as if it was the best to come out of those sessions. It wasn't released on the album, but as a B-side on the "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" single. However, Australians and the Japanese are fortunate to have it on their versions of the album. It later got released on the bands B-side compilation "Shenanigans" which came out in 2002.

I'd never listened to "Shenanigans" before and one day decided..... that I should. Out of the fourteen tracks on there, I only really like four of them including this one. It isn't amazing. You can tell why they didn't make it onto their albums they were recorded for. "Desensitized" had the potential more than most of the others.

Mike Dirnt, the band's bassist, completely beats the crap out of a lot of things with a baseball bat for the first twenty seconds or so. I don't really understand why, but the sounds of various items breaking upon the bat's impact segues into the song's main riff - one that alternates between G and C (I believe) starting and stopping to allow Billie Joe to fill the silences with the vocals. That's just the verses though. Listen to the song, if you like it then you're welcome.

My iPod #253: Green Day - Deadbeat Holiday

"Deadbeat Holiday" is the seventh track on Green Day's sixth album "Warning", released in 2000. The album is one of Green Day's 'softer' albums with less of a punk rock oriented sound and incorporating more acoustic elements (thank you Wikipedia). For this reason, it is not one of the band's most acclaimed albums. But at a time when punk rock was not as big, it showed that the band were able to look in a new direction.

For myself, "Warning" was the last Green Day album I listened to. The Green Day:Rock Band had recently come out and the only albums of theirs I physically possessed (and still do) were "American Idiot", "Dookie", "Smoothed Out Slappy Hours" (which is quite a strange choice looking at it now) and the "International Superhits!" compilation, which I got way before realising that compilations are not the way to go. Buy original albums, people.

"Minority", the title track, "Waiting" and "Macy's Day Parade" were tracks that I had heard when I initially started listening to Green Day about ten years ago. They were singles, and their videos were available to watch on the band's website. It was only the album tracks I had to go through now, and "Deadbeat Holiday" was another that was rather enjoyable. It's about living an empty life and feeling miserable which isn't so great, but the narrator's knowledge that they are not alone in this situation is somewhat of a comforter. It is very poppy though, which does lighten the mood.

My iPod #186: Green Day - Christian's Inferno

I thought "21st Century Breakdown" was a real bore of a first listen. Being available as an exclusive on we7.com, when the site was actually useful, I took the opportunity to hear Green Day's new album. It was their first in five years, you know.

But I didn't think it was too great. At least from what I can remember anyway. I already didn't like "Know Your Enemy" - thought that was quite a disappointing first single - and I wasn't amazed by anything much on the album. Everything sounded the same production-wise.

I did download it eventually later on in 2009. Feelings improved a bit. I still didn't think it could be regarded as one of the band's finest albums though. But the number of songs I was able to memorise did increase.

Then Green Day: Rock Band came out the following year, and that helped me a lot to work out the melodies and 'guitar patterns' of the whole album. It made me appreciate the album that bit more.

I am still very confused about what the concept of 21st Century Breakdown is. I probably mentioned this in a previous post. Still not quite sure who Christian and Gloria are, or what they are meant to represent. I am not sure why Christian is so full of wrath in this particular track either.

"Inferno" is a belter though. Not one of the best tracks on the album, with a repetitive chorus and theatrical, maniacal laughter by Billie Joe which doesn't have any emotional effect on me whatsoever. But.... I don't know, it's just something to jump around and go crazy to when no one's around.

My iPod #150: Green Day - Burnout

With two hits of the hi-hat and two quick rolls on the snare, "Dookie" explodes into life with its opener "Burnout". The album was Green Day's major label debut and the first words 'I declare I don't care no more', however grammatically incorrect it may be, resonated with many a bummed out teenager of the nineties.

"Dookie" has been in my possession since Christmas 2005 but I never really appreciated it. I'd really only wanted it to hear the transition of "Chump" into "Longview" because I'd read on fan sites that the band liked to do that technique where songs seam into one another. I already owned "International Superhits!", the band's singles compilation, so why would I need to hear any more of their other stuff?

That was a bad mistake. In fact, it wasn't until 2010 when I sat down and listened to "Dookie" the whole way through. The album's inclusion on "Green Day: Rock Band" excited everyone, and it made me appreciate the instrumentation even more. I knew Tré Cool was a brilliant drummer, but I didn't know he could do all those fills and rolls, and at such a pace as well. Overall, the songs were quite short but were satisfying in terms of their melodies, structure and quality.

"Dookie" is a fantastic album. Is it my favourite....? It's up there. This song is one of the reasons why.

Also, next year celebrates the 20th anniversary of the album's original release, so look out for any Green Day gigs near you. That might just start playing the whole thing in full!

Get Tré to sing "All by Myself", people.

Jamie.

My iPod #130: Green Day - Brain Stew

Wha-hey. Another Green Day song in a matter of days. What a song too. Let me tell you alllll about it.

So the year is 2005. I get "American Idiot" for my birthday, I look at every Green Day fan site to gather as much information as I can about the three guys and their music. Green Day were my favourite band ever. What better place to find stuff about them then their offical website?

Circa 2005, the Green Day website had an "American Idiot" theme about it. Colours of red, black and white, with a lot of heart-hand grenades too. The website also put up all of their official music videos. YouTube was just about just getting started, so the only way to watch them was through RealPlayer and Windows Media Player; it was a real pain if you didn't have the top speed needed to let the videos play at maximum quality. They always needed to buffer and all that nonsense. Being a single, "Brain Stew" was able to be viewed.

"Brain Stew" was released from the band's fourth album "Insomniac". Not just by itself, but with its companion "Jaded" which comes right after it.

The song is the ravings of a man who cannot get to sleep at night. One who suffers from insomnia, if you will. Although I can't remember a time where I've felt so restless that I thought my eyes were going to be bleed whilst they were bulging out of my skull. I felt nervous during the night before my exam results day, and I had a bit of a tummy problem. That was about it though.

Until tomorrow.

Jamie.

My iPod #126: Green Day - Boulevard of Broken Dreams

Can you believe it? It has been almost ten years since "American Idiot" was released.

It seems like a few days ago I got the album as a present for my tenth birthday, listened to the story of the son of rage and love and never looked back as Green Day started to become one of my favourite artists ever.

Those of you who have the album should definitely understand what I mean when I mention 'the son of rage and love'. To those of you who don't, I can try and explain it to you but it would be better if you listened to "American Idiot" yourselves.

The album itself has a concept. To put it very short the story of a boy named Jimmy, who leaves his hometown to look for better things, but realises the things out there aren't so great and returns home. That is very basic, but you can search it up.

"Boulevard of Broken Dreams" comes in after Jimmy gets a real adrenaline rush of being away from home and wakes up the next morning to find that everything around him is morose and bleak. He is alone. He walks alone too. He walks alone, he walks alone.

How did "BoBD" become so important to me that it's had a place on my portable device? I don't know. I remember liking "Holiday" a lot more. I think it was the time that I realised that the video for "Broken Dreams" is set straight after the "Holiday" video, just like the two songs are on the album. The music videos for the song were shot in the same studio too. That was quite cool to know.

"Dreams" is a proper Green Day anthem. If you are to go to one of their shows, you better be prepared to know all the words to this. You don't want to be the one mumbling the words and then singing "I walk alone, I walk alone". That's not the title of the song. There are other lyrics, people.

Personally, my favourite part of the song is the last minute when Billie Joe sings the last words and the band just rocks out, because the chord progression and the notes are so awesome. It sounds like it comes from out of nowhere.

Until tomorrow.

Jamie.

My iPod #116: Green Day - Blood, Sex and Booze + GREAT NEWS

I HAVE A UNI TO GO TO!

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY.

I'm so happy.

I don't know if I can write enough for today's song. I might not be able to concentrate. Let's do it.

Well, well, well. It's Green Day.

It's the year 2000. I am five years old. I have no clue who Green Day are at this point. The band on the other hand have their fair share of fans after gaining a lot of success during the nineties.

Then comes the twenty first century, and the rise of boybands. Everyone begins to love boy bands again. What can Green Day do to regain their status? Nothing much to be honest. They release their sixth album "Warning" which - however bleak the album cover may be - captures the band at their most sophisticated point, mixing their original punk style with more accessible melodies and a wider use of instruments.

That's not apparent in "Blood, Sex and Booze", which is probably the band's sleaziest song to date. Well, the song's not sleazy. The narrator describes their love for being dominated in the bed. That's all. It's not my favourite from the album, but it rocks pretty hard. It deserves its place on my iPod.

I can't write any more. I can't think of anything to say.

If I have any British followers who also got their results today and got their places... CONGRATULATIONS. I'm happy for you.

Celebrate good times.

Until tomorrow.

Jamie.

My iPod #84: Green Day - Before the Lobotomy

To this day, I am still not sure what the concept of "21st Century Breakdown" is. I know that it includes two characters, Christian and Gloria, and I also believe that those are the same characters that are embracing on the album cover. So is it like a love story? Is it supposed to be some sort of survival of two lovers in a shitty period of time? That's really all I can deduce from it.

"21st Century Breakdown" was somewhat the "Relapse" for Green Day. It was released in 2009 - five years after releasing "American Idiot" in 2004. It was an exciting time for Green Day fans, including myself. I wasn't really impressed with "Know Your Enemy" though, it was a bit repetitive and it didn't strike me as much as "American Idiot" did as a first single.

That didn't stop me from eventually downloading the album though. It is a straight-forward punk rock album: Guitars in full force in both ears with the bass and drums in the centre, a few overdubs here and there and guitar solos. Yeah, it's good.

"Before the Lobotomy" starts off quietly for the first minute or so, describing how people feel down and how there seems to be no signs of hope, "Laughter, there is no more laughter. Songs of yesterday now live in the underground" But the song then picks up, turning into more of a rocker in the middle alternating between 7/4 and 4/4 in time signature. I can't remember the last time Green Day used that in a song. It's nice though, it keeps things going quickly. The end reprises the first verses of the song though, reminding everyone that society still sucks.

I like this song. Listen to it, you may like it too.

Until tomorrow.

Jamie.

My iPod #50: Green Day - Armatage Shanks

 

 Good evening.

Today, it is Green Day again. This time, it's the opening track from their fourth album 'Insomniac.'

I listened to 'Armatage Shanks' quite a while ago on one of Green Day's fan sites. This was when I was Green Day crazy, 'American Idiot' was my favourite album and gradually I became more and more interested in the band.

I was probably about ten when I first heard 'Armatage', and I didn't think about it so much. It wasn't really a special song, the title is named after a company that makes bathroom sinks, man. Bathroom sinks. As a title of a song, it's really cool though. There is something really angst and sharp about it.

Anyone who owns 'Insomniac' will recognise the massive difference there is between it and its predecessor 'Dookie'. Whilst still containing two-three minutes of memorable tracks, 'Insomniac' took more of a darker and edgier approach. Look at the difference between the album covers, for goodness sake. The overdubbed guitars are more distorted and crunchy, Mike Dirnt really cranks it up on his bass playing on this album, Tré is as good as ever on the drums and Billie Joe is a lot more snotty in his vocal delivery.

All of that is really summed up in this track, and as the first one on the album it sets the tone that you will hear for the next thirteen songs straight away.

Can anyone tell me what is being said in the bridge, because I still have no clue.

Until next time.

Jamie.

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.

My iPod #23: Green Day - All the Time

Evening all.

I downloaded 'Nimrod' back in 2010. That was the year that the band had their own 'Rock Band' game dedicated to them. No one probably plays that game anymore, seeing as you could export all the songs into the normal Rock Band games anyway. However, it was a sight to behold Billie Joe, Mike and Tré all cartoon form, showing their change in appearances from the Dookie era, to American Idiot, and finally to 21st Century Breakdown.

Again, 'All the Time' isn't probably the most memorable song that people will remember from Nimrod. There's probably one good reason for that. The album itself was the one that began their movement from three-chord punk rock songs to songs which, I guess, carried a deeper meaning to them. They were becoming mature. Eww.

Although the song wouldn't have found itself on Dookie, nor definitely Insomniac, 'All the Time' seems the closest on the album that could have been written in those recording sessions. If 'Haushinka' was considered for Dookie, 'All the Time' certainly could have been.

The song's overall message? Time goes fast.

That's the song for the day. Hope you enjoyed it :)

Until next time.

Jamie.