Green Day: A Retrospective, 1991-2020

Green Day A Retrospective: 1991-2020

Overview: Green Day is a punk-rock band formed in 1987 in the East Bay of California. They were part of the punk scene that emerged from the Bay Area in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, specifically fro the 924 Gilman Street club. They are credited with popularizing mainstream interest in punk rock in the United States because of the success of Dookie Dookie, their major-label debut which sold 10 million copies. They also experienced major success in 2004 with their rock opera American Idiot, which is featured in the DMDB book The Top 100 Albums of the 21st Century. While they have been a trio comprised of Billy Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tré Cool for most of their existence, Raj Punjabi, Sean Hughes, Al Sobrante, and John Kiffmeyer were early members. The Players: Billie Joe Armstrong (vocals, guitar: 1987-present) Mike “Dirnt” Pritchard (bass: 1987-present) Raj Punjabi (drums: 1987-88) Sean Hughes (bass: 1987-88) Al Sobrante (drums: 1989-90) John Kiftmeyer (drums: 1990) Frank “Tré Cool” Wright (drums: 1990-present) Links: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Green Day Top 50 Songs GreenDay.com (official site) Facebook Wikipedia

Awards:

Compilations: IS International Superhits! (covers 1993-2001, released 2001) GF God’s Favorite Band (covers 1991-2017, released 2017) Immediately below is a list of this acts’ top songs as ranked by the DMDB. The codes beside the songs indicate which of the above albums the songs appear on. In addition, you can scroll farther down the page to see a snapshot of the individual albums with the singles from each indicated. The songs are again followed by the codes, but also for those songs that charted, the date of the song’s release or first chart appearance and its chart peaks are noted in parentheses. Click for codes to charts. Top 50 Songs DMDB Top 1%: 1. Boulevard of Broken Dreams (2004) GF 2. Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) (1997) IS, GF 3. Basket Case (1994) IS, GF DMDB Top 2%: 4. American Idiot (2004) GF 5. Longview (1994) IS, GF 6. Wake Me Up When September Ends (2004) GF 7. When I Come Around (1994) IS, GF DMDB Top 5%: 8. Brain Stew (1995) IS, GF 9. Holiday (2004) GF 10. Jaded (1995) IS DMDB Top 10%: 11. 21 Guns (2009) GF 12. Know Your Enemy (2009) GF 13. The Saints Are Coming (with U2, 2006) 14. Welcome to Paradise (1994) IS, GF 15. Minority (2000) IS, GF DMDB Top 20%: 16. Still Breathing (2016) GF 17. Bang Bang (2016) GF 18. Warning (2000) IS, GF 19. Geek Stink Breath (1995) IS 20. She (1994) IS, GF 21. Oh Love (2012) GF 22. Working Class Hero (2007) 23. J.A.R. (Jason Andrew Relva) (1995) IS 24. Hitchin’ a Ride (1997) IS, GF Beyond the DMDB Top 20%: 25. Walking Contradiction (1995) IS 26. Jesus of Suburbia (2004) 27. The Simpsons Theme (2007) 28. Oh Yeah! (2020) 29. Father of All… (2019) 30. Redundant (1997) IS 31. East Jesus Nowhere (2009) 32. Tired of Waiting for You (1997) 33. Nice Guys Finish Last (1997) IS 34. Let Yourself Go (2012) 35. Revolution Radio (2016) 36. X-Kid (2012) 37. Stuck with Me (1995) IS 38. Ordinary World (2016) GF 39. Pollyanna (2021) 40. All by Myself (1994) 41. Last of the American Girls (2009) 42. When It’s Time (2010) 43. Are We the Waiting (2004) 44. 2000 Light Years Away (1991) GF 45. Macy’s Day Parade (2000) IS 46. Maria (2001) IS 47. Poprocks & Coke (2001) IS 48. Suffocate (2002) 49. My Generation (1988) 50. Back in the U.S.A. (2017) GF

Kerplunk! (1991): 2000 Light Years Away (11/21/17, --) GF

Dookie (1994): Longview (2/1/94, 36 BA, 87 CB, 35 RR, 13 AR, 1 MR, 30 UK, 33 AU, 9 DF) IS, GF Basket Case (7/16/94, 26 BA, 23 GR, 20 RR, 9 AR, 1 MR, 7 UK, 12 CN, 85 AU, 15 DF) IS, GF Welcome to Paradise (9/24/94, 56 BA, 7 MR, 20 UK, 44 AU, 31 DF) IS, GF When I Come Around (12/3/94, 6 BA, 4 RR, 2 AR, 1 MR, 27 UK, 3 CN, 7 AU, 7 DF) IS, GF She (4/15/95, 41 BA, 18 AR, 5 MR, 23 DF) IS, GF Read more on the DMDB page for this album.

Insomniac (1995): Geek Stink Breath (9/25/95, 27 BA, 9 AR, 3 MR, 16 UK, 22 CN, 40 AU, 19 DF) IS Brain Stew (12/16/95, 35 BA, 8 AR, 3 MR, 28 UK, 35 CN, 88 AU, 18 DF) IS, GF Jaded (12/16/95, 35 BA, 8 AR, 3 MR, 28 UK, 35 CN, 88 AU, 31 DF) IS Stuck with Me (12/27/95, 24 UK, 46 AU) IS Walking Contradiction (6/15/96, 70 BA, 25 AR, 21 MR, 31 DF) IS

Nimrod (1997): Hitchin’ a Ride (9/13/97, 59 BA, 9 AR, 5 MR, 25 UK, 23 CN, 26 AU) IS, GF Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) (11/29/97, 11 BA, 9 GR, 12 RR, 11 A40, 4 AA, 7 AR, 2 MR, 11 UK, 5 CN, 2 AU, 1 DF) IS, GF Redundant (4/25/98, 16 MR, 27 UK, 2 AU) IS Nice Guys Finish Last (10/17/98, 31 MR, 80 AU) IS

Warning (2000): Minority (8/31/00, 42 RR, 33 A40, 15 AR, 1 MR, 18 UK, 29 AU, 13 DF) IS, GF Warning (12/2/00, 49 RR, 31 A40, 7 AA, 24 AR, 3 MR, 27 UK, 19 AU) IS, GF Waiting (3/31/01, 26 MR, 34 UK) IS Macy’s Day Parade (11/3/01, --) IS

International Superhits! Green Day

Recorded: 1994-2001 Released: November 13, 2001 Peak: 40 US, 15 UK, -- CN, 11 AU Sales (in millions): 1.2 US, 0.89 UK, 3.09 world (includes US and UK) Genre: punk rock Rating: 4.240 out of 5.00 (average of 7 ratings)

Tracks: (1) Maria (2) Poprocks & Coke (3) Longview (4) Welcome to Paradise (5) Basket Case (6) When I Come Around (7) She (8) J.A.R. (Jason Andrew Relva) (9) Geek Stink Breath (10) Brain Stew (11) Jaded (12) Walking Contradiction (13) Stuck with Me (14) Hitchin’ a Ride (15) Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) (16) Redundant (17) Nice Guys Finish Last (18) Minority (19) Warning (20) Waiting (21) Macy’s Day Parade Total Running Time: 60:44 Tracks Not on Previously Noted Albums: J.A.R. (Jason Andrew Relva) (7/22/95, 22 BA, 17 AR, 1 MR, 63 CN, 18 DF) IS Poprocks & Coke (11/13/01, --) IS Maria (12/2/01, --) IS About the Album: This compilation covers Green Day’s four major label releases from Reprise Records. That means their early years from 1987 to 1992 aren’t represented, but their weren’t any hits from those years anyway. This is a respectable collection, although it could have included Green Day’s cover of the Kinks’ “Tired of Waiting for You” from the Private Parts soundtrack. It does, however, include the hit “J.A.R. (Jason Andrew Relva)” which had previously only been available on the Angus soundtrack. “Maria” is a re-recording of what was originally a B-side for “Waiting” and “Poprocks & Coke” is a previously unreleased song.

American Idiot (2004): American Idiot (8/21/04, 61 BB, 5 AR, 1 MR, 3 UK, 1 CN, 7 AU, 11 DF) GF Boulevard of Broken Dreams (10/16/04, 2 BB, 1 DG, 1 RR, 30 AC, 1 A40, 1 AA, 1 AR, 1 MR, 5 UK, 1 CN, 5 AU 1 DF) GF Holiday (2/5/05, 19 BB, 13 RR, 5 A40, 1 AR, 1 MR, 11 UK, 24 AU, 31 DF) GF Wake Me Up When September Ends (6/13/05, 6 BB, 4 RR, 13 AC, 2 A40, 3 AA, 12 AR, 2 MR, 8 UK, 13 AU, 1 DF) GF Jesus of Suburbia (10/25/05, 27 MR, 17 UK, 24 AU) Read more on the DMDB page for this album.

21st Century Breakdown (2009): Know Your Enemy (4/16/09, 28 BB, 50 RR, 36 A40, 7 AA, 1 AR, 1 MR, 21 UK, 5 CN, 20 AU) GF 21 Guns (5/25/09, 22 BB, 30 RR, 9 A40, 3 AA, 17 AR, 3 MR, 36 UK, 16 CN, 14 AU) GF East Jesus Nowhere (10/10/09, 35 AR, 17 MR, 71 CN) 21st Century Breakdown (12/21/09, --) Last of the American Girls (3/22/10, 26 MR) Read more on the DMDB page for this album.

¡Uno! (2012): Oh Love (7/16/12, 97 BB, 23 A40, 4 AA, 5 AR, 7 MR, 45 CN) GF Kill the DJ (8/15/12, --) Let Yourself Go (9/5/12, 11 AR, 34 MR)

¡Dos! (2012): Stray Heart (10/15/12, --)

¡Tré! (2012): The Forgotten (10/30/12, --) X-Kid (12/19/12, 23 AR, 35 MR)

Revolution Radio (2016): Bang Bang (8/11/16, 1 AR, 84 UK, 75 CN, 83 AU) GF Still Breathing (11/12/16, 40 A40, 17 AA, 1 AR) GF Ordinary World (1/8/17, --) GF Revolution Radio (5/16/17, 9 AR, 21 MR)

God’s Favorite Band: Greatest Hits Green Day

Recorded: 1991-2017 Released: November 17, 2017 Peak: 39 US, 22 UK, 37 CN, 16 AU Sales (in millions): -- US, 0.06 UK Genre: punk rock Rating: 4.420 out of 5.00 (average of 8 ratings)

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

Tracks: (1) 2000 Light Years Away (2) Longview (3) Welcome to Paradise (4) Basket Case (5) When I Come Around (6) She (7) Brain Stew (8) Hitchin’ a Ride (9) Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) (10) Minority (11) Warning (12) American Idiot (13) Holiday (14) Boulevard of Broken Dreams (15) Wake Me Up When September Ends (16) Know Your Enemy (17) 21 Guns (18) Oh Love (19) Bang Bang (20) Still Breathing (21) Ordinary World (22) Back in the USA Total Running Time: 75:58 Tracks Not on Previously Noted Albums: Back in the USA (11/17/17, --) GF About the Album: Green Day’s second compilation features ten of the songs from International Superhits! (which covered 1994-2001), dips back to the 1991 Kerplunk! album for “2000 Light Years Away” and adds 11 songs covering 2004 to 2017. “Back in the USA” is a new song and “Ordinary World” is a new version of the song from Revolution Radio with Miranda Lambert dueting with Billie Joe Armstrong.

Father of All (2020): Father of All… (9/21/19, 37 AA, 1 AR, 3 MR) Oh Yeah! (1/16/20, 19 AA, 1 AR, 1 MR)

Resources and Related Links: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Green Day Dave’s Music Database: Acts’ Profile Pages and Best-of Lists Wikipedia page for International Superhits! Wikipedia page for God’s Favorite Band First posted 12/7/2023; last updated 12/9/2023.

Green Day charted with “Time of Your Life”

Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) Green Day

Writer(s): Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, Tré Cool (see lyrics here) Released: December 23, 1997 First Charted: November 29, 1997 Peak: 11a US, 12 RR, 11 A40, 4 AA, 7 AR, 2 MR, 11 UK, 5 CN, 2 AU, 1 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): 5.0 US, 0.6 UK, 5.75 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 0.8 radio, 101.30 video, 471.26 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: The punk-rock trio Green Day formed in 1987 in California. After two independently released albums, they made their major label debut in 1994 with Dookie. The blockbuster sold more than 10 million copies fueled by three chart-topping songs at alternative rock radio. The follow-up, 1995’s Insomniac, wasn’t as big, but still sold two million copies and produced two top-10 alternative rock hits. The next album, 1997’s Nimrod, followed the same pattern with two million more in sales and two more alternative rock hits. The second of those was “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life),” which spent thirteen weeks at #2. The band’s singer, Billie Joe Armstrong, wrote the song in 1993 about his girlfriend, Amanda. She moved to Ecuador to live with her family and continue with her schooling. SF He wrote the song about his anger regarding her leaving, calling it “Good Riddance.” He said it was “about trying to be cool, accepting that, in life, people go in different directions.” SF He shared it with his bandmates during the Dookie sessions, but its “mellow, contemplative lyrics with acoustic music” WK were too sonically different than the punk style of that album. They took another stab at it during the Nimrod sessions, adding strings to the song. It became a hit, but it also resulted in a high rate of returns at record stores from fans who thought it was too different than what they expected. SF The band was surprised to find that it became a staple at high school proms. Many graduating seniors interpreted the lyrics as a nostalgic reflection of their time in school. In 2015, Rolling Stone magazine named it one of the 20 best graduation songs of the past 20 years. WK Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Green Day SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia First posted 11/1/2022.