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 Dookie released

Dookie Green Day

Released: February 1, 1994 Peak: 2 US, 13 UK, 18 CN, 113 AU Sales (in millions): 10.0 US, 0.9 UK, 20.0 world (includes US and UK), 28.34 EAS Genre: punk rock

Tracks: Song Title (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to charts. Burnout Having a Blast Chump Longview (2/1/94, 36 BA, 87 CB, 35 RR, 13 AR, 1 MR, 30 UK, 33 AU, 9 DF) Welcome to Paradise (9/24/94, 56 BA, 7 MR, 20 UK, 44 AU, 31 DF) Pulling Teeth Basket Case (7/16/94, 26 BA, 23 GR, 20 RR, 9 AR, 1 MR, 7 UK, 12 CN, 85 AU, 15 DF) She (4/15/95, 41 BA, 18 AR, 5 MR, 23 DF) Sassafras Roots When I Come Around (12/3/94, 6 BA, 4 RR, 2 AR, 1 MR, 27 UK, 3 CN, 7 AU, 7 DF) Coming Clean Emenius Sleepus In the End F.O.D./All by Myself Total Running Time: 39:35 The Players: Billie Joe Armstrong (vocals, guitar) Mike “Dirnt” Pritchard (bass Frank “Tré Cool” Wright (drums)

Rating: 4.353 out of 5.00 (average of 33 ratings) Quotable: “A stellar piece of modern punk that many tried to emulate but nobody bettered.” – Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AllMusic.com Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

The Band’s Early Years The punk-rock trio Green Day formed in Rodeo, California in 1987. The group, originally known as Sweet Children, was formed by the then-teenage singer/songwriter and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong and bassist Mike Dirnt. In 1989 and 1990, the trio – with drummer John Kiffmeyer – released three EPs and their debut studio album. After replacing Kiffmeyer with Frank Edwin Wright III (aka “Tré Cool”, the group released their second album, Kerplunk, in 1991. It “brought them minor national attention with sales in the hundreds of thousands, a remarkable achievement for an indie-label act.” CS Major labels started courting them and the band signed with Reprise Records in 1993. “On their first couple records, they showed promise,” AM but Dookie, the band’s third album and major label debut, proved to be a landmark album. Breaking into the Mainstream Dookie launched Green Day into the mainstream. The trio “found success by fusing the anti-establishment nature of its punk rock roots with…catchy pop melodies and hooks.” CQ The album was “perfectly timed to arrive hot on the Doc Martens-clad heels of the grunge scene.” CQ Dookie “found a way to reinvigorate interest in the original punk legends by serving as an entry-level record and giving a voice to rebellious teens who didn’t actually have a lot to rebel against in the relatively placid mid-1990s.” CQ “Exploring everything from panic attacks to masturbation to bisexuality, the lyrics struck a chord with fans of all ages and positioned Green Day as the modern punk band for the masses.” CQ “They delivered a record that found Billie Joe Armstrong bursting into full flower as a songwriter, spitting out melodic ravers that could have comfortable sat alongside Singles Going Steady, but infused with an ironic self-loathing popularized by Nirvana, whose clean sound on Nevermind is also emulated here.” AM Sell Out? “The band was accused of ‘selling out’ by previous followers of the underground punk scene.” CQ It is important to understand that “the story of punk rock is an endless cycle of worship and accusation from the genre’s fan base [that] a band is either an unknown pioneer or a successful sellout, and there is very little room for negotiating an identity in the liminal space between. Perhaps the only punk band ever to find enduring popularity without being accused of selling out were British anti-darlings the Sex Pistols, who, ironically, were one big publicity gimmick from the very beginning.” CS Green Day, however, didn’t considered themselves punk but “good old-fashioned rock and roll.” CS Raw’s Sylvie Simmons described them as “a bright, crazy, brilliant cartoon with fast, tight, good-time songs>” CS They were “supersonic hardcore bubblegum brats.” CS They were “punk put through a dayglo California blender that’s more skateboards than Sex Pistols, more sex than social conscience, more Beavis & Butthead than Sid & Nancy, more Dickies and Ramones than Black Flag and the Germs.” CS A Revolutionary ‘90s Album Regardless of how the band was labeled, Dookie became “one of the defining albums of the 1990s and punk rock in general.” WK They “were simply the most important thing to happen to rock music in the 1990s after Nirvana.” CS “Like Nevermind, this was accidental success, the sound of a promising underground group suddenly hitting its stride just as they got their first professional, big-budget, big-label production. Really, that’s where the similarities end, since if Nirvana were indebted to the weirdness of indie rock, Green Day were straight-ahead punk revivalists through and through.” AM However, “where Nirvana had weight, Green Day are deliberately adolescent here, treating nearly everything as joke and having as much fun as snotty punkers should.” AM They “twisted the Seattle grunge formula on its head, turning the weighty themes of Nirvana and Pearl Jam into fodder for tightly controlled wisecracking.” CS Green Day crafted “catchy riffs on crunchy, treble-heavy guitars that provided a lighter counterbalance to the moody angst of Seattle grunge.” CS Dookie brought “melodic rock sound to the mainstream with relatable lyrics” WK about “boredom, anxiety, relationships,” WK “masturbation, sexual orientation, …divorce, domestic abuse and ex-girlfriends” WK “that reached a universal audience.” WK The themes were heavily based on singer Billie Joe Armstrong’s personal experiences. WK It sent “a wave of imitators up the charts” AM that included Blink-182, Fall Out Boy, Good Charlotte, and Sum 41, but Dookie stood out as “a stellar piece of modern punk that many tried to emulate but nobody bettered.” AM In 2017, Rolling Stone named it the greatest pop-punk album of all time. WK The Songs Here are insights into individual tracks. “Longview” The first single released from the album was Longview. Armstrong said the song’s main character was based on himself during his time living in Rodeo, California. He said there was nothing to do there. The character “does nothing but watch television, smoke mariuana, and masturbate, and has little motivation to change these habits despite tiring of the same cycle of behaviors.” WK The song features a signature bassline from Mike Dirnt that he wrote under the influence of LSD. WK “Basket Case” The second single was Basket Case. Like its predecessor, it topped the alternative rock chart and was a top 40 hit on the Billboard airplay charts. “The song deals with Armstrong’s anxiety attacks and feelings of ‘going crazy’ prior to being diagnosed with a panic disorder.” WK “Welcome to Paradise” Welcome to Paradise first appeared on Kerplunk!, the band’s second studio album. It was one of three earlier songs that the band re-recorded, but it was the only one to make the album. “It bears noticeable improvements in sound quality.” WK It was the third single released from Dookie. “She” The song She was written by Armstrong about Amanda, a former girlfriend. She showed him a feminist poem with the same title and he in turn wrote lyrics and showed them to her. The song is similar to “Basket Case” but slightly faster. It was released as the fourth single from the album. “When I Come Around” “They demonstrate a bit of depth with When I Come Around, but that just varies the pace slightly, since the key to this is their flippant, infectious attitude – something they maintain throughout the record.” AM It was the fifth and final single from the album. It was inspired by Adrienne, Armstrong’s former girlfriend and future wife. Armstong left her after they had an argument to spend time alone.

Resources: AM AllMusic.com review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine CQ Consequence.net (9/12/2022). “The 100 Greatest Albums of All Time” CS Chris Smith (2009). 101 Albums That Changed Popular Music. Oxford University Press. Pages 227-8. WK Wikipedia Related DMDB Links: First posted 3/28/2011; last updated 11/29/2024.