| Product: |
Green Day in general |
| Date: |
02/10/02 (331 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Inoffensive, Fast fun rock, Great live
Disadvantages: Too 'pop' for some
¬¬Who?¬¬
Not everyone realises who Green Day are, but as soon as you play them one of two songs they suddenly go "oh yeah! I quite liked that one!!" and promise themselves that they'll buy an album.
They are a 30-something three-piece, still suffering the hangover of teenage angst. Most of their music reflects some frustration or another - though usually in quite a friendly-cum-cynical way.
¬¬These two songs; remind me¬¬
Their most famous song "Basket Case" was the soundtrack to summer for many fans with it's frenetic pace and catchy chorus. "Good Riddance" was a more recent hit - used a lot on TV whenever something poignant happens and they need a song to roll the final credits. These two songs sit at the ends of the spectrum of the band's output - the first a punk-inspired bouncalong song, the second an acoustic ballad.
¬¬Thanks. That all they've done then?¬¬
No! Their albums reach back to the very early 90's (and some of the music within was recorded in the eighties). "Kerplunk" and the oddly titled "1039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours" (actually a combination of two EP's) were the earliest releases, and were quite lo-fi in their sound.
Recently there has proved so much material that an album of B-sides has been produced. They are approaching 10 albums, if you include the unofficial "Teenage Rampage"
¬¬I like Darius - will I like them?¬¬
No, I'm afraid you won't, but they're not likely to let you out to go to the shops anytime soon anyway are they?
¬¬I was kidding¬¬
Ah! Hilarious! Seriously then, if you like a little of The Offspring, or some of Nirvana (and before Nirvana fans shout at me and then self-mutilate, there is a tribute song called Christie Road" by Green Day) then you're in the right ball park. They've been compared to "Stiff Little Fingers", but
I don't like them so the similarity probably isn't too strong.
¬¬Which album should I buy if I want to test the water?¬¬
What?! You aren't going to read this and go buy all of them? Fine! They have got a 'Greatest Hits' album which is quite good, though the best one to start with is probably "Dookie" - their biggest album so far. It's quite old, and has "Basket Case" on (one of the songs from my first bit at the top) as well as a really happy bunch of songs.
¬¬Are they good live?¬¬
Oh yeah. I saw them at Reading 2001 and they were one of the best live acts I've seen (think loud punk rock, with some guy dressed as a bumblebee playing a trumpet). They played well, buzzed with the crowd (I don't know what that means but I was there, okay?) and even got some fans on to play their instruments for a song! Tre Cool, the drummer set fire to his drum kit at the end (which would have been very rock 'n' roll if they hadn't done it every night of their tour).
¬¬Wrap it up man!¬¬
Oh, I thought I was doing okay! Anyway, you'll find little reason not to like most of the albums by this amicable but angry threesome. Billie Joe (lead singer and guitar) writes great stuff, and the other two (Mike Dirnt on bass and Tre Cool on drums) are great characters, occasionally singing a song themselves. Go and buy Dookie, make sure the shop will refund just in case, but I reckon you'll be buying more soon once you've got it.
¬¬Hang on, you didn't just list songs and quote lines from them!¬¬
Yeah, I don't like to. You'll see from my other stuff that I give a little overview for you to develop in your mind. Cheers!
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indiecater - 02/10/02 Interesting writing style. I think Green Day are overrated myself although I like Long View and Basket Case. Nice. |
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