It's good to see the boys sharing a stage again.
No complaints in the slightest...save for the fact that "The Rock Show" is off Take Off Your Pants & Jacket, JAY!
Green Day is Generation Y’s version of The Clash.
If this statement is unsettling, it shouldn’t be. Both bands began with highly melodic three chord punk, spent their career sporting hooks catchier than swine flu, and eventually evolved to effortlessly marry their punk spirit with a myriad of other musical styles. Simply put, Green Day and The Clash understand that punk is more than a specific sound, and that frees them up to make some interesting arrangements.
While the concept rock grandeur that marked 2004’s American Idiot pushed the Berkeley threesome back into pop culture consciousness (As well as into a truckload of Grammys), it’s 21st Century Breakdown that proves their stylistic shift into storytelling wasn’t a gimmick to win fans. In fact, 21st Century Breakdown is an album that pulls Green Day’s sound to its polar opposites, from string laden piano balladry to smatterings of gritty East Bay punk.
The album opens with a decisive bang as the title track acts as an overture to this multi-act rock opera, which follows young couple Christian and Gloria through three acts titled “Heroes & Cons,” “Charlatans & Saints” and “Horseshoes & Handgrenades.” Amidst swelling piano and Tré Cool’s thunderous drums, “21st Century Breakdown” explodes with crunchy power-pop fervor as Billie Joe Armstrong’s rich guitar smoothly meshes with Mike Dirnt’s warm bass and Beach Boy harmonies. Taking cues from the pomp and circumstance of The Who and Queen, Armstrong laments, “I was made of poison and blood/Condemnation is what I understood/Videogames to the tower's fall/Homeland Security could kill us all…”
If American Idiot was an unsettling look at America’s social psyche, 21st Century Breakdown is a scathing indictment.
But the urgency doesn’t peak within the first proper track. “East Jesus Nowhere” sports chunky riffs and a shuffling swagger as Armstrong sings, “Raise your hands now to testify!/Your confession will be crucified!/You're a sacrificial suicide/Like a dog that's been SO-DO-MIZED!” Elsewhere, the visceral “Murder City” revisits the gritty energy of their “Dookie” days while the industrial tinged hardcore of “Christian’s Inferno” speeds along faster than Green Day have played in years.
Yet the album retains a large amount of character when the band begins to stretch out their sonic palette. Whether it’s the lush 50’s inspired pop of “Last Night On Earth,” the piano twinkling turned driving three chord assault of “¡Viva La Gloria!” or eastern tinged “Peacemaker,” Green Day prove they can effortlessly shift musical styles without sacrificing their trademark voice.
But the album’s real gem is the eerie “Restless Heart Syndrome,” a track that pushes Armstrong’s voice into melancholy falsetto and down to the deepest depths of his soul. Building from spine chilling piano, delay enhanced guitar work and horror movie-like strings, the track eventually erupts into metallic sounding chaos with Cool’s enormous drums and Armstrong’s wah-soaked lead work. Heavy on atmosphere, “Restless Heart Syndrome” is the stuff of nightmares with lines such as, “I've got a really bad disease/It's got me begging/On my hands and knees/So take me to emergency…”
Green Day has certainly attempted to match their predecessor in terms of musical breadth, but 21st Century Breakdown really succeeds because of how Armstrong weaves their lyrics and narrative together with sharp sophistication.
With this album, Green Day essentially explores the societal controls that govern individual choices and promote apathy in modern America. The “Heroes & Cons” song cycle concerns itself with whether or not the spirit to fight injustice is enough without a moral center (“Overthrow the effigy/The vast majority/Burning down the foreman of control…”). “Charlatans & Saints” explores the falsehoods that pacify human beings through mind numbing drug use, religion and idealized iconography (“Vendetta, sweet vendetta/This Beretta of the night/This fire and the desire/Shots ringing out on a holy parasite…”). Lastly, “Horseshoes & Handgrenades” deals with how the media promotes a warmongering culture while the human spirit wages an internal war for social change that feels just out of reach (“Your faith walks on broken glass/And the hangover doesn't pass/Nothing's ever built to last/You're in ruins…”).
This is heady stuff coming from the guys that titled their breakout album after poop.
While producer Butch Vig adds some slickness to the overall quality of the instrumentation, and goes a tad overboard in compressing Armstrong’s vocals, none of it feels calculated to appeal to mass radio. At 18 tracks, Green Day has made one of their longest and densest albums to date, without having it feel drawn out and tedious. Ultimately, 21st Century Breakdown feels authentic both in spirit and in execution, an album that sounds big and sports big ideas.
As the band eases into their 40s, it’s clear that like The Clash before them they’ll continue to explore the world and their song craft on their own terms, further separating themselves from the nihilistic gutter punks that make records too short sighted to affect social change.
And while Green Day might think the 21st century is broken, they’ve at least presented spectacular album to help point out its problems.
Sounds Like: The Beatles (The Beatles), Dookie (Green Day), Tommy (The Who)
Key Cuts: 21st Century Breakdown, East Jesus Nowhere, Restless Heart Syndrome
Click on the artwork to sample some of 21st Century Breakdown for yourself!
Author's Note: This review is my last contribution to the Sonoma State Star. It's been a wild ride guys and I wish you the best of luck in the future.
Focus, clarity and honesty are difficult things to come by from public figures. However, Sonoma State University found those qualities and a whole host more when they decided to invite Henry Rollins as this year's commencement speaker.
Known for his candid take on the world at large, Rollins will be addressing SSU seniors, faculty and guests at graduation on Sat., May 23.
While mainstream culture might know Rollins from his stint as lead singer of the influential punk band Black Flag, the 48-year-old Washington D.C. native has gone on to craft a successful and outspoken career for himself. He also fronted the Henry Rollins Band, which remained fluidly active from 1987 to about 2003, in addition to releasing a series of spoken word albums that tackled issues of societal greed as well as the human condition. Rollins has also appeared in numerous feature length films in addition to dabbling in radio and television. His most recent TV spots include hosting Independent Film Channel's "The Henry Rollins Show" as well as an upcoming role on FX's "Sons of Anarchy."
Taking time out of his busy schedule, Rollins addressed his role as commencement speaker, what he hopes to impart on graduates, and how the university approached him with the idea.
"They picked me," said Rollins, seeming flattered by the acknowledgement. "I was speaking up in Santa Rosa and I guess someone from the university liked what I had to say. They talked to my manager and it got me really interested. I thought 'Cool, I'm sure I can say something appropriate for the occasion.'"
With a smooth register and carefully phrased observations, Rollins pointed out how seniors are not only entering the world at a time of great social flux, but how their university education has afforded them certain luxuries as well as social obligations.
"Apathy is off the table when you have these privileges," said Rollins. "It makes sense for a guy with a fourth grade education to not feel engaged, but not for someone who has tread the waters of academia and is aware of what the world faces. With educated people in the world, there is no excuse for classism, sexism or homophobia. Those with money and education should be the most generous and the most thoughtful."
"Young people are the new decision makers," he continued. "They'll be responsible for not only shaping the future of the country, but of the world. Yeah, these are challenging times, but they also provide a great opportunity. You can't bank on apathy; you're not allowed to have a lifestyle like that anymore."
Unlike most celebrities that use the public realm as a soap box, Rollins is conscious of the roll the younger generation has at the present. With wars, dwindling resources and financial instability looming on the horizon, Rollins hopes that his words will allow graduates the ability to gain perspective on the role they can play in tackling these issues.
"I'm hoping to give a sort of pep-talk," he said. "Graduates have a real shot here when they leave a university, and they need to save us with their enthusiasm, with their drive to fix the world. You don't have to be an environmentalist or a politician to make change," he continued. "Giving a damn about these issues gets you 99 percent there. I think wanting to be part of a solution can create a civic responsibility that motivates people."
Rollins seemed to recognize the need for personal investment in what the world faces, but was also careful to stress the sense of community that is needed to enact real change.
"The future has to be different," said Rollins. "We can't sustain the present and the world can't hang on for much longer."
He avoided political finger waving, and instead, focused on the idea of citizens keeping themselves and their leaders accountable for the decisions being made in their names.
"With Bush, you could tell he was just told to sign off on things," said Rollins, still critical of the 43rd president's time in the White House. "But Obama should know better. People need to be willing to ask, 'Mr. President, why are we going into Afghanistan?' when history shows us that never works. He's a Harvard graduate and we need to hold him accountable for his actions."
"People say 'Oh, I don't worry about it…' all the time," said Rollins. "Really? You should. I think it's important for not only this year of graduating seniors but for college grads in general to stay curious. By asking questions, maybe this is the generation that figures out that war is avoidable."
While he acknowledges that the current generation has a great many tasks facing it, Rollins continues to operate under the assumption that positive change will take hold if people want it badly enough. His words place responsibility as well as faith in the people he hopes to motivate.
All the while, Rollins remains conscious of his responsibility to speak to them, as well identifying the responsibilities that they must grow into.
"There's a lot of stuff going on right now," said Rollins. "But I'm not pessimistic about it, in fact I'm optimistic."
"Having an educated and privileged life affords you an escape from grueling labor," he continued. "People need to make good a promise to take advantage of that. They don't owe me anything, I'm nearly 50 years old and I've made my choices already, they owe it to themselves."
So whether it's his outspoken legacy or his receptive world view, Rollins has tailored his commencement speech at inspiring SSU graduates to take the skills they've crafted in college and effectively apply them to a world in need.
And while the road ahead seems like a treacherous path unpaved, Rollins hopes that his words will keep students and young folks enthusiastic about the lives set out before them, empowering them to take the reigns from an older generation and make choices on their own.
"Life really kicks in now for you guys," said Rollins. "Isn't that exciting?"
Author's Note: This was the surprise interview I promised you guys. It appears in a recent (And my nearly final) issue of the Sonoma State Star. Suffice to say, a big thank you to Henry Rollins for allowing me to pick his brain and to his representation for allowing me the chance to interview him. And can I just say: Our commencement speaker is cooler than yours.
Hey bloggers and blogettes.
After a few stressful weeks of bX-Bullshit errors keeping the Interwebz from seeing This Song Starts A Craze..., I'm back with a vengeance. A special thanks to my friends Danny Walters, Lewis West, and Paulina Singhapok for taking the time to look over the coding. Eventually, I guess it took me starting a new blog on Word Press before Google decided to fix something. Go figure. In any event, I'll be recoding all the little bells and whistles over the next few days, so be patient. While you're waiting, grab some Feed Pie if you haven't already. ;)
That said, here's what's in stored over the next few weeks.
Reviews
Most notably, I'll be posting reviews I couldn't post during down time. This includes rave opinions concerning the new Manchester Orchestra and Silversun Pickups albums, respectively.
Interviews
I'll be posting my exclusive interview with Marc Walloch of Company Of Thieves as well as a very special one that I'll keep hidden for right now. Suffice to say, they were both wonderful men, and I appreciate the time they took to talk to me.
Once again, all I can say is that I'm glad to be back.
