Green Day-iUno!, iDos!, and iTre!

Post #236
Following the unprecedented success of back-to-back concept albums American Idiot and 21st Century Breakdown, Green Day returned to a more standard style of punk/pop-punk rock with their new material. However, when they got around to releasing that material, they did something pretty unique. They had enough new material for three albums, which they spread the release dates across a period of 4 months at the end of 2012. Cleverly titled 'Uno', 'Dos', and 'Tre', each band member graced the cover of one album. Critics were quick to draw comparisons to their classic album Dookie, but I believe Green Day fans will find  these 3 releases to provide more than just a throw-back sound. Although they may revert to more juvenile themes for the subject matter of many of these new songs, there are still plenty of socially conscious tunes peppered throughout these 3 discs. I feel these songs find the band letting loose with some nostalgia for their early days, while maintaining the mature execution and creativity they've developed over their whole career

Now prepare yourself for a toxic blend of pop-punk mayhem, and angsty revolution-rock that is perhaps similar to what you may have heard before, yet still totally new!

iUno!- My first dose of this album was the lead single 'Oh Love', which I honestly found to be a mediocre song, and did little to pique my interest in this album, but after hearing the rest of it, I am glad I did not write it off completely. In fact, a couple songs on this volume ('Nuclear Family' and 'Carpe Diem') have become, arguably, my favorite Green Day songs ever.
My picks from iUno!
-Nuclear Family
-Stay the Night
-Carpe Diem
-Let Yourself Go
-Angel Blue
-Sweet 16

iDos! starts off with a little different feel. The first track, 'See You Tonight', is a subdued acoustic number recorded in mono. It actually reminds me of the way 'Song of the Century' introduced 21st Century Breakdown. Most of this CD sounds very consistent with the 1st, but the track 'Nightlife' really brings something new, as Green Day incorporate some elements of hip-hop. The closing number, 'Amy', winds the album down gently, as Billy Joe plays this one on his own: no drums or bass, just him and his guitar as he sings this gentle ballad.
My picks from iDos!
-See You Tonight
-Stop When the Red Lights Flash
-Stray Heart
-Ashley
-Baby Eyes
-Nightlife
-Amy

iTre! is perhaps the most unique of these three releases. Overall I find it to be more laid-back and mellow than the first two. There are still songs of classic punk-rock brilliance, as we've come to expect from Green Day, but they seemed to have saved several ballads for this one. I might point to the song 'X-Kid' as the most memorable offering on this album. It is a slower-tempo, coming-of-age rock song. The kind of song where we realize part of Green Day has grown up and are letting us know who they are and where they came from. We get a heavy dose of socially conscious commentary with '99 Revolutions', whose lyrics read like a play-by-play breakdown of the recent financial crisis and economic recession.
My picks from iTre!
-8th Avenue Serenade
-X-Kid
-Sex, Drugs, and Violence
-Dirty Rotten Bastards
-99 Revolutions
-The Forgotten (A soft, piano-driven ballad to close the album...)

Overall I find these albums to be on par with Green Day's previous couple of albums, just without the concentrated focus that was necessary for their last 2 concept albums. This may be a good thing though, as it gives them more freedom to just write songs that rock without worrying about them fitting in with a specific concept. So go in with an open mind, and you'll have hours' worth of great listening in store...

HEAVY METAL MADNESS: First Round Summary, Part 3

Post #193
The March-April segment of the ongoing Heavy Metal Madness tournament again featured some exciting match-ups between some of the best bands in rock and metal music. While some heavily favored bands went on to comfortable victories, there were a couple surprises. Let me summarize the upsets first, then I'll give the full list of results.

In the #8 vs #9 match of the Alternative/Punk/Gothic Metal block, Rob Zombie (#9) pulled off the upset over Godsmack (#8) by the narrow margin of 35-29. In a bigger surprise, the #13 seed Lacuna Coil upset #4 Green Day in dominant fashion, doubling the vote-count 42-21!


The remaining results for this block were as follows:
Nirvana (#1) topped Stone Temple Pilots (#16) 48-19.
Alice In Chains (#5) beat Faith No More (#12) 50-12.

Meanwhile, in the Classic Metal/Thrash/Progressive Metal block, the results were a little more predictable, as each favored seed advanced.
Motorhead (#6) beat Dream Theater (#11) 42-18.
Megadeth (#3) dominated Testament (#14) 59-5.
Judas Priest (#7) beat Sepultura (#10) 52-11.
Slayer (#2) comfortably eliminated Exodus (#15) 53-8.

Vote results have been steady over the first 3 months of this contest. I hope this pattern can continue over the summer. Keep the votes coming! Keep sharing this blog and the polling contest with your friends and on your favorite social networks...

Now some recommended songs from those bands eliminated last month:
Stone Temple Pilots-Plush
Godsmack-Shine Down
Faith No More-Epic
Green Day-American Idiot
Dream Theater-Pull Me Under
Testament-Three Days In Darkness
Sepultura-Roots Bloody Roots
Exodus-Toxic Waltz

Green Day- 21st Century Breakdown

Post #85
[21st Century Breakdown tied with Endgame to win the "Favorite album of 2009" reader's poll]

21st Century Breakdown proves for Green Day that their visionary, self-reinventing American Idiot album from '04 was not just a fluke. This new album matches it's predecessor in vision, musicianship, and attitude. The songs once again paint a picture of life in a society on the brink of revolution and the struggles that go with it, paralleling many of the themes from American Idiot, but expanding into it's own concept as well.

As with American Idiot, there are recurring characters whose eyes the story is told through. For 21st Century Breakdown, the cast is a couple with the symbolic names Christian & Gloria. Whether its a struggle against a government that leaves them out in the cold, or a social norm they rage against, the story of Christian & Gloria is one that strikes a chord in all of us.

Musically, Green Day's punk-rock roots are still apparent throughout 21st Century Breakdown, although more piano can be heard on this album than on any previous Green Day album. This adds a new dimension to their sound, and it blends in seamlessly. The best examples are probably the title-track, "Last Night on Earth", and "Restless Heart Syndrome"

Thematically the album is broken into 3 acts: Heroes and Cons, Charlatans and Saints, and Horseshoes and Handgrenades. A slightly different mood is set for each segment, although the whole album still flows well from start to finish.

My top pick from Green Day's 2nd consecutive masterpiece:

-21st Century Breakdown

-Before the Lobotomy

-Peacemaker

-Viva La Gloria? (Little Girl)

-Restless Heart Syndrome

-The Static Age

-21 Guns

Green Day!

Post #19
Happy St. Patrick's Day! For this special occasion I'll review Green Day.

Green Day are a neo-punk band that jumped onto the scene in the mid-90's and fell under the over-used blanket category of "alternative". Their songs are short fast & fun and often poke fun at a variety of social & political issues. Each Green Day album was pretty much a repeat of the previous with minimal variety... until 2004's(?) American Idiot!

American Idiot was a concept album and a true masterpiece among modern hard-rock music. The first time I listened to it I recall thinking, "This is the best Green Day song ever.... no THIS is the best Green Day song ever!" over and over again as one song followed the next. I'm also pretty fond of the anti-Bush political commentary that's sprinkled throughout the lyrics.

Listening to Green Day on St. Patrick's day is a mild tradition for me. During my college days I used to wait until March 17th to go out and collect the next Green Day album. So if you feel like "going Green" on the one day of the year when everyone is Irish, give Green Day a listen.

My recommendations for Green Day are from my personal Green Day mix CD, "St. Patty's Day Parade" (Yes, all of the following songs will fit on one 80 min CD-R):

• -At the Library
• -Jesus of Suburbia
• -Basket Case
• -Are We The Waiting
• -St. Jimmy
• -Panic Song
• -Wake Me Up When September Ends
• -Brain Stew
• -Warning:
• -American Idiot
• -Sassafras Roots
• -Minority
• -Boulevard of Broken Dreams
• -Nice Guys Finish Last
• -Give Me Novocaine
• -The Grouch
• -Welcome to Paradise
• -Macy's Day Parade
• -Uptight
• -Pulling Teeth
• -Jaded
• -Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)
• -In The End
• -Whatsername

Color coded Album reference: 1,039 Smoothed Out Slappy Hours, Dookie, Insomniac, Nimrod, Warning, American Idiot

MIA:Kerr Plunk, Shenanigans