06-22-2009, 05:55 AM
The long-awaited new album from Green Day is the logical progression from “American Idiot,” which means both good things and bad things. On the one hand, the songs are far more complex and evolved than their 90s hits. On the other hand, they are lyrically and structurally pretentious. Here’s the breakdown of the “21st Century Breakdown”:
1. Song of the Century: N/A. This isn’t a song, just an opening poem kind of thing with distorted vocals. It’s not bad for what it is.
2. 21st Century Breakdown: 7/10. This is a rhapsody, like “Jesus of Suburbia,” but shorter. It’s good, but not nearly as clever lyrically as “Jesus of Suburbia.” The comparison is fair because this also seems to be a character-oriented montage.
3. Know Your Enemy: 6/10. This is the first single on the album, and also the only straight-ahead rock/punk song. It’s too repetitive and relatively lazy to be considered that good.
4. ¡Viva La Gloria!: 9/10. This is one of my favorite songs on the album. It has a nice opening piano piece, and it breaks into a high energy rock song. Gloria becomes the St. Jimmy of this album in further songs.
5. Before the Lobotomy: 6/10. This is the third piecemeal song on the album. This time, there are quick hits sandwiched in a soft song. The execution could have been a lot better.
6. Christian’s Inferno: 4/10. This one isn’t bad, but again, another disjointed song. The verses are very distorted, and the chorus is perfectly clear. I’m giving it a 4 because it seems like an idea that wasn’t fully fleshed out.
7. Last Night on Earth: 6/10. Here is where the Beatles influence becomes obvious. It’s kind of catchy, but it’s unoriginal and not nearly as moving as it should be. It feels forced, fake, pretentious, etc.
8. East Jesus Nowhere: 7/10. It’s different from anything Green Day has done, and it’s pretty good. It’s not very captivating though; I think because of all the interspersed quiet voice. It’s one of the many cases on this album where too many ideas were thrown together at once.
9. Peacemaker: 9/10. This is probably my favorite song on the album. It’s original, good musically (fiddle?), lyrically, just well done all around, but missing what it would take to be an excellent song. It should be a good radio single.
10. Last of the American Girls: 5/10. The lyrics subtly deal with a different kind of issue than what one would normally get from a punk song, still righteous in its own right. If this were an enjoyable song, it would get a higher score.
11. Murder City: 6/10. This song has catchy parts, and it’s not broken up, which is good, but it still feels like filler.
12. ¿Viva La Gloria? (Little Girl): 9/10. This is just as good as the other “Viva La Gloria,” maybe even a little better. It’s original and well done.
13. Restless Heart Syndrome: 6/10. All comments from “Last Night on Earth” apply to this one.
14. Horseshoes and Handgrenades: 8/10. I think this is the only song with explicit language, what got the album booted out of Wal-Mart. Considering that it’s not really necessary to have it, I think they should have compromised their “artistic integrity.” It’s a good rock song, but a little too much distortion on the verses, and the lyrics are a bit lazy.
15. The Static Age: 6/10. This song sounds a bit like “Church on Sunday” from “Warning,” which wasn’t a very good song from which to borrow. It feels like a filler song.
16. 21 Guns: 8/10. This is definitely the most memorable song on the album. Unfortunately, it’s also far too pompous and insincere. I’ll go into further detail on the closing comments, but this song exemplifies both the good and the bad of this album.
17. American Eulogy: 7/10. This should really be the closer considering that the opening is in the same vein as “Song of the Century,” but whatever. The first chorus is annoying, and this is yet another piecemeal one. It does get better toward the end. There are a lot of ideas here that didn’t come together quite right.
18. See the Light: 7/10. This is a good song, but it feels a little anticlimactic. Considering “Whatsername” had the same issue, I guess it was an okay way to go.
Overall, this album is pretentious. It’s like “American Idiot” conscious of its own greatness and trying to hammer its greatness into its audience. It’s not as pretentious U2, but getting there, and keep in mind, this is Green Day. Green Day is a band that started with pop-punk girlfriend songs and made it big with a song about smoking pot and masturbating. When they try to take the moral high ground, and complex theatrical structures, it feels very forced. I have to give them credit for putting a lot of effort into the songs though. This does sound like an album that legitimately took five years to make.
1. Song of the Century: N/A. This isn’t a song, just an opening poem kind of thing with distorted vocals. It’s not bad for what it is.
2. 21st Century Breakdown: 7/10. This is a rhapsody, like “Jesus of Suburbia,” but shorter. It’s good, but not nearly as clever lyrically as “Jesus of Suburbia.” The comparison is fair because this also seems to be a character-oriented montage.
3. Know Your Enemy: 6/10. This is the first single on the album, and also the only straight-ahead rock/punk song. It’s too repetitive and relatively lazy to be considered that good.
4. ¡Viva La Gloria!: 9/10. This is one of my favorite songs on the album. It has a nice opening piano piece, and it breaks into a high energy rock song. Gloria becomes the St. Jimmy of this album in further songs.
5. Before the Lobotomy: 6/10. This is the third piecemeal song on the album. This time, there are quick hits sandwiched in a soft song. The execution could have been a lot better.
6. Christian’s Inferno: 4/10. This one isn’t bad, but again, another disjointed song. The verses are very distorted, and the chorus is perfectly clear. I’m giving it a 4 because it seems like an idea that wasn’t fully fleshed out.
7. Last Night on Earth: 6/10. Here is where the Beatles influence becomes obvious. It’s kind of catchy, but it’s unoriginal and not nearly as moving as it should be. It feels forced, fake, pretentious, etc.
8. East Jesus Nowhere: 7/10. It’s different from anything Green Day has done, and it’s pretty good. It’s not very captivating though; I think because of all the interspersed quiet voice. It’s one of the many cases on this album where too many ideas were thrown together at once.
9. Peacemaker: 9/10. This is probably my favorite song on the album. It’s original, good musically (fiddle?), lyrically, just well done all around, but missing what it would take to be an excellent song. It should be a good radio single.
10. Last of the American Girls: 5/10. The lyrics subtly deal with a different kind of issue than what one would normally get from a punk song, still righteous in its own right. If this were an enjoyable song, it would get a higher score.
11. Murder City: 6/10. This song has catchy parts, and it’s not broken up, which is good, but it still feels like filler.
12. ¿Viva La Gloria? (Little Girl): 9/10. This is just as good as the other “Viva La Gloria,” maybe even a little better. It’s original and well done.
13. Restless Heart Syndrome: 6/10. All comments from “Last Night on Earth” apply to this one.
14. Horseshoes and Handgrenades: 8/10. I think this is the only song with explicit language, what got the album booted out of Wal-Mart. Considering that it’s not really necessary to have it, I think they should have compromised their “artistic integrity.” It’s a good rock song, but a little too much distortion on the verses, and the lyrics are a bit lazy.
15. The Static Age: 6/10. This song sounds a bit like “Church on Sunday” from “Warning,” which wasn’t a very good song from which to borrow. It feels like a filler song.
16. 21 Guns: 8/10. This is definitely the most memorable song on the album. Unfortunately, it’s also far too pompous and insincere. I’ll go into further detail on the closing comments, but this song exemplifies both the good and the bad of this album.
17. American Eulogy: 7/10. This should really be the closer considering that the opening is in the same vein as “Song of the Century,” but whatever. The first chorus is annoying, and this is yet another piecemeal one. It does get better toward the end. There are a lot of ideas here that didn’t come together quite right.
18. See the Light: 7/10. This is a good song, but it feels a little anticlimactic. Considering “Whatsername” had the same issue, I guess it was an okay way to go.
Overall, this album is pretentious. It’s like “American Idiot” conscious of its own greatness and trying to hammer its greatness into its audience. It’s not as pretentious U2, but getting there, and keep in mind, this is Green Day. Green Day is a band that started with pop-punk girlfriend songs and made it big with a song about smoking pot and masturbating. When they try to take the moral high ground, and complex theatrical structures, it feels very forced. I have to give them credit for putting a lot of effort into the songs though. This does sound like an album that legitimately took five years to make.