Zirax
22-05-2009, 15:12
Well 5 years after American Idiot Green Day have knocked out another album called 21st century breakdown. I had some hopes for this album, maybe a trip back to their roots? Maybe Green Day hasn't totally sold out ..... Well quite simply :(
The first warning of the album comes from the single, "Know your enemy". This has mass-produced record company influenced tripe stamped all over it. The simple repeated lines of:-
"Do you know the enemy?
Do you know your enemy?
Well, gotta know the enemy, wah hey"
Nearing the end of the song I was looking at the central reservation of the A1 longingly just to make it stop. Thank god it did, I was sitting there and could already hear the crowds chanting this in my mind at a festival.
I don't know why but I still held some optimism in an odd way at this point. I grabbed a copy of the album to see if I should go and get it from town. There are at least 5-6 songs that are instantly forgettable as fillers, why bother with an 18 track album? The "heaviest" song on there is Horseshoes and Handgrenades. This starts well, reminding me of earlier albums. However after about 40 secs you realise this would be a filler on an earlier album. You could say I was desperate to find a good song on there.
Now I began to question whether I was being overly critical of Green Day and were they really all that as I remember? To make sure I wasn't mad I put in Insomniac and Nimrod and both albums destroyed this album, both in the tunes and the lyrics. Note I haven't played Dookie to compare as well.
You'll see various articles singing the praises of this new album, I don't know how. They must either be paid off or never heard the earlier albums. I'll have another listen in a few days but seriously, 5 years for this? Nothing grabbed me on an album of 18 songs.
My advice is:-
1. Get a copy
2. Realise what a load of tripe it is and that Green Day have totally sold their souls.
3. Delete and be happy that you've not wasted money on it.
The first warning of the album comes from the single, "Know your enemy". This has mass-produced record company influenced tripe stamped all over it. The simple repeated lines of:-
"Do you know the enemy?
Do you know your enemy?
Well, gotta know the enemy, wah hey"
Nearing the end of the song I was looking at the central reservation of the A1 longingly just to make it stop. Thank god it did, I was sitting there and could already hear the crowds chanting this in my mind at a festival.
I don't know why but I still held some optimism in an odd way at this point. I grabbed a copy of the album to see if I should go and get it from town. There are at least 5-6 songs that are instantly forgettable as fillers, why bother with an 18 track album? The "heaviest" song on there is Horseshoes and Handgrenades. This starts well, reminding me of earlier albums. However after about 40 secs you realise this would be a filler on an earlier album. You could say I was desperate to find a good song on there.
Now I began to question whether I was being overly critical of Green Day and were they really all that as I remember? To make sure I wasn't mad I put in Insomniac and Nimrod and both albums destroyed this album, both in the tunes and the lyrics. Note I haven't played Dookie to compare as well.
You'll see various articles singing the praises of this new album, I don't know how. They must either be paid off or never heard the earlier albums. I'll have another listen in a few days but seriously, 5 years for this? Nothing grabbed me on an album of 18 songs.
My advice is:-
1. Get a copy
2. Realise what a load of tripe it is and that Green Day have totally sold their souls.
3. Delete and be happy that you've not wasted money on it.