Green Day | 21st Century Breakdown

by Kathy Kindred
– Editor in Chief —

Classic Albums Revisited —

It’s been five years since pop-punk band Green Day aroused from its sleep a slacker generation to a political bad dream with the angst-ridden Punk Rock opera, American Idiot, which follows the journey of the fictitious “Jesus of Suburbia.”

Green Day engaged in several other smaller projects in the time following the hype of American Idiot. In the spring of 2007, Green Day recorded a cover of the John Lennon song “Working Class Hero,” which appeared on a compilation album Instant Karma that benefited victims in Darfur. In the summer of 2007, Green Day recorded a version of “The Simpsons” theme song for “The Simpsons Movie,” as well as having an appearance in the movie.

In October 2008, Green Day returned to the studios with Butch Vig, to start recording the new studio album, which would become the follow-up to American Idiot. 21st Century Breakdown will be released worldwide on Friday. And although American Idiot proved to be quite timely, the follow-up may be a day late and a dollar short.

Green Day’s 21st Century Breakdown arrives as America ushers in the Obama-era with a sense of hope, change and unity. Green Day finds a way to bring doom and gloom amid the mess that was left behind by the Bush Administration. 21st Century Breakdown portrays a country in dire hopelessness and takes us through a continued religious journey of escape. It’s a story of disillusionment, censorship, corruption and manipulation.

The story, though well told through the music and lyrics, seems tone deaf to how a generation shifted the course of American politics. Even with two wars and an economy that has gone down the drain, Americans, for the most part, are able to glean a sliver of hope of new things to come.

For loyal Green Day followers, 21st Century Breakdown preaches to the choir. Green Day continues to be able to rally the troops, even without a clear enemy to battle against. And at some point in history, the world very well may be in sync with the bleak, dark lyrics of 21st Century Breakdown. And Green Day’s music will continue to hold stirring power.

Genre: Pop Punk, Alternative Rock

Band:
Billie Joe Armstrong (v)(g)
Mike Dirnt (b)
Tré Cool (d)

Track Listing:
1. “Song of the Century”
Act I: Heroes and Cons
2. “21st Century Breakdown”
3. “Know Your Enemy”
4. “¡Viva la Gloria!”
5. “Before the Lobotomy”
6. “Christian’s Inferno”
7. “Last Night on Earth”
Act II: Charlatans and Saints
8. “East Jesus Nowhere”
9. “Peacemaker”
10. “Last of the American Girls”
11. “Murder City”
12. “¿Viva la Gloria? (Little Girl)”
13. “Restless Heart Syndrome”
Act III: Horseshoes and Handgrenades
14. “Horseshoes and Handgrenades”
15. “The Static Age”
16. “21 Guns”
17. “American Eulogy” (A. “Mass Hysteria” / B. “Modern World”)
18. “See the Light”