meandthestereo

For this album review, meandthestereo did something a little different (like we did with the Street Sweeper Social Club review) and handed off the album to two of our columnists. Check out Neto’s (from Texas) and meandthestereo’s (from DC) differing takes on this album!

Artist: Green Day
Album: 21st Century Breakdown
Label: Reprise
Release Date: May 15th, 2009
Decision: 1/5 OMG…This album sucks!
Favorite Tunes: “Viva La Gloria”

1. The Background

Neto says,

For a long time Green Day was one of my favorite bands. Way back before I was really into music, my fellow sixth graders and I would hang out in an empty classroom in the minutes before school started. One day someone took Green Day’s Dookie (on tape!) to school and we played it on a boom box that our teacher had in the classroom. The experience was revelatory. I took the tape home and listened to it all day. After that, as my interest in music grew and grew, I kept listening to Green Day. In middle school it was Dookie and Insomniac. In high school it was Nimrod and Warning. And then there was college. When I was starting out college International Superhits but they were mostly silent for a long time as far as studio albums went. Then in 2003 they released American Idiot. I think American Idiot is their best album since Dookie and it is a hard act to follow. This is made evident by their new album 21st Century Breakdown.

Joey says,

I grew up with a lot of Green Day playing in the background. “Basket Case” was one of the coolest music videos I thought I had ever seen when I was in middle school. I listened to Insomniac and Nimrod constantly through middle and high school, and I still listen to these albums from time to time on my MP3 player. I never listened to Warning or American Idiot, but Green Day had already earned a spot in my ‘Top Bands’ list. With this album, they apparently attempted another rock opera. It’s not what I’m used to hearing from Green Day, and it’s now what I’d like to hear from Green Day, but I was definitely excited to listen to this album.

2. The Decision

Neto says,

1/5. As a fan of Green Day it pains me to say that this is a mediocre album. It tries real hard to be a proper follow up to American Idiot but it falls far, far short. Like American Idiot, this is supposed to be a concept album that tells a single story throughout the album, but its hard to tell because musically the album seems disjointed. The manic energy that made Dookie and American Idiot great seems to be missing. Besides the catchy anthem, “Viva La Gloria”, the album is just plain boring.

And Joey says,

1/5. This album is nothing other than boring. I feel like Green Day have actually regressed from their songwriting techniques of yesteryear or whenever. Nimrod was an amazing showcase of what a punk band can do with their talent. Even Dookie and Insomniac held up when it comes to variety. However, this album failed to keep me interested. Their attempts at ‘branching out’ seemed like they were pulling cards from a tired deck of tricks that their label provided them with. Their first single, “Know Your Enemy”, is one of the most boring songs I’ve ever heard. Honestly, I don’t know how they got out of rehearsal without looking at each other and saying, “you know, chaps, that last song was just the most lame thing we’ve ever played.” It’s not that they failed to produce quality music, it’s that they failed to produce good music. They sounded like any other pop punk that might be out there, except they had even better production quality, they have even more ‘pop’ hooks, and even less for me to relate to. But don’t take my word for it, Rolling Stone said, “21st Century Breakdown is even better, so masterful and confident it makes Idiot seem like a warm-up.” So, clearly, some people like this album, but I have a feeling Rolling Stone didn’t even listen to the whole damn thing. I’m afraid this band has done what I didn’t want them to: they’ve become a major label rock band.

Well, there you have it! Looks like Neto and Joey agreed that you should pass on this album. The album deserves a “1/5 Yikes!” score, which means you should NOT check out the album. Let us know if you agree or disagree in the comments!