Green Day - 21st Century Breakdown

storymilo · 07-27-2009, 02:44 AM

My rating is 6/10. Compare this to American Idiot at 7.5/10, Dookie at 7.5/10, and Nimrod at 5/10.

It is a nice album, but it seems kind of like an attemmpt to recreate the same feel of American Idiot, without as much success. I wish they had given the story of the album more structure, as that was one of the things I liked most about American Idiot. One thing I noticed is more reliance on Billie Joe Armstrong's powerful voice and more meaningful lyrics than in previous Green Day work, which I think may be a step forward from American Idiot just as that was a step forward from the album's that came before it. Green Day is contining to evolve from their punk roots, and becoming more relevant than ever. We will have to wait and see just how long they can continue, before fizzling out. But remember that most bands of their era are forgotten nowadays, while Green Day have continued to produce fine quality music.

What disappointed me most about the album, is that after 5 years of waiting, all they came up with was half a story, a few great songs, and then some material that seemed mostly intended to fill out the album. Unlike in other work by them, where each and every song on the album seemed to have a meaning, there are tracks that just don't compare with the fine points on the album. An example would be [B]Know Your Enemy[B], probably the most played song off the album on the radio. The lyrics are nothing special, and the tune is a boring one repeated for most of the song. It's a song that doesn't seem to add much to the album for me.

There are still points where I sit up and say, "This is why I listen to Green Day". The highlights to me are the epic title track at the beginning and the song East Jesus Nowhere, which I believe holds the best lyrics of the bunch. Peacemaker brings in some spanish tinged guitar, and Viva la Gloria! has a very cool intro containing only Armstrong's voice and some accompianing piano. I think these are some of the songs showing what Green Day may be looking at in the future, incorporating more styles and influences into their songs. I for one am, while slightly dissapointed, intrigued by what the album may mean for future Green Day work.

Bottom Line: Get it for a Green Day collection, but don't expect the wonders that should have come out of a five year wait.

immetoday · 07-27-2009, 11:26 AM

i love song of the century, 21st century breakdown, viva la gloria, east jesus nowhere and 21 guns. know your enemy is good but way over played which ruins the song. all the other songs werent that great

storymilo · 07-27-2009, 05:45 PM

immetoday I completely agree with the exception that Know Your Enemy really is not good, maybe average at best, and Peacemaker is not completely horrible.

Antonio · 08-12-2009, 12:28 AM

like i said before, not their best effort, but still something i thoroughly enjoyed.

Arya Stark · 08-12-2009, 08:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Antonio

like i said before, not their best effort, but still something i thoroughly enjoyed.

What do you mean by that? You think they didn't try to make a good album?

Antonio · 09-30-2009, 10:34 PM

nah, i'm pretty certain different people gravitate towards different eras of their music. plus it's a real change in their sound, so it's normal some new fans'd be made who would gravitate to that and not so much the stuff beforehand, as well as fans of Dookie who aren't too partial to the earlier stuff.

also, i just wanna respond to this post:

Quote:

Originally Posted by AwwSugar

What do you mean by that? You think they didn't try to make a good album?

not saying that they didn't try; i know they did. just that not all of the pieces fell into the right place for this one if you catch my drift. like some oppurtunities in songs to say, add a new melody/speed up the music/slow down the music or do something different were passed up.

then again, this is my point of view.

J.S.3otR · 08-12-2009, 10:34 PM

extremely disappointing. and its not like they were always this bad. Warning is a good album and Dookie is ok too, but this crap? for real? it sounds like they dont care about the quality of their music anymore, they just want money so billy joe can afford to put some more guyliner on.

in musical terms... chord progressions and instrument parts sound like they were written in about 30 seconds by a first grader. its so boring i almost threw myself off a cliff for listening to the whole album.

HORRIBLE.

Arya Stark · 08-15-2009, 10:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by J.S.3otR

extremely disappointing. and its not like they were always this bad. Warning is a good album and Dookie is ok too, but this crap? for real? it sounds like they dont care about the quality of their music anymore, they just want money so billy joe can afford to put some more guyliner on.

in musical terms... chord progressions and instrument parts sound like they were written in about 30 seconds by a first grader. its so boring i almost threw myself off a cliff for listening to the whole album.

HORRIBLE.

You know, a lot of hardcore GD fans hate Warning.

Just saying.

Unrelenting · 09-17-2009, 09:39 AM

What I've heard from it is terrible

Arya Stark · 09-17-2009, 09:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Unrelenting

What I've heard from it is terrible

What have you heard from it?

View Poll Results: Rate 21st Century Breakdown
Awesome	20	14.81%
Very Good	26	19.26%
Average	34	25.19%
Poor	25	18.52%
Terrible	30	22.22%
Voters: 135. You may not vote on this poll

07-27-2009, 02:44 AM	#1 (permalink)
storymilo Music Addict Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 1,845	Short Review My rating is 6/10. Compare this to American Idiot at 7.5/10, Dookie at 7.5/10, and Nimrod at 5/10. It is a nice album, but it seems kind of like an attemmpt to recreate the same feel of American Idiot, without as much success. I wish they had given the story of the album more structure, as that was one of the things I liked most about American Idiot. One thing I noticed is more reliance on Billie Joe Armstrong's powerful voice and more meaningful lyrics than in previous Green Day work, which I think may be a step forward from American Idiot just as that was a step forward from the album's that came before it. Green Day is contining to evolve from their punk roots, and becoming more relevant than ever. We will have to wait and see just how long they can continue, before fizzling out. But remember that most bands of their era are forgotten nowadays, while Green Day have continued to produce fine quality music. What disappointed me most about the album, is that after 5 years of waiting, all they came up with was half a story, a few great songs, and then some material that seemed mostly intended to fill out the album. Unlike in other work by them, where each and every song on the album seemed to have a meaning, there are tracks that just don't compare with the fine points on the album. An example would be [B]Know Your Enemy[B], probably the most played song off the album on the radio. The lyrics are nothing special, and the tune is a boring one repeated for most of the song. It's a song that doesn't seem to add much to the album for me. There are still points where I sit up and say, "This is why I listen to Green Day". The highlights to me are the epic title track at the beginning and the song East Jesus Nowhere, which I believe holds the best lyrics of the bunch. Peacemaker brings in some spanish tinged guitar, and Viva la Gloria! has a very cool intro containing only Armstrong's voice and some accompianing piano. I think these are some of the songs showing what Green Day may be looking at in the future, incorporating more styles and influences into their songs. I for one am, while slightly dissapointed, intrigued by what the album may mean for future Green Day work. Bottom Line: Get it for a Green Day collection, but don't expect the wonders that should have come out of a five year wait.

09-17-2009, 09:39 AM	#9 (permalink)
Unrelenting True to username Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 1,100	What I've heard from it is terrible __________________ My lastfm

07-27-2009, 11:26 AM	#2 (permalink)
immetoday Groupie Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Minnesota Posts: 34	i love song of the century, 21st century breakdown, viva la gloria, east jesus nowhere and 21 guns. know your enemy is good but way over played which ruins the song. all the other songs werent that great

07-27-2009, 05:45 PM	#3 (permalink)
storymilo Music Addict Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 1,845	immetoday I completely agree with the exception that Know Your Enemy really is not good, maybe average at best, and Peacemaker is not completely horrible.

08-12-2009, 10:34 PM	#7 (permalink)
J.S.3otR Groupie Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Chicago Posts: 21	extremely disappointing. and its not like they were always this bad. Warning is a good album and Dookie is ok too, but this crap? for real? it sounds like they dont care about the quality of their music anymore, they just want money so billy joe can afford to put some more guyliner on. in musical terms... chord progressions and instrument parts sound like they were written in about 30 seconds by a first grader. its so boring i almost threw myself off a cliff for listening to the whole album. HORRIBLE.