Our pick this week came off the tail end of a pretty cool Spotify documentary about Green Day. Green Day more than likely has had some impact on almost anyone who is a fan of punk rock music. They’ve put out quite a bit of records and Shenanigans so there is usually something for everyone. Dookie is definitely the turning point in Green Day’s career.
Dookie is another album that just never lets up. The pace, the tempos, the excitement just keep going throughout the entire album. Even the slower songs have their own way of driving the punk rock home. “When I Come Around” is probably the slowest song but starts off with some of the heaviest guitar tone on the entire album. “F.O.D.” starts off totally acoustic before dropping into another heavy, fast, punk rock song.
Billy Joe wrote this entire album in his late teens or early 20’s and the lyrics reflect the emotions of such. Masturbation, anxiety, personal sexuality, and feeling like a burnout are the focus of the album. Mike Dirnt lays down some serious bass lines. Most iconic of those come from “Longview” which he wrote while high on LSD. He also wrote the song “Eminus Sleepus” which has some tasty bass licks. Tre Cool rounds off the album with a great drum performance. Without his fast, never tiring, hands the album wouldn’t have the same energy as it does. Cool also wrote a song for the album, “All By Myself”.
If all you know of this album is “Longview” or “When I Come Around” then you owe it to yourself to listen to the rest of Dookie. You’re doing yourself a disservice! If you have heard, and love, this album then hey, listen to it again! Then listen to our dissection of it on our podcast. ‘Cus that’s why we write this stuff. Duh.
Notable Tracks:
Burnout, In The End, F.O.D.
Asinine Radio 