Wow…this is a fantastic album. Green Day is not dead. They have really matured with this CD, and the fact that it’s one big story is fantastic.
Here’s the scoop, aside from the title track (which you probably won’t like if you’re a republican), the rest of the album is a kind of rock opera, with separate tracks that stand on their own, but are much better in sequence, where they loosely tell a story of a handfull of people going through life. There are two set pieces, which are 9 minute, 5 movement songs. The first one, “Jesus of Suburbia” is just frickin’ cool. Very good transitions between the parts of the song. The whole album alternates between the driving punk that made them famous, and new influences, which show them evolving…they write ballads, anthems, fast punk, and more, which really just makes for a great listen.
The thing is, Green Day lost any chance of me ever listening to their music again once they decided to sing the ‘I Fought The Law (And the Law Won)’ for use in RIAA adverts.
They kinda sucked anyhow. But that? That was just sad. Sod 'em.
I’m reasonably certain that Green Day’s rendition of that song was for a Pepsi commercial advertising free downloads from iTunes. This USA Today article corroborates that, though it doesn’t say that the song wasn’t also used in an RIAA ad.
It came out at the end of september, I think. I didn’t know about it until I saw a review in a magazine, so I bought it. Surprise, it’s their best album. I never thought they’d be one of the mid 90s rock/alternative bands to survive this long.
Yes, I really recommend this album. I only buy about two or three CDs a year, and I snatched this one up as soon as I could get it. I think it’s a brilliant album. I really love the whole “rock opera” idea, and all of the songs are really good on their own. I never even considered buying a Green Day or punk album before I heard this. The lyrics are meaningful, and the music is excellent.