You’d be hard pressed to find someone who can’t give the guys in punk rock trio Green Day a little credit for their accomplishments. In the past 5 years, they’ve put out a multi-platinum rock opera, 2004’s American Idiot, a self-titled garage-rock revival record under the moniker of the Foxboro Hot Tubs, and a rockin’ cover of the Simpsons theme song that was featured in last year’s The Simpsons Movie. And now they’re back with their biggest, best record yet- 21st Century Breakdown.
Like its predecessor, Breakdown is a rock opera. This time, the main characters are Christian and Gloria, two members of the “class of [20]13” dealing with the crazy, chaotic mess of a post-Bush world in a story told in three parts: “Heroes and Cons”, “Saints and Charlatans” and “Horseshoes and Handgrenades”. But unlike American Idiot, Breakdown is not so much a concrete story as it is a general exploration of the sentiments of a generation defined by 9/11, the Iraq War, and an increasing sense of apathy and hopelessness.
The title track kicks off the whole spectacle, a “Bohemian Rhapsody” style affair complete with piano intro, theatrical guitar and sentimental vocals. “Born into Nixon I was raised in Hell/ A welfare child where the teamsters dwelled,” belts singer Billie Joe Armstrong, and it’s clear that this punk rock narrator knows how to deal out the angst when he yelps “My generation is zero/ I never made it as a working class hero.”
The homage to classic rock continues throughout. It’s relieving and refreshing to hear a bunch of dudes best known for a record called Dookie channeling Springsteen, the Clash, and the Who in tunes like “Know Your Enemy”, a boot-stomping, Sex-Pistols-style romp that sticks it to the media. With chunky guitar riffs and garage-rock flair, “Enemy” is classic Green Day and a definite contender for rock song of the summer. Other standouts include “Peacemaker”, a gypsy-rockabilly tune that evokes The Stones’ “Paint it Black”, and “Viva La Gloria!”, which manages to combine an Elton-John-y piano intro with a classic punk rock beat into a brilliant, soaring blitzkrieg of a song. And then there’s “East Jesus Nowhere”, a scathing attack on organized religion that channels My Chemical Romance, Rancid and Green Day in their Dookie days.
But perhaps the best moments of the album are those that let us see not the Green Day we know and love, but the Green Day that continues to change. As we’ve learned from “Boulevard from Broken Dreams”, the boys are pretty good at writing a ballad- and there are several on Breakdown to bolster that credential. “Restless Heart Syndrome” is a churning take on prescription drug addiction, featuring an especially sultry Billie Joe, melancholy piano, and a “Boulevard”-style close. “Last Night on Earth” initially seems a tad silly with its odd use of modern colloquialisms “I text a postcard, send it to you/ Did it go through?” But in the end, it’s a powerful, brooding anthem to love in the Post-Bush world that captures the urgency of the age in lines such as “If I lose everything in the fire/I'm sending all my love to you.”
Comparing your album to Springsteen’s Born to Run in interviews is a rather lofty thing to do, especially if you’re a band known for songs like “Geek Stink Breath.” But in an age known for itunes sound-bites and mp3s it’s refreshing to hear the Green Day guys going all out and releasing an album meant to be heard all at once, just as our parents did with such classics as Quadrophenia and Dark Side of the Moon. It may be much too early to determine whether or not 21st Century Breakdown will ever find its place amongst the dusty vinyl classics, but one thing is for certain – this record is Green Day’s best, an urgent, deliciously raucous love letter to life and love in the new century.