The Evolution/Devolution of Green Day

I've seen (heard, I suppose is the more appropriate word) it many times, when a band enters a point in their career where they seemingly lose the identity they had which brought them an initial appeal to listeners. In some cases, bands are labeled as "matured," as they transition from a raw, less-produced, perhaps more emotional and personal-style of music to more cliched, overly produced, radio-friendly rock. Often times, I see the term "matured" as synonymous with "monotone," "repetitious" and "business over pleasure".

Two bands that immediately come to mind for me are Linkin Park and Nine Inch Nails. The rap/rock hybrid of the early 2000s played into Linkin Park's hands and they tended to stand out on their own from the rest of the like-minded bands of the time. But, over the last 10 years and with each successive album, they've put much less emphasis on the rap and more on the singing, making them sound more like an everyday rock band and not like what brought them appeal in 2000 with their debut album, "Hybrid Theory". Nine Inch Nails was the God (still is, I suppose) of industrial rock. Between the albums: "Pretty Hate Machine," "Broken," "The Downward Spiral" and "The Fragile," Nine Inch Nails had won over fans and critics alike and were the main inspiration for any industrial rock band to hit the airwaves. However, times have changed for Trent Reznor and company. They followed "The Fragile" up with the album "With Teeth," which I personally liked, but which began to showcase the band's changing of tunes (in both the literal and figurative sense). It played more like an '80s rock album than industrial metal. Then, in even more recent years, the band has become more underground, attempting to intertwine industrial rock with a political message, yet upon hearing these albums, they lack the same bite, the same ferocity, the same vigor as the first four albums. No longer do I hear Linkin Park when listening to their most recent material and no longer do I hear Nine Inch Nails when listening to theirs.

Other bands have the unfortunate temptation of changing with the times. This situation was brought upon many '80s hair bands when the grunge scene hit the airwaves. Bands like Metallica ("Load") and Def Leppard ("Slang"), amongst many others, attempted to alter their style of rock to ride the trend in the music scene and appeal to the same types of people whom were getting into acts such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Stone Temple Pilots, Alice in Chains, etc. This typically doesn't work too well for bands. There were a couple of decent hits along the way, like Metallica's "Until It Sleeps" and "King Nothing," but more times than not, when a long tenured band feels the need to alter their style in order to fit in with the current musical trend, they typically will lose that appeal in which they had built for many years.

Lastly, some bands, for whatever reason, fail to maintain listeners' attention and this is what happened with Green Day. There are many times when a band will go Platinum with one album or even three or four albums, yet perhaps due to one mediocre or sub-par album, which receives minimal airplay, they're forgotten by all but their most hard-core of fans. So, they then feel the need to change things up a bit, whether that be with the personnel of the band or through the music itself.

Most people don't realize this, but Green Day released their first album, "1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours," in 1990. It seems that most people see "Dookie" as the punk rock band's debut album, but that, in fact, was their third. They went Platinum in the U.S. with "Kerplunk," their 1992 album. "Dookie" was their big success early in their careers, as that hit Diamond status in the States. Following that break-through, though, the band began to see their sales decrease. In 1995, they released "Insomniac" and went Double-Platinum in the U.S., but it was still an underachievement when compared to "Dookie". This trend continued in 1997 and 2000 with the albums "Nimrod" and "Warning". Both albums hit Platinum in some countries, but their chart positions weren't nearly as impressive, especially with regard to "Warning," which went Gold in the States. So, the band took a bit of a break. The longest duration between albums to that point in their careers was three years, between "Nimrod" (1997) and "Warning" (2000). They took four years before releasing their 2004 album, "American Idiot". This album has gone on to sell almost 6 million copies in the U.S. alone and 14 million worldwide, going platinum in 14 countries: Australia (5x), Austria (2x), Canada (8x), Ireland (8x), Sweden, Switzerland (2x), England (6x), U.S. (5x), New Zealand (4x), Germany (3x), Japan (2x), Denmark (2x), Italy (3x) and Mexico. When all is said and done, this could go on to be Green Day's best-selling album. "Dookie" currently holds a slight edge, selling 16 million copies worldwide, yet the album has been out since 1994. Meanwhile, "American Idiot" has sold only 2 million less copies and has been out for 10 fewer years. In 2009, Green Day released "21st Century Breakdown," which has gone on to be a decent success, but not nearly as much so as its predecessor, "American Idiot". It will likely go Platinum in the U.S. in the near future (997,000 albums sold) and has gone Platinum in 12 countries and Gold in 5 others.

The controversy/debate surrounding the band over the past 6 years isn't so much dealing with their success. It's with regard to how they've attained that through the past two albums. With both "American Idiot" and "21st Century Breakdown," the band has gone to a more epic-style of rock music and lyrically, have gone political, writing two concept albums concerning U.S. politics. Due to their punk rock roots, many have referred to the band as sell-outs. Others have stated that the band was using the wave of anti-Bush rhetoric to their advantage, with "American Idiot" in particular and some will even claim that musicians should stay out of politics.

First off, I can understand the disappointment of some fans, who loved the punk rock version of Green Day. However, in terms of punk rock, Green Day has been devolving for quite some time. Their most genuine punk rock albums are their first two: "1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours" and "Kerplunk". They contained some punk rock elements in "Dookie," "Insomniac" and "Nimrod," but seemed to slowly be moving away from their roots musically. So, while the two most recent albums differ from the rest, I've seen (heard) a gradual alteration in sound leading up to "American Idiot," which, to me, at least, wasn't as surprising as it was to some. So, I can understand the disappointment or anger with some fans who have been listening since the band's debut album in 1990, yet it wasn't that big of a shock.

Secondly, musicians of all stripes have gotten involved with politics and made their voices heard, whether it be at the Grammy's when accepting an award, writing a column or singing a song devoted to a certain cause. From Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the U.S.A." to Edwin Starr's "War" to Bob Marley's "Redemption Song" to John Lennon's "Imagine" to Rage Against the Machine's "Killing in the Name" to The Beatles' "Revolution" to U2's "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and beyond, many musicians have been unafraid to sing about political issues of the time. So, why is it not acceptable for some that Green Day sings about political issues of that time? Whether it be the wars overseas, politics in Washington, etc., why do some believe the topic(s) are off-limits for this band?

The fact of the matter is that Green Day saw their sales falling and decided to make a change. Not everyone is happy with the change, but for once, I certainly am. I have always enjoyed Green Day's music. They tended to sing silly songs with catchy hooks, which made them great listening music at parties and in the car with friends. However, from both a musical and lyrical perspective, I believe "American Idiot" and "21st Century Breakdown" to be far and away, their two best albums to this point in their careers. Billie Joe Armstrong has proven that he can write more hard-hitting lyrics than those dealing with drugs and masturbation. He wrote a story for the two most recent albums and powerful ones at that, with the music perfectly accompanying the words and message of the albums. Green Day has gone from being one of the most fun acts in rock to one of the very best.