Known for their dark black guy-liner, irreverent hair colors, nasally vocals and strong power-chord progressions, 1988 punk band, Green Day, is back in business. You may be asking yourself, “wait… they’re still alive?” to which I’d respond, “yes. They’re only, like, 42-years-old. C’mon.” Take a minute to reminisce about your middle school days — days when you’d lock yourself in your room, cry to “Wake Me Up When September Ends” and tell your mom that she, “just doesn’t understand you.” Do this and maybe – just maybe – you’ll remember this band.
Formerly referred to as “Sweet Children,” frontman Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist Mike Pritchard (“Dirnt”), and drummer John Kiffmeyer (“Al Sobrante”) created a name for themselves in the underground punk scene of California at just fourteen years old. Then, Tre Cool, the band’s current drummer, replaced Kiffmeyer in 1990, which essentially created the Green Day we know and love today.
Oh, and if you’re curious, the name “Green Day” is most definitely about marijuana.
The last time the public heard from Green Day was in 2012 when they released their trilogy: ¡Uno! ¡Dos! ¡Tré!, and, sadly, they’ve been M.I.A ever since. Prior to the trilogy, their collection had already included a handful of significant bodies of work, including power-punk albums 21st Century Breakdown (2009) and American Idiot (2004), as well as, of course, good ole’ punk rock album, Dookie (1994). For the more invested listeners, some of their most underrated studio albums include 1988’s 1039 Smoothed Out Slappy Hours, 1992’s Kerplunk, 1995’s Insomniac, 1997’s Nimrod, and 2000’s Warning.
Since 2012, fans both young and old have been holding onto Green Day’s trilogy for dear life, thinking that it was the last glimpse of the band that they’d ever see. Thankfully, our fears have been dispelled with the birth of their 2016 album, Revolution Radio. Reminiscent of American Idiot and 21st Century Breakdown, Green Day infuses each of the 12 songs on “RevRad” with political messages, sharp power chords and fast-paced drums, contingent with their unexpectedly released promotional singles, “Bang Bang” and “Revolution Radio.”
“RevRad” was released to the public on October 7th – the day that proved to the world that punk rock is not dead. Back in December of 2015, Armstrong tweeted a prophetic teaser for the album: “My mission for 2016? To destroy the phrase ‘pop-punk’ forever.” We shall soon see if he keeps that promise.
By: Jordan Meyers
Art by: DP