(50) Sundays of Music: #9

#9: Green Day - 21st Century Breakdown

This is the most recent album to have come out to appear on this countdown and it appears here for one simple reason: I really really like it.

Maybe it's the memories. Maybe it's that I bought this cd at the Virgin store in Hollywood during our Alabama to California to road trip and listened to the entire thing while waiting in traffic. Or listened to it while traveling back through Arizona.

It does take me back to listening to the story contained in the songs, the follow-up to American Idiot. Though not as in a second chapter, but in Green Day doing yet another concept album.

I don't feel it's necessary to write a super long blog post about this album because I feel anyone who is going to comment is going to say the same thing: "I lost track of Green Day when they did American Idiot and now they just aren't even the same band anymore."

And you know what? I feel really sorry for anyone who is stuck on a band's past and is not willing to give something they put tons of effort into making a decent shot. (If you have listened to it and didn't like it, that doesn't pertain to you. It's the ones who dismiss it before even listening to it that I was referencing). Sure, it contains more elements of "pop" then any of their previous releases, but I honestly don't think I want guys their age still acting and writing like the "punks" they were when Dookie is released. They are really talented musicians and the way the songs on this release flow together and mix in a vast array of sounds is purely amazing.

When music history is written years and years from now, I firmly believe Green Day will be placed up there with Queen, Guns & Roses, Red Hot Chili Peppers and other legends as one of the greatest bands of all time. And this cd will be one that, if no one had heard before, they are sorely missing out.

For a more well-worded review of this cd (a 5 star review no less), please check out this post from Mike at This Song Starts a Craze.

(50) Sundays of Music: #14

#14: Green Day - American Idiot

I have to admit, as much as I talk about music and my love for it, I missed out on the "early stuff" with Green Day being one of the casualties. I didn't grow up with Dookie and "Time of Your Life" was really my first exposure to them so I'm not jaded to this release like most of their hardcore fan base. I see this album for what it is - a stand alone musical masterpiece.

There are a lot of places to discover music. Nowadays, you have Pandora, iTunes recommendations and social networking blogs that post the latest "band you need to know but when a certain amount of people do I'm not going to like them anymore" artists. But there is a way to discover that was very overlooked until Guitar Hero and Rock Band hit the scene - video games.

"American Idiot" (the song) appeared on the soundtrack for one of the Madden games. That's where I got used to it and one day bought the cd and gave it a shot. I have to admit, at first I was just kind of like "eh." I liked the title track and really liked "Holiday" before the radio got a hold of it. It would be a while before I truly appreciated the cd as a whole.

One of the reasons was because to this day "When September Ends" is one my least favorite and at one time was heavily played on the radio. I want to make sure that statement came across correct: "least favorite" doesn't mean I didn't like it. (and yes, I know the story behind it. But like I said, just a "least favorite") But radio-overexposure also killed "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" for me as well, another song I really liked.

But what turned me around to this cd was actually when I started opening my eyes to music for what it was. Interpreting the lyrics, appreciating the bass lines, realizing what goes in to making a song. I've come to appreciate songs that are unique and I found that in "Jesus of Suburbia." It's a 9-minute track that acts like a 5-for-1 deal.

And it's also an example of what the album does - tells a story. I feel a lot of times, artists will put out songs with singles to get on the radio and make money. I appreciate and respect Green Day for, at a time when they had already done that in their careers, taking a chance and doing something creative.

Also, I have to admit. Green Day Rock Band helped me appreciate "Homecoming" which is similar to "Jesus of Suburbia" in the multiple-songs-condensed-into-one formula. That and "Whatsername." So that's why the following three tracks are displayed.

NOTE: Please, if you have never given these tracks a listen or have been jaded to them because you don't like the cd (you are entitled to your opinion), for me - give these songs a try.

30 Days of Me: Detailed Week

I should have looked ahead, seen that this is a post I had coming and prepared for it. Oh well. Let's get by with some points of interest:

*Sunday I drove back from seeing my dad in Florida, stopped back in my old hometown to see some friends, got home and pretty much passed out from driving roughly 13 hours over the weekend.

*Monday I watched Sorority Row. What can I say, I have a guilty pleasure for these kind of movies in that I like to watch them and go "yep, you're about to die." You can't watch these things expecting 5 star classics, and when one of the girls is from The Hills, you're definitely not going to get that. But it was entertaining.

*Tuesday = drama. Too complicated for this place though.

*Wednesday I turned in an article about a Michael Jackson tribute night and I have to say I'm pretty proud of it. I'm proud because most of the time my editor will change things I say and rightfully so. What she puts sounds better. But this article was 95% me. You can see for yourself here. (The part she put in was the "loafers" thing and she reworded the youtube part).

*Thursday I watched Knight and Day. I really liked it at first and then a little bit after the halfway point I kind of became bored. I honestly almost fell asleep toward the end. It wasn't terrible, it just didn't hold my attention for the entire movie.

*Last night I watched Pirate Radio. Wow, this movie was great. Not to put myself on some kind of pedestal, but I think I liked so much because I am a radio DJ myself, though only on the college thing. But you can tell those guys just loved the music -- and each other. It was absolutely great and automatically went in my top ten.

*Today I watched USA get eliminated from the World Cup. Please Allison, wait a few days before rubbing it in. I'm still picking up the pieces of my red, white and blue broken heart. Then caught a couple episodes of Heroes and beat Green Day Rock Band.

Now I get ready to sleep tomorrow and bring you a post that will probably fail. I'm supposed to remember the whole month? Seriously. This may take some effort.