Review; 21st Century Breakdown

Green Day's newest musical endeavor, 21st Century Breakdown, continues their socially-relevant rock opera style they started with American Idiot.

I am not the most cultured when it comes to classic rock, but The Who have always been a favorite of mine. Their own tendency to make rock operas have had been interested in the style and left me with a desire for a more modern one, preferably not made by Coheed and Cambria. As a movie buff and general fan of fiction, I appreciate the effort to use music to tell a story.

The new album definitely has Green Day's punk rock roots stamp on it, but unlike American Idiot, the music itself is much less catchy. Not many of the songs scream "single," and probably why "Know Your Enemy" seemed so stale when it was originally released. Don't get me wrong, it was a good song, just not exciting. As a finished product, 21st Century Breakdown excels.

It is a return to the origins of modern rock. A time when rock music promised not just naive teenage rebellion, but was a force of nature against a system that never wanted to think outside the box. Coming off the end of George H.W. Bush's presidency, Green Day is running on full tanks. But for some reason the anti-Bush pop culture icons have been coming off a little presumptuous and overly-arrogant despite my general agreement with them, and American Idiot, and subsequent public appearances, got swept up in it with its more direct shots at the administration. 21st Century Breakdown turns its focus to the people following the fictional Christian and Gloria living life in a post-Bush America. I think this will allow them to wade the anti-Bush fervor a little better. I only hope Green Day can keep their focus on people, and not bash the administration in their eventual tour.

I love the new album. As a whole its brilliant, but as singles it might have a hard time getting started. It has plenty of cool tracks like "American Eulogy," "Murder City," and "Last of the American Girls," but do not expect any radio overplay like "Wake Me Up When September Ends."

9.5/10