Introduction
Green Day is one of the if not the most popular American punk rock band out there. Formed in 1986 by lead vocalist and guitarist, Billie Joe Armstrong and bassist Mike Dirnt, for much of the band's career, they have been a trio with drummer Tré Cool, who replaced John Kiffmeyer in 1990 prior to the recording of the band's second studio album, Kerplunk (1991). Guitarist Jason White, who has been a touring member since 1999, was a member from 2012 to 2016. Green Day has sold more than 85 million records worldwide. The group has won five Grammy Awards: Best Alternative Album for Dookie, Best Rock Album for American Idiot, Record of the Year for "Boulevard of Broken Dreams", Best Rock Album for the second time for 21st Century Breakdown and Best Musical Show Album for American Idiot: The Original Broadway Cast Recording. In 2010, a stage adaptation of American Idiot debuted on Broadway. The musical was nominated for three Tony Awards: Best Musical, Best Scenic Design and Best Lighting Design, losing only the first. In the same year, VH1 ranked Green Day 91st in its list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April 2015, their first year of eligibility. Throughout their Illustrious and long musical career, the band has produced many memorable and iconic songs. Here's your chance to rank this list of 20 of their best songs. Source(s): Wikipedia, Youtube Image source: Music4Breakfast.com
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Boulevard of Broken Dreams
#11.7"Boulevard of Broken Dreams" is a song by American punk rock band Green Day, recorded for their seventh studio album American Idiot (2004). Reprise Records released "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" as the second single from American Idiot. The song's lyrics were written by lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong, and composed by the band. Production was handled by Rob Cavallo and Green Day. "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" remains one of Green Day's signature songs. The song speaks from the point of view of American Idiot's main character, Jesus of Suburbia, and is a moderate midtempo song characterized by somber and bleak lyrics. This is in contrast to the previous track on the album, "Holiday", which illustrates Jesus of Suburbia's high of being in The City. MTV's Green Day Makes a Video described "Holiday" as a party, and "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" as the subsequent hangover. The song was ranked the number one on Rolling Stone's Reader's Choice: Singles of the Decade list in 2009 and number 65 on the 100 Best Songs of the Decade list in the same year. It has sold over 2 million copies in the United States as of 2010. The single peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100, behind "Candy Shop" by 50 Cent and Olivia, making it Green Day's most successful song in the United States. The song was the ninth-highest-selling single of the 2000–2009 decade with worldwide sales exceeding 5 million copies. As of 2017, "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" remains to be the only song in history to win both the Grammy Award for Record of the Year and MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year.
Wake Me Up When September Ends
#23.0"Wake Me Up When September Ends" was released on June 13, 2005, as the fourth single from the group's seventh studio album, American Idiot (2004). The song was written by frontman Billie Joe Armstrong regarding the death of his father. The song became a hit single, peaking at number six on the Billboard Hot 100. It was also a top ten single in the United Kingdom, Belgium, New Zealand, and was a number one single in the Czech Republic. In the United States, the song became symbolic after Hurricane Katrina, where it was dedicated to victims of the disaster and also regarded as a dedication to the victims of the September 11 attacks that occurred in 2001. The song became certified 2x platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. The song's music video depicts a couple broken apart by the Iraq War, which was intended to convey the song's central theme of loss.
American Idiot
#34.0"American Idiot" is a song by the American punk rock band Green Day. It is the title track from the album American Idiot (2004) and released as the first single from it. The song received positive reviews by critics and was nominated for four 2005 Grammy Awards: Record of the Year, Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, Best Rock Song, and Best Music Video. It is considered as one of the band's signature songs. One of the two explicitly political songs on the album (the other being fellow single "Holiday"), "American Idiot" contends that mass media has orchestrated paranoia and idiocy among the public. Citing cable news coverage of the Iraq War, Billie Joe Armstrong recalled, “They had all these Geraldo-like journalists in the tanks with the soldiers, getting the play-by-play." He felt with that, American news crossed the line from journalism to reality television, showcasing violent footage intercut with advertisements.
Holiday
#44.2"Holiday" is a song by American punk rock band Green Day. It was released as the third single from the group's seventh studio album American Idiot. The song is in the key of F minor. Though the song is a prelude to "Boulevard of Broken Dreams", "Holiday" was released as a single later on, in the spring of 2005. The song achieved considerable popularity across the world and performed moderately well on the charts. In the US, it reached number nineteen on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Hot Modern Rock Tracks and Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks charts. It debuted at number eleven in the UK and at number twenty-one in Canada. The song has been featured in the 2006 comedy film, Accepted. The NHL's Vancouver Canucks once used it as their goal song. The song also appeared in an episode of CSI: NY. One of two explicitly political songs on the album (the other being fellow single "American Idiot"), "Holiday" took two months to finish writing, as Armstrong continually felt his lyrics were not good enough. Aided by the encouragement of Cavallo, he completed the song. "Holiday" was inspired by the music of Bob Dylan. Armstrong wanted to write something stronger than "American Idiot", with harsh language to illustrate his points. The song takes aim at American conservatism. Armstrong felt that Republican politicians were "strategic" in alienating one group of people—for example, the gay community—in order to buy the votes of another. He later characterized the song as an outspoken "fuck you" to then-President George W. Bush.
Basket Case
#55.8"Basket Case" is the seventh track and third single from Green Day's third studio album, Dookie (1994). The song spent five weeks at the top of the Modern Rock Tracks chart. Green Day vocalist/guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong said "Basket Case" is about his struggle with anxiety; before he was diagnosed with a panic disorder years afterward, he thought he was going crazy. Armstrong commented that at the time, "The only way I could know what the hell was going on was to write a song about it."
Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)
#66.2"Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" is a song by the American punk rock band Green Day. Although written by lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong before the release of the band's third album Dookie (1994), the song was not released until Green Day's fifth album, Nimrod (1997), and was the second single released from that album. An alternative version (in a different key, with a faster tempo and sparer arrangement) appeared as a B-side to the 1995 European single for "Brain Stew/Jaded". It has become a staple of the band's concerts and is usually played as the final song. Although it was not issued as a single at the time of its release in the United States, "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" sold over 2.6 million copies as a digital download in the country. The song was certified Gold in the United Kingdom for sales of 400,000.
21 Guns
#76.4"21 Guns" is a song by American punk rock band Green Day. It was released as the second single from their eighth album, 21st Century Breakdown. The single was released through Reprise Records on May 25, 2009 as a digital download and July 14, 2009 as a CD single. The song has been a success on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at No. 22, which has become their highest charting single since 2005. It was nominated for a Grammy for Best Rock Performance by a Duo/Group with Vocals and Best Rock Song in 2010. The song has received critical acclaim. Chris Fallon writing for AbsolutePunk commented that "it is arguably the album's highlight, presenting an anti-war ballad that is both monumentally enduring and also sophisticated protest." James Montgomery of MTV News described it as "a cell-phones-in-the-air anthem, starting with more sharply strummed acoustic guitars." Colin Moriarty from IGN wrote that the track is "perhaps the best song on the album as a whole, is a multi-faceted song with a pretty poignant message to boot."
Jesus of Suburbia
#86.7"Jesus of Suburbia" is a song by American punk rock band Green Day. It was released as the fifth and final single from the group's seventh studio album, American Idiot, and the second song on the album. With the song running for 9 minutes and 9 seconds, it is Green Day's second longest song (with the band's longest song being fellow American Idiot song "Homecoming", which runs for 9 minutes and 19 seconds) and the group's longest song to be released as a single. The studio version of the song, a five movement piece, runs just over 9 minutes and was considered to be unfriendly for radio, so it was cut down to 6½ minutes for the radio edit. The long version was still played on many album rock and alternative rock radio stations. At most live shows on the first leg of the group's 21st Century Breakdown World Tour, the band would pick a member from the audience to play guitar for the song. The single has sold 205,000 copies as of July 2010. American Idiot is a concept album that describes the story of a central character named Jesus of Suburbia, an anti-hero created by Billie Joe Armstrong. It is written from the perspective of a lower-middle-class suburban American teen, raised on a diet of "soda pop and Ritalin." Jesus hates his town and those close to him, so he leaves for The City. Since its release, "Jesus of Suburbia" has received universal critical acclaim. People magazine called the song "epic" and a "magnificent nine-minute rock opera." It is often recognized as one of Green Day's greatest songs. It was voted the greatest Green Day song of all time in a Rolling Stone readers poll in September 2012.
Minority
#98.6"Minority" is a song by the American punk rock band Green Day. It was released as the lead single from their sixth studio album, Warning. The song remained at No. 1 for five weeks in a row on the Billboard Modern Rock chart in late 2000, making it one of the most successful songs from the band in the 2000s. In an interview, frontman Billie Joe Armstrong said that "The song is about being an individual and how you have to drift through the darkness to find where you belong." Billie Joe Armstrong commented that this was the point in which their song writing became slightly more politically based. The lyrics "I pledge allegiance to the underworld, one nation under dog..." were taken from the American Pledge of Allegiance but "twisted upside down a bit." The lyric "down with the Moral Majority" from the chorus refers to the now dissolved socially conservative American organization called the Moral Majority.
Longview
#109.5"Longview" is the debut single by the American punk rock band Green Day on the band's third album, Dookie. The song was the band's first single to top the Modern Rock chart in the U.S. The music video for this song received heavy airplay on MTV and is largely credited for breaking Green Day into mainstream popularity. The song describes intense boredom. Lyrically, the song is about a day spent sitting around the house, doing absolutely nothing of importance, masturbating, and smoking marijuana until the days are no longer fun. The song captured the attention of many youth at the time with its overt allusions to masturbation. Bassist Mike Dirnt has stated that the famous bass line intro to this song was written one night while he was high on LSD, and what remains on the album is what he and lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong could recall in the morning. At most shows in the 21st Century Breakdown World Tour and Revolution Radio Tour, Billie Joe picked a random audience member to sing the song or play the song on electric guitar onstage. The song is named after the city of Longview, Washington, where it was first performed in 1992. The band had already written the song prior to arriving in the city. In 1995, Green Day received four Grammy Award nominations, including Best Hard Rock Performance for "Longview". The band won Best Alternative Music Performance for Dookie. The song was ranked at number 3 on the list of the Best Singles of 1994 by Rolling Stone.
When I Come Around
#1110.2"When I Come Around" is a song released by American punk rock band Green Day. It is the tenth track on their third studio album, Dookie, which was released as the fourth single from that album in 1995. It was played live as early as 29 August 1992. "When I Come Around" was Green Day's most popular radio single in their early career, peaking at number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay. This was their highest charting radio single until 2004's "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" peaked at number 2. It was one of the most successful alternative rock songs of 1995. It topped the Modern Rock Tracks for seven weeks, and also hit number two on the Mainstream Rock Tracks. "When I Come Around" has sold 639,000 copies as of August, 2010, which makes it the band's second best-selling single of the 1990s, only behind the 1997 hit "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)".
Brain Stew / Jaded
#1212.0"Brain Stew" / "Jaded" are two songs by the American punk rock band Green Day. They are the tenth and eleventh tracks and third single from the group's fourth studio album, Insomniac. The two songs were released as one single, as the songs are transitional - "Brain Stew" segues directly into "Jaded". After 9/11, "Brain Stew" was placed on Clear Channel's list of post-9/11 inappropriate titles. The song "Brain Stew" is about insomnia which comes from Armstrong's own insomnia. The title track "Brain Stew" is named after Armstrong's friend, James Washburn aka Brain Stew.
Welcome to Paradise
#1313.0"Welcome to Paradise" is the second single by the American punk rock band Green Day. It is the fifth track from their third studio album, Dookie and was released as the second single from the album Dookie in October 1994. The original version of the song appeared on their second studio album, Kerplunk. The Dookie version was later included on the compilation album, International Superhits! in 2001. "Welcome to Paradise" is playable in the video game Green Day: Rock Band. The song peaked at number 56 on the Hot 100 Airplay chart.
21st Century Breakdown
#1414.3"21st Century Breakdown" is a song by the American punk rock band Green Day from their album of the same name. Billie Joe Armstrong composed the song, which is mainly based on his personal life and musical influences. The song was released as the fourth single from the album on December 21, 2009. Much of the song was written about the personal life of its writer, Armstrong. According to David Fricke of Rolling Stone, its opening lyrics "Born into Nixon, I was raised in hell" refer to Armstrong's birth year of 1972, while "We are the class of the class of '13" references his eldest son Joseph's high school graduation year of 2013. On September 10, 2009, Green Day's official site announced that the song would be the band's next single. However, on September 25, Green Day instead said that "East Jesus Nowhere" would be released as the next single and offered a release date of October 19. On October 21, the band again asserted that "21st Century Breakdown" would be released as a single and gave a release date of December 21. Reception to the song has been mainly positive. Spin thought that it was "Green Day's most epic song yet". AbsolutePunk stated that the song "bursts forth with resilient aplomb".
Hitchin' a Ride
#1515.3"Hitchin' a Ride" was released as the first single from their fifth album, Nimrod. PopMatters listed "Hitchin' a Ride" as the sixth best Green Day song, citing "Suiting its falling-off-the-wagon subject matter, "Hitchin’ a Ride" is a hellish yet exhilarating track that makes picking up a bottle look like probably not wisest idea one could have." The music video for "Hitchin' a Ride" was directed by Mark Kohr, the director that Green Day had favored throughout the Dookie and Insomniac singles. Coherently with the subject of the song, the music video shows the band performing in a scenery reminiscent of Prohibition Era, amongst suggestive characters in costumes. "Hitchin' a Ride" can also be found on International Superhits! and Bullet in a Bible. The music video is included on International Supervideos!.
Homecoming
#1615.7Homecoming is the twelfth song of the American Idiot album by Green Day which was released in 2004 . The song lasts over 9 minutes and is often regarded as a mini punk opera, similar to Jesus of Suburbia .
Whatsername
#1716.6"Whatsername" is the thirteenth song of the album American Idiot by Green Day and ends the story of "Jesus of Suburbia".
Know Your Enemy
#1818.2"Know Your Enemy" was released as the first single from Green Day's eighth album 21st Century Breakdown, through Reprise Records on April 16, 2009, and the group's first single since Jesus of Suburbia, released 4 years earlier. Billboard described the song as being lyrically "just as politically charged as last time (on American Idiot)", having a "Modern Rock radio-ready chorus", whilst the song's producer Butch Vig "brings enough punk sheen for mass appeal." It was the first, and one of only three songs, to top the Rock Songs, Alternative Songs and Mainstream Rock Tracks Billboard charts at the same time. Know Your Enemy has been certified Gold by the RIAA and has sold 798,000 copies as of August 2010.
East Jesus Nowhere
#1919.0"East Jesus Nowhere" is a song by the American punk rock band Green Day. The single was released October 19, 2009. It was released as the third single from their eighth album 21st Century Breakdown. The title is derived from a phrase in the 2007 film Juno. The song rebukes fundamentalist religion and was written by singer/guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong after he attended a church service where a friend's baby was baptized.
Letterbomb
#2019.6"Letterbomb" is the tenth song of the album American Idiot by Green Day.
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