21st Century Breakdown

Green Day's eighth studio album, a rock opera examining modern alienation.

21st Century Breakdown is the eighth studio album by the American rock band Green Day, released on May 15, 2009, through Reprise Records. It is a concept album and rock opera that continues the style of the band's previous work, American Idiot. The album won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Album and achieved Green Day's best chart performance to that point, reaching number one in multiple countries.

Quick Facts

Artist

Green Day

Released

15 May 2009

Recorded

January 2008 – April 2009

Genre

Punk rock
pop-punk
arena rock
power pop
alternative rock

Length

69:17

Label

Reprise; Warner Bros.

Producer

Butch Vig; Green Day

Facts from the source article.

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1	Song of the Century	0:57
2	21st Century Breakdown	5:09
3	Know Your Enemy	3:11
4	¡Viva la Gloria!	3:31
5	Before the Lobotomy	4:37
6	Christian's Inferno	3:07
7	Last Night on Earth	3:56

Track listing from the source article.

Writing and recording

Green Day began writing songs for the album in January 2006 after extensive touring in 2005 for American Idiot. Frontman Billie Joe Armstrong stated that the band would start with silence to find inspiration. In October 2007, Armstrong told Rolling Stone he had written around 45 songs. The band worked on early conceptual stages at their rehearsal studio in Oakland, California. Armstrong noted that many songs were written on piano rather than guitar and that he wanted to explore his middle-aged feelings. Recording began in January 2008 with producer Butch Vig, known for producing Nirvana's Nevermind. The album was recorded throughout 2008 and into early 2009 at four California locations: Ocean Way Recording in Hollywood, Studio 880 in Oakland, Jel Studios in Newport Beach, and Costa Mesa Studios in Costa Mesa. During recording in Hollywood, the band bought cheap turntables from Amoeba Music and listened to vinyl records by the Beat and the Plimsouls for inspiration. Armstrong cited influences including Ray Davies, S.F. Sorrow, the Doors' first two albums, and Meat Loaf's Bat Out of Hell. Drummer Tré Cool noted the influence of Eddie Cochran and the Creation. David Bowie received a songwriting credit on "21 Guns" due to melodic similarity to his song "All the Young Dudes".

Themes and composition

21st Century Breakdown continues the rock opera style of American Idiot. The album is set in Detroit, Michigan and divided into three acts: "Heroes and Cons", "Charlatans and Saints", and "Horseshoes and Handgrenades". Its narrative follows a young couple named Christian and Gloria through challenges in the United States after the presidency of George W. Bush. Bassist Mike Dirnt compared the song relationships to those in Bruce Springsteen's Born to Run, noting the themes are connected but not as tightly interwoven as in a typical concept album. Many lyrics draw from Armstrong's personal life, with first-person narratives about abandonment and vengeance in songs like "Before the Lobotomy", "Christian's Inferno", and "Peacemaker". Rolling Stone described the album as Armstrong's most personal and emotionally convulsive record. The title track's opening line references Armstrong's birth year of 1972, while "We are the class of '13" refers to his eldest son's expected high school graduation year. Dirnt believed "Last of the American Girls" was written about Armstrong's wife Adrienne. Armstrong cited his disconnected childhood—raised by siblings after his father's death while his mother worked night shifts—as roots of the album's discontent. "East Jesus Nowhere" rebukes fundamentalist religion, written after Armstrong attended a baby's baptism at a church service.

Promotion and release

Green Day started making the record in January 2006, working on it for three years across four studios in California before finishing in April 2009. On February 9, 2009, they revealed the album’s title and that it would be organized into three acts: "Heroes and Cons," "Charlatans and Saints," and "Horseshoes and Handgrenades." A teaser trailer appeared on their website on March 17, and the global release date of May 15 was set on March 25. In early April 2009, the band debuted "Know Your Enemy" on TV, with a snippet used as intro music for the 2009 NCAA men’s basketball championship game. They played the entire album live during a series of California club shows in April 2009, handing out programs with all the lyrics to attendees. The first single, "Know Your Enemy," came out on April 16, 2009, and its music video premiered on the MTV UK website on April 24. The album dropped internationally on May 15, 2009, via Reprise Records. A special vinyl edition, limited to 3,000 copies, included three 10-inch records—one for each act—plus a CD, a 60-page art booklet, and a digital download code. Chris Bilheimer led the cover art, based on a piece by artist Sixten, who said the kissing couple were friends of a friend at a party in Eskilstuna, Sweden; a mutual friend took the photo. The cover drew comparisons to Blur’s 2003 album Think Tank, also a stencil. Green Day displayed related art in a London exhibition called "The Art of Rock" from October 23 to November 1, 2009. The kissing couple later appeared in the music video for "21 Guns."

Reception and legacy

According to aggregating website Metacritic, 21st Century Breakdown received a rating of 70 out of 100 based on 30 critical reviews, indicating generally favorable reception. Dan Silver of The Observer gave four stars out of five, likening it to Bruce Springsteen's music and Chuck Palahniuk's writing. Rolling Stone's David Fricke called it a compound bomb of classic-rock, punk, and pop, comparing it to The Clash's London Calling, The Who's Quadrophenia, and Hüsker Dü's Zen Arcade. Dan Cairns of The Times wrote that its real triumph was aiming high and reaching the summit. Criticism focused on the concept; BBC's Chris Jones said it griped vaguely against authority with too many buzz words. Steve Kandell of Spin missed the humor of American Idiot and found the energy directionless. The Guardian's Alexis Petridis stated the storyline became impossible to follow. Robert Christgau of MSN Music panned the album, disliking the dynamic-heavy songs and calling Armstrong's anthems garbled and simplistic. Adam Downer of Sputnikmusic called it more conceptually vague than American Idiot and an average record. Slant Magazine noted an uncanny familiarity in melodies suggesting older Green Day songs. Kyle Ryan at The A.V. Club gave a B+, saying it went bolder than American Idiot and reinforced that Green Day should never be underestimated.