21st Century Breakdown: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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* [[power pop]]

* [[alternative rock]]

| length = 69:1317

| label = [[Reprise Records|Reprise]]

| producer =

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21st Century Breakdown is a [[concept album]]/[[rock opera]] much like their previous album ''[[American Idiot]]'' (2004). According to the band, the album is a rumination of "the era in which we live as we question and try to make sense of the selfish manipulation going on around us".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/caught-in-the-net--gremlins-beset-russian-fairy-1685001.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090526061831/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/caught-in-the-net--gremlins-beset-russian-fairy-1685001.html |archive-date=2009-05-26 |url-access=limited |url-status=live |title=Caught in the Net: Gremlins Beset Russian Fairy |first=Jack |last=Riley |work=[[The Independent]] |date=May 15, 2009 |access-date=July 12, 2010 | location=London}}</ref> The singles "[[Know Your Enemy (Green Day song)|Know Your Enemy]]" and "[[21 Guns (song)|21 Guns]]" exemplify the themes of alienation and politically motivated anger present in the record.

To handle the record, they turned to [[Record producer|producer]] [[Butch Vig]], best known for producing [[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]]'s ''[[Nevermind]]'' (1991). Critical response to ''21st Century Breakdown'' was generally positive. The record achieved Green Day's best chart performance to date, reaching number one on the album charts of various countries, including the United States [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]], the [[European Top 100 Albums]], and the [[UK Albums Chart|United Kingdom Albums Chart]]. The album won the [[Grammy Award for Best Rock Album]] at the [[52nd Grammy Awards]] on January 31, 2010. As of December 2010, ''21st Century Breakdown'' has sold 101,~~005~~050,000 copies in the United States<ref>{{cite news |url=http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/chart_watch/71727/week-ending-dec-19-2010-michael-wouldnt-have-liked-this/;_ylt=Aj.H3JkWiMnvsI1nfdVCl7wPwiUv?page=2#comments |title=Week Ending Dec. 19, 2010: Michael Wouldn't Have Liked This |first=Paul |last=Grein |work=[[Yahoo! Music]] |date=December 22, 2010 |access-date=February 3, 2011 |archive-date=December 31, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101231001357/http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/chart_watch/71727/week-ending-dec-19-2010-michael-wouldnt-have-liked-this/#comments |url-status=dead }}</ref> and more than 94 million worldwide.

==Writing and recording==

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The title track's opening lyric "Born into Nixon, I was raised in hell" references Armstrong's birth year of 1972, while "We are the class of '13" references the fact that his eldest son, Joseph, would graduate from high school in 2013.<ref name="Fricke, 50"/> Dirnt has expressed his belief that "Last of the American Girls" was written about Armstrong's wife Adrienne, who he claimed is steadfast in her beliefs and assertively defends them, as is the topic of the girl in the record.<ref name="Fricke, 50"/> Armstrong has cited his "disconnected" childhood—he was raised by his five older siblings after their father's death, while their mother worked graveyard shifts as a waitress—as the roots of the discontent expressed on ''21st Century Breakdown''.<ref name="Fricke, 50"/> "[[East Jesus Nowhere]]" rebukes [[fundamentalism|fundamentalist]] religion and was written after Armstrong attended a church service where a friend's baby was baptized.<ref name="Fricke, 50"/>

Musically, ''21st Century Breakdown'' is similar to the [[punk rock]] style of ''American Idiot'',<ref name="rollingstone2">{{cite magazine|last=Sheffield |first=Rob |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/21st-century-breakdown-20090427 |title=21st Century Breakdown : Green Day : Review |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |date=April 27, 2009 |access-date=February 26, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Gundersen |first=Edna |title=It's a new, motivated Green Day for the ''21st Century'' |url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/music/reviews/2009-05-10-green-day_N.htm |work=[[USA Today]] |date=May 14, 2009 |access-date=May 25, 2009}}</ref> but many critics have claimed that Green Day's traditional sound has evolved in the five years, with ''21st Century Breakdown'' incorporating new influences such as heavier, louder [[pop rock]] and [[arena rock]] on an epic scale.<ref name="fallon">{{cite web |last=Fallon |first=Chris |title=Green Day – 21st Century Breakdown – Album Review |url=http://www.absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?t=1058322 |website=[[AbsolutePunk]] |date=May 14, 2009 |access-date=May 25, 2009| archive-url= https://archive.today/20090521121539/http://www.absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?t=1058322| archive-date= May 21, 2009 | url-status= live}}</ref><ref name="guardian">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/may/08/green-day-21st-century-breakdown |title=Green Day: 21st Century Breakdown |last=Petridis |first=Alexis |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=May 8, 2009 |access-date=May 14, 2009 | location=London| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090511100953/http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/may/08/green-day-21st-century-breakdown| archive-date= May 11, 2009 | url-status= live}}</ref> Rob Sheffield of ''Rolling Stone'' indicated that the album provides ballads that are Green Day's most polished; he claimed that the band "combine punk-thrash with their newfound love of [[Classic rock|classic-rock]] grandiosity".<ref name="rollingstone2"/> [[MTV]] compared the material to that of classic rockers like [[The Who]],<ref>{{cite web|last=Montgomery |first=James |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1604950/20090212/green_day.jhtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090214154658/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1604950/20090212/green_day.jhtml |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 14, 2009 |title=We Preview Green Day's 21st Century Breakdown – News Story |publisher=MTV |date=February 12, 2009 |access-date=May 7, 2009}}</ref> while ''[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]'' called the title track "Green Day's most epic song yet".<ref>{{cite web|last=Goodman |first=William |url=https://www.spin.com/2009/02/first-listen-green-days-21st-century-breakdown/ |title=First Listen: Green Day's "21st Century Breakdown" |work=Spin|date=February 13, 2009 |access-date=May 7, 2009}}</ref> Cool has remarked: "It's important to us that we're still looked at as a punk band. It was our religion, our higher education". However, he also noted that Armstrong had delved into the past in writing ''21st Century Breakdown'', gleaning inspiration from the artists who shaped rock music.<ref name="Fricke, 50"/> Armstrong himself has stated: "Ground zero for me is still punk rock. I like painting an ugly picture. I get something uplifting out of singing some of the most horrifying shit you can sing about. It's just my DNA."<ref name="Fricke, 50"/>

With a running time of almost 70 minutes, ''21st Century Breakdown'' is Green Day's longest album to date.

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''21st Century Breakdown'' was released internationally on May 15, 2009, through Reprise Records.<ref>{{cite web |title=Green Day Announce New Album Title |publisher=Rocklouder |date=February 9, 2009 |url=http://www.rocklouder.co.uk/articles/6977/Green-Day-Announce-New-Album-Title.html |access-date=February 9, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090212130436/http://rocklouder.co.uk/articles/6977/Green-Day-Announce-New-Album-Title.html |archive-date=February 12, 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The special edition [[Grammophone record|vinyl]] version was limited to 3,000 copies and consisted of three 10" records, one for each of the album's "acts", a CD copy of the album, a 60-page art booklet, and a code for the [[Music download|digital download]] of the full album.<ref>{{cite web|title=Limited Special Edition of 21st Century Breakdown |url=http://www.greendaymusic.com/shop/index_03.jpg |publisher=GreenDayMusic.com |access-date=May 26, 2009}}{{dead link|date=June 2018|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=College News and Green Day Giveaway |url=http://www.collegenews.com/index.php?/article/college_news_and_green_day_giveaway_0501200929345825/ |publisher=College News |access-date=May 26, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090507153550/http://www.collegenews.com/index.php?%2Farticle%2Fcollege_news_and_green_day_giveaway_0501200929345825%2F |archive-date=2009-05-07 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The album artwork process was led by Chris Bilheimer and is based on a work from artist Sixten, who confirmed that the couple on the cover were "just friends of a friend at a party in [[Eskilstuna]], Sweden" and explained that a mutual friend snapped a picture of the pair kissing.<ref name="SIX">{{cite news |title=Green Day artist reveals story behind new album cover |url=https://www.nme.com/news/green-day/42691 |work=[[NME]] |date=February 11, 2009 |access-date=May 28, 2009}}</ref> He added: "I love their passion, and just had to make a [[stencil graffiti|stencil]] out of it to spread the love."<ref name="SIX"/> The cover art was noted for a marked similarity with that of [[Blur (band)|Blur]]'s 2003 album ''[[Think Tank (Blur album)|Think Tank]]'', itself a stencil by artist [[Banksy]], except that one had the couple wearing diving helmets.<ref>{{cite web|last=Lewis |first=Luke |title=Green Day Artwork – Have They Stolen From Blur? |url=https://www.nme.com/blog/index.php?blog=123&title=green_day_artwork_have_they_stolen_from_&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1 |date=February 10, 2009 |work=[[NME]] |access-date=June 20, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090217163416/http://www.nme.com/blog/index.php?blog=123&title=green_day_artwork_have_they_stolen_from_&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1 |archive-date=February 17, 2009 }}</ref> Green Day showcased a collection of similarly themed art, called "The Art of Rock", at an art exhibition in London between October 23 and November 1, 2009.<ref>{{cite news|last=Cochrane |first=Greg |title=Green Day stage 'art' exhibition |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/hi/music/newsid_10000000/newsid_10002400/10002405.stm |work=BBC News |date=October 15, 2009 |access-date=October 18, 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20091018200724/http://news.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/hi/music/newsid_10000000/newsid_10002400/10002405.stm| archive-date= 18 October 2009 | url-status= live}}</ref> The "kissing couple" on the cover later was re-created in the music video for "21 Guns".

The record debuted at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200 in the U.S., where it sold 215,000 copies in its first week, which was a shortened three days. In its second week, 21st Century Breakdown moved an additional 166,000 copies, sliding to number 2. In its third week, it sold 76,000 copies. 21st Century Breakdown slid down to number five in its fourth week but achieved the coveted Gold status for sales of 500,000 copies in the same week. chart.<ref name="Green Day rule">{{cite news|last=Caulfield |first=Keith |title=Green Day rule U.S. and international pop charts |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSTRE54K05M20090521 |work=Reuters |date=May 20, 2009 |access-date=May 28, 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090527013900/https://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSTRE54K05M20090521| archive-date= May 27, 2009 | url-status= live}}</ref> The album remained at number one on the [[Hard Rock Albums|''Billboard'' Top Rock Albums]] chart for three weeks.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/2009-06-13/rock-albums |title=Top Rock Albums – 21st Century Breakdown |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |access-date=June 8, 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090616124246/http://www.billboard.com/charts/2009-06-13/rock-albums| archive-date= June 16, 2009 | url-status= live}}</ref> In the United Kingdom, the album debuted at #1, selling 79,770 copies in its first week and it has sold over 600,000 copies to date.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.buzzjack.com/forums/lofiversion/index.php/t194589.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161018230907/http://www.buzzjack.com/forums/lofiversion/index.php/t194589.html|date=October 13, 2016|first=Alan|last=Jones|title=Commentary on Singles|archive-date=October 18, 2016|website=buzzjack.com}}</ref> In Canada, the album debuted at #1 on the [[Canadian Albums Chart]], selling 30,000 copies in its first week.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Artists/G/Green_Day/2009/05/20/9512651-jam.html|title=Green Day hits No. 1 on charts|publisher=[[Jam!]]|first=John|last=Williams|date=May 20, 2009|access-date=April 4, 2011|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120711002659/http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Artists/G/Green_Day/2009/05/20/9512651-jam.html|archive-date=July 11, 2012|url-status=~~usurped~~dead}}</ref> The album debuted at the top of sales charts in twenty four total countries,<ref name="Green Day rule"/> including a peak of number one on the European Top 100 Albums.<ref name="billboardbiz">{{cite magazine|last=Sexton |first=Paul |title=Green Day Rises To European Chart Summit |url=http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/content_display/industry/e3i0cc7a863b3935049b0f50c16785c2126 |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |date=May 28, 2009 |access-date=June 2, 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090616122110/http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/content_display/industry/e3i0cc7a863b3935049b0f50c16785c2126| archive-date= June 16, 2009 | url-status= live}}</ref> ''21st Century Breakdown'' was only released in a [[Parental Advisory]] version containing explicit lyrics and content; [[Walmart]] refuses to sell albums with a Parental Advisory sticker and requested that Green Day release a censored edition. The band members responded by stating: "There's nothing dirty about our record... They want artists to censor their records in order to be carried in there. We just said no. We've never done it before. You feel like you're in 1953 or something."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2009/05/21/2846595-green-day-lashes-out-at-wal-mart-policy |title=Green Day lashes out at Wal-Mart policy |date=May 21, 2009 |access-date=May 21, 2009 |website=Newsvine| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090525094507/http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2009/05/21/2846595-green-day-lashes-out-at-wal-mart-policy| archive-date= May 25, 2009 | url-status= live}}</ref> The second single, "[[21 Guns (song)|21 Guns]]", was released to radio stations on May 25.<ref>{{cite web|title=Modern Rock singles listing |url=http://www.fmqb.com/article.asp?id=16770 |website=[[FMQB]] |access-date=May 22, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120620161540/http://www.fmqb.com/Article.asp?id=16770 |archive-date=June 20, 2012 }}</ref> The band embarked on a world tour in July 2009; the North American leg lasted through September and the European leg ended in November.<ref name="livedaily"/> "[[East Jesus Nowhere]]" was released as the album's third single on October 19, 2009.<ref>{{cite web|last=Murray |first=Robin |title=Green Day Single News |work=Clashmusic.com |publisher=[[Clash (magazine)|Clash]] |date=September 25, 2009 |url=http://www.clashmusic.com/news/green-day-single-news |access-date=October 2, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Green Day Single News: ''East Jesus Nowhere'' Due |date=September 25, 2009 |work=GreenDay.com |url=http://greenday.com/site/news.php |access-date=October 1, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091210113019/http://www.greenday.com/site/news.php |archive-date=December 10, 2009 }}</ref>

==Critical reception==

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| rev4Score = {{rating|4|5}}<ref name="guardian"/>

| rev5 = ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''

| rev5Score = {{rating|3.5|4}}<ref>{{cite news |last=Powers |first=Ann |author-link=Ann Powers |title=Giving rock's past a kick in the pants |url=https://~~articles~~www.latimes.com/~~2009~~archives/la-xpm-2009-may/-15~~/entertainment/~~-et-greenday15-story.html |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=May 15, 2009 |access-date=December 13, 2009}}</ref>

| rev6 = ''[[MSN Music]]'' ([[Robert Christgau#Consumer Guide|Consumer Guide]])

| rev6Score = C<ref name=xgau>{{cite web |last=Christgau |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Christgau |title=Consumer Guide |url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/cg2009-07.php |work=[[MSN Music]] |date=July 2009 |access-date=December 13, 2009}}</ref>

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| rev10Score = {{Rating|3|5}}<ref name="spin"/>

}}

Reception to ''21st Century Breakdown'' has been generally favorable, according to aggregating website [[Metacritic]], which reported a rating of 70/100 based on 30 critical reviews.<ref name="Metacritic">{{cite web|title=Reviews for 21st Century Breakdown by Green Day |url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/21st-century-breakdown/green-day |website=[[Metacritic]] |access-date=July 30, 2009}}</ref> Dan Silver of ''[[The Observer]]'' awarded the record four stars out of five and likened it to both [[Bruce Springsteen]]'s music and the [[avant-garde]] writing of [[Chuck Palahniuk]].<ref name="observer">{{cite news|last=Silver |first=Dan |title=Rock review: Green Day, 21st Century Breakdown |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/apr/19/green-day-21st-century-breakdown |work=[[The Observer]] |date=April 19, 2009 |access-date=May 27, 2009 | location=London| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090422053506/http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/apr/19/green-day-21st-century-breakdown| archive-date= April 22, 2009 | url-status= live}}</ref> ''Rolling Stone''{{'}}s [[David Fricke]] called ''21st Century Breakdown'' "a compound bomb of classic-rock ecstasy, no-mercy punk assault and pop-song wiles; it's like [[The Clash]]'s ''[[London Calling]]'', The Who's ''[[Quadrophenia]]'' and [[Hüsker Dü]]'s ''[[Zen Arcade]]'' all compressed into 18 songs".<ref name="Fricke, 48"/> Dan Cairns of ''[[The Times]]'' concluded: "Lyrically, it may succeed in capturing the contradictions, vulnerabilities and longing for harmony that thrum through Armstrong, Dirnt and Cool, their country, and humanity as a whole. But its real triumph, in an age of trimming, of market testing, of self-censorship and lowest common denominators, is not simply to aim insanely high, but to make it to the summit."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article6154388.ece |title=Green Day return bigger and better – Times Online |work=[[The Times]] |date=April 26, 2009 |access-date=May 7, 2009 | location=London | first=Dan | last=Cairns}}{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

Criticism centered on the concept of the record; [[BBC]]'s Chris Jones said that it is "griping vaguely against 'authority{{'"}} and that "too many buzz words obscure incisive meaning".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/b6w6 |title=You may not get any deep insights, but you are getting some great tunes |last=Jones |first=Chris |date=May 8, 2009 |publisher=BBC |access-date=May 13, 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090515022117/http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/b6w6| archive-date= May 15, 2009 | url-status= live}}</ref> Steve Kandell of ''[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]'' wrote that the humor of ''American Idiot'' was "sorely missed" and that the energy of the album seemed "directionless".<ref name="spin">{{cite web|url=http://www.spin.com/reviews/green-day-21st-century-breakdown-reprise |title=Green Day, '21st Century Breakdown' (Reprise) |last=Kandell |first=Steve |date=April 30, 2009 |work=Spin |access-date=May 17, 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090503154459/http://www.spin.com/reviews/green-day-21st-century-breakdown-reprise| archive-date= May 3, 2009 | url-status=dead}}</ref> ''[[The Guardian]]''{{'}}s [[Alexis Petridis]] indicated that "the storyline becomes impossible to follow".<ref name="guardian"/> [[Robert Christgau]] of ''[[MSN Music]]'' panned the album, reserving particular distaste for the multiple songs that heavily utilize [[Dynamics (music)|dynamics]], before concluding, "I don't like right-wing Christianists either. But as every oppressed teen in the right-wing orbit knows full well, they're not as garbled and simplistic as Armstrong's anthems insist."<ref name=xgau/> Adam Downer of ''Sputnikmusic'' was even less receptive, calling the album "more conceptually vague/ridiculous than ''American Idiot''", and going on to say that it "spirals out of control in its own heroic glory and never regains focus, thus ending with a product that Green Day couldn't afford to produce: an average record".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sputnikmusic.com/album.php?reviewid=30509 |title=Green Day 21st Century Breakdown |last=Downer |first=Adam |website=Sputnikmusic |date=May 11, 2009 |access-date=May 13, 2009| archive-url= https://archive.today/20090519193034/http://sputnikmusic.com/album.php?reviewid=30509| archive-date= May 19, 2009 | url-status= live}}</ref> ''[[Slant Magazine]]'' claims that "...an uncanny sense of familiarity hangs over too much of the album. The melodies of several tracks suggest ghosts of older Green Day songs."<ref name="Slant">{{cite web|last=Robbins |first=Charles |title=Green Day: 21st Century Breakdown |url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/review/green-day-21st-century-breakdown |work=Slant |date=May 15, 2009 |access-date=December 13, 2009}}</ref> Kyle Ryan at ''[[The A.V. Club]]'' gave the album a B+, noting it as "going [even] bolder" than ''American Idiot''. Ryan also declared "''21st Century Breakdown'' reinforces what ''American Idiot'' first revealed: Green Day should never be underestimated."<ref name="club"/>

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| [[MTV World Stage VMAJ 2010|MTV Video Music Awards Japan]]

| Album of the Year

~~| {{won}}~~

| rowspan="2"| [[List of NME Award winners|NME Awards]]

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| note19 = Live in St. Petersburg, FL at Jannus Landing on March 11, 1994

| length19 = 2:21

| total_length = 71:34

}}

{{tracklist

Line 239:

| writer20 = [[Mike Ness]]

| length20 = 2:46

| total_length = 79:18

}}

{{tracklist

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| writer22 = Bob Dylan

| length22 = 6:10

| total_length = 87:29

}}

{{tracklist

| headline = Japanese edition bonus ~~tracks~~track

| title19 = Lights Out

| length19 = 2:16

| total_length = 71:25

}}

{{tracklist

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| note20 = live

| length20 = 4:30

| total_length = 77:90

}}

{{tracklist

| headline = Target version bonus CD (''Live in Japan'')

| total_length = 29:08

| title1 = [[American Idiot (song)|American Idiot]]

| note1 = live

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| note6 = live

| length6 = 4:41

}}

{{tracklist

| headline = Japanese bonus DVD

| title1 = Know Your Enemy

| note1 = live at Abbey Road

| title2 = East Jesus Nowhere

| note2 = live at Abbey Road

| title3 = St. Jimmy

| note3 = live at Abbey Road

| title4 = 21 Guns

| note4 = live at Abbey Road

| title5 = American Idiot

| note5 = live at Abbey Road

| title6 = Know Your Enemy

| note6 = music video

| title7 = 21 Guns

| note7 = music video

| title8 = 21st Century Breakdown

| note8 = music video

}}