It is still difficult to believe that Green Day has gone from being a Dookie-joke making ’90s pop-punk outfit to one of the most popular rock bands in the world.

It’s amazing what landing a schmaltzy acoustic ballad on Seinfeld can do for a punk’s career.

Green Day’s new concept album, 21^st Century Breakdown, is a melodramatic blast of political-pop that comes up sounding more like Disney pop than Clash-y revolutionary rock.

Aside from the obvious pitfalls of concept albums in general, there’s something disingenuous about hearing middle-aged millionaires peddling teen angst. The Who famously hoped they’d die before they got old. Clearly, Green Day has no such foresight.

The rest of the album review depends largely on which version of the album you actually own. The group has released the disc at several price points, ranging from digital download to deluxe edition with hardback book and bonus material.

While it’s easy to understand that bands need to come up with new and inventive ways to lure fans into buying discs rather than pirating them online, there begins to be something disconcerting about an ostensibly politically-charged, proletariat-touting punk trio dividing its audience based on economics.

Following lead characters Christian and Gloria, 21^st Century Breakdown Continue reading »