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I love all your arguments!

I'm expecting them to stay with Butch Walker. For their next album, I'm just gonna expect another FOAM so that if it's better than FOAM, I'll be pleasantly surprised

I still love the Trilogy I don't care what anyone says. Yeah, there are some bad songs on it and Dos is the worst of the three, but overall I still think it's great and I love the sound. Nuclear Family would have been a better pick than Oh Love for a first single. It didn't help that dear Mr. Sam Bayer blew it with the music video. If the reason for the boys moving forward without Rob was because the Trilogy was a chart flop, I do hope they revisit working with him again in the future with a fresh outlook. RevRad was fantastic for a self produced album. My only issue with it is that the mixing is a little strange. The quiet parts are very quiet and the loud parts are very loud. I have to turn it up and down all the time when I listen to it. There are so many unnecessary additions to FOAM when it comes to effects and whatnot that sometimes it almost ruins an otherwise awesome song for me. An example would be Junkies On A High. Good song, but that high pitched chipmunk effect or whatever it is is incredibly intrusive and annoying as hell. Who thought that was a good idea? That was absolutely not needed and doesn't enhance the song in any way. That's really the worst offender for me, but there are a good amount of other songs that I have issues with as well, mainly in regards to filtering.

...maybe?!?!

The biggest reason was the promotion; Billie went to rehab during the same week when Uno! came out. All of those albums came out with no band supporting them, so them flopping was inevitable. Even if GD was out there promoting the albums like crazy workhorses they were in 2012, major criticisms to production and Nightlife would've still happened and there was simply no chance in hell that Trilogy would've been major success. On positive side, Oh Love charted really well and Uno! did pretty good sales because there was an actual band hyping ''ayyy we have three albums coming out!'' in fucking Angry Birds of all the places.

Butch Walker gave us robot beatboxing in a Green Day song, which was something I never knew I never wanted until I heard it. I don't like Nightlife as a song but I totally see what they were going for, Billie being so close to the Mystic Knights of the Cobra crew at that point. But I don't even know what they were aiming for with Oh Yeah! with a lot of the production choices. And it seems so unevenly applied, Fire Ready Aim sounds dry as a bone (probably not helping the car commercial vibe) and I'd argue is underproduced while Oh Yeah!, Junkies On A High, Stab You In The Heart, and even Graffitia all go the other direction. Meet Me On The Roof, Take the Money and Crawl, and Sugar Youth (although someone correct me if I'm wrong, I don't believe Walker produced this track) fall somewhere in the sweet spot but that's like, a third of the record. Needless to say Father of All Motherfuckers is all over the place and I'll be more skeptical if they go back to Walker. My fantasy would be for them to hook up with Nigel Godrich but I don't see that happening any time soon. Lack of an active band to promote it really hurt and I honestly think a trilogy of albums was too much to ask of non-fans. Oh Love being the lead single was also a bad choice IMO.

I guess they're legit instrumentals, since there are no backing vocals, they're in very high quality and I'm hearing all kinds of instruments in different way since Billie's vocals masks some instruments too well; just listen Kill the DJ and Makeout Party for example and skip straight to post-solo where bass sounds insane! Now if only we had multitracks.. damn I'd listen that guitar only tracks for dayssssssss. Oh, Let Yourself Go is certified banger and it's sad that The Boys don't play it anymore :(((

I would love another record from Butch Vig or Rob. Rob has worked with them long enough to know how to bring out their best and Vig also really pushed their sound and songwriting to the next level. I agree Walker is too much of a fanboy and a yes-man. I also do not care for the sound of FOAM. It's way too filtered and dirty. I like a bigger, cleaner sound like the Trilogy, AI, or 21CB.

We also need Chris Lord-Alge to mix this record, Father of all sounded like dog shit in the headphones

They both knocked it out of the park this year with OK Human and Van Weezer. I don’t want another Butch Walker record. If Crush is going to keep things in house, please PLEASE let Jake or Suzy do it.

Speaking of little effects in songs, has anyone else noticed that (VW) Beginning of the End and (FOAM) IWATT both have that same little hook “Do-do-Do-do-do” at the end of the choruses? I wonder which song was written first?

Don't forget lots of clapping. And whistling. Seems to be the in thing at the moment.

To be fair, Jake and the rest of the band made him change 'Grapes Of Wrath' lmao The original bridge (which I dig for how straightforward it is) went like this, as evidenced by Riverchat, Weezerpedia, and Rivers' Zoom Stream before the album dropped: Pornhub helps folks loosen up Medication works for some I'd prefer a Tolstoy read Soon I'll be there smiling Smiling in my dreams Then he replaced it with ""Some folks pop an ambien / Some run laps around the gym". Jake also didn't like his replacement bridge about ambien and gyms either, thus we get one more about how books paint images in your minds, which definitely fits. Excited to see how Jake and the guys pull of SZNS next year

lol Rivers can put any words in his song and it still sound amazing. I don't think the producer have power on that over him.

I don’t know why this goes with out saying but a producer who allows Rivers Cuomo to sneak a lyric about Narnia into a song shouldn’t be producing a Green Day record.

My understanding was that he'd moved to a senior management position but not 100% sure that's why and yeah, RevRad was definitely produced by the band themselves

That too. Oh Love got a lot of airplay on the grounds of being a new Green Day single after their super successful streak, but it was nothing like anything that was currently popular... they were bound to lose their spotlight as they’d release more and more singles in a similar vein. That said, commercial success isn’t what matters and I’ll much rather listen to the trilogy than top 40 pop rock of its era (this was the time when coldplay ft. pop singer became a thing and since then this been how bands stay relevant in the mainstream).

I think popular music was also changing at that time and they weren't following the trend. Power pop wasn't successful even in it's heyday. Billie once called power pop the best music that no one listens to. He's right, but that explains a lot.

Simple answer is that Trilogy flopped, Billie went to rehab and tour got cut short. For more complex and detailed answers you'd need someone else to answer to this, but my assumption is that Rob was the one who was responsible for the sound of the album, which was the biggest criticism Trilogy got. Reading Billie's more recent interviews, he's not happy about the production either so it would make sense that The Boys didn't want Rob Cavallo to produce any more Green Day albums going forward. However, since there is no known drama between them after Trilogy came out, it might be just as simple as Rob being too busy and Green Day wanting to do something new with different producers. Regarding what's he up these days, he's still producing albums as far as I know.

I could make time in my schedule, maybe give them a Spring 2022 release. I'm a man of the people and know what Green Day fans want. FOAM and Trilogy sounds, but pushed waaaaaaay further. More vocal effects and Butch Walker allowed to change anything he wants. Millenium whoa-oh-ohs. And a worse version of Here Comes the Shock.

I would say not trying as hard is understandable if Billie thinks he’d be pushing himself artistically at the expense of his health, but that’s not mutually exclusive with maintaining some quality control. I think Butch Walker did a good job with FOAM sonically, even though it’s somewhat too bubble gummy at times, but there are some songs that just didn’t need to be released at all.

If they work with Butch Walker again he will have them singing sea shanties for the sake of sounding relevant.

mmmmm..... Maybe. She knocked in out of the park with Weezer. She even did some vocals, guitar and synth with them on Van Weezer and really did a great job with the sound. But I feel like she's always working on the lighter, fluffier side of things. Can she get down and dirty with Green Day? Rick Rubin and Tom Lord-Alge.

Even if it didn’t click for you musically, it’s BEAUTIFULLY produced.

On that note, I think Butch W is too much of a fanboy who loves everything they do and may not be brutally honest with them. Rob and to a greater extent Butch Vig really pushed them (in addition to Billie pushing himself which for reasons I don’t think he’s done as much more recently)

One name. Rick Rubin.

Idk another Butch Walker record would be cool too but I'm down for other suitable producers too, which is definitely likelier as all three are pretty much a part of Crush's house talent.

I agree both albums are awesome but a lot of that is down to the band too. They’ve got a killer songwriting game going right now.

Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong discusses his hits and misses in new podcast series https://www.nme.com/news/music/green-day-billie-joe-armstrong-discusses-hits-misses-new-podcast-series-2926691

As someone who has pretty serious anxiety and depression issues, I can totally relate to Billie in this interview. The part where he talks about setting ridiculously high standards for himself and working himself into a mental breakdown really hit home. "It was like there was a gun to my head but I was the one holding the gun." Yes, that's a perfect metaphor... I've done that to myself too. I've worked myself so hard that self care went out the window and my health spiralled downhill until I hit a breaking point. I don't know about Billie, but for me (and a lot of other anxiety sufferers I've talked to) it's kinda a vicious cycle. The obsession with work is a way to distract yourself from your mental health problems. When I was working hard and setting higher and higher goals, I didn't have time to sit and ruminate and think about how low I felt. It was a way of avoiding confronting my issues. The problem is that the heavy workload causes stress which feeds the depression and anxiety. Your mind can only cope with so much before it collapses. Billie talks about that feeling a bit: "my panic attacks were going up and up and up" and then resorting to abusing downers to bring himself down from the panic. I don't know. It was an excellent interview and after listening to it, I feel like I can understand Billie very well, on a personal level now.

I came across this interview today, Billie briefly talks about the process of making 21CB, how they push themselves to the absolute limit and it drove him crazy. I remember watching this before but now after hearing Billie’s thoughts 11 years later, it all felt more meaningful.

Totally! He summed up the appeal of those songs perfectly, earnestly expressed feelings of love and friendship and nothing mean spirited. Edit: Wow interesting version of Good Riddance! Never heard it so upbeat Another edit: Really enjoyed that. Just cool to hear him talk candidly for a good hour and the songs were great

True, that was another one that was talked about more in Broadway Idiot, the personal connections he made with the cast and crew, but he did talk a bit here about feeling he did a good job connecting with the audience through a character he created and in a sense became.

Wow, I finally listened to it and holy hell was that good! Billie is such an amazing storyteller and has an incredible memory for details. He does a wonderful job of showing who he is as a person, whether that was intentional or not, because he speaks from his heart. There were so many things I wanted to know more about, though. He'd say something and then it would cut and move on and I'd just feel like shouting "Wait, Billie! I tell me more about that!" An hour and a half isn't nearly enough. I could listen to him tell stories about his life for hours. Myself and a couple of friends are going to my family's cabin east of the mountains and it's a 4 hours drive, so I reeeeeaaally want to play this for them. I feel like it would help them understand why I love Billie and Green Day so much and how amazing and sweet of a person he is. Instead of me trying to explain to them myself, hearing straight from Billie will give them a way better idea of who he is and why he's important to me. I just hope they will let me play it without begrudging me. I'm worried they might think it's boring because they don't really know anything about him (other than what I've told them) and aren't interested in learning. I'm hoping Billie's storytelling will be intriguing enough to draw them in, though.

There was a common theme through his whole story of seeking to connect with other people. In past interviews he’s talked more about feeling lost but I really think it’s more about this connection he’s looking for. From that initial trauma of being forcibly separated from a parent and the panic disorder that ensued, to then wanting to connect over and over to his musical idols, girlfriends, punk scene friends, Mike and Tre, fans, etc. etc., (explaining the repeat trauma of being cut off by those same punk scene friends) everything he is is about connecting with others on a genuine meaningful level and that is so human and endearing. It’s what makes his songs so impactful because you feel that connection through his songs, like he’s reaching out to you to both express himself and hoping that you relate back.

I wonder if this is the first show he was talking about...

I want to hear more about Eggplant's backyard party

I’m also thinking about the part where billie says he doesn’t think he’s stupid but he was failing in school and then he also mentions that at that time he was dealing with mental health issues that he didn’t even mention to anyone, because apparently that’s how you’d handle this stuff in the 80’s. I don’t know, whenever I hear a story like this, it makes me wonder how many neurodivergent people fell through before they could contribute to society and I get mad at people talking about how overly sensitive the young generation is, how kids with ADHD just need stricter discipline or how “no one had depression back in our day, I don’t know what’s wrong with your generation”.

I like that in the Billboard article he said that Stop, Drop, and Roll was really the follow up to AI. That album is incredible especially since they basically wrote it in one night. I wonder what Green Day's legacy might be if they put some of their side projects under their name. Probably more respected.

Just finished listening to this and it is fantastic! It was such a nice, intimate interview. There's a good mix of history that we already know along with some new insights into what he was feeling when Dookie made it big or when they starting working on AI. The two things I really thought were interesting were is feelings towards 21CB and him reflecting on the Iheart incident. There was something really humbling to hear him talk about it and realize it was fucked up but then walk away from it saying he wasn't embarrassed by it. This is definitely better than any of the interviews we got during the FOAM era. I would LOVE to have a whole series with him like this. I could listen to him talk all day. And acoustic arrangements....beautiful. Absolutely stunning. It was so cool to hear songs like KYE and AI in an acoustic setting. Never thought I'd say this, but now I really want an all acoustic GD album Thank @Beyza for uploading this!! I'm so happy I was able to listen to it

I'm really digging these arrangements. The versions are so good it's almost a shame they aren't officially released somewhere where they could get some sales and streams. I can't believe he managed to make Good Riddance even catchier. It's like he doubled down on some of these.

Another article on it that also mentions Hella Mega. https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/9560649/green-day-billie-joe-armstrong-audible-original-interview

I love this, the songs are so great, so different. I guess I am among many who have heard GR so often but this full band, slight faster version made it quite different. Need to listen again! I thought he was so honest and open, especially about Iheart and I now think I understand his recent attitude towards to, he has to embrace it regardless as without that collapse, he would have died! 😭

I agree, it's much sadder, but I also think this calmer, acoustic version fits the song the best. It's more... vulnerable? Like it's not hiding behind the big full band sound that makes the album version seem more upbeat. I like all the acoustic arrangements. I was listening to it on shitty old speakers, so maybe I'm wrong, but did I hear some accordion on Know Your Enemy? I love the folk punk twist to this song. And American Idiot has cool guitars, it's sort of country-ish.

Don't know if anyone shared this but quite a good interview to compliment the release.. https://www.vulture.com/article/interview-billie-joe-armstrong-green-day-history.html

OMG that was such a good listen - like @pacejunkie punk said, where to begin! His lovely voice and laughing, speaking about his dad, Mike, Tre and Adrienne, the songs! It was nice the way he spoke about John and his importance, Woodstock, AI and iheart, how he's "a pretty sensitive guy", just loved it.

I don’t know where to begin with this but let’s start with the music. All new acoustic arrangements of these songs! They sound like a full band but the credits at the end are only Billie did he do all of this himself? These are incredible! The full band version of Good Riddance I could actually imagine on Dookie. Basket Case has slightly different (original?) lyrics. Graffitia was so good acoustic I think it would make a great encore to the set on tour. I didn’t think they’d play it but maybe this version might convince them. Some of these sound so different they’re almost like covers by another band. If you had told me this was a cover band doing Green Day I’d believe you the vocals sound very different almost not like him. Really polished sounding though I want these released on Spotify as an album. My only regret is not a single Trilogy song again 😭 He talked about what a hard time he has listening to 21CB because it was such a stressful time but still played KYE. Just one Trilogy song? Damn. They skipped over Warning too but that feels like less of an oversight because the album is already acoustic. This could easily have been three hours there was so much more he could have talked about but if that sounds like a complaint it’s only because the time flew and it was so damn good. ❤️❤️❤️

Graffitia acoustic is amazing. This song is soooooo good!!!

Playlist with the 8 songs

Hey everyone, it took very long but finally uploaded to audio file to youtube just to make it accesible for more people (hopefully if it will stay for an enough time) Btw, it’s also really easy to access freely from Audible, if you are from outside the us or whatever. I can also tell that if you’re interested.