Father of all Motherfuckers - What are your thoughts on the new album?

[MillenniumFan]

Just thought of something. The fact that this album is so varied in terms of the sound, means that the "harder" songs like "Sugar Youth" or "Stab You in the Heart" actually hit a lot harder once you get around to them. That's probably why, paradoxically enough, it's better to listen to the full album, rather than just the to the songs separately.

[HAPPY ZOMBIE UNICORN]

User ratings are open on Metacritic, just saying 😗

https://www.metacritic.com/music/father-of-all/green-day

[UNICORN VOMIT]

30 minutes ago, MillenniumFan said:

Just thought of something. The fact that this album is so varied in terms of the sound, means that the "harder" songs like "Sugar Youth" or "Stab You in the Heart" actually hit a lot harder once you get around to them. That's probably why, paradoxically enough, it's better to listen to the full album, rather than just the to the songs separately.

Definitely.  I wasnt even going to give Stab you in the Heart a go.  Shame on me.

[Albelint]

I still don't have the album but the videos they put out on their youtube sounds amazing.

Paradoxically for me the songs that sounds "worse" or should i say not as good are the two singles Father of All and Fire, Ready, Aim.

I like how crisp and clear the instruments and Billie voice is in the rest of the album.

It's somewhat surprisingly energetic. 

 

 

Edited February 7, 2020 by Albelint

[SumDay]

to me – this is their best record. 
I was kinda getting out of touch with GD. My taste & understanding of music changed a lot since RevRad & I was constantly less and less listening to their songs; even their big songs didn‘t get me like they used to. I was accepting this sad fact, but kinda promissed myself I‘d never truly abandon them as they’re my first big love & introduction to music. But they truly changed their whole game with this new record; embracing Billie‘s talent of writing rock‘n‘roll songs & all of them dominating their Instruments. 

[Thatsername]

Won't we have individual topics to discuss each song of the record this time like we had it for RevRad @BeachBum? I really liked that back then.

[Platypus2000]

4 minutes ago, SumDay said:

to me – this is their best record. 

Give me some of that crack you’re on 

[Platypus2000]

Despite my dislike it for it. I REALLY want it to grow on me. Maybe it’ll be another Warning situation where it took about 6-7 years to finally come round to it. But Warning and this will still definitely be bottom of the pile. 

[Albelint]

This is more GD than what we initially thought. It's not exactly a punk rock record but in the past they've made garage rock and power pop.

Sugar Youth and Stab You In The Heart are better version of Christian's Inferno and Fuck Time.

I also want to point out how great some of the bass lines are in this album, Mike nailed it.

Edited February 7, 2020 by Albelint

[Guest]

1 minute ago, Albelint said:

This is more GD than what we initially thought.

YES 🤘

[mrpink1507]

So..I fucking love it.

 

Except, I can't help but be bothered by Stab You In the Heart, because it's clearly Hippy Hippy Shake. Like, if GD didn't pay to cover it, there's an almost guaranteed lawsuit coming.

Here's a link to the Beatles covering Hippy Hippy Shake if you don't know it.

 

Other than the fact I can't shake that, I really love it.

[Joe.]

First impressions: why the fuck did they release the three worst songs as the singles?

The albums good. There’s some good songs on it, Grafitia is enjoyable and for me the best song on the album, Meet Me on the Roof is catchy, Junkies on a High is alright and there’s other good choruses throughout.

Stab You in the Heart and I was a Teenage Teenager just feel a bit odd though, I feel the lyrics could be a lot stronger than just “I WANNA STAB YOU IN THE HEART!!!!!!!1!1!1!1!!1!” Or “full of piss and vinegar”. Take the Money and Crawl is a riff I’ve heard so many times, but has a good chorus.

Overall it’s a good album, they’ve tried something different and it could’ve been a lot worse. There’s some good moments, there’s some not so good moments, but it’s solid. I do think it lacks a bit of substance, a little bit more subtlety in the lyrics, but it’s still an enjoyable record.

(Disclaimer: this is based on my first listen, views are subject to change, please do not crucify me for having criticisms)

[mrpink1507]

7 minutes ago, Joe. said:

a little bit more subtlety in the lyrics

To be fair, I don't think Billie was aiming for subtlety here. 

[Joe.]

1 minute ago, mrpink1507 said:

To be fair, I don't think Billie was aiming for subtlety here. 

Probably should’ve, just sounds really lazy. It doesn’t have an impact on me. If there were some really nice sophisticated lyrics on the rest of the song, or even the album, it works. If the lyrics are consistently lacking then it’s no longer a choice.

[mrpink1507]

1 minute ago, Joe. said:

Probably should’ve, just sounds really lazy. It doesn’t have an impact on me. If there were some really nice sophisticated lyrics on the rest of the song, or even the album, it works. If the lyrics are consistently lacking then it’s no longer a choice.

I don't think that's true at all here. If you want to throw that at say, Know Your Enemy, then sure. "Lazy" seems harsh, especially since I think there's a lot going on with this new album. 

[Thatsername]

18 minutes ago, mrpink1507 said:

Except, I can't help but be bothered by Stab You In the Heart, because it's clearly Hippy Hippy Shake. Like, if GD didn't pay to cover it, there's an almost guaranteed lawsuit coming.

Here's a link to the Beatles covering Hippy Hippy Shake if you don't know it.

 

Yeah definitely. It sounds so much like Hippy Hippy Shake that I'm wondering why they didn't give credit. It really bothers me because it just sounds like a cheap copy of the original song, there's nothing unique about it.

[mrpink1507]

Just now, Thatsername said:

Yeah definitely. It sounds so much like Hippy Hippy Shake that I'm wondering why they didn't give credit. It really bothers me because it just sounds like a cheap copy of the original song, there's nothing unique about it.

I would definitely argue that they put a Green Day spin and energy on it, but yeah, if there's not a credit in the liner notes (don't know yet, my copy is still in the mail), that's going to be a thing.

[Thatsername]

Just now, mrpink1507 said:

I would definitely argue that they put a Green Day spin and energy on it, but yeah, if there's not a credit in the liner notes (don't know yet, my copy is still in the mail), that's going to be a thing.

There's none, at least not in the CD booklet. They only give credit to JJ for Oh Yeah.

[michael1989]

Just finished my first listen. Will definitely take a few more listens to formulate a proper opinion. 

Best two right now are Meet Me On The Roof and Stab You In The Heart. Either of them would have been good choices for second single. It's a real shame to think GD are out performing Oh Yeah to promote the album when they could have picked almost anything else from the album and they would have been better choices.

[Joe.]

5 minutes ago, mrpink1507 said:

I don't think that's true at all here. If you want to throw that at say, Know Your Enemy, then sure. "Lazy" seems harsh, especially since I think there's a lot going on with this new album. 

Eh I don’t. It’s not something specific to this album but there’s moments listening to FOAM I’m just like “wtf did you just say?”

[mrpink1507]

2 minutes ago, Thatsername said:

There's none, at least not in the CD booklet. They only give credit to JJ for Oh Yeah.

The fear here is that there's a lawsuit, and then there's a bunch of shitty articles that get passed around about how "Green Day stole a song" and all the haters will be back on their bs. 

[HAPPY ZOMBIE UNICORN]

25 minutes ago, Joe. said:

Probably should’ve, just sounds really lazy. It doesn’t have an impact on me. If there were some really nice sophisticated lyrics on the rest of the song, or even the album, it works. If the lyrics are consistently lacking then it’s no longer a choice.

I understand your point of view, but I don’t really think the lyrics are lazy or lacking of quality. I do think there are some of the best lyrics Billie wrote since 21CB, but on top of this I think there’s two kinds of good lyrics, both in general and in the GD catalogue: the poetic and descriptive ones, that transmit emotions primarily because of the wording (we have a few of those here); and those that works finding a perfect match with the instrumental component of a song, that transmit emotions creating an atmosphere that brings the listener somewhere else, making him dance, scream, jump (we have a whole lot of this here). Some of the best songs from the Beatles and Queens are an example of this IMHO (while they have examples of both kinds in their catalogue). 

20 minutes ago, mrpink1507 said:

I would definitely argue that they put a Green Day spin and energy on it, but yeah, if there's not a credit in the liner notes (don't know yet, my copy is still in the mail), that's going to be a thing.

That’s not something that can bring to a lawsuit or anything else, otherwise half of the 60’s rock n roll catalogue should have been subject to a lawsuit. 

[mrpink1507]

5 minutes ago, HAPPY ROOTING UNICORN said:

That’s not something that can bring to a lawsuit or anything else, otherwise half of the 60’s rock n roll catalogue should have been subject to a lawsuit. 

The lawsuit isn't what worries me. I'm sure the record company would just pay a settlement to make it go away. What I worry about is articles like this getting passed around and being a barrier to people giving Green Day a listen or a chance. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/led-zeppelins-10-boldest-rip-offs-223419/

[HAPPY ZOMBIE UNICORN]

5 minutes ago, mrpink1507 said:

The lawsuit isn't what worries me. I'm sure the record company would just pay a settlement to make it go away. What I worry about is articles like this getting passed around and being a barrier to people giving Green Day a listen or a chance. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/led-zeppelins-10-boldest-rip-offs-223419/

I get that, but one of the most beloved GD songs, Jesus of suburbia, is for a good part a collage of “reinterpreted” melodies, in a much more explicit way that in this case. And that’s just one of many examples in this band catalogue. I don’t see how this song can change things for the worse, when it just uses a riff that is part of the rock n roll history, and that can be compared to the use of power chords. 

[mrpink1507]

1 minute ago, HAPPY ROOTING UNICORN said:

I get that, but one of the most beloved GD songs, Jesus of suburbia, is for a good part a collage of “reinterpreted” melodies, in a much more explicit way that this case. And that’s just one of many examples in this band catalogue. I don’t see how this song can change things in the worse. 

Yes, and I'm old enough to remember all the people that ragged on Green Day with "They stole Jesus of Suburbia from Summer of '69", which like, one small section kind of sounds like it? And yet it got so spread around that my high school girlfriend's mom found out I loved Green Day and was like, "Didn't they steal a song from Bryan Adams?" And it's like, fuck. Seriously? It overtook people's opinions and the artistry of the song was largely ignored outside of the Green Day fanbase. 

The problem with Stab you in the Heart is that it's not "hey, this riff kind of sounds like..." It's the whole chorus seems note for note.