Money Money 2020 Part II: We Told Ya So! - Out Friday

[Clockwise]

This album is such a joy to listen to. Just full of fun, energy, absurdity, etc. This is the best band of all time nearly 40 years into their career. Incredible.

[Annie, get your gun]

I knew this record was a hit way before Trolling Stone and Entertainment Weeply confirmed so! 😆

 

[Gwen Stacy]

Gwen reviews: Money Money 2020 Pt. II: We Told Ya So!
Green Day flips the script, gets weird, and nets their best album since 2009’s 21st Century Breakdown

Long review in the spoiler.

Spoiler

 

This is not how 2020 was supposed to go for Green Day. This was supposed to be the year of the Hella Mega World Tour, partying the apocalypse away, and the band pimping Father of All Motherfuckers, their last album in contract with Warner. And then... well, we all know what happened then. Quarantine happened. But more specifically quarantine happened to Billie Joe Armstrong. 2020 then became the year of No Fun Mondays and suddenly Father of All... was nowhere to be seen. To many fans, myself included, this seemed to be for the best as some felt that album missed the mark. But a very solid covers album seemed to be a good consolation prize for a year full of scrapped plans. You know, this reminds me of a story...

This was not how 2003 was supposed to go for Green Day. After a year of riding in vans with boys on a multi-artist tour that was partly rehab for Green Day’s latest, underperforming album Warning 2003 was supposed to be the year of Cigarettes and Valentines. And then... well, we all know what happened then. The Network happened. Arriving out of the blue, the Devo-inspired weirdness that followed left fans puzzled. It wasn’t even clear at first that this was Green Day. It is, but it isn’t. A long venerated rock tradition, side projects allow artists to explore outside the commercial boundaries of what is expected of them. And this electronic inspired outfit was way outside of what was expected of Green Day at the time. But what followed allowed the band to have a second act and the boldness of the fresh new ideas allowed them to evolve and become bigger than ever before.

The rhyming poetry of it all could make George Lucas cry. That’s why it almost seems absurd that nobody saw this coming. The Network released one album 2003’s Money Money 2020 and a live concert called Disease is Punishment (jesus, they really did try to warn us) that same year. And then crickets. While other Green Day side projects saw occasional returns throughout the years they were started, The Network seemed like a weird one-off. The brilliance of returning to them now is that America in 2020 has finally caught up with The Network. They didn’t get any saner this go-round (maybe a little poppier) but an America in a schizophrenic identity-crisis mode is pitch perfect for the mood of The Network.

But make no mistake, this is a Green Day record, and I think this record makes it irrefutable that any project with Armstrong, Dirnt, and Cool at the helm must be properly understood as part of the band’s evolution. It’s the most democratic Green Day record since, well, ever. It’s the funniest Green Day record ever; I found myself actually laughing out loud during The Prophecy, Respirator, Flat Earth, and Asphyxia. That last one in particular builds on Tre Cool’s penchant for dirty novelty songs (Dominated Love Slave, All By Myself, Like A Rat Does Cheese, Boys in the Bathroom Stall) and even works in a David Carradine reference, completely winning me over. Some songs sound like Father of All... leftovers, but these same songs are stronger than anything on that album. I’m thinking of Degenerate and Fentanyl in particular. And let’s talk about the way that the sugary sweet bassline on Fentynal melts into a retro vaporwave dream; don’t do drugs kids, listen to this song instead. This album gets major points for swinging for the fences and often succeeds in unexpected ways. Ivankkka is a Nazi is the most politically charged song since American Idiot but in a way that doesn’t feel rote (partially due to that intro). Theory Of Reality proves that you can have socially conscious lyrics and dance to it too. Jerry Falwell’s Pool Party is lyrically a reworking of Kill The DJ and yet it works. It all ties together here, even some of the less strong material. That’s How They Get You recalls Front Parlor from McCartney II. In fact the whole of the album vibes like a dark and spooky McCartney II, which is high praise.

The classic double album dilemma isn’t avoided here, though. Yes, cutting it down to a single record would make it an incredibly strong single album. But The Network is in the spirit experimentation, and you need room to experiment. Besides, after the punishingly short 26-minute runtime of Father of All... (the literal minimum runtime that can still be classified as an LP) and the maybe too big ¡Uno... Dos... Tré...! trilogy, a double album feels right. A few songs didn’t rock my world (Tarantula, The Stranger, Popper Punk) but overall this is an extremely solid outing. Song for song I’d say it’s even stronger than 21st Century Breakdown but the latter gets points for being the more cohesive package, even if Money Money 2020 Pt. II: We Told Ya So! has better production. 

 

Money Money 2020 Pt. II: We Told Ya So! is weird, creative, unexpected, and way better than it has any right to be. It has me excited for where Green Day goes next, something I didn’t feel at the beginning of this year. 

4.5/5 Stars

[greendepent]

I think I should listen Popper in a disco, full blast at 5am and stoned af. Sadly I don't do any of those things. Who knows what flavor I'm missing...

[pacejunkie punk]

12 minutes ago, Gwen Stacy said:

Gwen reviews: Money Money 2020 Pt. II: We Told Ya So!
Green Day flips the script, gets weird, and nets their best album since 2009’s 21st Century Breakdown

Long review in the spoiler.

  Hide contents

 

Money Money 2020 Pt. II: We Told Ya So! is weird, creative, unexpected, and way better than it has any right to be. It has me excited for where Green Day goes next, something I didn’t feel at the beginning of this year. 

4.5/5 Stars

Wow what a fantastic review!  Great insights there, I love the parallels you draw with 2003 and also the foreshadowing to how this could lead to a very interesting and creative period for them.

[Little Boy Named Booze]

22 minutes ago, Gwen Stacy said:

Gwen reviews: Money Money 2020 Pt. II: We Told Ya So!
Green Day flips the script, gets weird, and nets their best album since 2009’s 21st Century Breakdown

Long review in the spoiler.

  Reveal hidden contents

 

This is not how 2020 was supposed to go for Green Day. This was supposed to be the year of the Hella Mega World Tour, partying the apocalypse away, and the band pimping Father of All Motherfuckers, their last album in contract with Warner. And then... well, we all know what happened then. Quarantine happened. But more specifically quarantine happened to Billie Joe Armstrong. 2020 then became the year of No Fun Mondays and suddenly Father of All... was nowhere to be seen. To many fans, myself included, this seemed to be for the best as some felt that album missed the mark. But a very solid covers album seemed to be a good consolation prize for a year full of scrapped plans. You know, this reminds me of a story...

This was not how 2003 was supposed to go for Green Day. After a year of riding in vans with boys on a multi-artist tour that was partly rehab for Green Day’s latest, underperforming album Warning 2003 was supposed to be the year of Cigarettes and Valentines. And then... well, we all know what happened then. The Network happened. Arriving out of the blue, the Devo-inspired weirdness that followed left fans puzzled. It wasn’t even clear at first that this was Green Day. It is, but it isn’t. A long venerated rock tradition, side projects allow artists to explore outside the commercial boundaries of what is expected of them. And this electronic inspired outfit was way outside of what was expected of Green Day at the time. But what followed allowed the band to have a second act and the boldness of the fresh new ideas allowed them to evolve and become bigger than ever before.

The rhyming poetry of it all could make George Lucas cry. That’s why it almost seems absurd that nobody saw this coming. The Network released one album 2003’s Money Money 2020 and a live concert called Disease is Punishment (jesus, they really did try to warn us) that same year. And then crickets. While other Green Day side projects saw occasional returns throughout the years they were started, The Network seemed like a weird one-off. The brilliance of returning to them now is that America in 2020 has finally caught up with The Network. They didn’t get any saner this go-round (maybe a little poppier) but an America in a schizophrenic identity-crisis mode is pitch perfect for the mood of The Network.

But make no mistake, this is a Green Day record, and I think this record makes it irrefutable that any project with Armstrong, Dirnt, and Cool at the helm must be properly understood as part of the band’s evolution. It’s the most democratic Green Day record since, well, ever. It’s the funniest Green Day record ever; I found myself actually laughing out loud during The Prophecy, Respirator, Flat Earth, and Asphyxia. That last one in particular builds on Tre Cool’s penchant for dirty novelty songs (Dominated Love Slave, All By Myself, Like A Rat Does Cheese, Boys in the Bathroom Stall) and even works in a David Carradine reference, completely winning me over. Some songs sound like Father of All... leftovers, but these same songs are stronger than anything on that album. I’m thinking of Degenerate and Fentanyl in particular. And let’s talk about the way that the sugary sweet bassline on Fentynal melts into a retro vaporwave dream; don’t do drugs kids, listen to this song instead. This album gets major points for swinging for the fences and often succeeds in unexpected ways. Ivankkka is a Nazi is the most politically charged song since American Idiot but in a way that doesn’t feel rote (partially due to that intro). Theory Of Reality proves that you can have socially conscious lyrics and dance to it too. Jerry Falwell’s Pool Party is lyrically a reworking of Kill The DJ and yet it works. It all ties together here, even some of the less strong material. That’s How They Get You recalls Front Parlor from McCartney II. In fact the whole of the album vibes like a dark and spooky McCartney II, which is high praise.

The classic double album dilemma isn’t avoided here, though. Yes, cutting it down to a single record would make it an incredibly strong single album. But The Network is in the spirit experimentation, and you need room to experiment. Besides, after the punishingly short 26-minute runtime of Father of All... (the literal minimum runtime that can still be classified as an LP) and the maybe too big ¡Uno... Dos... Tré...! trilogy, a double album feels right. A few songs didn’t rock my world (Tarantula, The Stranger, Popper Punk) but overall this is an extremely solid outing. Song for song I’d say it’s even stronger than 21st Century Breakdown but the latter gets points for being the more cohesive package, even if Money Money 2020 Pt. II: We Told Ya So! has better production. 

 

Money Money 2020 Pt. II: We Told Ya So! is weird, creative, unexpected, and way better than it has any right to be. It has me excited for where Green Day goes next, something I didn’t feel at the beginning of this year. 

4.5/5 Stars

wow! This review is perfect.
Good job!

[jengd]

Great job @Gwen Stacy

[Gwen Stacy]

14 minutes ago, pacejunkie punk said:

I love the parallels you draw with 2003 and also the foreshadowing to how this could lead to a very interesting and creative period for them.

Here's hoping. Regardless, Billie had a fantastic 2020 and I feel lucky to get so much material to chew over.

🥰 Thanks everyone. Weed, coffee, and a day off; I blame it on that

[pacejunkie punk]

I just realized it’s funny how Insomniac to Nimrod really parallels FOAM to $$2020Pt2.  Where FOAM and Insomniac are their shortest albums of short, drug fueled songs with dark themes, from there they went straight to Nimrod and $$2 which are both double LPs of a rich and varied mix of styles including silly songs, instrumentals and some damn fine writing.  

[Little Boy Named Booze]

 

[pacejunkie punk]

Just now, Little Boy Named Booze said:

 

Fink on drums! And now the silly reviews make sense. A swinging good time haha

[Elxufinnishidiot]

Did Snoo just strangle himself?😢 That was an odd video lol.

[pacejunkie punk]

Videos for Degenerate, JFPP and Art of the Deal... please 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

[Little Boy Named Booze]

3 minutes ago, pacejunkie punk said:

Videos for Degenerate, JFPP and Art of the Deal... please 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

Would be cool if the Official Video for JFPP was in a club with people dancing covered in blood.

[MarriedtoMikeDirnt]

Wow, this just gets better and better! 

I love the Asphyxia video. My only grievance is that there's not enough Snoo dancing, and a shameful lack of high kicks.

[Squashie]

The trash bag skirt that Snoo wears makes me laugh so much.

[Little Boy Named Booze]

The description is amazing 😂
My asphyxia dependency all started the first time I was choked out in a wresting match. The experience was incredibly freeing and I needed to replicate that ecstatic rush the best I could, alone, in my hacienda. I started slow, putting my left hand to sleep with “the Stranger” Then, after a while, the pins and needles were not enough. I needed more. I began using my spiky leather belt and asphyxia became my modus operandi. I wrote the song to share my enthusiasm for this killer new way to pleasure yourself with the world
- Snoo

[pacejunkie punk]

1 minute ago, Little Boy Named Booze said:

The description is amazing 😂
My asphyxia dependency all started the first time I was choked out in a wresting match. The experience was incredibly freeing and I needed to replicate that ecstatic rush the best I could, alone, in my hacienda. I started slow, putting my left hand to sleep with “the Stranger” Then, after a while, the pins and needles were not enough. I needed more. I began using my spiky leather belt and asphyxia became my modus operandi. I wrote the song to share my enthusiasm for this killer new way to pleasure yourself with the world
- Snoo

Snoo needs an intervention 

[trambopoline]

dang we're getting a lot of videos!! hope they keep em coming

[dallasthemenace]

11 minutes ago, pacejunkie punk said:

Videos for Degenerate, JFPP and Art of the Deal... please 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

this. and i'll raise you a CUNT clip.

[pacejunkie punk]

2 minutes ago, dallasthemenace said:

this. and i'll raise you a CUNT clip.

That sounds painful 😂

[localinsomniac]

I'd settle for lyrics videos 👀

[Alan86]

17 minutes ago, Elxufinnishidiot said:

Did Snoo just strangle himself?😢 That was an odd video lol.

How is that odd? The song is called Asphyxia. 

[Squashie]

Fink looks so excited to be on the drum kit...

 

And did they also steal Tre's kitty glitter kit?! 

[pacejunkie punk]

3 minutes ago, Herroon said:

dang we're getting a lot of videos!! hope they keep em coming

I wonder if we’re getting a whole video album kind of like they did with Disease is Punishment. Since they can’t do a live show this would be a great consolation prize.