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

[trambopoline]

1 minute ago, Squashie said:

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

 

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

didn't we see that kit in another video already? or am I mistaken?

 

1 minute ago, pacejunkie punk said:

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.

that would be super fuckin cool! fingers crossed.. we've already got a good chunk

[Squashie]

Just now, Herroon said:

didn't we see that kit in another video already? or am I mistaken?

IDK. Probably. I've been a little consumed outside of Network land (damn work/adulting). I just got a chance to do a full listen of the album yesterday.

[Elxufinnishidiot]

5 minutes ago, Alan86 said:

How is that odd? The song is called Asphyxia. 

Just strange music video., but yeah It makes sense to be like that, because of what its about.

[MarriedtoMikeDirnt]

3 minutes ago, Squashie said:

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

It's one thing to steal their songs.

It's another to hack their social media.

But now they're stealing instruments!?

WHAT'S NEXT? ARE THEY GONNA TAKE BLUE TOO?

[Squashie]

A bored Fink on drums, a dancing Snoo and possible drunk Van Gough all in one gif.

gif credit to geekgirl78 on tumblr

[dallasthemenace]

41 minutes ago, Squashie said:

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

No. This kit is a different beast altogether. The resonant side of the shells flare out and have no heads. I haven't been able to get a good enough glimpse at the badges to confirm whether it's an SJC or not.

[jengd]

39 minutes ago, MarriedtoMikeDirnt said:

 

WHAT'S NEXT? ARE THEY GONNA TAKE BLUE TOO?

Too far!  Bad fan 😁

[Squashie]

8 minutes ago, dallasthemenace said:

No. This kit is a different beast altogether. The resonant side of the shells flare out and have no heads. I haven't been able to get a good enough glimpse at the badges to confirm whether it's an SJC or not.

It's an SJC kit - Tre/Snoo is sponsored by them. And yes, I know that it's not the same. Lighten up a bit.

[Met Fan]

1 hour ago, Herroon said:

didn't we see that kit in another video already? or am I mistaken?

I'd wager that all the videos were recorded in one session, they're just not releasing them all at the same time.

These The Network music videos are probably especially easy to make at one go, 90% of the work is in post. 

[dallasthemenace]

24 minutes ago, Squashie said:

It's an SJC kit - Tre/Snoo is sponsored by them. And yes, I know that it's not the same. Lighten up a bit.

im plenty light. just being a drum nerd. cheers.

[jengd]

This is Snoo’s birthday present - assuming he has the same birthday as that Tre Cool in Green Day of course 😁

[Tubbie Head]

1 hour ago, pacejunkie punk said:

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.

OMG PLEASE

1 hour ago, Squashie said:

A bored Fink on drums, a dancing Snoo and possible drunk Van Gough all in one gif.

This is amazing! 

[Annie, get your gun]

The Snoo is totally in his element while Fink barely moves the drumsticks and Van Gough, Z, Balducci and Cap. Underpants just dance along   

I'd be so great if they release videos for the 25 songs.

[Squashie]

16 minutes ago, Tubbie Head said:

OMG PLEASE

This is amazing! 

I can not take credit for the gif. I found it on tumblr...

[Met Fan]

2 hours ago, Gwen Stacy said:

 

  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

Great review and a fun read!

I disagree with one statement; "it’s even stronger than 21st Century Breakdown but the latter gets points for being the more cohesive package". I think 21CB could be described as anything but cohesive, that's my main problem with it. It starts out with a story for a concept then at some point that get abandoned with no resolution, the songs don't work together or flow that well and the vibe is inconsistent throughout.

I think now I enjoy most of it's songs individually but back then it was presented as a "whole experience", in the footsteps of American Idiot, but it was nothing like that. 21CB as a whole experience, is not a good one.

Again; I don't hate it, I just don't think it was cohesive even though it was marketed as so, being called a concept album and all. RevRad, an album that was marked as a return to normalcy as far as Green Day albums go, was more cohesive and bookended than 21stCB IMHO.

[MarriedtoMikeDirnt]

53 minutes ago, jengd said:

This is Snoo’s birthday present - assuming he has the same birthday as that Tre Cool in Green Day of course 😁

Why would we assume that?

 

And it's bold of you to assume that The Snoo has a birthday.

[The Grohl]

Why does this band keep adding to my work load?! 🤣

[That Dude]

3 hours ago, Little Boy Named Booze said:

 

Fink wins the Most Enthusiastic Drummer Ever Award.   What is he mouthing throughout the video?   

I'm disappointed that Captain Underpants didn't blast off in this video.    They told me they would have me flying in all the videos now.   Oh well. 

Here's my latest thought on the album.   The Pool Party Debacle, whatever it's called.   It sounds like a Red Hot Chili Peppers song from their garbage years.   Ya know, RHCP circa 1983-1989.    Hey, that's the years Van Gough likes singing about!  

 

 

[trambopoline]

10 minutes ago, That Dude said:

What is he mouthing throughout the video?   

I think he's singing along, I see him mouthing the lyrics a couple of times at least

[localinsomniac]

15 hours ago, MarriedtoMikeDirnt said:

Why would we assume that?

 

And it's bold of you to assume that The Snoo has a birthday.

The back of Fink's trading card does say "First Appearance: February 17, 1972" 🤷‍♂️

15 hours ago, MarriedtoMikeDirnt said:

Why would we assume that?

 

And it's bold of you to assume that The Snoo has a birthday.

The back of Fink's trading card does say "First Appearance: February 17, 1972" 🤷‍♂️

[That Dude]

The Network should cover DUI by Green Day, because The Network clearly have no tact whatsoever.  

Carolina's ultimate Netflix Tweet is really gross.  

 

 

[MarriedtoMikeDirnt]

1 minute ago, That Dude said:

Carolina's ultimate Netflix Tweet is really gross.  

Why no acronym? You've got some nerve typin' out the full name 'round these parts.

[billy1986]

Need lyrics!!! Side note I got my insomniac hugs tee and geek stink breath hoodie but not the monkey your tee shirt??! Anyone else have this problem?

[That Dude]

3 minutes ago, MarriedtoMikeDirnt said:

Why no acronym? You've got some nerve typin' out the full name 'round these parts.

Those of us important enough to live in the Carolina's have Ultimate Authority on this matter.   The song is a loving tribute to the south, which is something Fink has a fierce passion for.     He absolutely loves everything about southern culture.     

Also, I'm anti-acronym.  

[Gwen Stacy]

1 hour ago, Met Fan said:

Great review and a fun read!

I disagree with one statement; "it’s even stronger than 21st Century Breakdown but the latter gets points for being the more cohesive package". I think 21CB could be described as anything but cohesive, that's my main problem with it. It starts out with a story for a concept then at some point that get abandoned with no resolution, the songs don't work together or flow that well and the vibe is inconsistent throughout.

Thanks for giving it a read! I guess I can go more into this when I inevitably review 21st Century Breakdown, but I'll (respectfully) disagree with your disagreement. First, 21CB is not as cohesive as AI, no question about that. But I'd argue it largely succeeds at what it attempts. The story gets a bit more abstract after the end of Act I ,but it does get resolved by the end of the album with the destruction of American Eulogy and the aftermath of See The Light. Christian and Gloria's is more of an emotional journey rather than the more conventional narrative journey. As a concept album, it's a loose concept (emphasis on loose), but it works for me since 21st Century Breakdown is a spiritual sequel to American Idiot, not a direct follow up. You can think this wasn't the proper choice in making the album, but it was a conscious choice, not just the band wiffing on what they set to do. I will wholeheartedly agree, however, that that distinction wasn't communicated very well in the marketing. 21st Century Breakdown was more Wings at the Speed of Sound rather than Tommy in the concept part of the concept album.

Now just as far as that goes re: Money Money 2020 Pt.II, 21st Century Breakdown is 7 songs shorter and for me personally, has a higher ratio of songs that work vs. those that don't. I could pick 18 songs from MM2020II that I think would make it stronger than 21CB, but at the end of the day I've got to weigh the albums as they were released.