¡UNO! Album

[Bastard of 1967]

I think it says "You want a* señorita and now..." Maybe I'm wrong I don't know. But great review on the song, I wanted to know more about it too

Lyric book's at home...gotta check that tonight. If it's "you want *a* señorita..." then I'd think the focus would be introspective and a bit masochistic -- "*I* want this and I'm going to hurt myself getting it".

[Femme Gauche]

The song fits nicely into the "gotta get my thrill before life passes me by" mid-life crisis theme that the trilogy appears to be setting itself up to be. In Angel Blue I think our middle-aged narrator is contemplating chasing after the late teen/early twentysomething pretty young party girl who caught his eye at the club in Kill the DJ. "You're Angel Blue, with teenage traces" -- just barely old enough to be legal, and just stupid enough to get involved with him even though he's married, got a family, etc. "You're just a fucking kid and no one ever gives you a break/You want it, señorita, and now your heart is gonna break." I think it's setting up our narrator's awareness of what he's going after, that it's all wrong both for him and for her, and that he nevertheless doesn't care. The next two songs that follow Angel Blue are the reminiscent, melancholy Sweet 16 and Rusty James, where he reflects on his feelings of loneliness in the midst of what should otherwise be a very rich and fulfilling life -- and then all this tension is going to hit the breaking point in Oh Love, releasing itself into the iDos! debauchery-filled party scene where "tonight, my heart's on the loose."

(Credit to Melissa's review of iUno! for HuffPo which helped focus me on these themes).

OK that is basically what I thought XD but it seems uncharacteristic so I thought I would see others' opinions.

Lyric book's at home...gotta check that tonight. If it's "you want *a* señorita..." then I'd think the focus would be introspective and a bit masochistic -- "*I* want this and I'm going to hurt myself getting it".

lyric book definitely says "wanna".

[WhiteTim]

Lyric book's at home...gotta check that tonight. If it's "you want *a* señorita..." then I'd think the focus would be introspective and a bit masochistic -- "*I* want this and I'm going to hurt myself getting it".

[Forever Now]

Listening to Rusty James on repeat, love this album!

[Bastard of 1967]

Thanks for the scan. They key word being "wanna" can be read either as "want a" or "want to", equally effectively. Dammit, Billie, there you go with that dual-meaning wordsmithing trick of yours again. If you read it as "you want a senorita and now your heart is going to break" it reads as "[the narrator] wants a hot little tchotchke and getting it is going to ruin his life". If you read it as "you want to, senorita,..." then the focus shifts to the attention the tchotchke is giving our narrator. "You want it, babe, yeah I know you do, but I've got family and commitments and I'll never be able to give that to you -- and then *you'll* wind up getting hurt 'cause it's nothing serious, it's all for the thrill of it." I hope this makes sense.

[KGLWW]

Lyric book's at home...gotta check that tonight. If it's "you want *a* señorita..." then I'd think the focus would be introspective and a bit masochistic -- "*I* want this and I'm going to hurt myself getting it".

I tend to agree about the explanations of this song described on this thread, but I will say all I can think about with this song is Linkin Park (not that they are my favorite band or anything, but I do like some of their albums) for some reason with the burn it down quote as the opening line. I know it probably has nothing to do with linkin park, but it does fit with the lines of dissatisfaction about people he hates to hang out with throughout portions of the song and others on Uno. I know someone on gda mentioned the linkin park quote too. Not sure if anyone else did noticed it too. Interesting also to note, the continuing line of senorita even makes me think about the rapper in linkin park who happens to have some Hispanic roots.

[localinsomniac]

Thanks for the scan. They key word being "wanna" can be read either as "want a" or "want to", equally effectively. Dammit, Billie, there you go with that dual-meaning wordsmithing trick of yours again. If you read it as "you want a senorita and now your heart is going to break" it reads as "[the narrator] wants a hot little tchotchke and getting it is going to ruin his life". If you read it as "you want to, senorita,..." then the focus shifts to the attention the tchotchke is giving our narrator. "You want it, babe, yeah I know you do, but I've got family and commitments and I'll never be able to give that to you -- and then *you'll* wind up getting hurt 'cause it's nothing serious, it's all for the thrill of it." I hope this makes sense.

Just quoting this to applaud what might be the first use of the word "tchotchke" in this forum

[Idiotic Tendency...]

1. Kill the DJ

2. Stay the night

3. Carpe Diem

4. Fell for you

5. Sweet 16

6. Oh Love

7. Rusty James

8. Troublemaker

9. Nuclear Family

10. Let yourself go

11. Loss of Control

12. Angel Blue

Angel Blue is your least favorite song on the album, yet you have lyrics from it in your sig.

[localinsomniac]

Angel Blue is your least favorite song on the album, yet you have lyrics from it in your sig.

They might just like the lyrics?

[Nebula]

UNO doesn't SUCK but it does kind of disappoint me. There are some great, catchy power pop moments but when they go "back to their roots" with the punkier material, the songs lack the energy they used to have and as a result are a bit underwhelming. I also think some of them would have benefited from a more aggressive guitar tone. I also think this is probably their most generic sounding album. Finally, it kind of feels like Billie Joe doesn't have much to say lyrically this time around. Sure, there are a few moments that feel personal, sincere and well written (ie; Sweet 16 and Rusty James) but much of this album just sounds like he needed lyrics and wrote whatever came to him in 5 minutes. You don't always have to have a message or anything like that. After all, it's only rock and roll. But a song like Let Yourself Go is just plain juvenile when it comes to the lyrics. They sound like the type of lyrics a 13 year old who wants to be in a punk band would write. I rate the album 2/5 with Nuclear Family, Angel Blue, and Rusty James being the standouts for me. With that being said, I am still excited for Dos! and Tre! and go into both open minded.

[Femme Gauche]

Thanks for the scan. They key word being "wanna" can be read either as "want a" or "want to", equally effectively. Dammit, Billie, there you go with that dual-meaning wordsmithing trick of yours again. If you read it as "you want a senorita and now your heart is going to break" it reads as "[the narrator] wants a hot little tchotchke and getting it is going to ruin his life". If you read it as "you want to, senorita,..." then the focus shifts to the attention the tchotchke is giving our narrator. "You want it, babe, yeah I know you do, but I've got family and commitments and I'll never be able to give that to you -- and then *you'll* wind up getting hurt 'cause it's nothing serious, it's all for the thrill of it." I hope this makes sense.

That makes sense XD. Yeah, the "wanna" struck me as trickily ambiguous, too. I like "that dual-meaning wordsmithing trick of yours". He is the king of multiple meanings (even in ostensibly simple songs like this one). At first I was thinking, like, dude, what are you doing fucking teenagers?! But then it's like, OK, sexual tension... I get it. Glad I got that discussion out there XD. Although i am not quite sure about the title. Angel seems to make sense in the context of innocence, youth, etc, but Angel Blue? Hmmm..

[DannyDirnt]

I'd say:

1. Stay The Night

2. Fell For You

3. Carpe Diem

4. Kill the DJ

5. Let Yourself Go

6. Nuclear Family

7. Rusty James

8. Sweet 16

9. Troublemaker

10. Loss of control

11. Oh Love

12. Angel Blue

[Milo Goes To Pasalacqua]

I preordered the Uno CD booklet of greenday.com and it hasn't arrived yet. Should i be very worried at this stage? Anyone else got this version delivered (or not) yet?

[Femme Gauche]

If we're listing... Hmmm... Let me think.

1. Kill The DJ
   
2. Troublemaker
   
3. Rusty James
   
4. Sweet 16
   
5. Fell For You
   
6. Stay The Night
   
7. Nuclear Family
   
8. Loss Of Control
   
9. Carpe Diem
   
10. Angel Blue
    
11. Let Yourself Go
    
12. Oh Love
    

That said... I love all of them. And some (most) of them, the order isn't exactly concrete. Haha.

[TheJedi]

I preordered the Uno CD booklet of greenday.com and it hasn't arrived yet. Should i be very worried at this stage? Anyone else got this version delivered (or not) yet?

you should email them about it.

alot of fans have had problems with their preorders, some people haven't got the box set yet.

have you tracked your order?

[Homero]

That makes sense XD. Yeah, the "wanna" struck me as trickily ambiguous, too. I like "that dual-meaning wordsmithing trick of yours". He is the king of multiple meanings (even in ostensibly simple songs like this one). At first I was thinking, like, dude, what are you doing fucking teenagers?! But then it's like, OK, sexual tension... I get it. Glad I got that discussion out there XD. Although i am not quite sure about the title. Angel seems to make sense in the context of innocence, youth, etc, but Angel Blue? Hmmm..

It may have nothing to do with the lyrics but I think "Angel Blue" is a drink, but be careful when you search on google images..

[Bastard of 1967]

But a song like Let Yourself Go is just plain juvenile when it comes to the lyrics. They sound like the type of lyrics a 13 year old who wants to be in a punk band would write.

They describe some of the endless drama in my sister's life to a 'T', and she's in her 40s. An alternate meaning I can see in Let Yourself Go is a smack-down, drag-out fight between an exhausted, middle-aged husband and his wife where after 15, 20, 25 years together she's just a fucking harpy, always carrying on about something, he's sick and tired of hearing it and finally explodes. "I'm sick to death of your every last breath and I don't give a FUCK anyway", heading off to the local bar to get away from it all, and (after his first exposure to nightlife culture in a long time repulses him), some pretty young thing in a miniskirt -- or perhaps a bathing suit (Troublemaker) -- catches his eye and the story spirals out of control from there. There is a lot more going on in this album than the minimalist lyrics suggest at first glance.

Although i am not quite sure about the title. Angel seems to make sense in the context of innocence, youth, etc, but Angel Blue? Hmmm..

Blue eyes comes to mind. Adrienne has brown eyes (and there's a reference to that in Sweet 16, which BJ apparently originally wrote for her last year for their 16th anniversary), so calling Angel "Blue" makes a very clear distinction that the object of the narrator's affections is most definitely not his wife.

It may have nothing to do with the lyrics but I think "Angel Blue" is a drink, but be careful when you search on google images..

OOOH! Another good meaning containing a reference to alcohol which we now unfortunately understand is one of Billie's ongoing challenges. Here's the recipie for it (it's actually called a "Blue Angel"): http://www.drinksmix.../drink8645.html

[Milo Goes To Pasalacqua]

you should email them about it.

alot of fans have had problems with their preorders, some people haven't got the box set yet.

have you tracked your order?

Um... No. How do i go about tracking it? It's hardly lost in the post if loadsa people haven't got it...i hope.

[alaniluau]

I can't believe it's been a week since first I heard the newest addition to the Green Day canon. After about 20 listens, it's beginning to have that comforting feeling of familiarity--I can anticipate which song will come next, and I can sing along most of the way through. But at the same time, it's so new and exciting that I want to listen to it constantly! Though I have a vast music collection, playing anything except Uno seems like a bit of a waste. I'm completely overwhelmed that there are two more albums on the way. If I enjoy them half as much as Uno, the boys will have made me very happy.

[Whatsinaname]

"There is a lot more going on in this album than the minimalist lyrics suggest at first glance."

Well said Bastard Us mid-lifers are hearing something completely different...

[Femme Gauche]

There is a lot more going on in this album than the minimalist lyrics suggest at first glance.

This. So many times, this. One of the things I always appreciate about his lyrics, and I see a lot of criticism from a lot of people about them always being too simplistic, too cryptic or nonsensical... But time and time again, it turns out, they just... aren't. Any of those things.

Blue eyes comes to mind. Adrienne has brown eyes (and there's a reference to that in Sweet 16, which BJ apparently originally wrote for her last year for their 16th anniversary), so calling Angel "Blue" makes a very clear distinction that the object of the narrator's affections is most definitely not his wife.

OOOH! Another good meaning containing a reference to alcohol which we now unfortunately understand is one of Billie's ongoing challenges. Here's the recipie for it (it's actually called a "Blue Angel"): http://www.drinksmix.../drink8645.html

Those are both reasonable, although equally slightly disturbing, interpretations.

[Nebula]

This. So many times, this. One of the things I always appreciate about his lyrics, and I see a lot of criticism from a lot of people about them always being too simplistic, too cryptic or nonsensical... But time and time again, it turns out, they just... aren't. Any of those things.

The lyrics he was writing in the 90's were fairly simplistic but he tended to say a lot in those deceivingly simple words. With a song like 'Let Yourself Go', however, it's just "Shut your mouth"..."I don't give a fuck anyway"...."All you really do is complain", etc... There's literally nothing there. I said they sound like the type of lyrics a 13 wannabe punk would write because I DID write similar lyrics when I was a 13 year old wannabe punk. As for it appealing to the middle aged, which was brought up above, you can shape it to have meaning, I guess, if your wife is always nagging on you to wash the dishes or something. But there's just no depth there. It comes across as "empty rage". It's a far cry from a line like, "There's a drought at the fountain of youth" which is an example of a lyric that seems simple on the surface but is actually clever and has some meaning behind it.

[Bastard of 1967]

Those are both reasonable, although equally slightly disturbing, interpretations.

Disturbing, yes -- but especially after his recent on-stage tantrum, I'd much rather BJ get his midlife fears out through his music than actually risk his home life with any of this.

[Femme Gauche]

The lyrics he was writing in the 90's were fairly simplistic but he tended to say a lot in those deceivingly simple words. With a song like 'Let Yourself Go', however, it's just "Shut your mouth"..."I don't give a fuck anyway"...."All you really do is complain", etc... There's literally nothing there. I said they sound like the type of lyrics a 13 wannabe punk would write because I DID write similar lyrics when I was a 13 year old wannabe punk. As for it appealing to the middle aged, which was brought up above, you can shape it to have meaning, I guess, if your wife is always nagging on you to wash the dishes or something. But there's just no depth there. It comes across as "empty rage". It's a far cry from a line like, "There's a drought at the fountain of youth" which is an example of a lyric that seems simple on the surface but is actually clever and has some meaning behind it.

It is a very simple song in terms of what he is saying. I don't actually think it is about a nagging wife. But sometimes, a rage song needs to be written. Platypus, anyone? "Let Yourself Go", as Billie himself said, can have a couple of meanings. It could be about letting yourself (the narrator) go, and giving up, or it could be about just letting go all of your anxieties and frustrating habits, and letting yourself live. Personally I could find it even to reflect personal dialog on occasion. (A la "Jinx", "Uptight").

Disturbing, yes -- but especially after his recent on-stage tantrum, I'd much rather BJ get his midlife fears out through his music than actually risk his home life with any of this.

Oh, yes! He's definitely done well to get so many of his demons out in song form. I'm sure it's an extremely cathartic experience. But... Still slightly disturbing.

[Bastard of 1967]

The lyrics he was writing in the 90's were fairly simplistic but he tended to say a lot in those deceivingly simple words. With a song like 'Let Yourself Go', however, it's just "Shut your mouth"..."I don't give a fuck anyway"...."All you really do is complain", etc... There's literally nothing there. I said they sound like the type of lyrics a 13 wannabe punk would write because I DID write similar lyrics when I was a 13 year old wannabe punk. As for it appealing to the middle aged, which was brought up above, you can shape it to have meaning, I guess, if your wife is always nagging on you to wash the dishes or something. But there's just no depth there. It comes across as "empty rage". It's a far cry from a line like, "There's a drought at the fountain of youth" which is an example of a lyric that seems simple on the surface but is actually clever and has some meaning behind it.

What's wrong with a little empty rage? Ever hear of this one? One line repeated over and over and over again made for an absolutely amazing song to

get shitting drunk and

let loose to back in my college days: