¡DOS! Album

[Homero]

So, my mom likes Nightlife, we were listening to ¡Dos! in the car and she really liked it.

My family doesn't really like Green Day, nothing personal though, they just don't listen to it.

btw, this album is really growing on me a lot (in a different way than ¡Uno!).

[blitzkriegdeb]

Weirdly enough I've seen Let Yourself Go on mtvU a bunch of times, but no Stray Heart/ Kill the DJ/Oh Love.

[The Snark]

Does anyone feel like having ¡Dos! makes "Oh Love" a little more tolerable? I wasn't a huge fan of the song when it first debuted, but having it set up the scene for ¡Dos! makes me appreciate it a little more, as I expected. I've actually willingly listened to it a few times, whereas I used to just end ¡Uno! at Rusty James.

I like Oh Love better as a part of a whole, and not on its own as a single. It flows perfectly as guy meets girl (Oh Love), guy serenades girl (See You Tonight), guy says 'fuck that lovey dovey shit!' (Fuck Time).

[Homero]

Just a little interview I've found that I didn't know where to post. It's really interesting (especially what Tré has to say)

[stories and songs]

After giving it another chance, the album is definitely growing on me. There are more songs that I love than I originally thought. I'm still not crazy about the "party" lyrics that are on most of the songs, but I didn't expect that to change - I'm just not a fan of this phase of Green Day's music lyrical content-wise, but I probably never will be because it just isn't my thing and I never felt that it was their thing, either.

Ashley and Wow! That's Loud are amazing. They're SO fun, and sound new yet would fit perfectly onto a number of their older records. Lazy Bones is still my favorite though. Instantly one of my favorite Green Day songs from the moment I first heard it.

[Femme Gauche]

After giving it another chance, the album is definitely growing on me. There are more songs that I love than I originally thought. I'm still not crazy about the "party" lyrics that are on most of the songs, but I didn't expect that to change - I'm just not a fan of this phase of Green Day's music lyrical content-wise, but I probably never will be because it just isn't my thing and I never felt that it was their thing, either.

Ashley and Wow! That's Loud are amazing. They're SO fun, and sound new yet would fit perfectly onto a number of their older records. Lazy Bones is still my favorite though. Instantly one of my favorite Green Day songs from the moment I first heard it.

That's funny, I always thought "Wow! That's Loud" was über party feeling XD.Oh well.

[Ana.]

Am I the only one that is not tiring of this album? I can't stop listening to it ever since it leaked.

[pieterv]

I don't get the criticism about lame lyrics and uninspired riffs/sound.

When I see people praising Let Yourself Go, I just don't get it because it sounds so "phoned in", one of the worst songs on Uno.

I don't hear that on ¡Dos!. I hear Nimrod, I hear a ton of potential, there's multiple songs where I think they should build on that sound.

When I heard Uno I heard that Green Day can still make a pretty great Green Day record.

¡Dos! is the first album since AI to really make me hungry for more Green Day what's to come.

I'll also pile on and say that while I was expecting a party album it's definitely not, it's more like getting riled up in a mob.

While it's playing you get really excited to go along with it but at the same time every now and then there's this small feeling you can't shake about it being so dark but that isn't going to stop you from going along.

Then at the end, Amy almost makes me feel bad, as in guilty (if I put it in the Album context, not the Amy Winehouse context). Suddenly there's time to look back on everything on the album and realise all the bad/dark stuff in there, and how I was just going along with it and now there's no turning back.

OH and… I like Nightlife, I think Lady Cobra sounds great in it. If anything they should have worked on the effect on Billie's vocals, I still think it's just a tad too much.

[Guest]

I liked Oh Love from the beginning, so I get to the same place for different reasons I think. :)/> The transition between the two albums is, as literature set to music goes, fantastic, and it actually begins a few songs before Oh Love hits. I think it starts with Sweet 16 where our narrator looks almost mournfully at a pleasant but no-longer-satisfying family life; then we hit the deep "fuck! I really *am* all alone out here, even all my old friends are gone!" of Rusty James -- and *then* that's when Oh Love drops. It's the "yeah, yeah, I'm surrendering to the lust and I'm finally gonna do it" -- the creepy old man's fucked-up idea of a solution for what's ailing him. Slide from there into the "prepping yourself mentally for what's ahead" in See You Tonight, and finally the party begins with Fuck Time. The brilliance in this isn't just in the songs in and of themselves, but also in how Green Day has strung them together -- without using named characters this time -- to make a coherent story.

God... Everytime I see your username active in a thread. I always expect something fucking grand and awesome to come. You sir. *round of appaluse* i kinda get that idea you're thinking of. Makes sense into how they merge together !

[No Rhyme Or Reason]

I don't get the criticism about lame lyrics and uninspired riffs/sound.

When I see people praising Let Yourself Go, I just don't get it because it sounds so "phoned in", one of the worst songs on Uno.

I don't hear that on ¡Dos!. I hear Nimrod, I hear a ton of potential, there's multiple songs where I think they should build on that sound.

When I heard Uno I heard that Green Day can still make a pretty great Green Day record.

¡Dos! is the first album since AI to really make me hungry for more Green Day what's to come.

I'll also pile on and say that while I was expecting a party album it's definitely not, it's more like getting riled up in a mob.

While it's playing you get really excited to go along with it but at the same time every now and then there's this small feeling you can't shake about it being so dark but that isn't going to stop you from going along.

Then at the end, Amy almost makes me feel bad, as in guilty (if I put it in the Album context, not the Amy Winehouse context). Suddenly there's time to look back on everything on the album and realise all the bad/dark stuff in there, and how I was just going along with it and now there's no turning back.

OH and… I like Nightlife, I think Lady Cobra sounds great in it. If anything they should have worked on the effect on Billie's vocals, I still think it's just a tad too much.

THIS. I agree with everything you said - except the very last sentence. I think the vocal effects are perfect - they make the song grimier and eerier.

I think the lyrics on Dos are very inspired, and in spite of all the fun, there's a lot of darker stuff lurking throughout the album until we get to Amy, where hindsight becomes 20/20 and all the problems seem so much clearer. It's like we get caught up in the fun party atmosphere, and even though we can sense the serious problems (like addiction), we can ignore it more or less because of the good time we're having (or think we're having). But by the end of the record it's time to face the truth. Then we get the reflection with Tré. It's perfect.

Dos has familiarity to it - it does remind me a little of Nimrod and Foxboro Hot Tubs, but even Dookie and American Idiot in a way (because of the energy, cohesion, and narrative aspect of it). But Dos also seems really different for Green Day - it's unlike any of their past music (despite what I just said), and it makes me want to hear what they'll do next. They sound re-energized and more inspired, and they're channeling a lot of more classic and garage rock sounds which I love. This record actually reminds me more of Dookie than Uno does in a way - it's the energy, the natural-ness. I don't know. But it feels like a new young Green Day.

And I agree that the lyrics on Dos are better than a lot of what was on Uno.... particularly Let Yourself Go and Loss Of Control. Those two still seem more forced and less authentic to me. Just my opinion, but I still think they have the weakest lyrics and are least enjoyable overall. But on Dos I feel like we're getting inside his head - it's more personal and real to me.

[Femme Gauche]

Am I the only one that is not tiring of this album? I can't stop listening to it ever since it leaked.

Yeah, I can't stop listening to it, either. ~40 or so listens since my download came in my inbox, haha.

It's a shame I don't really like to listen to DOS as a full album. I'm not sure if I'm getting too distracted by how much I love songs like Lazy Bones, Stray Heart and Amy.

Usually in the car, the track list goes in order of: See You, Fuck Time, Stop, Lazy Bones, Lazy Bones, Lazy Bones, Lazy Bones, Lazy Bones... Stray Heart, Stray Heart, Stray Heart... Then the next few tracks I don't pay much attention to, NightLife, Amy, Amy, Amy.

And I'm not a single-song person, either. I like albums as a whole.

Sorry, but reading your playlist made me giggle, cause when I listen to Lazy Bones I always wanna give it another go, too. But you should give the other tracks a chance! They're good, too . I am an album person, almost to the point of obsession. But if I want to start with a particular song, I just click that song and then shuffle, cause then I don't have to listen to the album incomplete, or choose the order myself. XD.

Wild One doesn't catch me at the beginning, but the chorus is great. Ashley sounds awesome in the verses. So does Baby Eyes. Lady Cobra is just all around... And Wow! That's Loud is catchy and, well, loud.

And I know what you guys mean about feeling like you got pulled into the party and then feeling guilty, like, what just happened? In that particular context, one might say you have blood on your hands now (it probably got there somewhere between Stop When The Red Lights Flash and Baby Eyes).

[BlackBaboon]

The lyrics just don't resonate as well on Uno and Dos as on Green Day's early albums. Unlike a lot of critics, I actually think Billie has always been a pretty talented songwriter. He can really capture human emotion which is one reason I feel so out of touch with the first two records of this trilogy. Dookie may have been simplistic and filled with juvenile humor, but it was so relatable. You can't listen to a song on that record without hearing a legitimate meaning. Now fast forward to the trilogy and I think we have to work really hard to fill the songs with meaning. Is Nuclear Family actually about anything? Is Carpe Diem anything more than a rehashed cliche? And when the songs do have a purpose they feel forced a la Let Yourself Go and Loss of Control. Kill the DJ is supposed to be about wanting to destroy all of the background noise, but I would have no way of knowing that if not for interview explanations. The same problem is evident on Dos. Stop When the Red Lights Flash really has to have a meaning sort of forced into it by fans because the lyrics feel so thrown together. Lazy Bones, Wild One, and Amy are three of the only tracks thus far that really translate a legitimate emotion.

[Femme Gauche]

It's possible the lyrics have meaning that is just a little more scattered and less coherent, perhaps that was the state of mind while writing. With his writing I always sort of pare it down by the "feelings" associated with the particular arrangement of words, rather than a specific, coherent thing. But Ashley, Makeout Party, Lady Cobra, Nightlife, and Fuck Time are all clearly "about" something, juvenile or otherwise. And sometimes, the songs that might not make sense could be about a particular person of whom we have no knowledge, or any number of other things. And don't let the first person pronouns fool you (although I doubt they have); he's not always talking about himself, even if the lyrics say "me" and "I". I'm not trying to read meaning that isn't there, but just because we don't immediately understand the meaning, doesn't mean that it isn't there.

Anyway, I don't think all of the old songs are obvious what they are about. Some of the songs on the new records are about as clear as "Waiting".

Ah, I've just thought of a reason why I don't really connect to a lot (not all) of the tracks on DOS. The album is supposed to have a party feel to it, right? Well, at parties I don't like to listen to rock music (aside from live bands). I just prefer something 80's pop, or something more techno that I can dance to. I mean, I've never really "got" the feeling of them, so maybe that's why. I'm probably thinking about them in that context too much. Hmmm.

I've given the other songs lots of chances haha, we're all Green Day super-fans, arent we? They just don't grab me very much.

I'm not exactly a partier, but if I do go to one, this is exactly the type of music I would like to hear. There's some up-tempo stuff that is definitely danceable, and some sexier slower stuff.

[Homero]

I'm not exactly a partier, but if I do go to one, this is exactly the type of music I would like to hear. There's some up-tempo stuff that is definitely danceable, and some sexier slower stuff.

yeah that's what I love too, sexier slower songs haha

[stories and songs]

That's funny, I always thought "Wow! That's Loud" was über party feeling XD.Oh well.

Oh, it definitely is! I really love the sound of it, though. The guitars are awesome.

[Bastard of 1967]

Ashley and Wow! That's Loud are amazing. They're SO fun, and sound new yet would fit perfectly onto a number of their older records. Lazy Bones is still my favorite though. Instantly one of my favorite Green Day songs from the moment I first heard it.

Wow! That's Loud is outstanding. The "Irish jig" guitar riff, the percussion, the garage vibe with a bouncy injection of jive rhythm thrown in, with lyrics that I'd suggest are an up-to-date equivalent of the Beatles' "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" as Billie describes the party -- and pending train wreck -- from his lust-drunk, drug-drunk, and just plain drunk-drunk vantage point. The off-the-rails, out-of-control drunk/high message is all over the lyrics. Technicolor, "sick with pleasure", a blinding sun "like a bottle rocket in the sky" just to list a few. Did you notice it also bookends Nuclear Family ("Radioactive and primal, nuclear and so delightful") -- and as such it's presenting us with the detonation Billie foreshadowed at the beginning of iUno!? Last thing to say about this for now -- Billie's vocal solo before the final chorus is some of the best work we've heard from him. Gives me shivers every time I hear that part.

[Femme Gauche]

Bastard, great points there. I love the lyrics, they're so wild. The Beatles' "Lucy" is a perfect comparison. Sometimes that sharp guitar annoys me - it is really cool, but sometimes it just doesn't hit me right. At some points, for some unidentifiable reason, I am reminded of The Who... But you're right about the vocals, they're so perfect. And, the way the guitars sound like they're dying at the fade leads perfectly to the tragic Amy.

[Andre Bruxo]

Ok, so I only got the album yesterday in the mail, and it´s growing on me with each listen. It feels way darker to me than Uno, which is a good thing! Maybe not as instantly catchy as Uno, but definately a great album! I absolutely adore "Wild One", "Baby Eyes" is insanely catchy and "Ashley" rocks really hard along with a great melody. So yeah, I think Dos is a great album. But hey, I love everything Green Day puts out. In the future I will probably listen to Uno more just cause it feels more like classic Green Day to me, but I´m really happy with Dos. Bring on Tré!

[Yaz.]

Wow! That's Loud has grown on me alot now. I've had the 'dressed to the nines like a black cat's eyes, you're such a beautiful mess tonight' in my head all day. I think it's gorgeous

[cocoepops]

I really really like Nightlife. It has quite a 'Misery' vibe to it in that it's the odd one out and I love it!

[spark in the night]

MAKEOUT PARTY IS SO HOT

I can't stop listening to it. That riff, that solo, the lyrics, DAT BASS

It's so fucking hot hot hot

[Clayish]

MAKEOUT PARTY IS SO HOT

I can't stop listening to it. That riff, that solo, the lyrics, DAT BASS

It's so fucking hot hot hot

Solo is fire.

[tdlyon]

Just realized I never did one of these for Dos, so here's my review. Feel free to ignore this, it's mainly so I can organize my own thoughts about the album.

See You Tonight- 3/5: Even though it's just an intro, I still think it's really cool, and I feel like Fuck Time is missing something if I don't listen to this first.

Fuck Time- 4/5: Really fun song. I especially love the guitar in the chorus and the solo. However, the Amanda Jones part strikes me as a bit odd.

Stop When the Red Lights Flash- 3/5: Really cool intro, but a bit too repetitive and short. I skip this one sometimes.

Lazy Bones- 4/5: While I love this song, I don't seem to love it nearly as much as everyone else on this board. Still a very cool song and painfully relevant to the current time for the band.

Wild One- 4/5: Didn't really like this song at first, but it's grown on me a LOT. I really like the guitar, especially the classic rock-esque solo.

Makeout Party- 5/5: Just a fucking jam. Awesome all around, especially the respective guitar and bass solos.

Stray Heart- 4/5: Expected this to be one of my favorites on the whole trilogy, but surprisingly it's not even one of my favorites on this album. Still amazing though.

Ashley- 4/5: REALLY like this one. I love the lyrics and the melody, and for some reason the amp squealing right before the solo is just awesome.

Baby Eyes- 5/5: Surprisingly one of my favorites on the album. I absolutely LOVE the chorus, and it hasn't left my head since the first time I heard it. I also love the Misfits-esque menacing riff at the end.

Lady Cobra- 3/5: Pretty awesome, but not much to say besides that. Sounds a bit like Fell in Love with a Girl by the White Stripes.

Nightlife- 2/5: My least favorite on the album, but I don't hate it either. I think the bassline and beat are awesome, and Lady Cobra's voice is sexy. I love Billie's distorted vocals too. Would have preferred this be a B-side though.

Wow! That's Loud- 5/5: One of my favorites. Love everything about it, from the catchy verses to the amazingly catchy chorus to the fucking awesome solo, and finally the whole ending which sounds like the whole party crashing. Just awesome.

Amy- 4/5: Didn't at all expect to love this one as much as I did. I'm never really a fan of acoustic only songs (I don't even like Good Riddance that much), but this song is just incredibly powerful, and I'm not even an Amy Winehouse fan (hell, I'd go as far as to say I don't even like her). Perfect ending to the album.

Overall, Dos is a fantastic album, and blows Uno away. Might become one of my favorites in the band's discography, actually. Absolutely can't wait for Tre.

[Todd]

I'm freaking sick of hearing about dos already. Has anybody found the japanese bonus track yet?

[Vanilla Shake]

While I absolutely love every song on this album, Stray Heart still takes the cake as far as being my favorite of the album, or hell, even the entire trilogy. Though from what I've heard so far, X-Kid may at the very least become tied with Stray Heart as being my favorite (I'm also one of the few whose favorite off ¡Uno! is Kill the DJ).

And to be honest now that I've been able to listen to the album in full for about two weeks now, I wouldn't put it ahead of or below ¡Uno!. I love both albums just the same. Each of 'em have their own sound, zero filler tracks (in my honest opinion) and they just flat out fucking rock to me. These three albums will no doubt be up there on my list of favorite Green Day albums such as Nimrod, Dookie, Insomniac and 21stCB. And when I decide to listen to the full album now, I have to listen to ¡Uno! in its entirety first. Once Oh Love is finished, See You Tonight pops on, and it's like the beginning of a whole new roller coaster ride. Can't wait until I play the first two albums in full to where Amy ends and Brutal Love begins. It's gonna be the start of a whole new musical journey come December, one that I'll be ecstatic about going on.