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21st_century_breakdown_coverart.jpg

 

MTV's The Leak has 21st Century Breakdown available to hear in its entirety.

 

Parental Advisory for potentially offensive Themes & Language

 

http://www.mtv.com/music/the_leak/green_da...ury_breakdown/#

 

Windows Media Player Update may be required, also available at link.

 

Songs listing:

 

* 01 Song of the Century (0:57)

 

* 02 21st Century Breakdown (5:09)

 

* 03 Know Your Enemy (3:10)[/b]

 

* 04 ¡Viva La Gloria! (3:30)[/b]

 

* 05 Before The Lobotomy (4:37)

 

* 06 Christian's Inferno (3:07)

 

* 07 Last Night On Earth (3:56)[/b]

 

* 08 East Jesus Nowhere (4:34)[/b]

 

* 09 Peacemaker (3:24)[/b]

 

* 10 Last Of The American Girls (3:51)[/b]

 

* 11 Murder City (2:54)

 

* 12 ¿Viva La Gloria? (Little Girl) (3:47)[/b]

 

* 13 Restless Heart Syndrome (4:19)[/b]

 

* 14 Horseshoes And Handgrenades (3:14)[/b]

 

* 15 The Static Age (4:16)

 

* 16 21 Guns (5:21)

 

* 17 American Eulogy (4:26)

 

* 18 See The Light (4:35)

 

A familiar mix of ballads, anthems and the usual fare about living the unusual life of being a rock star played in the instantly recognizable GD styles with just a hint of new music direction thrown in prove they can take their original sound in new directions.

 

Does 21st Century Breakdown have the potential to match the mega-hit status American Idiot attained?

 

Perhaps... But I am not, after only one listen though, ready to take that leap. It certainly has a couple, perhaps even a few songs the radio stations are going to soon be playing the heck out of around the clock but my reservation has to do with the overall theme of it. Being the fossil that I am, I probably just don't 'get' it yet. I'll give it a few more cycles of play to see if it can get its message rock & rolled into my crusty old soul and get back to you...

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Listening to it now. I'm also surprised to see you're a fan. Pleasantly surprised. :superhappy:

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Oh yeah? I thought everyone knew that about me. I am a rocker by birth but M installed an appreciation of Alternative in me long ago and, in fact, GD was one of the bands she did it with. These days I actually listen to more Alternative than Rock but that's because there is more of it being made.

 

Here is the lyrics page, in case you missed it, of 21st BD. http://www.greenday.com/site/lyrics.php

 

Act 2 is my current favorite but Acts 1 & 3 are also very, very good.

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I fee likw a schmuck but I hate it. I just don't get it.

 

We've been working on 'getting it.' We believe they tried here, unlike with American Idiot, to NOT be so heavy handed with the political themes. They do still exist within it, (homeland security is mentioned) but not to the unmistakable extremes of AI. It's more subtle than that.

 

The overall 'story' is about a couple named Christian and Gloria, the couple pictured kissing on the cover & are named in various songs. And, apparently, the 3 different Acts symbolize the evolution of their relationship as it is/was effected by different events. However, the timeline of events and the people involved seem to be all over the place, almost like a puzzle.

 

Billie Joe may be the embodiment of Christian. He may be telegraphing an early, personal experience with someone named, (or codenamed here as,) Gloria, but that doesn't always make sense given some of the other material which seems very current. This brings me back to the puzzle and why themes are mixed up on the album; it could cover private things in a way we have to work at getting to the truth of.

 

2 other piece's of the puzzle:

Why are they skulls here: christian_and_gloria_jpeg.JPG

 

and why the different eye art and why are the "R,D & A" also "X"ed out? And why, on the disk art, does Gloria wear a red and white striped kerchief over her mouth???

 

Perhaps over time, with repeated hearings the message, if one even exists, will clearly present itself but all the mystery aside, the album does features classic, (and fresh variations of the) GD sound and that is reason enough for me to buy it.

 

Something interesting M brought up, The Kinks are her all time favorite band, ever. She immediately noticed the similarity of this albums title with one by the Kinks, 20th Century Man. Wondering if there could be a connection, I looked up the lyrics of 20th Century Man and both it and 21st Century Breakdown have mention of being a child of the Welfare state and the over all theme of both of these songs is decidedly similar. I haven't taken more time to develop further connections between the two albums other than these two songs.

 

I've heard most of the album and I really do like it. I think my song on it is Viva La Gloria

 

Yes, excellent song. I like very many of them but one currently standing above for me is Peacemaker.

 

EDIT: I was just looking closely at the inside cover art and lo & behold, puzzle pieces.

Edited by Alterego

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