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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 5, 2000)
Green Day's latest more Dylan than ‘Dookie’ ■The sometime punk band branches out into Paul Simon and Elliott Smith territory Green Day‘Warning’ Reprise By Josh Ryneal Oregon Daily Emerald It must be hard getting old. At least, it must be for Billie Joe Arm strong, lead singer of Green Day. On “Warning,” the band’s sixth album, he seems to be experiencing a mid life crisis with all its awkward tran sitions. There must be a point in all adults’ lives when they have put away the hard-rockin’ music of their youth and embraced music easier on aging ears, such as James Taylor or Steve Miller. When Green Day exploded into the national spotlight with 1994’s “Dookie,” mallrats everywhere were taken with the band’s punk ni hilism and snarling lyricism. The grinding bass, speed-freak guitars and Billie Joe’s hoarse yet tuneful voice were the perfect recipe for success during the mid-’90s punk boom. But Green Day came from California, not Never-Neverland, so it was inevitable that they would grow up sometime. Fans should have seen it coming. On their last album, “Nimrod,” the only big single was “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life),” a catchy mid tempo ballad that was a startling de parture from the snot-nosed bub blegum punk of “Dookie.” Now, the trio has sold its Sex Pis tols and Clash albums, and from the sound of “Warning,” they used the money to buy up the entire Bob Dy lan back catalog, with a used copy of Paul Simon’s “Graceland” for good measure. “Hold On,” with its strumming guitars and harmonica solo, sounds like a cover of a Bruce Spring steen/Tom Petty collaboration. Sure, Armstrong is a wealthy family man now, so now he’s tackling more complex themes than “I hate you, I hate you, I hate you,” but the band’s transition from punk standard-bear ers to melancholy baby-boomers is not always believable. At times, Armstrong seems caught in limbo. The confusion of middle age has never been captured so well as when he whines about rules and authority on the title track and “Minority,” then switches gears into the accordian-fueled gypsy tune of “Misery.” That song would sound as though it came from a col lection of Paul Simon B-side — if Simon had developed a sudden penchant for baseball-bat violence and drug deals gone wrong. “Fashion Victim” is an old-man rant on “those kids today.” Who would have thought a punk-rock singer could sound so crotchety? The album’s best track, “Macy’s Day Pa rade,” which sounds like a lost Elliott Smith song, is so totally out of character for the band that listeners may check their CD players to make sure tney naven t - put the wrong album in. However, the song is definitely an achieve ment, a rumination on mortality with glorious guitar strums, and it ranks among the band’s best. It’s not that these songs are “soft” or even that bad; they still carry a hint of the old Green Day if you lis ten closely. The album even has a few old-school rockers, such as “Castaway” and “Deadbeat Holi day,” but the biggest surprise is the kinky “Blood, Sex and Booze,” an ode to bondage and domination that seems out of place compared to the rest of the “adult” tracks. “Warning” is not a terrible al bum, but it suffers from the “transi tion curse.” Most bands that live past their third records inevitably put out albums that reflect a “broader perspective” and “grow ing maturity.” Some are bad, some are good, and this one still has some growing up to do. Those who liked the whiplash inducing punk rawk of “Dookie” will be somewhat disappointed, but give it a chance. Remember, you’ll be old some day too. THEATRE University Theatre presents The Art Of Saturday, Oct. 7 7 pm ALL TICKETS $5 GENERAL ADMISSION A Mask/Mime/Puppet show for the entire family IS ll?>|686-2458 ■ m 492 E. 13th Ave www.bijou-cinemas.com ftenttha Bijou any morning or afternoon for parties, ale. THANKS TO ALL OF YOU FILM LOVERS! 21 YEARS OF WONDERFUL FILMS!! WHY DO WOMEN FIND THIS MAN IRRESISTIBLE? ij 1 TWO THUMBS UP! A REAL TREAT!” Roger Ebert t Richard Roe per ROGER EBERT l THE MOVIES TAO OF STEVE 5:05, 7:15 & 9:25pm Nightly gy Sun Mat 3:00pm-SOON. Girt On The Bridge 4:45, 7:00 &£10pm Nightly |ig Sun Mat 2:30om-SOON. Ballad Of Ramblin' Jack JIJOU LateNite $3 TH-SA/S2 SU-WE Directedby KeenenIvory Wayana . . Scary Movie 11:20pm “SKMiHI Nightly Writton l Diroetod by John WHort 11:30pm CECIL B. DEMB^TE&b Nightly Oregon daily emerald WORLDWIDE www.dailyeimrald.com || all events are FREE JFJH h fas jamie rust thu | oct 5 8-1 Opm 4* ethan daniel davidson acoustic folk/rock fri l°ct 6 eclectic open mic 9pm-midnight music | performance art | theatre Sign-up to perform at The Break (located next to The Buzz) For more info call Jessica at 346-3725 sat | oct 7 9-11pm mon | oct 9 9pm-11:30pm jamie rust acoustic rock poetry open mic Sign-up to perform at The Break (located next to The Buzz) For more info call Jessica at 346-3725 the buzz | emu ground floor www.emu.uoregon.edu/buzz HOUSE OF RECORDS mmm, good, vinyl! BUY, SELL & TRADE NEW AND USED CDS, VINYL & TAPES ♦ plVIenamins ♦ . pm™ A Place for Families ft Friends Delicious Pub Fare Handcrafted Ales and Wines, East 19th Street Cafe 1485 E. 19th Street 342-4205 North Bank 22 Club Road 343-5622 High Street Brewery & Cafe 1243 High Street 345-4905 ALL i^OOD. ALES AND WINES AVAILABLE TO GO WWW.MCMENAMINS.GOM
