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Man of 2004:
Green Day...
THE LOWDOWN
After much deliberation, a couple of glasses of wine, and a heart-warming rendition of "Climb Ev'ry Mountain" from a Christmas Day showing of The Sound of Music, I was ready to name my man of the year. Previously, i.e. two weeks before, I had chosen Jon Stewart to be the man gracing this page - a man so funny, so frank, and so conscious of his political and social climate that he was like the Luke Skywalker to George Bush's Darth Vader. But then someone else came into my life, and pushed Stewart aside, if only for a brief moment (not that Stewart is sitting at home crying over this). This brief moment was enough to get me out of my bed-ridden, drunken holiday stupor to write this article.
My Man of the Year is not one, but three, talented individuals who have worked long and hard in the industry, and who, despite professional and personal set-backs, have managed to release one of the best, and most aptly-titled, albums of the year.
My Men of the Year are Green Day - also known by their fans as Billy Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, and Tré Cool.
In a recent issue of Entertainment Weekly, Stephen King named Green Day's American Idiot as one of the best albums of 2004. And while taking musical direction from Stephen King is akin to asking Martha Stewart which rapper she'd most like to sleep with, the man has a point. King went on to gush about the album, saying that "Green Day has created a rock & roll masterpiece of far greater ambition than Tommy. I've played the spots off this sucker, and every time I listen to it I can barely believe how good it is." Rock on, Stephen King. (King had also mentioned Eminem's "Just Lose It" and "Mosh" as some of the best in rap - but I'll lay off the Stephen King jokes now).
Green Day has managed to win over Stephen King, and the rest of the world isn't far behind. With American Idiot, the band has put out a fan-friendly album that remains true to their California punk rock roots. They're loud, abrasive, love giving the finger, and probably drink more than they should. But since their mainstream debut with a major record label (1994's Dookie with Reprise), they've grown comfortably in their skins, and sound a heck of a lot better live than Avril Lavigne.
Okay, truth time: I had a minor fascination with Green Day back in their Dookie days. And by "minor," I mean "full, blown-up, almost borderline obsession." I had their tapes, their posters, and their memorabilia. I would have owned a stuffed doll of Billy Joe, had they put those out on the market. But alas, it was never meant to be, and after buying 1995's Insomniac and attending one live concert, I put my Green Day shrine away. I loved Dookie, but tolerated Insomniac. So, in 1996 (with pretty much the death of grunge), and after memorizing their shoe sizes and favourite colours, I had no idea what happened to these guys and their music, which had been such a large part of my adolescence.
Well, during my absence, they released 1997's Nimrod, an album that barely peeped on the charts save the single "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)," which played on every major television show that a) was ending, or b) had someone dying. "Good Riddance" was decidedly different from anything that Green Day had ever put out, and their lone acoustic guitar and Armstrong's lead vocals was a gutsy move that showed off their softer side. In 2000 came Warning:, another album that didn't reach the critical or commercial acclaim that had previously garnered Green Day top honours in the usual music industry bibles, i.e. Rolling Stone and Billboard.
After almost a four-year hiatus, and much touring and writing, the trio came back with American Idiot. It was immediately embraced by critics and fans as one of the most definitive albums of the year. The album has already spawned two top ten singles, "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" and its title track, "American Idiot." Armstrong, Dirnt, and Tré have also been performing like banshees, appearing on the late-night talk show circuit as well as The Billboard Awards, and scheduling a tour in the spring of 2005. Newsweek has also named American Idiot the best album of the year, and the Grammys has decorated the band with seven nominations. All in all, not a bad year for the group.
But the best part about Green Day is that they're real, whether they're on "Total Request Live" or dropping by Much Music's "Much on Demand" to talk shop. When they're performing on stage and giving it their all, there's still a hint of awe on the band members' faces, like they can't believe people are cheering for them - they're veterans of the stage, still humble about their fame, but not afraid to tell it how it is. In a year where Ashlee Simpson can get her own show, Bush is reinstated as president, and Janet Jackson's boob can actually cause a woman to sue for physical damages, it's something that can keep us all sane.
And hey, if Stephen King approves, we can't go wrong. ¤ C.Ho.