Jumat, 16 Juli 2010

Dookie

Dookie
1. Burnout

In this song the narrator is describing his apathetic state and his lack of interest in anything at all. He declares that he doesn't care about anything anymore, he has no purpose and no will. His life has no meaning and he "steps in line to walk amongst the dead". The song is often seen as a description of life in punk style.

Aside from being an ode to indifference, this song could also be considered an expression of frustration associated with growing up. The narrator shows his desire to never grow up but stay young and immature forever, protecting himself from the pressures of the adult world. He kills his misery in constant intoxication, which causes the rain of apathy to get him closer and closer to drowning - but he doesn't mind because he would rather drown in apathy than face real life.



2. Having A Blast

If you perceive the lyrics of this song literally, you’ll see a man who comes to a public place with “explosives duct-taped” to his spine and a murderous plan settled in his brain. He’s going to kill himself and everyone around him and won’t listen to anyone trying to stop him or calm him down. This literal vision of the song gave birth to a theory that the song might be about suicide bombing. However, a closer look at the lyrics along with the fact that at the time the band hasn’t yet started expressing their views on serious political issues shows that most likely the song is about the destructive strength of anger and spiteful memories.

The narrator is so mad at someone or something in his past (“Do you ever think back to another time?”), some painful memory that scarred him so much that he’s unable to forget it, that he is now mad at the whole world and is ready to “lead a long trail of destruction” as if hurting people around him would avenge his own pain. He’s so irritated and angry that all the small things that bug him keep adding up and override all goodness in him, turning him into a killing machine that doesn’t care about anyone or anything anymore. He’s so blinded by his anger that everything around him, including other people, becomes nothing and all he wants to do is destroy any source of irritation and all the “bullshit that confronts” him just to satisfy the burning anger inside of him. And in that process he also destroys himself.

3. Chump

The narrator in this song expresses his hatred towards some unidentified person. He doesn't explain why exactly he hates them, he just states that they are the reason of his misery because apparently they did something that makes the narrator mad.

There is a legend that Armstrong wrote this song about a boyfriend of a girl he fancied, and even though he’s never actually met that person, he had a reason to hate them. If the legend has its truth then it would explain certain parts of the lyrics, such as “maybe it’s just jealousy…” or “you still got one over on me” - obviously, the author was jealous of the guy who dated the girl he liked and that apparently was a good enough reason for Armstrong to start hating the “chump".



4. Longview
“Longview” is a term that refers to planning out one’s future. It might mean that the narrator of this song is looking at his life wondering what to do next and whether he even has a future. He’s an unemployed young man who spends most of his time at home watching TV, masturbating and getting high. He’s realistic about the fact that this all isn’t going to get him far, so he asks “peel me off this Velcro seat” as he knows it’s time to actually do something already, but he’s too lazy to even take a shower.

When you get lazy and stop doing anything you eventually get caught up in the cage of your apathy (“I locked the door to my own cell and I lost the key”) and you can’t motivate yourself to do anything at all anymore. He wants to do something with his life but at the same time looks for excuses not to. As his mother tells him to get a job he mentions that she doesn’t like her own job as if to say “well, what’s the point?” And in the end even masturbation loses its fun only to prove once again that the narrator drowned in the deep well of his own laziness.

5. Welcome to Paradise

"It's about West Oakland, living in a warehouse with a lot of people, a bunch of artists and musicians, punks and whatever just lived all up and down, bums and junkies and thugs and gang members and stuff that just lived in that area. It's no place you want to walk around at night, but it's a neat warehouse where you can play basketball and stuff" - Armstrong.

The song is not only about a 'slum' that the author used to live in, it's also about leaving your parents' house. When you leave home and start a life of your own, you don't always get a house with 3 bedrooms and a swimming pool right away. In fact, most of the time you have nothing and have to live in some broken house with a bunch of friends. At first it scares you ("Dear mother, can you hear me whining..."), you panic and doubt you will ever succeed in this independent life you've decided to live, you think of quitting everything and going back home ("It makes me wonder why I'm still here..."). But people adapt to just about everything and soon you make friends and get used to your new living conditions. The new place becomes your home ("For some strange reason it's now feeling like my home").
"Some call it slums, some call it nice" - it's only slums when you look at it from a distance. But when you live and breathe it - it becomes nice because it is your home. Not your parents' home, but one of your own - and it's Paradise.



6. Pulling Teeth

Pulling Teeth is a tongue-in-cheek story about an unusual abusive relationship where the female beats up the male and not vice versa. The one thing that is quite typical is that the abused person is in denial - he screams "oh God, she's killing me", yet tells himself "she takes good care of me, just keep saying my love is true". Scared of the violence, he still doesn't want to end this relationship.

The song is, of course, not a tragic tale of domestic abuse, but more of a friendly joke. It is said that Pulling Teeth has been inspired by a strange occasion in Mike Dirnt's life - after a pillow fight with his girlfriend he ended up with both elbows broken. Armstrong found that funny and wrote a song about the 'violent' girlfriend.

7. Basket Case

This song is a vivid description of emotional instability. Its common knowledge that Armstrong was suffering from anxiety and panic disorders at the time when he wrote this song: "The only way I knew how to deal with it was to write a song about it". Everything in this song reflects mental unsteadiness: being overwhelmed ("Do you have the time to listen to me whine, about nothing and everything - all at once"), self-doubt and confusion ("Am I just paranoid? Am I just stoned?"), self-contradiction and inconsistency ("I went to a whore, he said my life's a bore, and quit my whining 'cause it's bringing her down'"). Behind the joke-like lyrics and the slightly comic mental institution video, lies an implication of great emotional pressure that damaged mental health is causing.

The song is also describing the relationship problems that emotional instability is initiating ("Do you have the time to listen to me whine..?") - mental disorders tend to be very consuming and your loved ones have to face tolerating your obsessiveness and your issues. That doesn't always work perfectly well.

Also, the line "I went to a whore, he said my life's a bore, and quit my whining 'cause it's bringing her down'" could be a description of problems with the choice of sexual preference - problems that cause more anxiety, hesitation and lack of confidence.

8. She
This song might be about a particular person Armstrong knows or used to know who wanted to find consolation by sharing her problems with him (“I'm taking heed just for you”), but in general this song is not about just one person, it’s about a problem that a lot of people experience regardless of age, location or social status.

The girl described in this song suffers from having turned into someone she really is not. She shaped herself into who other people wanted her to be and now feels insecurity and doubts caused by trying to match the expectations (“All her doubts were someone else's point of view”). And although she did her best trying to fit into a certain scheme she is now miserable because there is no way for her to move forward or do anything with her life (“Are you feeling like a social tool without a use?”). And now that she’s realized it, it’s time to “smash the silence”, stop acting and finally be who she really is.

9. Sassafras Roots

Sassafras is one of the main ingredients in root beer, so the title of the song might be referring to the consumption of that drink.

The narrator's words are directed towards a friend or someone that he wants to spend time with. He points out that this person does nothing but waste their own time all alone, and offers them to waste time together. "When I'm a waste like you, with nothing else to do, may I waste your time too?" - this is basically an odd way of saying "May I keep you company?"



10. When I Come Around

I think that this song is about taking a break in any kind of relationship whether it's boyfriend and girlfriend or two best friends but also despite the fight if someone leaves and you decide to look for them you know where they'll be.


11. Coming Clean

The narrator of this song is a teenager who’s beginning to grow up and hence has to deal with the confusion and disillusionment of facing the truths and realizations of adult life. Like most people he has his secrets and as a child he never dared talk about them, but they are still there and he now understands that it might be time to reveal them. He finally figured out himself and it’s time to come clean.

This song was most likely inspired by the issue of homosexuality and how people are afraid to come out of the closet. The author talks not only about his own experience (“I think I’ve always been bisexual” - Armstrong), but also about that of people around him – his homosexual uncle and bisexual ex-girlfriend. Sexuality is a serious issue because a lot of people still haven’t evolved enough to accept someone who’s different from themselves or what is currently considered to be “the norm”. The issue is especially big for teenagers because at that age a lot of people still haven’t formed their beliefs and tend to go by the principles of what’s “in” or just plain mock someone if there’s a reason to mock them.(“People get attacked just because someone insinuates something about their sexuality. I think that’s gruesome.” - Armstrong). And coming clean at that stage is very hard and takes a lot of courage (“I found out what it takes to be a man”).

12. Emenius Sleepus

This song can be interpreted in two different ways. The narrator could be talking to an old friend that he hasn't seen for a really long time, and now when they've finally met again, he sees how much this person has changed. He mentions that a long time ago they used to be the same, but now this old friend is so different from what they used to be that it's making the narrator sick and he wants to go back home.

The other interpretation of this song has to do with self-digging. The narrator is talking to himself, asking himself what went wrong, "did anybody ever say 'no', ever tell you that you weren't right?" He realizes that the mistakes he made and the cruelty of life itself turned him into something he doesn't want to be - he makes himself sick now.



13. In the End

This song is about people who only care about their image and convenience. They don't need a relationship based on real feelings - all they need is "someone to look good with". They are hypocritical and only use people for as long as they need them ("How long will he last before he's a creep in the past...").

One might think in this song the narrator is talking to his ex-girlfriend who's left him for someone who was more useful for her at the moment. However, the author stated that the song is about his mother: "That song is about my mother's husband, it's not really about a girl, or like anyone directly related to me in a relationship. In the End's about my mother." In this case, the chorus of the song probably means that he's so disgusted with his mother's hypocrisy that even if she ever wants to reconnect with him, he doesn't want anything to do with her anymore. Doesn't want her to "pop up again" and be his "special friend" because even if she does, it will all be just an act.



14. F.O.D.

Fuck Off and Die... a song describing a truly horrible feeling that a lot of us have to experience at some point in life. And that would be having to deal with a person you absolutely cannot stand. That often happens with a colleague, boss, classmate or even a parent - you have to see that person every day, communicate with them and pretend that your relationship is fine, while in your dreams you see yourself slowly cutting their head off and enjoying every second of it. And, of course, every once in a while you have major fights - torching the bridge between you, but you still have to see each other every day, so you keep putting those fires out.
But the hatred and irritation keeps "burning in your guts", and one day you just spew it all out telling the object of your disgust how much you really despise them - telling them to fuck off and die. What a relief...

Musically the song consists of 2 parts - the quiet one and the loud one. This basically demonstrates the 2 stages of this hateful relationship - first you deal with that person and keep suppressing your anger, and then you spit it all out. And this bottled up rage is so destructive for your dignity that when you finally burst, you feel almost proud of finally telling the truth - and the more insulting it is the better you feel...

15. All By Myself

All by Myself is the infamous hidden track which appears a few seconds after the end of F.O.D. The song tells a story in which the narrator went to a girl's house but didn't find her, so he decided to masturbate while he had a chance.

The unorthodox performance of the song might not have all been intentional. The background sounds and exaggerated intonations of Cool’s voice show that the song might have been recorded in a home studio during a party or at the end of a recording day when the musicians were just having fun. It’s also possible that the singer was drunk.

Diposting oleh Green Day's movement come to Indonesia di 18.01

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