Dookie

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This article is about the album by Green Day. For the town in Australia, see Dookie, Victoria. For bowel movements, see defecation.
Dookie
Dookie cover
Studio album by Green Day
Released February 1, 1994
Recorded September–October 1993
Genre Punk rock, pop punk
Length 39:46
Label Reprise
Producer Green Day, Rob Cavallo
Professional reviews
Green Day chronology
Kerplunk
(1992)		 Dookie
(1994)		 Live Tracks EP
(1995)
Singles from Dookie
  1. "Longview"
    Released: 1994
  2. "Welcome to Paradise"
    Released: 1994
  3. "Basket Case"
    Released: 1994
  4. "She"
    Released: 1995
  5. "When I Come Around"
    Released: 1995

Dookie is the third studio album and major label debut by American punk rock band Green Day. The album was the band's first collaboration with producer Rob Cavallo. Released on February 1, 1994 through Reprise Records, Dookie became a worldwide commercial success, reaching #2 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and charting in seven countries. The album helped to propel Green Day into mainstream popularity, amid claims from the punk rock community that the band had "sold out".

Dookie produced five hit singles for the band: "Longview", the re-recorded "Welcome to Paradise", "Basket Case", the radio-only single "She" and "When I Come Around". As of 2007, Dookie is the band's best-selling album, selling over 15 million copies worldwide. It is Green Day's only diamond album. Dookie won the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album in 1995.

Contents

[edit] Background

Following the underground success of 1992's Kerplunk, a number of major labels became interested in Green Day.[3] Representatives of these labels attempted to entice the band to sign by inviting them for meals to discuss a deal, with one manager even inviting the group to Disneyland.[4] The band declined these advances until meeting producer and Reprise representative Rob Cavallo. They were impressed by his work with fellow Californian band The Muffs, and later remarked that Cavallo "was the only person we could really talk to and connect with".[4]

Eventually, the band left their independent record label Lookout! Records on friendly terms, and signed to Reprise. Signing to a major label caused many of the band's original fans from the independent music club 924 Gilman Street to regard Green Day as sell-outs.[5][6] The club has banned Green Day from entering since the major label signing. [4] Reflecting back on the period, lead vocalist Billie Joe Armstrong told Spin magazine in 1999, "I couldn't go back to the punk scene, whether we were the biggest success in the world or the biggest failure [...] The only thing I could do was get on my bike and go forward."[7]

[edit] Recording and production

Rob Cavallo was chosen as the main producer of the album, with Jerry Finn as the mixer. Green Day originally gave the first demo tape to Cavallo, and after listening to it during the car ride home he sensed that "[he] had stumbled on something big."[3] The band's recording session lasted three weeks and the album was remixed twice.[4] Armstrong claimed that the band wanted to create a dry sound, "Similar to the Sex Pistols' album or first Black Sabbath albums."[8] The band felt the original mix to be unsatisfactory. Cavallo agreed, and it was remixed.[8] Armstrong later said of their studio experience, "Everything was already written, all we had to do was play it." [4][8]

[edit] Writing and composition

Much of the album's content was written by Armstrong, except "Emenius Sleepus" which was co-written by Armstrong and bassist Mike Dirnt, and the hidden track, "All By Myself", which was composed and written by drummer Tré Cool. The album touched upon various experiences of the band members and included subjects like anxiety and panic attacks, masturbation, sexual orientation, boredom, and former girlfriends.[4]

The single "Longview" had a signature bass line that bass player Dirnt wrote while under the influence of cannabis.[9] He originally forgot much of it, but the remembered portions were included in the song. Armstrong stated that the song was mainly about boredom, masturbation, and smoking cannabis, as evident in some of the lyrics, "When masturbation's lost its fun/You're fucking breaking."

Audio samples of Dookie
  • "Longview"
    Sample of "Longview", the first single from Dookie, which combined a memorable bass line with a guitar riff and drums introduced in the chorus.
    "Basket Case"
    Sample of "Basket Case", the third single from Dookie, which was about Armstrong's panic attacks.
  • Problems playing the files? See media help.

"Welcome to Paradise", the second single from Dookie, was originally on the second studio album by the band, Kerplunk. The song was re-recorded, with a less grainy sound for Dookie.[3] The song never had an official music video, however, a certain live performance of the song is often associated as a music video. The video is located on Green Day's official website.[10]

The radio-only single, "She", was written by Armstrong about a former girlfriend who showed him a feminist poem with an identical title.[8] In return, Armstrong wrote the lyrics of She and showed them to her.[8] She later moved to Ecuador, prompting Armstrong to put "She" on the album. The same ex-girlfriend is the topic of the songs "Sassafras Roots" and "Chump".[8]

Another song, "Coming Clean", deals with Armstrong's coming to terms with his bisexuality when he was 16 and 17 years old.[11] In his interview with The Advocate magazine, he says that although he has never had a relationship with a man, his sexuality has been "something that comes up as a struggle in me."

The hit single "Basket Case", which appeared on many singles charts worldwide,[12][13] was also inspired by Armstrong's personal experiences. The song deals with Armstrong's anxiety attacks and feelings of "going crazy" prior to being diagnosed with a panic disorder.[8] The music video was filmed in an abandoned mental institution.

The final single, "When I Come Around", was again inspired by a woman, though this time being about Armstrong's wife, then former girlfriend, Adrienne. Following a dispute between the couple, Armstrong left Adrienne to spend some time alone.[3] The video featured the three band members walking around Berkeley and San Francisco at night, eventually ending up back at the original location. Future touring back up guitarist, Jason White, made a cameo in the video with his then-girlfriend.[4]

[edit] Album name and art

The name of the album is a reference to the band members often suffering from diarrhea, which they referred to as Liquid Dookie, as a result of eating spoiled food whilst on tour. Initially the band were to name the album "Liquid Dookie", however this was deemed "too gross", and so they settled on the name "Dookie".[8][4]

The cover art is an illustration by Richie Bucher, which depicts bombs being dropped on people and buildings. In the center, the band's name can be seen on the cap of a muchroom cloud. Armstrong has since explained the meaning of the artwork:[14]

“ I wanted the art work to look really different. I wanted it to represent the East Bay and where we come from, because there's a lot of artists in the East Bay scene that are just as important as the music. So we talked to Richie Bucher. He did a 7-inch cover for this band called Raooul that I really liked. He's also been playing in bands in the East Bay for years. There’s pieces of us buried on the album cover. There’s one guy with his camera up in the air taking a picture with a beard. He took pictures of bands every weekend at Gilman’s. The robed character that looks like Ozzy Osbourne is the woman on the cover of the first Ozzy album. Angus Young is in there somewhere too. The graffiti reading “Twisted Dog Sisters” refers to these two girls from Berkeley. I think the guy saying “The fritter, fat boy” was a reference to a local cop. ”

The back cover on early prints of the CD featured a plush toy of Ernie from Sesame Street, which was airbrushed out of later prints for fear of litigation.[4] Some rumors suggest that it was removed because it led parents to think that Dookie was a child's lullaby album or that the creators of Sesame Street had sued Green Day.[3]

[edit] Release

Upon its release, Dookie charted in seven countries. The album peaked at #2 on Billboard 200 in the United States[5], and was a success in several other countries, peaking as high as #1 in New Zealand;[15] the lowest peak in any country was in the United Kingdom at #13.[13] Most of the singles fared well in various charts. While all the singles from the album charted in a few countries, the hit single "Basket Case" charted in many countries, entering the top 10 in the United States, United Kingdom, and Sweden. Later in 1995, the album received a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album, with "Longview" and "Basket Case" both being nominated for a Grammy.

Throughout the 1990's, Dookie continued to sell well, eventually receiving diamond certification[16] in 1999; To date, Dookie has sold over 15 million copies worldwide and remains the band's best-selling album.[17]

[edit] Reception

The album was well received by some critics, with the All Music Guide describing Dookie as "a stellar piece of modern punk that many tried to emulate but nobody bettered."[18] In 1994, Time claimed Dookie as the third best album of the year, but the best rock album of 1994.[19] The New York Times, in early 1995, described the sound of Dookie as, "Punk turns into pop in fast, funny, catchy, high-powered songs about whining and channel-surfing; apathy has rarely sounded so passionate."[20]

However, many other music critics, and even some other mainstream bands, claimed the band had sold out for signing to a major label, and called them "watered down punk imposters".[4] The New York Times, while complementary on the album's overall quality, noted that Dookie's pop sound only remotely resembled punk music.[21] The band did not respond initially to these comments, but later claimed that they were "just trying to be themselves" and that "it's our band, we can do whatever we want."[4] Dirnt claimed that the follow up album, Insomniac, one of the band's hardest albums lyrically and musically, was the band releasing their anger at all the criticism from critics and former fans.[4]

[edit] Accolades

Since its release, Dookie has featured heavily in various "must have" lists complied by the music media. Some of the more prominent of these lists to feature Dookie are shown below; this information is adapted from AcclaimedMusic.net.[22]

Publication Country Accolade Year Rank
Kerrang! United Kingdom The Kerrang! 100 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die[23] 1998 33
Classic Rock & Metal Hammer United Kingdom The 200 Greatest Albums of the 90s[24] 2006 *
Robert Dimery United States 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die[25] 2005 *
Rolling Stone United States The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time[26] 2003 193
Spin Magazine United States 100 Greatest Albums, 1985–2005[27] 2005 44
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame United States The Definitive 200[28] 2005 50

* denotes an unordered list

[edit] Dookie tour

Green Day shortly after playing at Woodstock 1994.
Green Day shortly after playing at Woodstock 1994.

Immediately following the release of Dookie, the band embarked on an international tour, beginning in the United States, for which they used a bookmobile belonging to Tré Cool's father to travel between shows.[4] An audience of millions saw Green Day's performance at Woodstock '94 on Pay-per-view, helping the band attract more fans. This event was the location of the infamous[29] mud fight between the band and the crowd, which continued beyond the end of Green Day's set.[30] During the fight, Dirnt was mistaken for a fan by a security guard and tackled him then threw him against a monitor, causing him to injure his arm and break two of his teeth.[31]

The band also appeared at Lollapalooza and the Madison Square Garden charity event, where Armstrong performed the song "She" naked.[32] Having toured throughout the United States and Canada, the band played a few shows in Europe before beginning the recording sessions for the subsequent album, Insomniac. During the tour, Armstrong was quite homesick. His wife, Adrienne Armstrong, whom he had married shortly after the release of Dookie, was pregnant during most of the tour, and Armstrong was upset about being unable to help and care for her. Being away from his family during the Dookie tour, and the following tours for the next few albums, eventually caused the band to temporarily break up.[4]

[edit] Track listing

All tracks were written by Billie Joe Armstrong (lyrics) and Green Day (music), except where noted.

  1. "Burnout" – 2:07
  2. "Having a Blast" – 2:44
  3. "Chump" – 2:54
  4. "Longview" – 3:59
  5. "Welcome to Paradise" – 3:44
    • A re-recording of the song that originally appeared on 1992's Kerplunk
  6. "Pulling Teeth" – 2:30
  7. "Basket Case" – 3:03
  8. "She" – 2:14
  9. "Sassafras Roots" – 2:37
  10. "When I Come Around" – 2:58
  11. "Coming Clean" – 1:34
  12. "Emenius Sleepus" (Mike Dirnt, Green Day) – 1:43
  13. "In the End" – 1:46
  14. "F.O.D." – 5:46

[edit] B-sides, outtakes and non-album tracks

  1. "On the Wagon"
    • Originally meant to be the last track on Dookie
  2. "Tired of Waiting for You"
  3. "409 In Your Coffemaker" (Unmixed)
    • Originally appeared on Green Day's Slappy EP from 1990, Dookie version released on "Basket Case" CD single had not been completely mixed
  4. "2,000 Light Years Away" (Cavallo & Finn Remix)

[edit] Personnel

[edit] Chart positions

[edit] Album

Chart Peak position
Billboard 200 [5] 2
UK Top 40 [13] 13
Swedish Top 60 [33] 3
New Zealand [15] 1
Austria [34] 4
Finland [35] 11
Switzerland [36] 6

[edit] Singles

Year Song Peak positions
US Modern Rock
[12]		 US
Main-
stream Rock
[12]		 UK
Top 40
[13]		 Sweden
[33]		 New Zealand
[15]		 France
[37]
1994 "Longview" 1 13 30
1994 "Welcome to Paradise" 7 20 21
1994 "Basket Case" 1 9 7 3 21 35
1995 "She" 5 18 16
1995 "When I Come Around" 1 2 27 28 4

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Rolling Stone Magazine - Album Rating Guide - United States - 2004
  2. ^ Spin Magazine - Spin's Book of Alternative Albums, Ratings 1-10 - United States - 1995
  3. ^ a b c d e VH1 - Ultimate Albums: Green Day's "Dookie" - 1994
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n VH1's Behind The Music: Green Day - 2001
  5. ^ a b c Green Day Biography. Billboard. Retrieved on 2007-07-16.
  6. ^ Guitar Legends. "What Happened Next...." Retrieved on September 26, 2006
  7. ^ Smith, RJ. "Top 90 Albums of the 90's." SPIN. August 1999.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h Billie Joe Armstrong Interview on VH1. VH1. Retrieved on 2007-07-16.
  9. ^ Mike Dirnt - Rolling Stone Magazine - 1995
  10. ^ Green Day Music Videos. Green Day. Retrieved on 2007-07-20.
  11. ^ Interview with The Advocate magazine. The Advocate. Retrieved on 2007-07-27.
  12. ^ a b c Green Day single chart history. Billboard. Retrieved on 2007-07-16.
  13. ^ a b c d UK album chart archives. Retrieved on 2007-07-16.
  14. ^ Billie Joe Armstrong Interview on VH1 explaining cover art. VH1. Retrieved on 2007-07-16.
  15. ^ a b c New Zealand album chart archives. charts.org.nz. Retrieved on 2007-07-16.
  16. ^ Diamond Certified Albums. RIAA. Retrieved on 2007-07-16.
  17. ^ Dookie Total Sales. My Lyrics Central. Retrieved on 2007-07-16.
  18. ^ Dookie Review. AllMusic. Retrieved on 2007-07-16.
  19. ^ The Best Music of 1994. Time. Retrieved on 2007-07-21.
  20. ^ The Pop Life. New York Times. Retrieved on 2007-07-21.
  21. ^ POP VIEW; Has Success Spoiled Green Day?. New York Times. Retrieved on 2007-07-21.
  22. ^ List of Dookie Accolades. Acclaimed Music. Retrieved on 2007-07-17.
  23. ^ Kerrang! - The Kerrang! 100 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. AcclaimedMusic.net. Retrieved on 2007-07-16.
  24. ^ Acclaimed Music - Classic Rock and Metal Hammer 200 List. AcclaimedMusic.net. Retrieved on 2007-07-16.
  25. ^ Dimery, Robert - 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die; page 855
  26. ^ The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on 2007-07-16.
  27. ^ Spin Magazine - 100 Greatest Albums, 1985–2005. Retrieved on 2007-07-16.
  28. ^ The Definitive 200. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Retrieved on 2007-08-18.
  29. ^ VH1's VH1 40 Freakiest Concert Moments: #40 Mudstock - 2006
  30. ^ Wood Stock 1994 Mudfight description. Chiff. Retrieved on 2007-07-16.
  31. ^ When I Come Around Facts. Song Facts. Retrieved on 2007-07-16.
  32. ^ Green Day Tour Notes. Geek Stink Beath. Retrieved on 2007-07-16.
  33. ^ a b Swedish album chart archives. hitparad.se. Retrieved on 2007-07-16.
  34. ^ Austrian Chart Archives. austriancharts.at. Retrieved on 2007-07-16.
  35. ^ Finnish Chart Archives. finnishcharts.com. Retrieved on 2007-07-16.
  36. ^ Swiss Chart Archives. hitparade.ch. Retrieved on 2007-07-16.
  37. ^ Green Day French single chart history. Retrieved on 2007-07-16.

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Green Day
Billie Joe Armstrong · Mike Dirnt · Tré Cool
Jason White · Al Sobrante
Discography

Studio Albums: 39/Smooth (1990) · Kerplunk! (1992) · Dookie (1994) · Insomniac (1995) · Nimrod (1997) · Warning (2000) · American Idiot (2004) · Untitled 8th Studio Album (2008)

Studio EPs: 1,000 Hours (1989) · Slappy (1990) · Sweet Children (1990)

Compilations: 1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours (1991) · International Superhits! (2001) · Shenanigans (2002)

Live Albums/ Live EPs: Live Tracks (1994) · Bowling Bowling Bowling Parking Parking (1996) · Foot in Mouth (1996) · Tune in, Tokyo... (2001) · Bullet in a Bible (2005)

DVDs: International Supervideos! (2001) · Riding in Vans with Boys (2003) · Bullet in a Bible (2005)

Singles: "Longview" · "Welcome to Paradise" · " Basket Case" · "She" · "When I Come Around" · "J.A.R." · "Geek Stink Breath" · "Stuck With Me" · "Brain Stew"/"Jaded" · "Walking Contradiction" · "Hitchin' a Ride" · "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" · "Redundant" · "Nice Guys Finish Last" · "Minority" · "Warning" · "Waiting" · "Macy's Day Parade" · "Poprocks & Coke" · "I Fought the Law" · "American Idiot" · "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" · "Holiday" · "Wake Me Up When September Ends" · "Jesus of Suburbia" · "The Saints Are Coming" · "Working Class Hero" · "The Simpsons Theme"
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