In a House With Unlocked Doors… Part twenty-nine
21st Century Breakdown
By Sharon Mitchell
The first studio album from the main band since American Idiot back in 2004 was very eagerly anticipated. Before the release date in May 2009, Green Day had told us that it was going to be presented in three acts (Heroes and Cons, Charlatans and Saints and Horseshoes and Handgrenades), and followed characters in a similar way to American Idiot, but the storyline is much looser in 21st Century Breakdown.
It follows a couple, Christian and Gloria, who find each other during a time of civil unrest, and the music reflects their relationship against a background of rioting and protest. The album featured some very striking artwork, mainly stencil art, which was carried through to each of the singles, and featured heavily in the backdrops at concerts on the supporting tour of 2009/10.
The first track released was Know Your Enemy. in April 2009. There are many different versions of the single, some with one track, one with Lights Out, and another with Lights Out and Hearts Collide.
I also have a Japanese version of that single, but my favourite is the one track cd that all three members signed for me on 5th May at Maida Vale after they had recorded the Zane Lowe radio show interview and live session.
The next song from the album was East Jesus Nowhere, in October, 2009, and I have that as a promo, and as a clean radio edit. Other singles were Last Of The American Girls, the title track, 21st Century Breakdown and 21 Guns. Know Your Enemy was also available on vinyl, in a limited edition of 5000, and 21 Guns came out on clear vinyl, with Favorite Son as the B side. Interestingly, both of these tracks ended up in the score for the Broadway American Idiot musical.
The album comes in many different formats. I have some special editions, such as the one produced for Target stores with a bonus cd of live tracks. The japanese had two editions, one which included Lights Out and the other a live cd as well as the bonus track, and there are the basic US an European versions.
They also produced a larger format book version, as they did with American Idiot, and I have that in US and in European forms. If you purchased the album on iTunes, there were four extra songs – all covers of classics. These are The Who’s A Quick One While He’s Away, Social Distortion’s Another STate of Mind, Elvis Presley’s That’s Alright Mama, and Bob Dylan’s Like A Rolling Stone. All four covers are excellent, and the downloads are worth looking for if you have not already got them.
Then we have the vinyl. The artwork was so central to this album, and the vinyl releases highlighted this beautifully. It was available as either a double 12” album, or a very limited special edition three 10” vinyl set. This last one contains several exclusive images, and also included a cd for anyone without a turntable.
