Dookie

Dookie
Studio album by Green Day
Released February 1, 1994
Recorded September—October 1993
Genre Punk rock, alternative rock
Length 39:46
Label Reprise
Producer Rob Cavallo, Green Day
Green Day studio album chronology
Kerplunk
(1992)		 Dookie
(1994)		 Insomniac
(1995)
Singles from Dookie
  1. "Longview"
    Released: June 6, 1994
  2. "Welcome to Paradise"
    Released: October 4, 1994
  3. "Basket Case"
    Released: November 29, 1994
  4. "When I Come Around"
    Released: January 31, 1995
  5. "She"
    Released: 1995

Dookie is the third studio album and the major label debut by the American punk rock band Green Day. It was released on February 1, 1994 through Reprise Records. It was the band's first collaboration with producer Rob Cavallo. Dookie became a worldwide commercial success, reaching number two 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", "When I Come Around", and the radio-only single "She". Dookie is the band's best-selling album, with over 15 million copies sold worldwide and over 10 million copies sold in the U.S. alone. [1] Dookie won the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album in 1995. In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked Dookie at 193 on the list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

Contents

Background

Following the underground success of the band's second album Kerplunk (1992), a number of major labels became interested in Green Day.[2] 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.[3] 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".[3]

Eventually, the band left their independent record label Lookout! Records on friendly terms, and signed to Reprise Records. 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.[4][5] The club has banned Green Day from entering since the major label signing.[3] 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."[6]

Recording and production

Rob Cavallo was chosen as the main producer of the album, with Neill King engineering and 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."[2] The band's recording session lasted three weeks and the album was remixed twice.[3] Armstrong claimed that the band wanted to create a dry sound, "similar to the Sex Pistols' album or first Black Sabbath albums."[7] The band felt the original mix to be unsatisfactory. Cavallo agreed, and it was remixed, at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley California.[7] Armstrong later said of their studio experience, "Everything was already written, all we had to do was play it."[3][7]

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.[3]

The single "Longview" had a signature bass line that bass player Dirnt wrote while under the influence of LSD.[8] 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 lonely" (inaccurately quoted as "You're fucking breaking" in the liner notes)).

"Welcome to Paradise", the second single from Dookie, was originally on the band's second studio album, Kerplunk. The song was re-recorded with a less grainy sound for Dookie.[2] 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.[9]

The hit single "Basket Case", which appeared on many singles charts worldwide,[10][11] 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.[7] The music video was filmed in an abandoned mental institution.

The radio-only single, "She", was written by Armstrong about a former girlfriend who showed him a feminist poem with an identical title.[7] In return, Armstrong wrote the lyrics of "She" and showed them to her.[7] She later moved to Ecuador, prompting Armstrong to put "She" on the album. The same ex-girlfriend is the topic of the song "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)".[7]

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.[2] 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.[3]

Another song, "Coming Clean", deals with Armstrong's coming to terms with his bisexuality when he was 16 and 17 years old.[12] 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".

Billie Joe Armstrong wrote the song "In The End" about his mother and her boyfriend (similar to "Why Do You Want Him"). He is quoted saying: "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."[13]

Packaging and title

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".[3][7]

The cover art is an illustration by Richie Bucher, which depicts bombs being dropped on people and buildings. In the center, there is an explosion, with the band's name at the top. Armstrong has since explained the meaning of the artwork:

“ 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 the Mona Lisa is the woman on the cover of the first Black Sabbath 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.[14] ”

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.[3] 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.[2]

Release

Upon its release, Dookie charted in seven countries. The album peaked at number two on the Billboard 200 in the United States[4], and was a success in several other countries, peaking as high as number one in New Zealand;[15] the lowest peak in any country was in the United Kingdom at number 13.[11] While all the singles from the album charted in a few countries, the hit single "Basket Case" entered the top 10 in the United Kingdom and Sweden. Later in 1995, the album received a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album, with "Longview" and "Basket Case" each being nominated for a Grammy.

Throughout the 1990s, Dookie continued to sell well, eventually receiving diamond certification[16] in 1999; as of 2007, Dookie had sold over 15 million copies worldwide and remains the band's best-selling album.[17]

The entire album is playable in the game Green Day: Rock Band.

Reception

The album was well received by some critics, with Allmusic 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".[3] 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".[3] 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.[3]

Since its release, Dookie has been featured heavily in various "must have" lists compiled by the music media. Some of the more prominent of these lists to feature Dookie are shown below; this information is adapted from Acclaimed Music.[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 N/A
Robert Dimery United States 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die[25] 2005 N/A
Rolling Stone United States Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time[26] 2003 193
Rolling Stone United States Best Albums of 1994 (Readers Choice)[27] 1994 1
Spin Magazine United States 100 Greatest Albums, 1985–2005[28] 2005 44
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame United States The Definitive 200[29] 2005 50

Dookie tour

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.[3] 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[30] mud fight between the band and the crowd, which continued beyond the end of Green Day's set.[31] During the fight, Dirnt was mistaken for a fan by a security guard, who tackled him and then threw him against a monitor, causing him to injure his arm and break two of his teeth.[32]

The band also appeared at Lollapalooza and the Madison Square Garden charity event, where Armstrong performed the song "She" naked.[33] 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 break up temporarily.[3]

Track listing

All lyrics written by Billie Joe Armstrong, all music composed by Green Day, except where noted.

No. Title Length
1. "Burnout"   2:07
2. "Having a Blast"   2:44
3. "Chump"   2:54
4. "Longview"   3:59
5. "Welcome to Paradise" (Re-recorded from 1992's Kerplunk) 3:44
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) 1:43
13. "In the End"   1:46
14. "F.O.D."   5:46

Contains the hidden track "All by Myself" (Tré Cool).

Personnel

Chart positions

Album

Chart Peak position Certification Sales
Billboard 200[4] 2 Diamond 10,000,000+[34]
UK Albums Chart[11] 13 3x Platinum[35] 900,000[35]
Swedish Top 60[36] 3 Gold[37] 20,000[38]
Australia[39] 1 4x Platinum[40] 140,000[41]
German Albums Chart 4 [42] 3x Gold [43] 750,000 [44]

Singles

Year Song Peak chart positions
US Mod
[10]		 US Main
[10]		 UK
[11]		 SWE
[36]		 NZ
[15]		 FRA
[45]
1994 "Longview" 1 13 30 — — —
1994 "Welcome to Paradise" 7 — 20 — 21 —
1994 "Basket Case" 1 9 7 3 21 35
1995 "When I Come Around" 1 2 27 28 4 —
1995 "She" 5 18 — — — —

Notes

  1. ↑ "Green Day". MTV. http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/green_day/artist.jhtml#biographyEnd. Retrieved August 28,2010. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Ultimate Albums: Green Day's "Dookie". VH1.
  3. ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 "{{{title}}}". Behind The Music. VH1.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Green Day Biography". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/bio/index.jsp?pid=54578. Retrieved 2007-07-16. 
  5. ↑ "What Happened Next...". Guitar Legends. http://www.greendayauthority.com/TheBand/articles/guitarlegends/page8.jpg. Retrieved 2006-09-26. 
  6. ↑ Smith, RJ (August 1999). "Top 90 Albums of the 90's". SPIN. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 "Billie Joe Armstrong Interview on VH1". VH1. http://www.vh1.com/shows/dyn/ultimate_albums/58025/episode_interviews_int.jhtml?start=1. Retrieved 2007-07-16. 
  8. ↑ Dirnt, Mike (1995). Rolling Stone Magazine. 
  9. ↑ "Green Day Music Videos". Green Day. http://www.greenday.com/greenday.html. Retrieved 2007-07-20. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 "Green Day single chart history". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?model.vnuArtistId=54578&model.vnuAlbumId=754886. Retrieved 2007-07-16. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 "UK album chart archives". everyhit.com. http://www.everyhit.com. Retrieved 2007-07-16. 
  12. ↑ "Interview with The Advocate magazine". The Advocate. http://web.archive.org/web/20050309020312/http://www.advocate.com/html/stories/822/822_greenday672_3.asp. Retrieved 2007-07-27. 
  13. ↑ "Song Meanings". Green Day Authority. http://www.greendayauthority.com/TheBand/songmeanings.php?section=dookie. Retrieved 2009-06-18. 
  14. ↑ "Billie Joe Armstrong Interview on VH1 explaining cover art". VH1. http://www.vh1.com/shows/dyn/ultimate_albums/58025/episode_interviews_int.jhtml?start=2. Retrieved 2007-07-16. 
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 "New Zealand album chart archives". charts.org.nz. http://charts.org.nz/showitem.asp?interpret=Green+Day&titel=Dookie&cat=a. Retrieved 2007-07-16. 
  16. ↑ "Diamond Certified Albums". RIAA. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=tblDiamond. Retrieved 2007-07-16. 
  17. ↑ "Dookie Total Sales". My Lyrics Central. http://www.mylyricscentral.com/news/195.html. Retrieved 2007-07-16. 
  18. ↑ "Dookie Review". AllMusic. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:nyyvadokt8wj. Retrieved 2007-07-16. 
  19. ↑ "The Best Music of 1994". Time. 1994-12-26. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,982060,00.html. Retrieved 2007-07-21. 
  20. ↑ Pareles, Jon (1995-01-05). "The Pop Life". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CE7DE1F3CF936A35752C0A963958260. Retrieved 2007-07-21. 
  21. ↑ Strauss, Neil (1995-02-05). "POP VIEW; Has Success Spoiled Green Day?". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CE7DB1131F936A35751C0A963958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1. Retrieved 2007-07-21. 
  22. ↑ "List of Dookie Accolades". Acclaimed Music. http://www.acclaimedmusic.net/061024/A920.htm. Retrieved 2007-07-17. 
  23. ↑ "Kerrang! - The Kerrang! 100 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die". AcclaimedMusic.net. http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/kerrang_p2.htm#die. Retrieved 2007-07-16. 
  24. ↑ "Acclaimed Music - Classic Rock and Metal Hammer 200 List". AcclaimedMusic.net. http://pub37.bravenet.com/forum/3172289350/show/603249. Retrieved 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. http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5938174/the_rs_500_greatest_albums_of_all_time/2. Retrieved 2007-07-16. 
  27. ↑ "Rocklist.net....Rolling Stone (USA) End of Year Lists". Rolling Stone. http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/rolling.htm. 
  28. ↑ "Spin Magazine - 100 Greatest Albums, 1985–2005". http://www.spin.com/features/magazine/covers/2005/06/0507_cover_greatest_albums. Retrieved 2007-07-16. 
  29. ↑ "The Definitive 200". Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. http://www.definitive200.com/200_list.php. Retrieved 2007-08-18. 
  30. ↑ VH1's VH1 40 Freakiest Concert Moments: #40 Mudstock - 2006
  31. ↑ "Wood Stock 1994 Mudfight description". Chiff. http://www.chiff.com/pop-culture/green-day.htm. Retrieved 2007-07-16. 
  32. ↑ "When I Come Around Facts". Song Facts. http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=4232. Retrieved 2007-07-16. 
  33. ↑ "Green Day Tour Notes". Geek Stink Breath. http://www.geekstinkbreath.net/greenday/tour/2/. Retrieved 2007-07-16. 
  34. ↑ "Gold and Platinum". RIAA. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&action=&title=&artist=green%20day&format=&debutLP=&category=&sex=&releaseDate=&requestNo=&type=&level=&label=&company=&certificationDate=&awardDescription=&catalogNo=&aSex=&rec_id=&charField=&gold=&platinum=&multiPlat=&level2=&certDate=&album=&id=&after=&before=&startMonth=1&endMonth=1&startYear=1958&endYear=2009&sort=Artist&perPage=25. Retrieved 2009-06-10. 
  35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 "BPI Awards Search". bpi.co.uk. http://www.bpi.co.uk/certifiedawards/search.aspx. Retrieved 2010-02-06. 
  36. ↑ 36.0 36.1 "Swedish album chart archives". hitparad.se. http://hitparad.se/showitem.asp?interpret=Green+Day&titel=Dookie&cat=a. Retrieved 2007-07-16. 
  37. ↑ "Gold & Platinum 1987 - 1998 (In Swedish, Page 16)". ifpi.se. http://www.ifpi.se/wp/wp-content/uploads/guld-platina-1987-1998.pdf. Retrieved 2010-02-07. 
  38. ↑ "Gold & Platinum (In Swedish)". ifpi.se. http://www.ifpi.se/?page_id=67. Retrieved 2010-02-07. 
  39. ↑ "Discography Green Day". australian-charts.com. http://australian-charts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Green+Day. Retrieved 2009-10-04. 
  40. ↑ "ARIA Charts - Accreditations - 1999 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. http://www.aria.com.au/pages/aria-charts-accreditations-albums-1999.htm. Retrieved 2010-02-07. 
  41. ↑ "ARIA Charts - Accreditations". Australian Recording Industry Association. http://www.aria.com.au/pages/aria-charts-accreditations.htm. Retrieved 2010-02-07. 
  42. ↑ http://musicline.de/de/chartverfolgung_summary/artist/Green+Day/?type=longplay
  43. ↑ http://www.musikindustrie.de/gold_platin_datenbank_beta/#topSearch
  44. ↑ http://www.musikindustrie.de/gold_platin_datenbank_beta/#topSearch
  45. ↑ "Green Day French single chart history". http://lescharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Green+Day&titel=Dookie&cat=a. Retrieved 2007-07-16. 

External links

Preceded by
Greatest Hits by Bruce Springsteen		 Australian ARIA Albums Chart number-one album
March 19 - April 8, 1995		 Succeeded by
Frogstomp by Silverchair
Green Day
Billie Joe Armstrong • Mike Dirnt • Tré Cool
John Kiffmeyer
Studio albums
39/Smooth • Kerplunk • Dookie • Insomniac • Nimrod • Warning • American Idiot • 21st Century Breakdown
Live albums
Foot in Mouth • Bowling Bowling Bowling Parking Parking • Bullet in a Bible • Last Night on Earth: Live in Tokyo
Compilation albums
1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours • International Superhits! • Shenanigans
EPs
1,000 Hours • Slappy • Sweet Children
Video albums
International Supervideos! • Bullet in a Bible
Singles
"Longview" • "Welcome to Paradise" • "Basket Case" • "When I Come Around" • "She" • "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" • "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" • "Know Your Enemy" • "21 Guns" • "East Jesus Nowhere" • "21st Century Breakdown" • "When It's Time"
Tours
Pop Disaster Tour • 21st Century Breakdown World Tour
Related articles
Discography • Awards and nominations • Side projects • Lookout! Records • Adeline Records • Jason White • Jason Freese • Cigarettes and Valentines • American Edit • American Idiot: The Musical • Green Day: Rock Band • American Idiot: The Original Broadway Cast Recording • "Last of the American Girls"
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