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Rating: As we know, family is important. It is everything in life. It is that safe harbor where one docks when the sea is stormy, where one takes refuge in difficult times.
In the mid-90s, the ocean lapping the shores of California and Berkeley in particular was particularly stormy. Green Day were fresh off the big success of “Dookie” and the lukewarm reception of “Insomniac”, yet still consecrated to a global audience and on the rise as a band. The overwhelming success, shift in perspective, and fatigue did the rest, throwing our boys into a deep identity crisis. The European tour was cut short, burdened with anxiety, plenty of alcohol, and ultimately a collapse.
And here comes the family. During the reflection period by the home fireside, Billie Joe, Mike, and Tré didn't sit idle. As awareness blossomed and maturity stretched over the eclectic personalities of the trio, three dozen tracks came to light.
Exactly two years after the last release, on October 10, 1997, “Nimrod” was released, the fifth studio album. Still on Reprise Records and still accompanied by the group's mentor, Rob Cavallo.
Another change, yet another substantial dose of risk to take, “Nimrod” was also this.
This album is the farthest thing from a concept album and the definition of pure punk, even in the face of the Californian variant of the genre. Each track is an independent reality, albeit tackling themes that have now become a sort of imprinting for the band. This fifth work was born with the aim of breaking the typical punk rock constraints, while still staying the course. The songwriting, always entrusted to Armstrong, is as usual of quality. It spans widely. “King for a Day” is a ska punk piece, with its brass section, “Last Ride In” has surf rock influences. “Hitchin’ a Ride” opens with the Middle Eastern violin of Petra Haden from That Dog, guided by an eclectic bass making it a typically rock’n’roll track, winking at rockabilly. “Worry Rock” was compared by critics to pieces by Elvis Costello and the riffs of “Redundant” recall the guitars played in historic Byrds pieces. There's no shortage of more frenzied punk with “Platypus (I Hate You)”, at times devastating in the riffs and drumming.
There's also the ballad, “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)”, which became a trademark over the years. It was supposed to be part of the “Dookie” tracklist but was discarded at the time, as it was not pertinent to the album's theme. A romantic plucking guides Billie Joe's voice, singing a melancholic text dedicated to the failure of his first important relationship. The protagonist of the narrated events is the same girl who inspired “She” (Dookie), “Whatshername” (American Idiot), and “Amanda” (Tré!). Strangely and incomprehensibly, the gentle damsel has nothing to do with Armstrong's historical wife, Adrienne Nesser.
As previously mentioned, this album tackles more reflective and mature themes compared to previous works. Billie Joe Armstrong concentrates on fatherhood and the role of a husband. With “The Grouch”, somewhat contrary to the trend but for reflection's sake, it addresses the fear of aging, gaining weight, even becoming impotent and losing one's ideals. With “Walking Alone”, the thought shifts to friendships lost over time or those that could fade due to inattention.
Being that the tracklist's content is highly heterogeneous, one can quickly move from reflection to goofing around, as punk effectively intends.
And so “Nice Guys Finish Last”, the carefree opener, returns to tackle the theme of success and the arrogance of figures maneuvering the music industry. “Jinx” and “Prosthetic Head” are pure goofing off, and with self-deprecating lyrics, they remind us that Green Day still has no intention of taking themselves too seriously.
The album title references a Biblical character, a hunter, but the reference's purpose is anything but noble. The term “Nimrod” is actually used by Americans to call someone stupid, referring more than anything to the namesake hunter protagonist of the Looney Tunes, Elmer Fudd, sarcastically nicknamed this by Bugs Bunny.
The cover was created by Chris Bilheimer, a graphic designer friend of Armstrong, who had already made some covers for R.E.M. Bilheimer was inspired by some election posters he had seen around town. The candidates' faces had been torn away, as if wanting to deprive the subjects in the photograph of their identity. Which ultimately is precisely what the eighteen tracks composing the tracklist want to convey.
The story tells that “Nimrod” debuted with both lights and shadows. The promotional tour began with a public revolt at the spaces of Tower Records in Manhattan, during the live performance of the first autograph session. Green Day did not appreciate the harsh criticism from the music press, accusing them of having lost their punk soul. Criticisms later echoed by the fourteen hundred people present at the event. The matter ended with Cool hurling a bass drum into the crowd and Armstrong's attempted emulation of the gesture, this time with a monitor. A resolution only avoided thanks to the providential intervention of the store manager. This didn't deter Billie Joe, who left Tower Records only after having smeared the store windows with various writings, including “Fuck” and “Nimrod”. Reality or fiction for commercial purposes?
It remains for posterity to make the difficult judgment.
The version published last year, on the occasion of the album's twenty-fifth anniversary, contains a demo, “Irritate Me”, initially discarded from the original tracklist, and a cover of “Allison” by Elvis Costello, along with thirty bonus tracks and live versions.
“Nimrod” is yet another breaking album that took away a good chunk of Green Day's followers but gained them new approvals and a new fan base. It is also a courageous and mature work, heterogeneous and very powerful. Together with Dookie and Insomniac, it forms a solid trilogy for the band's activities in their first decade of music. And it has undoubtedly carved a deep groove, whether one chooses to acknowledge it or not.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Nice Guys Finish Last (02:49)
Nice guys finish last
You're running out of gas
Your sympathy will get you left behind
Sometimes you're at your best, when you feel the worst
Do you feel washed up, like piss going down the drain
Pressure cook and bake my brain and tell me I'm insane
I'm so fucking happy I could cry
Every joke can have it's truth and now the joke's on you
I never knew you were such a funny guy
Oh nice guys finish last, when you are the outcast
Don't pat yourself on the back, you might break your spine
Living on command
You're shaking lots of hands
Kissing up and bleeding all your trust, taking what you need
Bite the hand that feeds
You kill your memory and you' got no shame
Pressure cook and bake my brain and tell me I'm insane
I'm so fucking happy I could cry
Every joke can have it's truth and now the joke's on you
I never knew you were such a funny guy
Oh nice guys finish last, when you are the outcast
Don't pat yourself on the back, you might break your spine
Oh nice guys finish last, when you are the outcast
Don't pat yourself on the back, you might break your spine
Ooh!
Oh nice guys finish last, when you are the outcast
Don't pat yourself on the back, you might break your spine
Oh nice guys finish last, when you are the outcast
Don't pat yourself on the back, you might break your spine
02 Hitchin' a Ride (02:51)
Hey mister, where you headed?
Are you in a hurry?
I need a lift to happy hour
I say oh no
Do you brake for distilled spirits?
I need a break as well
The well that inebriates the guilt.
1, 2
1, 2, 3, 4
Cold turkeys getting stale, tonight I'm eating crow
Fermented salmonella poison oak no.
There's a drought at the fountain of youth, and I'm dehydrating
My tongue is swelling up, I say
1, 2
1, 2, 3, 4
Troubled times, you know I can not lie
I'm off the wagon and I'm hitchin' a ride
There's a drought at the fountain of youth, and I'm dehydrating
My tongue is swelling up,
I say SHIT!
(guitar solo)
Troubled times, you know I can not lie
I'm off the wagon and I'm hitchin' a ride
(No, no way!) Hitchin' a ride
(No, no way!) Hitchin' a ride
(No, no way!) Hitchin' a ride
(No, no way!) Hitchin' a ride
(No, no way!) Hitchin' a ride
(No, no way!) Hitchin' a ride
(No, no way!) Hitchin' a ride
Take one for the road trip!
03 The Grouch (02:12)
I was a young boy that had big plans
Now I'm just another shitty old man
I don't have fun and I hate everything
The world owes me so fuck you
Glory days don't mean shit to me
I drank a six pack of apathy
Life's a bitch and so am I
The world owes me so fuck you
Wasted youth and a fistful of ideals
I had a young and optimistic point of view
Wasted youth and a fistful of ideals
I had a young and optimistic point of view
I've decomposed yet my gut's getting fat
Oh my God, I'm turning out like my Dad
I'm always rude, I've got a bad attitude
The world owes me so fuck you
The wife's a nag and the kids fucking up
I don't have sex 'cause I can't get it up
I'm just a grouch sitting on the couch
The world owes me so fuck you
Wasted youth and a fistful of ideals
I had a young and optimistic point of view
Wasted youth and a fistful of ideals
I had a young and optimistic point of view
I am I am
I was a young boy that had big plans
Now I'm just another shitty old man
I don't have fun and I hate everything
The world owes me so fuck you
Glory days don't mean shit to me
I drank a six pack of apathy
Life's a bitch and so am I
The world owes me so fuck you
The world owes me so fuck you
The world owes me so fuck you
The world owes me so fuck you
04 Redundant (03:17)
We're living in repetition
Content in the same old shtick again
Now the routine's turning to contention
Like a production line going over and over and over
Roller coaster
Now I cannot speak, I lost my voice
I'm speechless and redundant
'Cause I love you is not enough
I'm lost for words
Choreographed and lack of passion
Prototypes of what we were
Went full circle 'til I'm nauseous
Taken for granted now
Now I waste it, I faked it, I ate it, now I hate it
'Cause I cannot speak, I lost my voice
I'm speechless and redundant
'Cause I love you is not enough
I'm lost for words, now I cannot speak
Now I cannot speak, I lost my voice
I'm speechless and redundant
'Cause I love you is not enough
I'm lost for words
Now I cannot speak, I lost my voice
I'm speechless and redundant
'Cause I love you is not enough
I'm lost for words
05 Scattered (03:02)
Well I've got some scattered pictures lying on my bedroom floor
Reminds me of the times we shared
Makes me wish that you were here
Now it seems I've forgotten my purpose in this life
All the songs have been erased
Guess I've learned from my mistakes
Open the past and present now and we are there
Story to tell and I am listening
Open the past and present and the future too
It's all I've got and I'm giving it to you
Loose ends tied in knots leaving a lump down in my throat
Gagging on a souvenir
Lodged to fill another year
Drag it on and on until my skin is ripped to shreds
Leaving my self open wide
Living out a sacrifice
If you got no one and I got no place to go
Would it be alright? Could it be alright?
09 Uptight (03:04)
I woke up on the wrong side of the floor.
Made made my way through the front door.
Broke my engagement with myself.
Perfect picture of bad health,
Another notch scratched on my belt.
The future just ain't what it used to
be.
I got a new start on a dead end road.
Peaked.
Peaked out on reaching new lows,
Owe.
I paid off all my debts to myself.
Perfect picture of bad health,
Another notch scratched on my belt.
The future's in my living room.
Uptight, I'm a nag with a gun,
All night, suicide's last call.
I've been uptight all night.
I'm a son of a gun
Uptight, I'm a nag with a gun.
11 Jinx (02:12)
I fucked up again it's all my fault
So turn me around and face the wall
Read me my rights and tell me I'm wrong
Until it gets into my thick skull
A slap on the wrist
A stab in the back
Torture me, I've been a bad boy
Nail me to the cross until you have won
I lost before I did any wrong
I'm hexed with regrets and bad luck
Keep you distance 'cause it's rubbing off
Or you will be darned to spend your life in heck
Or earth with me tangled at your feet
You finally met you nemesis disguised as your fatal long lost love
So kiss it good bye
Until death do we part
You fell for a jinx for crying out loud
12 Haushinka (03:25)
Haushinka is a girl with a peculiar name.
I met her on the eve of my birthday.
Did she know?
Did she know, before she went away?
Does she know?
Does she know?
But its too damn late
This girl has gone far away.
Now she's gone.
This girl has gone far away.
Now she's gone.
This girl has gone far away.
Now she's gone.
This girl has gone far away.
Now she's gone.
Now she's gone.
Now she's all gone.
All I have now is a memory to date.
A cheap hat and cigarettes, and a peculiar name.
I didn't know. I didn't know, before she went away.
I know now. I know now, and it's too damn late.
This girl has gone far away.
Now she's gone.
This girl has gone far away.
Now she's gone.
This girl has gone far away.
Now she's gone.
This girl has gone far away.
Now she's gone.
Now she's gone.
Now she's all gone.
Will she ever find her way?
I'm too damn young to be too late, but am I?
Yet again I'm kicking myself, and I'll be here in battle scars,
Waiting for you.
Waiting for you now.
This girl has flown far away.
Now she's gone.
This girl has flown far away.
Now she's gone.
This girl has flown far away.
Now she's gone.
This girl has flown far away.
Now she's gone.
Now she's gone.
Now she's all gone.
14 Reject (02:05)
Who the hell are you to tell me what I am
And what's my master plan
What makes you think that it includes you?
Self-righteous wealth
Stop flattering yourself
So when the smoke clears here I am
Your reject all-American
Sucking up you social sect
Making you a nervous wreck
To hell and back and hell again I've gone
You're not my type
Not my type
What's the difference between you and me?
I do what I want, and you do what you're told
So listen up and shut the hell up
It ain't no big deal
And I'll see you in hell
So when the smoke clears here I am
Your reject all-American
Falling from grace, right on my face
To hell and back and hell again I've gone
16 King for a Day (03:13)
Started at the age of 4.
My mother went to the grocery store.
Went sneaking through her bedroom door to find something in a size 4.
Sugar and spice and everything nice wasn't made for only girls.
GI Joe in panty hose is making room for the one and only.
King for a day, princess by dawn.
King for a day in a leather thong.
King for a day, princess by dawn.
Just wait 'til all the guys get get a load of me.
My daddy threw me in therapy.
He thinks I'm not a real man.
Who put the drag in the drag queen.
Don't knock it until you tried it.
Sugar and spice and everything nice wasn't made for only girls.
GI Joe in panty hose is making room for the one and only.
King for a day, princess by dawn.
King for a day in a leather thong.
King for a day, princess by dawn.
Just wait 'til all the guys get get a load of me.
(instrumental break)
Sugar and spice and everything nice wasn't made for only girls.
GI Joe in panty hose is making room for the one and only.
King for a day, princess by dawn.
King for a day in a leather thong.
King for a day, princess by dawn.
King for a day in a leather thong.
King for a day, princess by dawn.
King for a day in a leather thong.
King for a day, princess by dawn.
Just wait 'til all the guys
Just wait 'til all the guys
Just wait 'til all the guys get get a load of me.
17 Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) (02:34)
Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road
Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go
So make the best of this test, and don't ask why
It's not a question, but a lesson learned in time
It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right
I hope you had the time of your life
So take the photographs, and still frames in your mind
Hang it on a shelf in good health and good time
Tattoos of memories and dead skin on trial
For what it's worth it was worth all the while
It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right
I hope you had the time of your life
It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right
I hope you had the time of your life
It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right
I hope you had the time of your life
18 Prosthetic Head (03:38)
I see you, down in the front line.
Such a sight for sore eyes, you're a suicide makeover.
Plastic eyes, lookin' through a numbskull.
Self-effaced, what's his face.
You erased yourself so shut up.
You don't let up.
You have a growth that must be treated
Like a severed severe pain in the neck.
You can smell it but you can't see it.
No explanation identified 'cause you don't know.
You don't say.
And you got no reply.
Hey you, where did you come from?
Got a head full of lead, you're a inbred bastard son.
All dressed up, red blooded, Amannequin
Do or die, no reply, don't deny that you're synthetic.
You're pathetic.
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