21st Century Breakdown was released 16 years ago today

[Clockwise]

I too am experiencing the strange sensation of this album now being older than I was when it came out (15 years old!) Happy birthday 21CB, you've aged like a fine wine!

[GreenDayJunkie86]

HAPPY BDAY 21CB!!!

[Elxufinnishidiot]

I still think this is maximum Green Day, even if American Idiot might be better as an album and I might like Nimrod more on some days. This was my first Green Day album and it's probably the most nostalgic of them all for me.

[greenalert997x]

Great album. Huge, chunky reverberating guitars, deep vocal, great mixing.

Even though objectively this album got appreciated (Grammy, hit singles), it struck me how many people consider(ed) this album bad, like one of the worst.

I remember how 10-15 years ago lots of opinions indicated that Green Day were now sellouts. AI was great, but 21st is meh, as if 21st was the beginning of new Green Day; from punk to pop stars.

Interestingly enough today I cant find that many bad opinions. Many people point this album as one of the best. Me too.

[Gonzalo17]

2 hours ago, greenalert997x said:

 it struck me how many people consider(ed) this album bad, like one of the worst.

AI was great, but 21st is meh, as if 21st was the beginning of new Green Day; from punk to pop stars.

Here IS the reason... For punk era fans, like me, was traumatic, but with the time I finally accepted

[Cunt]

This album has doubled in age since I first saw them live. Crazy how 2009-2017 feels like a lifetime but 2017 to 2025 has gone by in the blink of an eye. I still remember trying to convince my parents to let me go to this tour knowing there wasn’t gonna be snowballs chance in hell they were ever gonna let me go. Maybe if it was on any other day of the week than a Sunday, but even then there was a greater chance of Joseph Smith being resurrected from the dead. 

[solongfromthestars]

5 hours ago, greenalert997x said:

Even though objectively this album got appreciated (Grammy, hit singles), it struck me how many people consider(ed) this album bad, like one of the worst.

I remember how 10-15 years ago lots of opinions indicated that Green Day were now sellouts. AI was great, but 21st is meh, as if 21st was the beginning of new Green Day; from punk to pop stars.

Interestingly enough today I cant find that many bad opinions. Many people point this album as one of the best. Me too.

I remember that too. It was very 'uncool' to like it, or it made you a 'fake fan,' even on GDC. I guess fans have come to terms with Green Day being able to name an album after excrement but also being able to write a legendary concept album, and new fans are just discovering Green Day as a band that can do both so it's no surprise to them. 

I'm so glad it won a Grammy because it absolutely deserved it.

[Mollyluna]

2 hours ago, solongfromthestars said:

I remember that too. It was very 'uncool' to like it, or it made you a 'fake fan,' even on GDC. I guess fans have come to terms with Green Day being able to name an album after excrement but also being able to write a legendary concept album, and new fans are just discovering Green Day as a band that can do both so it's no surprise to them. 

So being a new fan has some advantages after all!😃 I can like everything they’ve done! And I do!

[mikedirntseviltwin]

AND WE WILL SEEE

HOW GODLESS OF A NATION

WE HAVE BECOME

GOD, I love this album so much

26 minutes ago, Mollyluna said:

So being a new fan has some advantages after all!😃 I can like everything they’ve done! And I do!

Look, I got introduced to GD through the Trilogy, (and was then shocked when they didn’t ALWAYS sound like that) so I feel ya

[Mollyluna]

1 hour ago, mikedirntseviltwin said:

Look, I got introduced to GD through the Trilogy, (and was then shocked when they didn’t ALWAYS sound like that) so I feel ya

I admit I‘m quite okay with not being a fan then. I know that the IHeart meltdown would have freaked me out. I worry too much anyway….

[Robbie1039]

I was just becoming a fan right before know your enemy came out.  Next thing I knew, my grandma was telling me how she just went to see their show and gave me the 21st Century Breakdown cd she bought there 😂.  In 2010, my dad and I camped out at the stage they were playing at Lollapooza all day.  That was the closest I’ve ever gotten to being picked to come up on stage.  This album holds a special place in my heart and I still come back to it regularly.  

[Cris.]

19 hours ago, Robbie1039 said:

Next thing I knew, my grandma was telling me how she just went to see their show and gave me the 21st Century Breakdown cd she bought there 😂

I want to be like your grandma when I grow up

 

[Dingle]

It's topics like this makes me want to journey back in my mind and remember the album's era. This article from Wikipedia reminded me of how long it took to complete the album and its development:-

Green Day began to write new songs for what would become 21st Century Breakdown in January 2006 after touring extensively in 2005 in support of their seventh studio album American Idiot At the time, frontman Billie Joe Armstrong stated: "We'll start with silence, and that's how we'll be able to find the inspiration to find another record." The band did not release any details of the writing and recording process until October 2007, when Armstrong said in an interview with Rolling Stone that he had written "something like 45 songs". The band members worked on the primitive conceptual stages of the album at their rehearsal studio in Oakland, California. Little was revealed on the themes or musical style of the album, but Armstrong stated: "I want to dig into who I am and what I'm feeling at this moment – which is middle-aged." He added that many of the 45 songs were written on piano instead of guitar.

Green Day began the recording process for 21st Century Breakdown in January 2008. Later that year, it was confirmed that the band worked with producer Butch Vig. The album was recorded with Vig throughout 2008 and into early 2009 at four locations in California: Ocean Way Recording in Hollywood, Studio 880 in Oakland, Jel Studios in Newport Beach, and Costa Mesa Studios in Costa Mesa. While recording in Hollywood, the band members bought cheap turntables from Amoeba Music and listened to many vinyl records for inspiration, including albums by The Beat and The Plimsouls. Armstrong cited as inspiration the music of The Kinks' Ray Davies, The Pretty Things' S.F. Sorrow, The Doors' The Doors and Strange Days, and Meat Loaf's Bat Out of Hell. Drummer Tré Cool noted the influence of Eddie Cochran and The Creation on Armstrong's writing. David Bowie is credited as a songwriter on the song "21 Guns" to avoid a potential plagiarism lawsuit, as the melody of the chorus is similar to the Bowie-penned "All the Young Dudes".

While writing at his home studio, Armstrong worked on a cover of The Who's 1966 mini-opera "A Quick One, While He's Away"; Green Day recorded a full-band version of the song during the album sessions. Vig noted that frustrations would sometimes cause delays in the recording process for 21st Century Breakdown. Armstrong kept his lyrics closely guarded and intentionally mixed his demos so that the vocals were low in the mix and thus unintelligible to the other band members. It was not until late 2008 that he chose to share his words with Cool, Vig, and bassist Mike Dirnt by sitting down with them and reading the entire album's lyrics aloud in order. The band members made the finishing touches on the album in early April 2009 and claimed that its release would lead to a "kind of... post-partum depression"

 The writing and recording process spanned three years and four California recording studios, and it was finished in April 2009. On February 9, 2009, Green Day announced the album title and that the record would be split into three acts: "Heroes and Cons", "Charlatans and Saints", and "Horseshoes and Handgrenades". On March 17, a teaser trailer for 21st Century Breakdown was posted on the band's website. The international release date of May 15 was announced on March 25. In early April 2009, Green Day premiered "Know Your Enemy" on television; a portion of the song was used as introductory music to the 2009 NCAA men's basketball tournament championship game. The band first performed 21st Century Breakdown in full during a string of California club shows in April 2009. At each show, concertgoers were given programs containing all of the album's lyrics. The first single, "Know Your Enemy", was released on April 16, 2009, and soon after the world premiere of the song's music video occurred on April 24 on the MTV UK website.

21st Century Breakdown was released internationally on May 15, 2009, through Reprise Records. The special edition vinyl version was limited to 3,000 copies and consisted of three 10" records, one for each of the album's "acts", a CD copy of the album, a 60-page art booklet, and a code for the digital download of the full album. The album artwork process was led by Chris Bilheimer and is based on a work from artist Sixten, who confirmed that the couple on the cover were "just friends of a friend at a party in Eskilstuna, Sweden" and explained that a mutual friend snapped a picture of the pair kissing. He added: "I love their passion, and just had to make a stencil out of it to spread the love." The cover art was noted for a marked similarity with that of Blur's 2003 album Think Tank, itself a stencil by artist Banksy, except that one had the couple wearing diving helmets. Green Day showcased a collection of similarly themed art, called "The Art of Rock", at an art exhibition in London between October 23 and November 1, 2009. The "kissing couple" on the cover later was re-created in the music video for "21 Guns".

 

 

 

[billy1986]

Best album artwork and overall and art in general. This is peak. 

[Alan86]

My favourite tour era for sure. Still think the album would have benefited from being a bit more streamlined.

Even though they were a month apart the release of 21st century breakdown always reminds me of the death of Michael Jackson.