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Why the hell is anyone surprised that Green Day keeps making interesting records? When American Idiot came out, critics acted like “Wow, this band can write something besides songs about masturbation!” Now, they’re doing it again with the band’s follow-up rock opera, 21st Century Breakdown. Oh my God, Billie Joe Armstrong is complicated! Perhaps some people just bought too much into the Snotty Punk Show the band enjoyed performing onstage. But really, NOFX does the same thing, and does anyone accuse them of being morons just because they act like morons? Of course not. This is punk rock, people! Daring to be stupid is part of the fun, unless you’re in Bad Religion, where fun of any kind is outlawed.The truth is, kids have known there was something special about Armstrong and Green Day since the Gilman Street days. And the other truth is that both American Idiot and 21st Century Breakdown are different takes on the same mass-appeal blueprint that has always been the band’s superpower. They write great pop songs—that’s all there is to it. So let’s everybody stop acting shocked and just go and enjoy this band without worrying if they’re punk enough, political enough and blah blah blah. Hope you have the time of your life.
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