The Green Day Retrospective (Episode 1): The Early Years | The Rock Critic Episode #12 

Imagine finding out your ex's band was successful and even genre defining and 2/3 of their love songs were about you....

"Talk about Pinkerton!"

Hahahaha "When an album flops." Remember when 1.2 million albums was a disappointment?

"Only in the nineties could 'ah ya ya ya' be counted as lyrics" Somebody needs to listen to more Radiohead

If you thought "Time of Your Life" was overplayed, imagine having to play it in a marching band field show back in high school and rehearse it every day for nearly 4 months. Oh, I had the fucking time of my life, alright... (Great song, nonetheless)

"Smoking porn" - Crash Thompson, 2017

you deserve so many more subs man! so much effort here, this entire video was entertaining. love it

Next episode: Crash discusses American Idiot for 3 hours.

A Wikipedia article can tell you when an album came out and how many people bought it. Only the Rock Critic gives you the full story.

Ah, Green Day. One of the few Pop Punk bands I've gotten into. Now, I fell like listening to them all over again.

"...AND THEY NEVER PLAY GARDEN ROAD ANYMORE! WHY DON'T THEY EVER PLAY GARDEN ROAD?!? GARDEN ROAD!!!"

Fun fact : "One For The Razorbacks" was supposed to be called "One For The Razorback" and Lookout records messed up and put an S at the end. It annoyed Billie endlessly that so many people asked him why he wrote a song about a college sports team.

Does anyone else think Macy's Day Parade feels kind of like a Simon and Garfunkel song?

IMHO Good Riddance is basically Green Day's Yesterday. One of the most memorable songs because of its simplicity of being so easy to cover and the intimacy of a man and a guitar. Great video Crash!

'Kerplunk' may not be their best record but Hell, I'll praise 'Who Write Holden Caulfield' as an underrated gem any day! Easily my favorite track from either of the first two records.

You should of waited until April Fool's and just ended the episode after the Rivers gag.

rise and fall of blink 182 would be cool to see

As a huge Green Day fan, this is one of the best things ever made. Thank you, Crash. You are a national treasure yourself, sir.

Full length Rock Critic episodes come once a year Now it's here, now it's here Bringing lots of joy and cheer La la la la la! For real though, great job, Crash.

"Good, old-fashioned Pop Punk" "Take Back" Crash, 'splain yo'self

Entire good riddance analysis dead on, including shot at nickelback.

"this isn't anyone's FAVORITE album, but if you're a Green Day completionist, or you're really into lo-fi 90's punk, hey its worth hunting down" lmao 1039 is my favorite album of all time, has been for years haha

As someone who only listened to American Idiot in high school, this was very informative and entertaining. Excellent job my dude.

The laptop guy should do some reviews lol

I know someone has probably already said it but the reason Green Day popped up when searching The Rock Critic is probably because people searched before this video.

I don't think i can ever hear that chibi dva's voice ever again after this. Stellar fucking retrospective though, loved it!

Green Day is my favorite band. :)

"Production is all over the place on Kerplunk" Well, yeah...that's usually what happens when an indie company produces your album vs a $250k budget from Warner Bros.

Green day is a massive part of introducing me to rock music it went from green day to ac dc to metallica to megadeth to morbid angel to cannibal corpse from there my music catalog expanded

How the HELL could you namecheck the Chicago Bulls without naming BJ Armstrong who shares the same god damn name with Billie Joe Armstrong? What a wasted opportunity.

1039 is my favorite Green Day record idk why it just has that early wholesome Green Day sound

Well look at that!, Crash Thompson decided to upload an extremely long video on the exact day that I've been binging on vyvanse all day. Thanks, Crash!

"this isn't anyone's favorite album" literally is my fav album bruh moment and going to pasalaqua is one of my fav songs ever

I'm not the biggest Green Day, but I can see what others love about their songs and sound. As somewhat of an outsider looking in argument, this is a fascinating retrospective to watch. I happen to own a copy of Kerplunk and I dig it: "play the song, not the instrument" is a good way to look at the album; "listen to the song, not the album." At least, that's how I approach it. Anyway, I can't wait to see the next installment (whenever it's done) and I hope you have a good day

FUCK CRASH YOU CANT DO THIS WHEN I HAVE TO GO TO SLEEP !!!

Considering Pitchfork gave Lateralus a 1.9 out of 10 and Lil Pump a 7 I can understand why so many people hate them

“It suffers from a lot of the same problems Chris did. I’m calling this album Chris from here on now for my goddamn sanity” comedy GOLD

To me insomniac is their best album. It’s the closest well get to knowing what was going through Green Day’s mind at the time, and even Billie Joe Armstrong said sometimes he feels it’s his most honest album. The lyrical content is rich and the instrumentation is just unbeatable. They poured every ounce of energy, and it’s a very solid conclusion to Green Day’s punk years.

I personally love the low quality sound of 1039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours

After a certain point I wasn't sure I was ever even going to see another full length rock critic episode. Glad to see it's finally here!

I love Crash's 'whiny' voice he uses to describe irrational people xD

You know that Rivers Cuomo is a really big fan of Green Day, he’s talked very greatly about the trio, and even contributed a cover of Worry Rock on one of their compilations of different Green Day covers.

Whoo!!! Yay!! I loved the Rise and Fall of Weezer and I've been waiting with baited breath for this. Man, I remember the first time I heard "When I Come Around", "Basket Case" and the other great 90s Green Day as a kid, I loved them. Good times jamming to them in the back of my parents' car to those songs.

crash, the whole spiel you went on about learning green day's music was my formative years in music. And now I'm a multi instrumental musician, front man for a punk and stoner rock band, and other shit. so happy to hear somebody else with the same thoughts on their music

do one of these on RHCP?

39/Smooth 5:35 Kerplunk 12:16 Dookie 27:02 Insomniac 43:24 Nimrod 51:38 Warning 1:00:56

Right after the Spotify documentary comes out...

I wonder when the Feels Like Summer track review comes out, I know, single track reviews don't happen often, but, I mean, it's Weezer.

I think you're the only person ever, in the history of the world, to say: "I'll shit in the hallway of Shrek 4D"

"I'm in love with Deadpool With a bad turn break! Searching for future! War my endslate! Gimme gimme your hand..." That's what I always hear when I hear your theme song. But that said, it's great to hear it again!

I call their first album Slappy Squirrel as shorthand lol

Sorry to be that guy but 1) Billy wrote all the songs on dookie, but didnt write the lyrics to Emenius sleepus. Mike Dirnt did. 2) How did dookie lead to Lady gaga's the fame/ tegan and sara? Not a criticism, just dont understand the connection 3) Is waiting happy? I feel like its in the vain of good riddance, in that its a sarcastic kiss of to a lover. Unless you mean the melody is happy, which it totally is. Sorry to be the dude that critcizes your video, but those are just a couple questions i had. This was really impressive and it was alot of fun to watch! Keep up the good work and cant wait to see the next part! :D

39/smooth & Kerplunk! sounded "wierd" because they recorded with Lookout! Records, and the quality just got better because on Dookie, they recorded on Reprise Records

Ah, Green Day. The First band i ever got into. They were a little beacon of joy on small town Canadian rock radio, which largly consists of the likes of thestuff at 6:32, plus Nickelback. They're just so consistantly good. even the trilolgy had it's moments. looking forward to the rest of this!

I still come back to this video every few months

lol. "I can't feel feelings in my heart."

So the flaws you see in kerplunk and 39/smooth are: well... There are lots of flaws... The production is lo fi... There are lots of flaws... *Repeats endlessly*

Warning is also my favourite Green Day album. I don't know anyone else with that opinion!

So Kurt Cobain was to Green Day as John F. Kennedy was to The Beatles?

Billie's guitar playing was so awesome back then. He coupled Husker Du's wall of sound guitar-style (lots of B and E open strings) and incredible guitar solos like Dry Ice and Only Of You. C'mon dawg!

I remember when Against Me! went from an incredibly tiny indie label to a slightly larger *but still very indie* label. People tried to trash their equipment, sabotage their shows. And they hadn't really sold out yet! (Glad to see Grace got her groove back with these last two albums)

YO I GOT FIRST! CRASH MY DUDE YOU MADE MY SHITTY DAY SO MUCH BETTER!

Warning is actually a stellar album when people stop comparing it to Dookie.

I haven't even heard of Warning. I'm gonna check it out! Thanks for this review and for introducing me to One Hot Minute. Your stuff is great!

I've heard somewhere before Billie Joe's girlfriend at the time was one of those "legit punk" people & broke up with him once she & others found out about their signing

Warning was my first Green Day album and it totally changed my life. I was 12 and bought it together with Americana. Getting all nostagic here...

What's funny is that Brain Stew uses power chords, and the cool thing about power chords is that you flip of the audience while doing it

This video might make me check Green Day again, more seriously.

I can't be the only one who thinks that Angry Garden Road Dude needs his own review show, right?

HOLY SHIT IT'S HAPPENING!

I've been waiting for Crash to talk about American Idiot ever since I found this channel. Also, keep up the FANTASTIC work. This video was just as great as I was hoping, and I'm more than excited for what's to come.

Crash, I'm in the same boat as you. I fucking LOVE Warning. Every track on the damn thing is a winner to my ears; it's by far my favorite album from these guys. Macy's Day Parade is in my top 3 all-time favorite Green Day tracks--God, when that brief little solo starts, it's all I can do to keep from crying, it's so affecting. And those lyrics...man, those lyrics. Great video, and can't wait for the rest of 'em.

Actually I think Good Riddance is supposed to be sarcastic. Kinda a "fuck you" to his ex.

Weezer and Green Day are my 2 favorite bands thanks for reviewing their albums! Also I'm glad you love Nimrod and Warning. Been a fan since '94 but those two albums are unmatchable in my book!

I love how seamlessly you move from humor and angst to your honest emotions about music and how it's affected you. Time and again you put yourself out there with what feels like a complete lack of reservation, just saying how you feel. Its fucking refreshing. Thank you.

Green Day is my personal favorite band. They're the guys that got me into music (Dookie was the album that changed my life) and through them I discovered other artists like the Ramones, The Clash, Nirvana, etc. and I really don't know what I'd be listening to if I didn't hear Green Day at the right time. I unapologetically enjoy every album they've put out (even the trilogy, which I can defend...) and I'm really interested to watch the rest of this series. I loved your Weezer retrospective and can't wait to see the rest of Green Day! And yes - Warning is fucking rad. It's one of my favorite Green Day albums.

I love all these characters you come up with XD Your D.va is precious and the Anti-Peart guy was hilarious!

I like kerplunk but I respect your opinion and I also love dookie and insomniac

Excellent job Crash! This was well worth the wait. Though I'm not much of a Green Day fan (or listener to honest) , I just enjoy watching your content and taking in your point of view on music in general. Keep up the great work!

I am so glad you finally got around to this, my favorite RU-vidr talking about what is and always be my favorite band

I'm waiting for a Led Zep retrospective. Thanks for this and the rest of the great content!

Finaly!!! The World losed many colours without a Rockcritic Video. And now over 80 minutes? Im In heaven :)

Nice jingle for Pitchfork, dude!

Insomniac is my favorite Green Day album. Mike lays down some of his best baselines, the solo in Stuck With Me and the opening riff to Stuart and the Ave are incredible. Tré also does an amazing job as well with certain songs like Jaded and Panic Song. I love the snarky, witty lyrics, hell Walking Contradiction is one of my favorite sets of lyrics ever, and I love the punchy, quick paced instrumentation. Is it similar to Dookie? For sure, but is there experimentation on Insomniac? For sure as well. There is no other song in Green Day's discography that sounds like Babs Uvula Who? or Brain Stew, and the build up at the beginning of Panic Song is absolutely sublime. Granted songs like Tight Wad Hill and No Pride have the same problem as Having a Blast, Emenius Sleepus, and Sassafras Roots where they just kind of exist. However, when I listen to Insomniac I can listen to it front to back without skipping a single song on the track list easier than any other Green Day album. I skip Sassafras Roots on Dookie, I skip Walking Alone on Nimrod, I skip Fashion Victim on Warning, I skip Give Me Novacaine and the list goes on, but I don't feel the need to skip a single track on Insomniac. Insomniac is an album that, for the most part, says, "fuck you, you, you, especially you, and you too," but that's what gives the album its distinct charm. It also helps that Start and the Ave is my favorite Green Day song so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Man, Rock Band pulled out all the stops back in the day for a Green Day band game...and they got slim pickings of the albums between Dookie and the "Opera Duo", which were full album experiences in-game. (I'm willing to excuse the pre-Dookie albums not being there because no master stems to work with) At least they got your tied favorite Minority along with one of my favorites, Hitchin' a Ride.

Honestly, blink 182 would be a very interesting retrospective to hear from you. They basically made modern pop punk and were quite an influential band for many bands today such as fall out boy, panic at the disco, etc.

Just had a horrible day and this cheered me up. Thanks crash. Been watching you since you had 100 subs.

Man, this got me super emotional. I haven't thought about this band in a long time. Great video and I feel the same way about all the albums. Props.

As a major Green Day fan this is a great perspective on them and their work. Good on ya Crash

I'll take quality over quantity everyday. Your weezer series is what gravitated me to your channel and it was fucking outstanding. THIS however, I can't even begin to praise and compliment the work and research done. american idiot is my FAVORITE album of all time and I cannot wait for the Crash treatment on that one. The fact that one of my favorite bands of all time is getting this series has me all ecstatic and shit. \m/

Such a great episode! I feel like I'm one of the only people who didn't discover you from your Weezer series. I came from the Nu-Metal vid around when it came out. Love all you're work Crash!

I am trying to write up a Green Day retrospective and found this video. I am subscribing to your channel. Thank you so much for this. I look forward to watching more of your videos.

whilst i was watching this my sister surprised me with green day tickets whoop!!!!

*!!!W H Y D O N T T H E Y P L A Y G A R D E N R O W!!!*

I can't believe it's been a whole year since this came out. I remembering being so hyped to watch the series

crash- ive been watching for a long time now. youve got a good thing going and i love the passion and info you put into your projects. im a fan. with this video in particular i really think youve nailed your style.

you 're so entertaining !!! didn't know I could watch a two hour video in one sit

it's finally here hell yes crash.

I was looking forward to this video. I didn't think it would be this good! I actually don't hate any Green Day album but I'm really interested in hearing what you have to say about the rest of there Discography. Thanks for the amazing content!

Raging Rush "Garden Road" Fanboy is my new favorite caricature on YT.