Green Day

With six Grammy nominations, Number One Billboard chart status and worldwide sales of more than five million, Green Day's 2004 album, American Idiot, brings new meaning to the term "back with a vengeance"

It's official. Green Day can now be considered godfathers of punk. In 1994, their major-label debut, Dookie, put punk rock back on the musical map. The album spawned hit singles like "Basket Case" and "Longview" that combined buzzing guitars, teen-angst, juvenile humor and melodies that seared into your brain. The videos for the songs made Green Day – singer/guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist Mike Dirnt and drummer Tres Cool – into punk superstars. Dookie went on to sell more than 10 million copies. It also created a pop/punk sound that paved the way for other artists for years to come. It is safe to say that without Green Day, there would be no Good Charlotte, Sum 41, Simple Plan or even possibly Avril Lavigne. Green Day created an attitude that sold multitudes.

But what do you do after you've created several successful albums of three-minute pop/punk anthems? Well, if you're a father (both Armstrong and Cool have two children each) who is deeply worried about the direction of the country under the current political administration, and you are a songwriter, you put your passion into your art. For Green Day, the result is American Idiot, an ambitious song cycle that is equal parts Born to Run and Quadrophenia. It tells the story of a troubled kid trying to escape from a troubled environment with his girlfriend at his side, but it is also a scorching indictment of American corporate culture. Musically, it is Green Day's most ambitious effort yet and it includes track after track of powerful anthems, including two nine-minute song suites.

Whether Green Day walks home with 7 awards on Grammy night is beside the point. They've already achieved a rare feat; they've created what some are calling a rock masterpiece: music with meaning that challenges the status quo... and, best of all, it rocks. —EP