-Take Back Thursday- Green Day’s Nimrod

Throwback Thursday will be a new segment every Thursday where one of the writers here at Doors At Seven looks back on an album or project of their choosing and write on it in their own way!

In starting this new segment, I can’t think of anything better than to look back at the album Nimrod by Green Day, as they have just re-released the 25th anniversary version of that album, and as a 25-year-old myself, born just a few months before its release, this was an album I’ve literally grown up with my entire life. As some backstory to the album, this came out 2 years after their release of Insomniac, an album that did not do as commercially well as their breakout album Dookie. This was an album that Green Day said they had been thinking about even before Dookie released, indicating that they wanted to change, but not too fast, so this was an album they were working towards.

If you’re not a regular Green Day listener, or you're just used to the trend of albums being only 10 tracks, you might be shocked to see a track list as long as this with a substantial 18 tracks. This is pretty typical for Green Day, even to this day. Dookie from 1994 had 15 tracks, and Insomniac in 1995 had 14. And although American Idiot only had 13 tracks, the album clocked in at an hour and 15 minutes, almost a half hour longer than Insomniac. Much of Green Day's tracks here are very short and to the point, in fact only 7 of the songs break the 3-minute mark, and two of which only by a few seconds. This definitely helps what can seem like a daunting number of tracks go by like a breeze, especially with the tracks being so high energy most of the time.

Starting off with “Nice Guys Finish Last” and “Hitchin’ a Ride”, Two of the four really stand out tracks, really help set the tone and energy for the entirety of the album. “The Grouch” is one of my favorites, being just over 2 minutes, this is one of Green Day's sillier songs, between the jaded lyrics about getting old and bitter “Now I’m just another shitty old man”, and the very obligatory “Fuck You!” portion of the hook. The bass also has a much grittier sound here than the rest of the album. We do slow down a bit with “Redundant”, a much poppier and one of the longer tracks of the record. Green Day doesn’t slow down for long as “Scattered” immediately picks the beat back up with Tre Cool on drums keeping on eighth notes the entire track and the constant shifts in chords. “All The Time” follows and this is one my favorite grooves by Green Day, the constant on/off guitar paired with the off-beat drums until the punchier break towards the end of the track. If there is going to be a complaint about track length, “Worry Rock” would be the first valid complaint, I do really like the chorus here, but I can definitely see it's similarities to “Redundant” ironically enough, and how it feels as though Green Day is treading very well discovered waters. 

Now as a man of metal myself, “Platypus (I hate You)” is where I get most of my excitement and where Green Day really pulls in their punk/hardcore abilities to really get the pits started. This song is fast and aggressive, which is not something Green Day is really known for. And on their polar opposite Green Day is very capable at creating great energetic hooks, such as “Uptight”. Starting off quiet the track quickly picks up the Db’s to finish loud almost as though fireworks are going off. Then those fireworks immediately die out the Green Days longest track of the song “Last Ride In”. A totally instrumental piece that sounds like something you’d hear while smoking a cigarette in a 70’s ratty motel lounge but would also play in a much fancier high even hotel as well. I’m not sure where the inspiration for this sang came from, I can only guess, but I’ve always loved the sound and it always made me think of the film Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. 

Quickly picking up the pace again “Jinx” is another fun Green Day excursion into getting arrested and insinuating BDSM, as they’ve been known to do. A song I always play when driving through a storm is “Haushinka”, which it's crazy drum heavy lead up into such a fast-paced track with drum fill breaks and back and forth vocals. I’m glad this song is one of the longer tracks as it breaks character a little after the halfway mark and totally changes up its sound. I can see this having been two different tracks that they decided to combine into this really fun and fast amalgamation. As a drummer myself I must say this song is a sweaty joyride to play and I recommend it to anyone who plays drums. 

Nimrod is an album that really jumps back and forth between typical Green Day pacing, and slower more lyrical focused tracks such as “Walking Alone”, a track very familiar sounding to Uptight”. As I do enjoy these tracks as well, they are probably my least favorite portion of the album as a whole, I’m not sure what the alternative release option would have been, but I feel they can hinder the flow the rest of the album has. Because the album immediately jumps back to life with “Reject”, another faster paced track that sounds like it could have been another portion of “Haushinka”. I love both of these tracks, but there is definitely some redundancy here (yes that was on purpose).

Now to my favorite track on the album, “Take Back”. As I stated before I am a man of metal, and this track really pulls out the hardcore elements of Green Day more than any other track they have ever released to this day. Coming in just over a minute this is their shortest track, besides intros such as “Song of the Century”, which makes me love this gem even more. The distorted vocals and heavy hitting drums and guitars really pull Green Day to their limits. Then comes “King for a Day”, one of my favorite songs played in their live album “Bullet in a Bible”, about a man with a feminine side and cross dressing only to be sent to therapy by their father. To think Green Day wrote and performed this track in 1997 really shows their progressive side and their attitude on pro lgtbq ideas before we really had a term for it. Billie joe Armstrong, the vocalist, even said in an MTV interview “"This song is about dressing in drag. The idea behind it is try to get fraternity guys singing like an oi song."

The song everyone knows, even if you don’t know Green Day, is “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)”, this album and this group are the ones who created the #1 used high school windows slideshow songs since the 2000’s. Before I ever really listened to this album in its entirety as a child, I already knew this song as it was popular from the year I was born and to this day. This still plays on every ‘but rock’ radio station around the US, and probably the globe as well. But this track does not end the album, there is still one more, “Prosthetic Head”. Probably the most well-rounded track on the album really contains much of that this album has to offer in one solid track. I would say if you want to get an idea of what this album sounds like, this would be the track I would recommend. It has every element to this album and really closes it out well. Yes, even after “Good Riddance”, there’s no way they could have known it would have become the success it is now, had they known I still think Prosthetic Head is the best ending to The record.

25 years later, and Green Day is.. Well… still here, to put it nicely. I have grown up listening to them and I would consider them my overall favorite band of all time, no matter the day or current trend I can always go back and listen to them like their music just came out. I have the Insomniac 25th anniversary vinyl, and I now know what to spend my next paycheck on. They have the Nimrod 25th anniversary version of the album out on streaming services now and it has the original tracks, several demos, bonus tracks, and many live performances from when the album came out. I absolutely love that they are bringing these albums back in these new forms for fans of the original as a way to hear more behind the scenes, and for me, to get a glimpse of how the band sounded and performed back before I could even speak.

Thank you so much for reading this Throwback Thursday, be sure to check back every week for a new review from different writers!