
Green Day's eighth studio album, 21st Century Breakdown, was released on May 15, 2009. It was the followup to their hugely successful rock opera American Idiot, which had come out five years prior. Given the circumstances, Green Day was on an impossible mission to top themselves, and they did that with a second ambitious rock opera, this time divided into three acts. 21st Century Breakdown's 18 songs tell a political story of Christian and Gloria. The first single, "Know Your Enemy," was released on April 16th. The second single, "21 Guns," was the biggest hit of the era. The ballad was released on May 25th, peaked at #22 on the Billboard Hot 100, and was nominated for a Grammy. The third single and fan favorite, "East Jesus Nowhere," was released October 19th; it was followed by "21st Century Breakdown" on December 21st. The final single was "Last Of The American Girls" on March 22, 2010.
21st Century Breakdown was an ambitious rock opera that pushed the musical boundaries even more than American Idiot. Green Day incorporated piano and use of Billie Joe's falsetto register, and had more variety in instrumentation and songwriting. Highlights on the album include "East Jesus Nowhere," "Peacemaker," "¿Viva La Gloria? (Little Girl)," "Restless Heart Syndrome," "21 Guns," "Last Night On Earth," and "Before The Lobotomy."
Singles
Tracklist
1 | Song Of The Century | Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, Tré Cool | |
2 | 21st Century Breakdown | Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, Tré Cool | |
3 | Know Your Enemy | Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, Tré Cool | |
4 | ¡Viva La Gloria! | Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, Tré Cool | |
5 | Before The Lobotomy | Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, Tré Cool | |
6 | Christian's Inferno | Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, Tré Cool | |
7 | Last Night On Earth | Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, Tré Cool | |
8 | East Jesus Nowhere | Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, Tré Cool | |
9 | Peacemaker | Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, Tré Cool | |
10 | Last Of The American Girls | Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, Tré Cool | |
11 | Murder City | Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, Tré Cool | |
12 | ¿Viva La Gloria? (Little Girl) | Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, Tré Cool | |
13 | Restless Heart Syndrome | Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, Tré Cool | |
14 | Horseshoes & Handgrenades | Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, Tré Cool | |
15 | The Static Age | Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, Tré Cool | |
16 | 21 Guns | Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, Tré Cool | |
17 | American Eulogy | Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, Tré Cool | |
18 | See The Light | Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, Tré Cool | |
19 | Lights Out | Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, Tré Cool | Japanese Edition Bonus Track |
19 | Burnout (Live) | Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, Tré Cool | Amazon MP3 Edition Bonus Track |
19 | A Quick One, While He's Away | Pete Townshend | iTunes Deluxe Edition Bonus Track |
20 | Another State Of Mind | Mike Ness | iTunes Deluxe Edition Bonus Track |
21 | That's All Right | Arthur Crudup | iTunes Deluxe Edition Pre-Order Bonus Track |
22 | Like A Rolling Stone | Bob Dylan | iTunes Deluxe Edition Pre-Order Bonus Track |