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Green Day Cleans Out The Garage With Secret Identity

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By CURTIS ROSS

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 5, 2008

"American Idiot" kicked Green Day into levels of respectability no punk ever imagines. Having to follow it apparently didn't appeal to the trio, so it sidestepped the issue with a new identity.

One listen to "Stop Drop and Roll!!!" establishes that Green Day isn't trying to fool anyone. Foxboro Hot Tubs quite obviously is the "Dookie" boys paying homage to the '60s garage rock that's at the root of their sound.

Sure, Green Day draws plenty from the Buzzcocks and the Descendents and other acts that pioneered the blend of pummeling punk and effervescent pop. But The Who and The Kinks have never been far from the surface of the band's music. The Who's Pete Townshend surely would have written "American Idiot" himself had he been a bong-hitting, East Bay Gen-Xer.

There are some pretty explicit tributes - or steals - here. "Alligator" mimics The Kinks, particularly "You Really Got Me," right down to the shout in the song's conclusion. "27th Ave. Shuffle" does likewise with The Who's early singles, while "Dark Side of Night" - with a flute solo! - taps into the moodier side of The Yardbirds.

The other nine songs aren't quite as transparent in their influences but the Tubs obviously aren't aiming for originality here. What is a revelation, though, is how similar these garage rock salutes are to the music the band makes as Green Day.

Perhaps that's why Green Day is defying the live fast-grow irrelevant trajectory most bands follow. The band not only knows its rock lineage, it's learned from it. These guys have mastered the Zen secret of rock 'n' roll: turning three-chord riffs into three-chord songs.

Download this: "Stop Drop and Roll!!!"

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