Dookie

Dookie is the third studio album and major label debut by the American rock band Green Day, released on February 1, 1994, by Reprise Records. The band's first collaboration with producer Rob Cavallo, it was recorded in late summer 1993 at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, California. Written mostly by frontman Billie Joe Armstrong, the album is heavily based around his personal experiences, with themes such as boredom, anxiety, relationships, and sexuality. The album was promoted with five singles: "Longview", "Basket Case", a version of "Welcome to Paradise" (which originally appeared on the band's second studio album, 1991's Kerplunk), "When I Come Around", and "She".
After several years of grunge's dominance in popular music, Dookie brought a livelier, more melodic rock sound to the mainstream, with relatable lyrics that reached a universal audience and propelled Green Day to worldwide fame. Considered one of the defining albums of the 1990s and punk rock in general, it was also pivotal in solidifying the genre's mainstream popularity. The album influenced a new wave of pop-punk bands, such as Blink-182, Sum 41, and Fall Out Boy.
Dookie received critical acclaim upon its release and won the band a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Album in 1995. It was also a worldwide success, peaking at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 in the United States and reaching top five positions in several other countries. It was later certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and has sold over 20 million copies worldwide, making it the band's best-selling album and one of the best-selling albums worldwide. It has been labeled by critics and journalists as one of the greatest albums of the 1990s and one of the greatest punk rock and pop-punk albums of all time; Rolling Stone placed Dookie on three iterations of their "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" list, and at number 1 on their "50 Greatest Pop-Punk Albums" list.
In August 2023, it was announced that a 30th anniversary deluxe edition of the album would be released on September 29, 2023, featuring outtakes, demos, and two live concert recordings. For the vinyl edition, additional content included a "Welcome to Paradise" postcard, a sticker, set of 5 button pins, a companion book, and a DIY cardboard plane. The CD release included the same set of button pins and the companion book, along with a refrigerator magnet.
Background
With the success in the independent world of their first two albums 39/Smooth (1990) and Kerplunk (1991), which sold 30,000 units each, a number of major record labels became interested in Green Day. Among those labels were Sony, Warner Bros., Geffen and Interscope. Representatives of these labels attempted to entice the band to sign by inviting them for meals to discuss a deal, with one manager even inviting the group to Disneyland. The band declined these advances; Armstrong believed that the labels were more than likely looking for something that resembled a grunge band, namely "second- and third-rate Nirvanas and Soundgardens", and they did not want to conform to a label's vision, until they met producer and A&R representative Rob Cavallo of Reprise, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. After showcasing him 40 minutes of Beatles covers, Cavallo picked up his own guitar, and the band jammed together with Cavallo. They were further impressed by his work with fellow Californian band The Muffs, and later remarked that Cavallo "was the only person we could really talk to and connect with".
Eventually, the band left their independent record label, Lookout! Records, on friendly terms by signing a five-album deal with Reprise in April 1993. The deal secured Cavallo as the producer of the first record and allowed the band to retain the rights to its albums on Lookout!. Signing to a major label caused many of Green Day's original fans to label them sell-outs, including the influential punk fanzine Maximumrocknroll and the independent music club 924 Gilman Street. Sometime between Green Day's September 24 gig at 924 Gilman Street and the release of their major-label debut, the venue banned the group from entering or playing. Reflecting back on the period, lead vocalist Billie Joe Armstrong told Spin magazine in 1999, "I couldn't go back to the punk scene, whether we were the biggest success in the world or the biggest failure [...] The only thing I could do was get on my bike and go forward." The group later returned in 2015 to play a benefit concert.
Recording
Following the band's last Gilman Street performance, Green Day demoed the songs "She", "Sassafras Roots", "Pulling Teeth" and "F.O.D." on Armstrong's four-track tape recorder and sent it to Cavallo. After listening to it, Cavallo sensed that "[he] had stumbled on something big." However, he recognized that the band was struggling to play their best and reasoned that they were anxious because the most time the band had previously spent recording an album was for three days while recording Kerplunk. To lighten the mood, he invited them to a Mexican restaurant and bar down the street from Fantasy Studios, even though drummer Tré Cool was not of legal drinking age at the time. Armstrong confirmed the band's anxiety in an interview years later, describing the group feeling "like little kids in a candy store" and fear that the band would lose money on work being scrapped by the label for not meeting standards. Despite this, they focused on making the most of the new production resources at their disposal; unlike their previous albums where the band had to rush to complete them to save money, the band took their time to perfect the quality of their output. Armstrong noted that he learned "how to dial in good sounds, get the best guitar tones. I was able to take a little time doing vocals."
Recording took place over the course of three weeks at Fantasy, and the album was mixed twice by Jerry Finn. Though the band took their time to make a quality product as a whole, Armstrong's vocals were still recorded very quickly; he recorded about 16 or 17 songs in two days, most of them in a single take. Armstrong said the band at first "wanted it to sound really dry, the same way the Sex Pistols record or the early Black Sabbath records sounded", but the band found the result of this approach to be an unsatisfactory original mix. Cavallo agreed, and it was remixed at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, California. Armstrong later said of their studio experience, "Everything was already written, all we had to do was play it." Among the material recorded but not included on the album was "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)", which would later be re-recorded for the band's 1997 album Nimrod and become a hit in its own right. The band also recorded new versions of the songs "Welcome to Paradise" and "Christie Rd." from their second album Kerplunk and "409 in your Coffeemaker" from their second EP Slappy, though only "Welcome to Paradise" would make it onto the final album.
Writing and composition
Much of Dookies content was written by Armstrong, except "Emenius Sleepus", which was written by bassist Mike Dirnt, and the hidden track, "All by Myself", which was written by drummer Tré Cool. The album touched upon various experiences of the band members and included subjects such as anxiety and panic attacks, masturbation, sexual orientation, boredom, mass murder, divorce, and ex-girlfriends. PopMatters summarized the album's theme as "a record that speaks of the frustrations, anxieties, and apathy of young people". Stylistically, the album has been categorized primarily as punk rock, but also as pop-punk and as a "power pop take" on skate punk. Influences from the Ramones and the Sex Pistols were noted in Armstrong's guitar technique throughout the album; he recorded the album almost entirely with his Fernandes Stratocaster, which he named "Blue".
Songs 1–7
Dookie opens with "Burnout", a "speedy, antsy rocker" centered around a central character's feelings of general apathy toward life. Armstrong wrote the song "Having a Blast" when he was in Cleveland in June 1992. The song revolves around a mentally ill character who plans to use explosives to kill himself and others. This was not regarded as a serious issue at the time, as the social climate could allow the song to be viewed as "mere cathartic fantasy", but incidents in the following years such as the Columbine High School massacre in 1999 have made the song the "most uncomfortable track" on the album. On "Chump", Armstrong takes the perspective of someone who takes prejudice over another individual without actually knowing the person in question, going to the point of insulting them, before revealing at the end of the song that the real disliked person in question matches his description of himself. "Chump" is also the first of three songs which reference a former girlfriend of Armstrong he identifies only as "Amanda". The album's first single, "Longview", had a signature bass line that bassist Dirnt wrote while under the influence of LSD. In an interview with Guitar World in 2002, Armstrong described the character in the song as one based on himself during a time he lived in Rodeo, California: "There was nothing to do there, and it was a real boring place." To entertain himself, the character does nothing but watch television, smoke marijuana, and masturbate, and has little motivation to change these habits despite tiring of the same cycle of behaviors.
"Welcome to Paradise", the third single from Dookie, was originally on the band's second studio album, Kerplunk!. The composition of the song itself was not altered for Dookie, but it bears noticeable improvements in sound quality than what the band had available while recording Kerplunk!. The song was written about Armstrong's experiences living in bad neighborhoods around Oakland, California. "Pulling Teeth", one of the slower-paced songs on the album, uses dark humor to create a song about domestic violence. The typical victim and perpetrator are also reversed; the male narrator is at the mercy of his partner. The band's inspiration for this song came from a pillow fight between Dirnt and his girlfriend that ended with the bassist breaking his elbow. The second single "Basket Case", which appeared on many singles charts worldwide, was also inspired by Armstrong's personal experiences. The song deals with Armstrong's anxiety attacks and feelings of "going crazy" prior to being diagnosed with a panic disorder. Using a palm muted playing approach, Armstrong is the only one who plays on the song until halfway through the song's first chorus, with the other instruments' arrival representing panic setting in. In the third verse, "Basket Case" references soliciting a male prostitute; Armstrong noted that "I wanted to challenge myself and whoever the listener might be. It's also looking at the world and saying, 'It's not as black and white as you think. This isn't your grandfather's prostitute – or maybe it was.' " The music video was filmed in an abandoned mental institution. It is one of the band's most popular songs.
Songs 8–14
"She" was written about Amanda, who showed him a feminist poem with an identical title to the song. In return, Armstrong wrote the lyrics of "She" and showed them to her. When Amanda broke up with Armstrong in early 1994 and moved to Ecuador to join the Peace Corps, Armstrong decided to put "She" on the album. Musically, "She" is similar to "Basket Case", although it is slightly faster, and draws inspiration from the Beatles. The song's beginnings mirror those of "Basket Case"; whereas Armstrong was the only one to play as "Basket Case" began, Armstrong's guitar does not enter until later in "She" while his bandmates provide a musical backdrop. The song tells the story of a young woman who feels trapped in an unsatisfactory life. Amanda is also referenced in the next track, "Sassafras Roots". Sonically closer to the band's material on Kerplunk!, it is an unconventional love song that uses irony and sarcasm in an effort to avoid being direct, and centers on a couple wasting time together in a romantic relationship. The tenth track, "When I Come Around", was the album's final single. It was again inspired by a woman, though this time being about Armstrong's former girlfriend, and now wife, Adrienne. Following a dispute between the couple, Armstrong left Adrienne to spend some time alone. Described as the closest thing to a ballad on the album, "When I Come Around" is driven by a recognizable two-bar, palm-muted guitar riff of four chords, while Dirnt's bass part stands out by adding additional pulled-off and hammered-on portions to the guitar's accompaniment. Lyrically, the song highlights two meanings of the song's titular phrase. It begins as an address to someone who the narrator believes they could address the needs of, having literally come around; however, the second verse reverses course, with the singer realizing they aren't what the other person needs, thereby having "come around" figuratively.
The song "Coming Clean" deals with Armstrong's coming to terms with his bisexuality as a teenager. At the time, he was still looking for himself sexually and had no well-defined sexual orientation. In his interview with The Advocate magazine, he stated that although he has never had a relationship with a man, his sexuality has been "something that comes up as a struggle in me". "Emenius Sleepus", written by Dirnt, is about two old friends who meet by chance, and the narrator realizes that they have both changed a lot as people. Played in a quick staccato-styled rhythm, Armstrong wrote the song "In the End" about his mother and stepfather, and the reproach Armstrong felt toward his mother for choosing his stepfather as a partner. "F.O.D.", an acronym for "Fuck Off and Die", begins calmly with Armstrong alone on acoustic guitar, before the band suddenly arrives in a louder, full-force fashion. The theme of the song centers around the singer's grudge for another individual, and wishing misfortune upon them.
A hidden track, "All By Myself", with vocals and guitar by Cool, plays after "F.O.D." ends, and is themed on masturbation.
Packaging
The name of the album is a reference to the band members often suffering from diarrhea, which they referred to as "liquid dookie", as a result of eating spoiled food while on tour. Initially the band was to name the album Liquid Dookie; however, this was deemed "too gross", and so they settled on the name Dookie.
The album artwork by fellow East Bay punk Richie Bucher caused controversy, since it depicted bombs being dropped on people and buildings. The setting is a replica of Berkeley's Telegraph Avenue. In the center, there is an explosion, with the band's name at the top. Armstrong has since explained the meaning of the artwork:
The back cover on early prints of the CD featured a plush toy of Ernie from Sesame Street, which was airbrushed out of later prints for fear of litigation; however, Canadian and European prints still feature Ernie on the back cover. Some rumors suggest that it was removed because it led parents to think that Dookie was a child's lullaby album or that the creators of Sesame Street had sued Green Day.
Release
Dookie was released on February 1, 1994. Though the album only sold 9,000 copies in its first week, it eventually peaked at number two on the Billboard 200 in the United States and became an international success; the lowest peak in any country was in the United Kingdom at number 13. While all the singles from the album charted in a few countries, the hit single "Basket Case" entered the top 10 in the United Kingdom and Sweden. Later in 1995, the album received a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album, with "Longview" and "Basket Case" each being nominated for a Grammy.
Throughout the 1990s, Dookie continued to sell well, eventually receiving diamond certification in 1999. By 2014, Dookie had sold over 20 million copies worldwide and remains the band's best-selling album.
Reception
Dookie was released to critical acclaim. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic described Dookie as "a stellar piece of modern punk that many tried to emulate but nobody bettered". In 1994, Time claimed Dookie as the third best album of the year, and the best rock album of 1994. Jon Pareles from The New York Times, in early 1995, described the sound of Dookie as, "Punk turns into pop in fast, funny, catchy, high-powered songs about whining and channel-surfing; apathy has rarely sounded so passionate." Rolling Stones Paul Evans described Green Day as "convincing mainly because they've got punk's snotty anti-values down cold: blame, self-pity, arrogant self-hatred, humor, narcissism, fun".
Neil Strauss of The New York Times, while complimentary of the album's overall quality, noted that Dookies pop sound only remotely resembled punk music. The band did not respond initially to these comments, but later claimed that they were "just trying to be themselves" and that "it's our band, we can do whatever we want". Dirnt claimed that the follow-up album, Insomniac, one of the band's most aggressive albums lyrically and musically, was the band releasing their anger at all the criticism and distaste from critics and former fans.
Along with The Offspring's Smash, Dookie has been credited for helping bring punk rock back into mainstream music culture. Thomas Nassiff at Fuse cited it as the most important pop-punk album. Rolling Stone has cited it as one of the greatest punk rock albums of all time.
In April 2014, Rolling Stone placed the album at No. 1 on its "1994: The 40 Best Records From Mainstream Alternative's Greatest Year" list. A month later, Loudwire placed Dookie at No. 1 on its "10 Best Hard Rock Albums of 1994" list. Guitar World ranked Dookie at number thirteen in their list "Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994".
Accolades
Since its release, Dookie has been featured heavily in various "must have" lists compiled by the music media. Some of the more prominent of these lists to feature Dookie are shown below.
Live performances
Immediately following the release of Dookie, the band embarked on an international tour, beginning in the United States, for which they used a bookmobile belonging to Tré Cool's father to travel between shows. An audience of millions saw Green Day's performance at Woodstock '94 on Pay-per-view, helping the band attract more fans. This event was the location of the infamous mud "fight" between the band and the crowd, which continued beyond the end of Green Day's set. During the fight, Dirnt was mistaken for a fan by a security guard, who tackled him and then threw him against a monitor, causing him to injure his arm and break two of his teeth.
The band also appeared at Lollapalooza and the Z100 Acoustic Christmas at Madison Square Garden, where Armstrong performed the song "She" entirely naked due to him not knowing if they'll ever perform there again. Having toured throughout the United States and Canada, the band played a few shows in Europe before beginning the recording sessions for the subsequent album, Insomniac. During the tour, Armstrong was quite homesick. His wife, Adrienne Armstrong, whom he had married shortly after the release of Dookie, was pregnant during most of the tour, and Armstrong was upset about being unable to help and care for her.
In Boston, Massachusetts, alternative/punk radio station WFNX hosted a free Green Day concert in the wake of success for Dookie at the Hatch Memorial Shell concert venue on September 9, 1994. An estimated 70,000 to 100,000 concertgoers attended the show compared to a projected 30,000 attendance, which ended 20 minutes into Green Day's set after a mosh pit erupted into a full riot. Requiring the assistance of the Massachusetts State Police, roughly 100 people were injured and 31 were arrested in the aftermath of the concert. The Boston Phoenix would retrospectively list the Green Day Hatch Shell "riot" concert as the 6th greatest Boston concert of all time.
In 2013, Dookie was played in its entirety at select European dates as a celebration of the album's upcoming 20th anniversary.
On October 19, 2023 at the Fremont Country Club in Las Vegas, NV, Dookie was played in its entirety, including "All by Myself", as celebration of the album's upcoming 30th anniversary and announcement of the 2024 tour as part of the evening's 29 song set.
Track listing
All lyrics written by Billie Joe Armstrong, except where noted; all music composed by Green Day.
30th Anniversary Vinyl Box Set
30th Anniversary CD Box Set
PersonnelGreen Day Billie Joe Armstrong – lead vocals, guitar
Mike Dirnt – bass, backing vocals
Tré Cool – drums; guitar and lead vocals on "All by Myself"Technical personnel'''
Rob Cavallo, Green Day – producer, mixing
Jerry Finn – mixing
Neill King – engineer
Casey McCrankin – engineer
Richie Bucher – cover artist
Ken Schles – photography
Pat Hynes – booklet artwork
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Decade-end charts
Certifications and sales
References
Citations
Sources
External links
Dookie at YouTube (streamed copy where licensed)
Dookie'' at Discogs
1994 albums
Albums produced by Rob Cavallo
Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album
Green Day albums
Reprise Records albums
Skate punk albums