Green Day rarely gains respect outside of the albums Dookie and American Idiot. But I have to respectfully disagree and claim that Nimrod is the album that proves the band’s importance. Although the tacky track, “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” is probably the only track on the album still getting airplay, the album truly has some good tunes that were reluctantly looked over.
Maybe you think Green Day sucks. But admit it, in the 90’s Green Day was a mainstream rock king alongside heavyweights like Nirvana and Pearl Jam, and Nimrod was one of the foundation albums making Green Day a more versatile band, able to mature into a new sound and also transition to reach a new generation of fans.
Playing off of more angst in this album than in its later albums, Green Day uses romance and growing up as lyrical content while strumming catchy bass lines along with simple chords. Using humor and a horn instrumental, “King for a Day” tells the story of a young drag queen. Serious harmonica leads you into the eloquent “Walking Alone,” a must-listen track on the album which, hate Green Day or not, proves that Billie Joe Armstrong certainly can write.
A variety of tempos showcase tracks that make you swoon and songs that compel you to bounce around. Because of this, it is hard to get bored of Nimrod. It is easily a listen-the-whole-way-through sort of album.
WHY YOU MUST LISTEN TO THIS ALBUM
It is sad that this album was so overlooked except for the cheese-filled, graduation classic “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life),” because the album offers the much better “Jinx.” Honestly, there is no reason for “Good Riddance” to stand supreme above the other tracks on the album. However, it does offer an essence of what is to come from the band. I would also recommend the semi-popular “Redundant,” as well as “Scattered.” Seeing the roots of the band that has now inspired – or infected, depending on opinion – a new generation is a viable way to create your own interpretation of what made Green Day an important band of the 1990s.
