Bondage Pants

Punk rock purists, sporting their Black Flag T-shirts and punk pants, bash Green Day for playing poppy love songs and "selling out" back in 1994. However, many fans of the punk rock genre cannot deny that Green Day was one of the first reasons for their present love for "punk rock" wearing their bondage pants. The TRL-generation trashes Green Day because the band is considered old news - after all, bands like Blink-182 and other pop acts rule the airwaves today.

Wide Selection of Bondage Pants

Green Day's newest album, Warning, might not create waves throughout either the underground or mainstream communities. However, anyone who can drop their hang-ups about music long enough to give the album a chance will find a long-awaited collection of songs that bring back that nostalgic feeling once inspired by hearing "Longview" on the radio so many years ago.

Punk rock purists are right for saying this album is very "punk." While there are several tracks on the album, such as "Deadbeat Holiday" and "Jackass," which stick to the patented three-chord, snot-nosed vocals that made the group famous, much of the album strays from this formula. Many tracks have a folk and rock 'n' roll feel, employing acoustic guitars, 1950's riffs, and rolling bass lines to create a sound apparently influenced by acts such as Bob Dylan and the Beatles.

The album opens with the title track, "Warning," a track with a prominent rolling bass line and an upbeat sing-a-long chorus that warns bondage pants listeners that this album will sound different, while still getting them to tap their toes to the infectious melody.

Other songs remind the listener of classic '50's pop songs. "Church on Sunday" is an upbeat love song that echoes back to more carefree days of music history. "Hold On" opens with a harmonica melody that automatically brings visions of the Beatles song "I Should Have Known Better" to the listener's head.

Punk Bondage Shorts

Even the album's first single, "Minority," comes across with the unique sound yet familiar melody. This song almost feels like a patriotic marching ballad meshed with a harder punk-rock riff. Perhaps the punk-rock bondage pants community does not embrace Green Day because the band has moved on to writing songs beyond the normal punk themes of love and teenage anarchy. This album has darkly sarcastic tracks such as "Blood, Sex, and Booze", which is a joke about masochism, as well as songs expressing the ideals of family, home and hope for the future, such as the final track - an acoustic campfire ballad entitled "Macy's Day Parade."