Now I'm just another shitty old man.
nimrod. is the fifth album by American punk rock band Green Day, released in October 1997.
After the release of Insomniac (1995), which was seen as a critical and commercial disappointment compared to their breakthrough major-label debut Dookie (1994), the band embarked on a world tour for the album that had them playing sports arenas (as opposed to their usual small clubs) and spending uncomfortable amounts of time away from their families. This homesickness led the band to cancel the late 1996 European leg of the tour to finally spend time at home. In the wake of the cancellation, the band continued to write and had produced over 36 new songs come the start of 1997.
nimrod. was made over a four-month span with the intent of being a collection of standalone songs instead of one cohesive album, since the band felt like they had driven their Three Chords and the Truth song structure into the ground. As a result, the album is easily the most experimental and diverse output in the band's discography, and perhaps even one of the most kaleidoscopic albums in the punk genre.
The album sold over 10 million copies worldwide, and produced an unexpected Black Sheep Hit in the song "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)", which is now regarded as one of the band's most well-known songs (however infamously improperly used).
Tracklist:
- "Nice Guys Finish Last" (2:49)
- "Hitchin' a Ride" (2:51)
- "The Grouch" (2:12)
- "Redundant" (3:17)
- "Scattered" (3:02)
- "All the Time" (2:10)
- "Worry Rock" (2:27)
- "Platypus (I Hate You)" (2:21)
- "Uptight" (3:04)
- "Last Ride In" (instrumental) (3:47)
- "Jinx" (2:12)
- "Haushinka" (3:25)
- "Walking Alone" (2:45)
- "Reject" (2:05)
- "Take Back" (1:09)
- "King for a Day" (3:13)
- "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" (2:34)
- "Prosthetic Head" (3:38)
Troper for a day:
- all lowercase letters: The album title.
- Book Ends: "Take Back" begins and ends with the same radio monotone.
- Break-Up Song: "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" is meant as a tasteful example of this.
- Careful with That Axe:
- "Hitchin' a Ride" kicks off its explosive climax with Billie Joe yelling "SHIT!"
- "Jinx" starts with Billie Joe screeching "ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR!" in the background.
- Cluster F-Bomb: The album is full of them from beginning to end, but what really stands out is this gem from "Platypus":"DICKHEAD, FUCKFACE, COCKSMOKING, MOTHERFUCKING ASSHOLE, DIRTY TWAT, WASTE OF SEMEN, I HOPE YOU DIE — HEY!"
- Crossdresser: "King For A Day".
- Four More Measures: "Good Riddance". It's not helped by the two false starts.
- Genre Roulette: Considering the album was purposely written to be experimental and as a set of standalone songs, the band combined many different genres from hardcore punk ("Platypus (I Hate You)," "Take Back") to ska punk ("King For A Day") to surf rock ("Last Ride In") to acoustic rock ("Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)") to folk punk ("Walking Alone") to even klezmer (the opening of "Hitchin' A Ride") to regular alternative rock ("Redundant," "Uptight," "Haushinka," etc.).
- Gratuitous Panning:
- The opening radio hum in "Take Back" is shifted to the left side.
- At 0:00 and 2:47 in "Prosthetic Head", there are some faint feedback sounds panned to the right side.
- Grumpy Old Man: The narrator of "The Grouch.""I was a young boy that had big plansNow I'm just another shitty old manI don't have fun and I hate everythingThe world owes me, so fuck you"
- "I Am" Song: "Walking Alone", "The Grouch"
- I Coulda Been a Contender!: The narrator of "The Grouch" laments about how he wasted his youth full of potential and is just living a dull, apathetic life.
- Instrumental:
- "Last Ride In" is a groovy surf rock instrumental that sounds like it could be the theme song to a mystery show.
- "Espionage," the B-side to "Hitchin' A Ride," is also an instrumental in the spy theme vein, and was incidentally included in the soundtrack to Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me.
- The Jinx: "Jinx" is told from the perspective of one.
- Lighter and Softer: Compared to Insomniac, which was notably Darker and Edgier than Dookie.
- The Loins Sleep Tonight: From "The Grouch"."The wife's a nag and the kid's fucking up
I don't have sex 'cause I can't get it up" - Love Nostalgia Song: "Scattered"
- Metal Scream: The chorus of "Take Back" is nothing but Billie Joe chanting the song title in an extremely guttural voice.
- Miniscule Rocking: "Take Back" is merely a minute long.
- Mood Whiplash:
- "Platypus (I Hate You)", one of the most profane and aggressive Green Day songs ever made, is played right after the relatively mellow "Worry Rock".
- "Take Back", a punk-metal anger song, gets followed by the deliriously happy-sounding "King for a Day".
- One-Woman Song: "Haushinka".
- One-Word Title: "Redundant", "Reject", "Jinx" and "Scattered".
- Precision F-Strike:
- "Worry Rock." Weezer's cover of the song censors the F-bomb to "hugged."
- On the album version of "Good Riddance" Billie Joe screws up the chords of the intro twice and lets out a quiet "fuck" before the third attempt.
- Shout-Out: The title of "Prosthetic Head" is one to They Might Be Giants' "We Want A Rock", which contains the lyric "everybody wants prosthetic foreheads on their real heads."
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: "Take Back", "Platypus", "Reject".
- Siamese Twin Songs: "Jinx" and "Haushinka". Also "Uptight" and "Last Ride In".
- Subdued Section: "Good Riddance".
- Surprisingly Gentle Song:
- "Good Riddance". Just Billie Joe singing a contemplative song, playing an acoustic guitar while accompanied by backing strings.
- "Last Ride In" is a relaxing Surf Rock instrumental.
- Title-Only Chorus: "Take Back".
- Unplugged Version: "Good Riddance" is an acoustic ballad.
