Green Day

On their third major label release, Green Day began experimenting more in the studio, weaning themselves a tad from their tried-and-true three-chord punk-pop. While tight, catchy melodies still form the foundation of their music (single "Hitchin' A Ride" is as infectious as they come), the band throw in a surf song ("Last Ride In") and a wandering ballad, "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)," that not only became the album's biggest hit, but also a song that would become synonymous with high school graduations, TV series finales and other vital moments of nostalgia, not to mention the band itself.

Green Day have one doozy of a flashback of their punk-rock past midway through Nimrod,
the California trio's fifth album. On the song "Platypus (I Hate You)" drummer Tré Cool's
tom-toms and Mike Dirnt's bass pound like a herd of charging rhinos as singer Billie Joe
Armstrong condenses the phrase " 'Cause I hate you" into "Cuz-l-hatechew." Green Day's
pop future can be glimpsed immediately afterward. "Uptight" rolls in like a wave,... More >

Punks can age gracefully, but for whiners it's hard ("The Grouch," "Walking Alone") (Grade - **)