Every Green Day Album Opening Song Ranked From Worst To Best
12. Song Of The Century - 21st Century Breakdown
Similarly to ¡Dos!, Green Day's eighth studio album, 21st Century Breakdown, also begins with a short introduction.
Song of the Century is 57 seconds of Billie Joe Armstrong singing over what sounds like an old-fashioned radio, imploring those who can hear him to reply with a song "louder than bombs and eternity". So far, so Green Day.
Despite being shorter than See You Tonight, Song of the Century is infinitely more thoughtful and artistic. There's the radio effect for one thing, a recurring motif throughout the album, and the lyrics are far more worthwhile than simply singing about wanting to hang out with someone.
These words appear later on in the song American Eulogy, giving Song of the Century a larger presence across the project. Though it's not good enough to compete with actual, fleshed out songs, at least this piece used all of its brief runtime to maximum effect.