1. Dookie Is Still So Relevant And Relatable
I'm sure there are a few of us who can relate to the eponymous 'She' who screams in silence on Dookie's eighth track. Without getting too political, I think it's fair to say the world is feeling frustrated with their respective governments and economies and there's never been a better time to dust off Dookie and give it a good listening to. Jobless graduates feeling like 'social tools without a use'. Disaffected teenagers feeling like 'melodramatic fools' whining about 'nothing and everything all at once' like Billie Joe's Basket Case. Dookie is track after track of passionate yet cathartic therapy, normalising your inner frustration and providing the perfect soundtrack for emotional venting. And not only are the lyrics still significant, but their sound, that energetic, new-wave punk vibe, resists the effects of aging and would not be out of place in today's charts. In the words of New Found Glory's Chad Gilbert, 'a good song lasts a lifetime and this album is stacked'. No truer words were spoken as Dookie is still as popular as ever with Green Day fans. It's clear to all who listen to Dookie in its brilliant entirety that Green Day are really showcasing their devil-may-care attitude and sharing their total confusion felt by everyone at some point in response to the world's randomness. The band have always stressed the importance of being individual and that they are their own people and this started with Dookie, when it was hardest for the band to resist dilution via commercialisation as well as the criticism for such mainstream success. Throughout all the controversy, they managed to remain as care-free as ever and Dookie is the epitome of this admirable attitude they have always exhibited. Long live Dookie! Is Dookie still in your top 10 favourite albums? Does the mention of Green Day in the same sentence as Blink 182 make you violently angry? Or are you part of the older generation who never jumped on the Green Day train and feel they ruined the genre? Let us know by sharing your thoughts in the comments section.