Issue #84: Green Day – Nimrod

Released:  October 14th, 1997

Recorded:  March – July 1997

Genre:  Pop Punk, Alternative

Record Label:  Reprise

Duration:  49:09

Producers:  Rob Cavallo, Green Day

Personnel

Track Listing

Singles

Why Nimrod is One of My Favorites

By the time Nimrod came out, Green Day had left behind much of their punk sound.  The roots of it are still floating around, but Nimrod was really their first step in evolving into a middle of the road alt rock band.  Not that this was a bad thing; after all, some “regular rock” is always good to have around, but this was definitely the record that saw them really break out of their genre confines and further develop their own “Green Day sound” that was full realized on American Idiot and 21st Century Breakdown.

Nimrod is a surprisingly easy record to get into.  It’s poppy, upbeat, and catchy.  I can understand the complaints leveled against it for feeling a little generic, though I tend to recognize it as a natural evolution of the band’s music.  Armstrong’s distinctive voice and ability to bang out infectious melodies continue giving Green Day’s music an identifiable sound.  Nimrod is a record that doesn’t push the boundaries, doesn’t really do anything new, and doesn’t exactly have any “wow” moments, yet it is easy to listen to, paced well, and made by competent musicians.  It may not have quite the youthful exuberance and zeal of Dookie, and it lacks the dark, depressing vibe of Insomniac, though it makes up for these with a more diverse and transitional approach towards the music and represents a more mature side of a band who, for the first time, seems intent on expanding their scope, even if it doesn’t go that far just yet.

Most people will recognize the leading track, “Nice Guys Finish Last.”  It’s difficult to describe these songs with words other than “poppy” and “upbeat” since that’s exactly what they are.  With palm-muting, soft-loud dynamics, a sing-song tune, and a few expletives, it’s pretty much pop punk perfected.  “Hitchin’ a Ride” begins with violins playing and quickly finds an erratic march-like rhythm, sounding like something we might hear on a System of a Down album (yes, I’m aware that Nimrod was released before System’s first record…), and it’s really the first big indicator that Nimrod is the start of something new.

The following tracks, “The Grouch” and “Redundant,” both move away from the speed associated with punk and start sounding a lot like embryonic power pop songs.  The next 3 (“Scattered,” “All the Time,” “Worry Rock”) are pushed about as far towards the “pop” end of “pop punk” as possible.  Still though, this isn’t a bad thing.  They’re all uplifting and fun to listen to with melodies that always stay stuck in my head.

“Platypus” shifts abruptly back to the harsher days of Insomniac; it’s loud, fast, and aggressive, and a bona fide punk song in its own right.  “Uptight” reminds me a lot of “She” from Dookie with it’s bassline.  Generous palm-muting and “soft-loud” keeps the punk spirit alive, but overall the song is less about speed than rhythm, and Armstrong is clearly more comfortable singing than shouting.  There’s even a bit of lead guitar that sounds like something right out of any alternative song.

I’m not sure why “Last Ride In” remained nothing more than an instrumental, though it continues to illustrate Green Day’s interest in other styles of music.  It’s a lounge-y song that sounds nothing at all like the band at the time, utilizing a lazy, western guitar alongside something like a marimba/xylophone/vibraphone, horns, strings, and what sounds like the ocean.  Surf rock maybe?

“Jinx,” “Haushinka,” “Reject,” and “Take Back” keep the punk flavor alive, with “Take Back” being particularly aggressive and angry; Armstrong even growls and snarls his way through parts of this 1 minute blast.  “Walking Alone” has a very 60’s feel to it (albeit a little heavier) with a harmonica thrown in for good measure.  “King for a Day” sees Green Day go ska for the first time ever…with mixed results.  It’s probably my least favorite track on the album (simply because it isn’t very musically interesting) but it is good to see them trying out new things, especially after so many of their contemporaries had played with it here and there.

“Prosthetic Head” is a weird way to close the album, though the song itself is good enough.  It feels like another pop-punk cut at first, yet clearly the guys are trying to branch out rhythmically.  The verses are where the switch is most evident; it’s subtle, but it’s definitely different.  (It kind of reminds me of Sugar Ray’s “Every Morning.”)  Then there’s the obvious shift in beat during the chorus.  I’m not sure how I feel about this post-pop-punk track, especially as it sort of falls apart at the end, but again, it’s good to hear something different.

“Good Riddance,” the penultimate track, is really the song that should’ve closed out the record.  Unfortunately this song has been played to death, and I actually feel bad for people who bought Nimrod based on the strength of this song alone.  Within the context of the album though, it fits in nicely, and it’s still a good listen every once in a while.  Moreso than any other single song, “Good Riddance” demonstrates that somewhere down the line the boys became excellent musicians.  Armstrong never ceases to churn out simple and endearing melodies (something that a lot of artists struggle with their entire careers) and we finally see Green Day fully detach from punk for the first time.  Some may see this as a negative change, but truthfully, punk musicians who play long enough to become good musicians inevitably break free from punk’s rather simple but also highly rigid style (The Ramones are perhaps the sole exception) and go on to carve their own path.

Although Green Day’s fifth album comes it at under 50 minutes, the 18 tracks can feel a little long.  I tend to gravitate more towards Nimrod for its distance from punk rather than the tracks that more closely link it to Dookie and Insomniac.  It’s evident that Green Day wasn’t quite ready to embrace a new sound, but it’s forgivable.  Even the songs that don’t quite fit or that feel a little weak aren’t a chore to listen to, and overall it’s a fun record with a new yet still familiar sound.  “Experimental” sometimes gets thrown around when talking about Nimrod, though I’d consider it more of a transitional album instead; Warning is where the band would hit their experimental peak.

Some fans appreciated where Green Day was going while others were alienated.  By the mid to late 2000s, the guys were reaching a generation who were barely alive when “Basket Case” first hit the airwaves and that’s got to be good for something.  They were still trying to find solid footing on Nimrod, but ultimately the shift was a success.  I’m glad I was a little older when I decided to give this album a serious listen; I think my teenage self would’ve derided it for its “poppiness” and mistaken maturity for lack of intensity.  But as we get older, I think we all learn that sometime music is just music, and it doesn’t always have to be loaded down with years of pain or volumes of introspection to be a great listen.

Written by The Cubist

Other albums from Green Day in this series:

• 1994 – Dookie – Issue #18
• 1995 – Insomniac – Issue #70

Back to The Cubist’s 90’s Albums

Written by The Cubist

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