Green Day biography - The later years

The band took a break in 1996 and picked up working on a new album in 1997. Right from the beginning, they agreed that the album had to be different than their previous work. The experimental album was labeled Nimrod, released in 1997. The album had a wider variety of music, punk rock, surf rock, ska and an acoustic ballad. Nimrod hit number ten on the charts due to the popularity of “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life).” This same song won an MTV Video award for Best Alternative Video. The video focused on major changes in the lives of a variety of people, overlaid by the guitar part. Other songs from Nimrod included “Nice Guys Finish Last,” “Hitchin’ a Ride,” and “Redundant.”

Warning was released in 2000, which followed the same style change as Nimrod. All Music Guide gave it a four point five out of five, saying that while not innovative, it was a satisfying endeavor. The Rolling Stone magazine was harsher in their rating of a three out of five. They cited the band’s previous hard core work and claimed that people would not want to listen to the lighter style of music from Green Day. Despite the hits, “Minority” and “Warning,” fans began to lose interest in the band because of the album Warning. Most of Green Day’s work had previously hit double platinum, Warning only warranted gold.

In 2001 at the California Music Awards Green Day was nominated for eight different awards, they won them all, those awards were Outstanding Album, Outstanding Punk Rock/Ska Album, Outstanding Group, Outstanding Male Vocalist, Outstanding Bassist, Outstanding Drummer, Outstanding Songwriter and Outstanding Artist. The release of warning was followed by their greatest hits album International Superhits! and an assemblage album called Shenanigans. These sold well, reaching platinum in the United States. Shenanigans was nominated for a Grammy for best Rock Instrumental Performance.

In the summer of 2003 the master tapes with all twenty songs for their new album tentatively called Cigarettes and Valentines was stolen from the studio. Instead of redoing the album, decided to make another, even better album. That same year, they worked with Iggy Pop on two songs on his new album Skull Ring. It was then that the band had serious talks to work out some issues they had with the other members. American idiot was the result and was released in 2004. It hit number one on the Billboard charts, marking the first time Green Day had such a rating. It was commonly called a “punk rock opera” following the “Jesus of Suburbia.” It won the Grammy in 2005 for Best Rock Album and took seven of eight awards in the 2005 MTV music awards.

Throughout 2005, the band was on tour to support American Idiot. The tour had roughly one hundred and fifty shows, making it their longest ever. They played in Japan, Australia, South America and the UK. Their show in Milton Keynes National Bowl in England was called the best show ever by Kerrang! Magazine poll. The recording of this show was released on DVD and CD under the name Bullet in a Bible. The recordings featured hits from American Idiot and songs from all previous albums excluding Kerplunk and 1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours. It also had behind the scenes footage of how Green Day prepared for their shows.

Green Day rescinded the master rights to their material by Lookout! Records in 2005. They cited a breach of contract regarding royalties that had gone unpaid for some time. The complaint was shared by other bands who had contracts with Lookout!. The Green Day material done by Lookout! had been out of print for a year and was reissued in Reprise in January of 2007. In 2006, Green Day won the Grammy for Record of the Year for “Boulevard of Broken Dreams.” It stayed in the number one spot for sixteen weeks, tying the record with a song by Red Hot Chili Peppers and another by Staind. Green Day’s “Wake Me Up When September Ends” was nominated for Best Rock Video in the 2006 MTV Video Music awards.