It was back in 1994 that pop-punk first broke through to the mainstream – flying right by the first-wave alt-rock of the Lollapalooza Generation to become aboveground music's Hot New Thing – on the strength of exactly one song: "Longview," from Green Day's deceptively childishly titled album Dookie. Over the course of the next decade, the genre made an indelible mark on modern rock as countless bands rose to prominence and just as many subcategories sprouted; meanwhile, Green Day consistently found ways to keep the basic building blocks of its sound catchy, compelling and exciting.
Last year saw the band become both arty and respectable with the timely, Grammy-winning rock opera American Idiot. But the best thing about the album, and the hoopla surrounding it, was a much-needed reinforcement of the idea that there's still room at the top for smart, simple, hooky, loud-ass rock songs.
Green Day w/My Chemical Romance, Monday, April 18 at The USF Sun Dome, Tampa. 7 p.m., $35
-Scott Harrell
This article appears in Apr 13-19, 2005.