Maps of Music

Revolution Radio (2016)

Where the lyrics of Revolution Radio take you, and where it was really made.

A Green Day record about mass shootings and social media debuted at number one in the US and UK, with 95,000 first-week units in the US.

Key places

Recorded at OTIS, Oakland (2016)

Recording site Studio 880 — The album was recorded at OTIS in Oakland. The pin sits at the city centre, so it marks Oakland rather than the studio building itself. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Revolution Radio: twelfth studio album by the American rock band Green Day
• Released 7 October 2016 through Reprise Records
• Self-produced; the first release since 2009's 21st Century Breakdown not produced by longtime producer Rob Cavallo
• First release since 2009 recorded as a trio
• Professional reviewers describe the album as punk rock, pop-punk, and alternative rock
• Three singles: "Bang Bang", "Revolution Radio", and "Still Breathing"

Background

• Work began in 2014, after the 99 Revolutions Tour
• Followed the trilogy ¡Uno!, ¡Dos!, and ¡Tré! (2012)
• Armstrong admitted the trilogy had no real direction and was made to be prolific for its own sake
• Armstrong described the new record as not so much a makeover as a make under
• Lead single "Bang Bang" addresses the culture of mass shootings in America mixed with narcissistic social media
• "Bang Bang" premiered on 11 August 2016
• "Revolution Radio" and "Still Breathing" were released on 9 and 23 September 2016

Recording

• Chris Dugan credited as engineer, Andrew Scheps as mixer, Eric Boulanger as mastering engineer
• Recording location given as OTIS in Oakland
• Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, and Tré Cool are all credited as producers
• Ronnie Blake plays trumpet on "Bouncing Off the Wall"

Cover

• Cover photo by Nick Spanos
• Creative direction, photography, and design by Frank Maddocks

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org · fr.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Green Day is an American rock band formed in Rodeo, California, in 1987 by Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt.
• Drummer Tré Cool joined in 1990, and the band has mostly been a power trio since.
• Before taking the name Green Day in 1989, the band was called Sweet Children.
• The band emerged from the late 1980s and early 1990s Bay Area punk scene centered on 924 Gilman Street in Berkeley.
• Early releases came through Lookout! Records, including the debut album 39/Smooth (1990).

Career

• Dookie (1994, Reprise Records) became a breakout success and sold over 20 million copies in the United States.
• Green Day is credited with reigniting mainstream interest in punk rock.
• Insomniac (1995) and Nimrod (1997) reached double platinum; Warning (2000) was certified gold.
• American Idiot (2004), a rock opera, found popularity with a younger generation and sold six million copies in the US.
• The trilogy ¡Uno!, ¡Dos!, and ¡Tré! was released in 2012; it did not match earlier commercial success.
• Later albums include Revolution Radio (2016), Father of All Motherfuckers (2020), and Saviors (2024).
• A stage adaptation of American Idiot opened on Broadway in 2010 and received three Tony nominations.
• The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015, its first year of eligibility.
• The band has sold roughly 75 million records worldwide as of 2024 and won five Grammy Awards.

Reception

At release

• Received positive reviews from music critics
• Aaron Burgess at Alternative Press said it was the first time in years Green Day had not had all the answers, calling it the closest to the truth of how it feels to fight
• Gwilym Mumford of The Guardian said the band went back to basics and that it is their most focused work in years
• Metacritic average of 72 out of 100 based on 29 reviews, indicating generally favorable reviews

Reappraisal

• Appeared on multiple year-end lists

Records

• Debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with 95,000 album-equivalent units, 90,000 of them album sales
• Also debuted at number one in the UK, Ireland, Italy, Canada, and New Zealand
• UK first-week units of 30,880, of which 29,470 were album sales
• Charted at number 10 in the US in its second week with 21,000 units
• Sold 118,000 copies in the first three weeks in the US

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The album's final track "Ordinary World" was featured in the 2016 film of the same name, which starred Armstrong.
• Lyric videos followed the release for "Ordinary World" (12 October), "Say Goodbye" (19 October), and "Troubled Times" (16 January).
• A music video for "Still Breathing" was released on 7 November.
• The Struts' songwriters received co-writing credits on "Still Breathing" because the melodies are similar to their 2013 song "Could Have Been Me".
• An official video for "Youngblood" was released on 13 December 2018 with the caption "Merry Xmas 2018" on the band's YouTube channel.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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