Before Dookie was released by Warner Bros.’ Reprise Records label in 1994, Green Day had made big waves in the underground scene with their two Lookout Records releases. “Longview” was chosen as the first single, and the band appeared on 120 Minutes, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, and The Jon Stewart Show. Sales began to pick up as they followed up with “Basket Case” and “Welcome to Paradise.” An appearance at Woodstock ’94 and an MTV Video Music Award continued the momentum. The final single of the album would be the most successful at radio. Sales exploded. What started as a modest success turned into an album selling half a million copies a week. Let’s take a look at the story behind “When I Come Around” by Green Day.
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I heard you crying loud all the way across town
‘Cause you been searching for that someone
And it’s me out on the prowl
As you sit around feeling sorry for yourself
Evolution
Green Day went from being a band playing clubs and driving around in a van to the rock-star lifestyle quickly. Frontman/songwriter Billie Joe Armstrong talked about it in the liner notes for the Dookie 30th Anniversary Box Set. “The most frightening thing about how big Dookie was was just how big it was, and that it could swallow us up,” he said. “I wanted to have a future as a songwriter. And I wanted to have a future with Green Day. We wanted to, for the lack of a better reference, be like The Beatles, where they had the room to evolve and kept changing. We wanted to do it in a way that was natural. I really wanted to see where the evolution of the band was going to take us.”
Well, don’t get lonely now, and dry your whining eyes
I’m just roaming for the moment
Sleazin’ my back yard, so don’t get
So uptight you been thinking about ditching me
Dialing in the Good Sounds
In 2014, Armstrong told Rolling Stone about going into the studio: “It definitely had that seventies coke-y vibe, mahogany, and strange dead wood around the place. We would go into the vaults and see all of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s master tapes. But I felt we belonged there. Our first album cost $700 to make. Kerplunk! was like $1,200. ‘Let’s record these as fast as we can—because we don’t have a choice.’ This time [on Dookie], I learned how to dial in good sounds, get the best guitar tones. I was able to take a little time doing vocals. I loved that experience.”
No time to search the world around
‘Cause you know where I’ll be found
When I come around
Punk in the Mainstream
Bassist Mike Dirnt could see its effect on the mainstream. “That was really strange. This underground punk [culture] we’d come from had gotten very popular overnight,” he said. “Growing up, if I saw someone at the bus stop with weird hair or clothes, you’d think, ‘I bet that person’s like me. They’re probably a freak, too,’ and you knew you had something in common. But, all of a sudden, everyone was looking like that, so you felt like you lost a little bit of what you considered to be yours. The positive side of that is to think how much more accepting the world has become since then—of people that might look different, or be culturally different, or from a different community in any shape or form. I think if we even had even a little bit to do with that, it’s a good thing.”
Well, I heard it all before, so don’t knock down my door
I’m a loser and a user, so I don’t need no accuser
To try and slag me down because I know you’re right
The Change Was Sudden and Immense
All three members had to adjust to sudden changes caused by success. “It was nuts. I mean, we grew up these working-class punk kids, and, all of a sudden, we’re f–king rich rock stars,” Armstrong said. “At that time, everything was about being crazy for me. Sign to a major label? Sure, why not? That sounds crazy to me. Throw mud at Woodstock? Sure, that sounds crazy. Get married? Have a kid? Sure. Things were happening really fast, but it was like the craziness was grounding in a strange way.”
So go do what you like, make sure you do it wise
You may find out that your self-doubt means nothing
Was ever there
You can’t go forcing something if it’s just not right
Grounding Relationships
Armstrong continued, “Mostly, what was grounding was the relationship I have with Mike and [drummer] Tré [Cool]. To this day, the only two people that know what I went through firsthand are Mike and Tré. That’s really the glue that kept us together.”
No time to search the world around
‘Cause you know where I’ll be found
When I come around
The Word “Band”
Dirnt looks back with a different perspective. “That period after Dookie definitely had its challenges,” he recalled. “We got mad and frustrated and scared and all of the things you feel when something overwhelming happens to you. But, in the end, we had each other. I’ve always thought the word ‘band’ meant you band together. That’s what we did.”
No time to search the world around
‘Cause you know where I’ll be found
When I come around
Simple Takeaway
Drummer Cool summed up Dookie this way: “What we took away from that record was simple. Write good s–t. Play it tight. Record it well, and make it loud.”
It’s just that simple. Green Day certainly did something right on their major-label debut. Of course, they faced a certain amount of backlash from their original supporters with cries of “sellout.” Dookie went on to sell 18 million copies worldwide, proving the band did belong in the mainstream.
When I come around
When I come around
When I come around
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