Kerplunk (album)
Kerplunk is the second studio album by the American rock band Green Day, released on December 17, 1991, by Lookout! Records. It is the band's first album to feature drummer Tré Cool, replacing original drummer John Kiffmeyer, who left the band to attend college following a US tour promoting their debut studio album 39/Smooth. By this stage, Green Day's audience expanded to teenage girls from suburban towns. In May 1991, they decamped to Art of Ears Studios in San Francisco, California, to record their next album with Andy Ernst, who co-produced the sessions with band. Six songs were recorded until the proceedings stopped in order for Green Day to resume touring, returning to the studio in September 1991 to finish the work.
Mostly seen as a pop-punk and punk rock album, the songs on Kerplunk dealt with love and frontman Billie Joe Armstrong's subconscious. Some of the tracks also tackled the theme of boredom, while others focused on alienation. The artwork for the album was created by Chris Appelgren and Pat Hynes, based on a story written by Lookout founder Larry Livermore. It follows a girl who is obsessed with Green Day, eventually getting arrested by its end for murdering her parents. Prior to the album being released, the band embarked on a three-month European tour that began in late 1991. During the trek, Armstrong was suffering from a mental health issue; despite this, bassist Mike Dirnt said it became a bonding experience for the three members. Kerplunk rode on the success of Nevermind by Nirvana, with some commenters seeing Green Day as the next Nirvana.
Kerplunk was met with a positive response from critics, with a selection of them highlighting Cool's addition to their sound. Some reviews commented on the overall songwriting, while others talked about the diverse aspects of the album's sound. It sold 10,000 copies on its first day of release, ultimately becoming one of the biggest-selling releases on Lookout Records. The success of their next studio album, Dookie, helped the sales of Kerplunk, as it topped the Billboard Top Pop Catalog Albums chart. With it having sold four million copies worldwide as of January 2017, it was certified platinum in the US and gold in the UK. Several songs from the album have appeared on best-of tracks lists for the band by publications such as Kerrang! and PopMatters, while many of the tracks have been covered for various artist compilations.
Background
Green Day released their debut studio album 39/Smooth in April 1990 through Lookout Records. The band promoted it with a 45-date US tour, which began in June 1990. Though the trek was seen as a success by the band, drummer John Kiffmeyer did not want to go through it again and decided to enroll in Humboldt State College in Arcata, California later in the year. He did not outright tell them that he was departing. Vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong was surprised by this as he only found out through a friend. Afterwards, he was unsure if he wanted to continue the band, until he remembered Tré Cool and learned that he was free. Cool had been playing with the Lookouts since he was 12, and worked with Armstrong earlier in July 1990 when the Lookouts were recording new material.With Cool, Green Day played a show in November 1990; while Kiffmeyer drummed with them for two more shows during this time, they thought Cool was a better musician and wanted someone that could play with them more often. The new line-up bonded over smoking pot, something that Kiffmeyer did not partake in. Kiffmeyer ultimately played with them for the November 1990 show, a decision that made Armstrong and Dirnt realize that they could not progress with him in the band. Armstrong found it difficult to be the band's leader as Kiffmeyer was older and had more experience as a musician. The following shows at 924 Gilman Street brought a new audience, teenage girls from suburban towns.
Recording and production
By the time Green Day started recording with Cool, Armstrong had amassed a collection of songs, having documented some with his four-track recorder at his home, with others having been worked on during their shows. Lookout Records founder Larry Livermore was insistent on the band recording again, especially as they were eager to showcase Cool's talents as a drummer. They went to Art of Ears Studios in San Francisco, California, in May 1991, as it was an inexpensive facility. The minor success of 39/Smooth meant that the budget for their new album had risen to $2,000. Andy Ernst, who previously worked on 39/Smooth, returned to co-produce the sessions with the members of Green Day.The proceedings ended abruptly after six tracks had been tracked, when they had no more material and had to continue touring. Because of their slowly rising popularity, the band had to spend more time playing shows. Green Day abandoned the demos they had recorded and opted to re-record them, ultimately returning to the studio in September 1991 to complete the album. Four days collectively were spent recording, before it was mixed by Ernst, who also served as the engineer. Livermore was unaware of the finished album until the band gave him a tape of it in late 1991 and told him it was going to be titled Kerplunk. John Golden mastered the album at K-Disc in Hollywood, California. When Livermore was flying home from the mastering, he listened to the tape and thought that "life was never going to be the same again for Lookout Records or Green Day."
Composition and lyrics
Myers, in his book Green Day: American Idiots & The New Punk Explosion, wrote that the album's title, Kerplunk, was a reference to the skill game of the same name, while Spitz said there was a higher possibility that it alluded to the noise stemming from when a person defecates from an elevated position. Spitz reasoned that as with 39/Smooth before it, the divide separating the "scatological and the dreamy is exceedingly thin but with Kerplunk! it starts to feel like an actual sensibility as opposed to a symptom of arrested adolescence." There is an emphasis on love songs and Armstrong exploring his subconscious throughout the album, with boredom being touched upon in "Christie Rd." and "Private Ale".Gaar, in her book Green Day – Rebels with a Cause, felt that the album's strength lied in its introspective theme, heard in the likes of "One of My Lies", "Android" and "No One Knows", tackling getting older and mortality. Myers said Armstrong created a type of "youthful street poetry" with the lyrics, commenting on difficult topics of "alienation and disappointment in an accessible and empathetic manner in songs that may sound inordinately simple, yet contain a sense of style and intelligence." Kerplunk has largely been tagged as pop-punk and punk rock, with some calling it indie punk and indie rock. The band wrote almost all of the music for the album, except for "2000 Light Years Away", where it is credited to by Green Day, Jesse Michaels of Operation Ivy, Pete Rypins of Crimpshrine and Dave E.C. of Filth.
Tracks
Gaar noted that there was a definable Green Day sound to Kerplunk that 39/Smooth lacked, encapsulated by its opening track "2000 Light Years Away". PopMatters contributor Chris Conaton explained this as Armstrong's guitar work being straightforward "but catchy, and Dirnt echoes them without exactly doubling them. Cool keeps the beat steady but throws in exciting fills throughout, too, with pounding crash cymbals and tight snare rolls." Instead of it having a guitar solo following the second verse, emphasis is placed on Dirnt's bassline, which repeats the bassline heard in the rest of the song, something he felt as an interesting decision. The song is inspired by Adrienne Nesser, who Armstrong met while the band were in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The narrator sings about a girl that he misses a lot despite not knowing her that well. "One for the Razorbacks" tackles the theme of insanity, with the narrator attempting to console his friend who is going through heartbreak."Welcome to Paradise" was inspired by a warehouse above a brothel in West Oakland, Oakland, California. Armstrong was squatting at this place, located on the corner of West 7th and Peralta, with Dirnt in 1989. Myers said the song glamorized the dilapidation of the build and the emotions behind living on one's own for the first time in their life. Gaar noted that during the instrumental break, there was a descending riff which "built in intensity each time it repeated, cracking with all the force of a tightly controlled whip." Partridge said Armstrong's idea of "paradise" is intended as being both "sincerely and facetiously", and he added that the break served to represent a "mix of fear and excitement". It would later be re-recorded for the band's third album, Dookie, and released as a single, changing some guitar feedback in the interlude and adding some minor tweaks.
Erica Paleno, Armstrong's first serious partner, said "Christie Rd." was about her sneaking out of the house after being grounded by her mother, only to meet Armstrong at local train tracks. Myers saw it as an observation on streetlife, where Armstrong summarized living in Oakland, "in what sounds like a sequel to the 'Dear Mother...' letter-writing tone of 'Welcome to Paradise.'" Gaar said the namesake road could be found on the outskirts of Rodeo, close to some train tracks. Nina Corcoran of Consequence said that loitering around tracks was typically a way of staving off boredom, but for Armstrong, it felt like the choice of a person seeking a "place of solace, where loneliness switches to intentional solitude and the drone of daily life complements the sunset."
With "Private Ale", Armstrong talks about a girl he noticed on the street. "Dominated Love Slave" features Cool on vocals, emulating a bumpkin discussing power tools and sadomasochism. Gaar said these topics were undermined by the backing of country and western music. Billboard writer Kenneth Partridge read "One of My Lies" as being about mortality and questioning the existence of God, while Conaton saw it as dealing with the "invincibility of youth and realizing that actually vulnerable." Nesser also served as Armstrong's muse for "80", the title of which was in reference to his nickname for her, Adie. In the song, Armstrong confuses his anxiety with the emotions of experiencing love. It evoked "Promises Promises" by Generation X. With "Android", Armstrong contemplates either becoming homeless or dying at an early age, alongside a metaphor for dope smoking.
"No One Knows" is a slower song that touches on melancholy, with a higher emphasis placed on Armstrong and Dirnt's vocal harmonies during the chorus sections. It also talks about being unsure of the future and handling regret. It starts with a relaxed but complex solo from Dirnt. Conaton said the band use the downbeat nature to their advantage, keeping it a slow pace while retaining the distorted guitar parts. "Who Wrote Holden Caulfield?" alludes to the main character in The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. Armstrong said while at high school, his teachers attempted to make him read the book, though he did not do so until much later. Gaar wrote that the song talks about being a person being unhappy with his surroundings, yet not having the willpower to fix them. Kerplunk concludes with "Words I Might Have Ate", a folk punk song, where Armstrong plays an acoustic guitar, and Cool plays his drum kit softer than usual.
The album also features the Sweet Children EP, featuring some of the bands earliest pieces. A 7-inch pressing was included in the 2009 re-release.