A Compartive Analysis of Five Songs from 1039/Smoothed out Slappy

A Compartive Analysis of Five Songs from 1039/Smoothed out Slappy

A COMPARTIVE ANALYSIS OF FIVE SONGS FROM 1,039/SMOOTHED OUT SLAPPY HOURS AND 21ST CENTURY BREAKDOWN BY GREEN DAY _______________ A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of San Diego State University _______________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in Music Theory _______________ by Alexandra Tea Summer 2011 iii Copyright © 2011 by Alexandra Tea All Rights Reserved iv DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to my mother, Mei, and to my sister, Alexandrine, for providing a life time of love and support. v ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS A Comparative Analysis of Five Songs from 1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours and 21st Century Breakdown by Green Day by Alexandra Tea Master of Arts in Music San Diego State University, 2011 Originating in Northern California’s underground punk scene more than two decades ago, Green Day became one of the first punk bands whose music effectively entered into the mainstream culture. Although Green Day’s biography has been documented in several books and the field of music analysis has expanded to include popular music, there has not yet been a detailed study of Green Day’s music. The purpose of this study is to critically analyze five songs from Green Day’s first album, 1,039 Smoothed Out Slappy Hours (1991) and five songs from their most recent album, 21st Century Breakdown (2009) to determine how the musical style of Green Day has changed over an eighteen year period. The study implements an adaptation of Jan LaRue’s Guidelines to Stylistic Analysis, which examines sound, harmony, melody, rhythm, growth, and text. By comparing the analysis of the two albums, the study concludes that the musical style of Green Day’s latest album became less confined to the historical notion of punk music. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE ABSTRACT...............................................................................................................................v LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................... viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS..................................................................................................... xi CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .........................................................................................................1 Purpose.....................................................................................................................5 Limitations ...............................................................................................................5 Methodology............................................................................................................6 Definitions................................................................................................................7 Organization.............................................................................................................9 2 REVIEW OF LITERATURE ......................................................................................10 Band Formation .....................................................................................................10 Lookout Records....................................................................................................12 Reprise Records .....................................................................................................14 3 ANALYSIS OF FIVE SONGS FROM 1,039/SMOOTHED OUT SLAPPY HOURS ........................................................................................................................21 “At The Library”....................................................................................................21 Sound ...............................................................................................................21 Harmony ..........................................................................................................22 Melody .............................................................................................................23 Rhythm.............................................................................................................23 Growth .............................................................................................................24 Text ..................................................................................................................24 “The Judge’s Daughter”.........................................................................................25 Sound ...............................................................................................................25 Harmony ..........................................................................................................26 Melody .............................................................................................................27 vii Rhythm.............................................................................................................28 Growth .............................................................................................................28 Text ..................................................................................................................28 “Paper Lanterns”....................................................................................................29 Sound ...............................................................................................................29 Harmony ..........................................................................................................30 Melody .............................................................................................................30 Rhythm.............................................................................................................31 Growth .............................................................................................................32 Text ..................................................................................................................32 “Only Of You”.......................................................................................................33 Sound ...............................................................................................................33 Harmony ..........................................................................................................33 Melody .............................................................................................................34 Rhythm.............................................................................................................35 Growth .............................................................................................................35 Text ..................................................................................................................36 “I Want To Be Alone” ...........................................................................................36 Sound ...............................................................................................................37 Harmony ..........................................................................................................37 Melody .............................................................................................................37 Rhythm.............................................................................................................38 Growth .............................................................................................................39 Text ..................................................................................................................40 4 ANALYSIS OF FIVE SONGS FROM 21ST CENTURY BREAKDOWN....................41 “21st Century Breakdown”.....................................................................................41 Sound ...............................................................................................................41 Harmony ..........................................................................................................42 Melody .............................................................................................................43 Rhythm.............................................................................................................45 Growth .............................................................................................................47 Text ..................................................................................................................48 viii “Before The Lobotomy” ........................................................................................49 Sound ...............................................................................................................49 Harmony ..........................................................................................................50 Melody .............................................................................................................52 Rhythm.............................................................................................................53 Growth .............................................................................................................54 Text ..................................................................................................................54 “Christian’s Inferno”..............................................................................................55

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