New Green Day Album Set to Push the Boundaries of Pretentiousness

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Rolling Stone has it on good authority that Bay Area pop-punkers Green Day will be releasing their eighth album, 21st Century Breakdown, this May. If you thought that perhaps they’d realized that despite the commercial success of 2004’s American Idiot, it was actually a bit of an overreach, relying on copycat grandiosity, and maybe it’s time to get back to basics, you’d be so, so wrong. The new album appears to ratchet the high-concept gobbledygook up to 11, featuring 16 songs separated into three “acts,” including “Heroes and Cons,” “Charlatans and Saints” and “Horseshoes and Handgrenades.” Huh? They also appear to be turning the tables on alleged plagiarizers Coldplay with the reported song title “Viva La Gloria.” Or Mrs. Estefan and All Her Friends? The band also showcased their exciting new high-concept hairdos at last night’s Grammys (see photo above)—hey guys, ever heard of the Pet Shop Boys?

Legendary producer and Garbage-man Butch Vig will be at the controls, which means at least it’ll sound pretty. You can pre-order the album already over here. However, the inevitable Dean Gray mashup album will probably be special order only.