Cigarettes and Valentines explained

Cigarettes and Valentines
Type:studio
Longtype:(unreleased)
Artist:Green Day
Cover:blank
Alt:Cigarettes and Valentines
Released:Cancelled; intended for 2003
Recorded:Possibly Spring 2003
Studio:Studio 880 in Oakland, California
Genre:Punk rock
Label:Reprise
Producer:Rob Cavallo
Chronology:Green Day
Prev Title:Shenanigans
Prev Year:2002
Next Title:American Idiot
Next Year:2004

Cigarettes and Valentines is an unreleased studio album by American rock band Green Day. The album would have been the follow-up to Warning (2000).[1] In 2003, the album was nearly finished when the master tapes were mysteriously stolen from the band's studio.[2] Instead of re-recording the album, the band decided to start from scratch, leading to the creation of American Idiot (2004). To date, only the title track has been released in full form, although American Idiot track "Homecoming" contains elements of the album.[3] In an interview the band did on the New York radio station Q104.3 on March 28, 2010, Green Day confirmed "Too Much Too Soon" was a song recorded during the Cigarettes and Valentines sessions. On February 26, 2011, bassist Mike Dirnt confirmed three other song titles that were originally recorded for the album: "Dropout", "Sleepyhead", and "Walk Away".[4] Notably, "Walk Away" is also the title of a song on the band's eleventh studio album, ¡Tré! (2012).

History

Lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong said the album's material was "good stuff".[5] Musically, the material on Cigarettes and Valentines was hard, "quick-tempoed punk" songs in the vein of Green Day's Kerplunk (1991), and Insomniac (1995).[6] This sound would have contrasted the group's previous two studio albums, Nimrod (1997), and Warning (2000), which displayed more rock and folk punk genres respectively. Bassist Mike Dirnt described the band's decision of returning to the sound found on their older albums, stating, "We've had a nice break from making hard and fast music and it's made us want to do it again."[6] However, despite the album being nearly complete, in 2003 the album's master tapes were stolen from the studio. However, Green Day would later call the theft a "blessing in disguise",[7] believing the album was not "maximum Green Day".[5] Dirnt admitted that backups of the tapes were made but claims that "it just wasn't the same as the originals". Ultimately the band decided against re-recording the album and instead started from scratch, which eventually led to the creation of their 2004 album American Idiot. Some songs were later re-recorded or reworked into new songs, but despite the band eventually recovering the stolen tapes, the original versions of the songs have never been officially released.

The Network's album Money Money 2020, released on September 30, 2003, through Billie Joe Armstrong's Adeline Records, was speculated by some fans as being a re-recording of the album, or to contain aspects of it. Armstrong has denied any connection between the two projects in various interviews.[6]

"Cigarettes and Valentines"

Cigarettes and Valentines
Border:yes
Type:single
Artist:Green Day
Album:Awesome as Fuck
Released:[8]
Recorded:August 30, 2010
Venue:Cricket Wireless Pavilion, Phoenix, Arizona
Genre:Punk rock
Length:2:45
Label:Reprise
Producer:Green Day
Prev Title:When It's Time
Prev Year:2010
Next Title:Don't Want to Know If You Are Lonely
Next Year:2011

The title song, "Cigarettes and Valentines", was first played live in Greenwood Village, Colorado, on August 28, 2010, during the band's concert at the Comfort Dental Amphitheatre while on their 21st Century Breakdown World Tour.[9] This show was being filmed to eventually contribute to a forthcoming live album, leading to speculation that some of the songs from the Cigarettes and Valentines sessions would eventually be released.[9] [10]

A live recording of "Cigarettes and Valentines" saw an official release on the Awesome as Fuck live album. On February 14, 2011, the official lyric video for the song was released on Green Day's official YouTube channel. Four days later, the official video for the song was released there as well. A live promo single was released on February 21, 2011, containing 2:43 of the performance in Phoenix, Arizona on August 30, 2010. The shots of the crowd are from the concert in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Notes and References

  1. Lost Music: Green Day's Stolen Album, Kurt's Demos and Other Mythical Masterpieces . https://archive.today/20120630054041/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/14473/78517 . dead . June 30, 2012 . Rolling Stone . 2010-10-03.
  2. Web site: Hlavaty. Craig. Lost Albums: CDs that deserve another listen. Houston Press. June 14, 2007. August 31, 2010. January 11, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120111072628/http://www.houstonpress.com/2007-06-14/music/lost-albums/. live.
  3. Web site: NME . Green Day on the "bummer" of their pre-American Idiot album Cigarettes & Valentines being stolen . . 23 January 2024 . 24 January 2024 . 24 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240124094334/https://www.nme.com/news/music/green-day-on-the-bummer-of-their-pre-american-idiot-album-cigarettes-valentines-being-stolen-3575656 . live .
  4. Web site: DJ Rossstar interviews Mike Dirnt @ Dr. Strange Records 26-02-2011 . 4:40 . . June 9, 2024 . February 27, 2011.
  5. https://web.archive.org/web/20090218205442/http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2007/01/05/wanna-hear-the-lost-vu-record/. 2009-02-18. Wanna Hear The Lost VU Record? . Rolling Stone . dead. 2008-02-01.
  6. Book: Spitz, Marc. Marc Spitz

    . Nobody Likes You: Inside the Turbulent Life, Times, and Music of Green Day. registration. Marc Spitz. 2006. Hyperion. New York. 1-4013-0274-2. 152–156.

  7. Web site: Top 10 Albums You've Never Heard . Yes But No But Yes . 2008-02-01 . 2008-08-22 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080822053302/http://www.yesbutnobutyes.com/archives/2007/01/top_10_albums_y.html . live .
  8. Green Day . 2011 . Cigarettes and Valentines . track listing . Reprise Records.
  9. Web site: Paul. Aubin. Videos: Green Day: "Cigarettes and Valentines". Punknews.org. August 30, 2010. August 30, 2010. September 1, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100901172253/http://www.punknews.org/article/39619. live.
  10. Web site: Reilly. Dan. Green Day Recording Live Album, Perform New Song. Spinner. AOL Music. August 31, 2010. August 31, 2010. June 30, 2012. https://archive.today/20120630054039/http://www.spinner.com/2010/08/31/green-day-live-album-cigarettes-and-valentines/. dead.