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Longview (song)

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"Longview"
The cover depicts three dogs smoking what could be marijuana. One of them is seen throwing something. The Green Day logo with the plane and smoke, can be seen above.
Artwork for commercial overseas releases
Single by Green Day
from the album Dookie
ReleasedJune 6, 1994 (1994-06-06)
StudioFantasy (Berkeley, California)
Genre
Length3:59
Label
Composer(s)Green Day
Lyricist(s)Billie Joe Armstrong
Producer(s)
Green Day singles chronology
"Longview"
(1994) 		"Basket Case"
(1994)
Audio sample
Music video
"Longview" on YouTube

"Longview" is the debut single by American rock band Green Day. It is the fourth track on the band's third studio album, Dookie (1994), released to radio on February 1, 1994. It was physically released on June 6, 1994. The song was the band's first single to top the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart in the U.S. The music video for the song received heavy airplay on MTV and is largely credited for breaking Green Day into mainstream popularity. It was directed by Bay Area music video director Mark Kohr, who later collaborated with the band on future music videos.

In 1995, Green Day received four Grammy Award nominations, including Best Hard Rock Performance for "Longview".[7] The song was ranked at number three on the list of the "Best Singles of 1994" by Rolling Stone.[8]

Concept

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The song describes intense boredom and frustration with an inability to self-actualize. Lyrically, the song is about a day spent sitting around the house, doing absolutely nothing of importance and masturbating until the days are no longer fun. Bassist Mike Dirnt has stated that the famous bass line intro to this song was written one night while he was high on LSD.[9]

The song is named after the city of Longview, Washington.[10] The band's lead vocalist and guitarist, Billie Joe Armstrong, stated on Twitter, "Our friend/roadie Kaz Hope, suggested we call our song Longview because the 1st time we played [it] was in Longview Washington in spring 1992."[11]

The band had planned their tour using booking tool BYOFL (Book Your Own Fucking Life) and hooked up with Cafe Forum, a venue in Longview, and/or a local band called the Jimmies who both offered a practice pad as a place to sleep for touring bands were listed in this Maximum Rock N Roll Zine’s side project telephone directory and tour planning book which was published annually listing contacts and locations of possible places to crash and notes on how to DIY plan a tour for a punk band. This listed a local venue called the Cafe Forum which is where the band played. They were also on tour with Aaron Cometbus drummer for Crimpshrine and author of Cometbus fanzine, a long going punkrock zine from the Berkley scene, his handing out those zines acted to connect Berkley punk with the broader diy scene which paved the path for many many other bands to come.

Reception

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PopMatters listed "Longview" as the seventh best Green Day song, citing "This song didn’t become an instant classic of its genre merely because Armstrong said the word "masturbation" on the radio—it's all in the delivery."[12] Entertainment Weekly placed it among their favorite Green Day songs.[13]

Music video

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"Longview" has a music video, which is the first one created by Green Day. The music video was directed by Mark Kohr, the cinematography was by Adam Beckman, and the editing was by Bob Sarles. The music video received frequent airplay on MTV upon release.

The music video takes place in a dimly-lit basement of a broken-down house in Oakland, California, where the band used to live. The band members say that the look was intentionally grungy. In the video, Billie sits on a couch and watches television. At the end of the music video, he goes insane and tears up the couch, with feathers flying everywhere.

The music video was nominated for three MTV Video Music Awards in 1994: Best Group Video, Best Alternative Video, and Best New Artist. The video is also included on the DVD International Supervideos!.

Track listings

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First pressing

  1. "Longview" – 3:59
  2. "Going to Pasalacqua" (live) – 4:12
  3. "F.O.D." (live) – 2:44
  4. "Christie Road" (live) – 3:49

1995 re-issue

  1. "Longview" – 3:59
  2. "Welcome to Paradise" (live) — 4:05
  3. "One of My Lies" (live) — 2:25

Card sleeve

  1. "Longview" – 3:59
  2. "On the Wagon" – 2:48
  3. "F.O.D." (live) – 2:44
  • All live tracks were recorded on March 11, 1994, at Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg, Florida.

7-inch vinyl box set

  1. "Longview" — 3:59
  2. "Welcome to Paradise" — 3:45
  3. "Coming Clean" — 1:35
  4. "Chump" (live from Stockholm, Sweden; Same version on Live Tracks) — 02:39

Personnel

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  • Lead vocals and guitar: Billie Joe Armstrong
  • Backing vocals and bass: Mike Dirnt
  • Drums: Tré Cool
  • Lyrics: Billie Joe Armstrong
  • Music: Green Day
  • Production: Rob Cavallo, Green Day

Charts

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Chart (1994–1995) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[14] 33
Scotland (OCC)[15] 32
UK Singles (OCC)[16] 30
UK Rock & Metal (OCC)[17] 3
US Radio Songs (Billboard)[18] 36
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[19] 1
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[20] 13
US Cash Box Top 100[21] 87

Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[22] Platinum 80,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[23] Silver 200,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

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Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United States February 1, 1994 Radio Reprise [24]
United Kingdom June 6, 1994
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • CD
  • cassette
 [25]
United Kingdom (re-release) March 6, 1995 [26]

References

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  1. ^ Gold, Jonathan (November 1994). "The Year Punk Broke". Spin.
  2. ^ Pearn, Frank (March 18, 1994). "PUNK BAND GREEN DAY TAKING A 'BOOKISH' TURN". The Morning Call. Archived from the original on June 30, 2022. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  3. ^ "50 Best Punk Songs Of All Time". Consequence of Sound. August 17, 2021. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  4. ^ Chesler, Josh (August 31, 2015). "10 Best Pop-Punk Songs of All Time". Phoenix New Times. Archived from the original on March 6, 2021. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
  5. ^ Piers, Ryan (September 23, 2020). "These are the 25 most influential songs of pop punk". Alternative Press. Archived from the original on January 20, 2022. Retrieved February 19, 2022.
  6. ^ "100 Best Alternative Rock Songs of 1994". Spin. Archived from the original on February 8, 2021. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  7. ^ "37th Grammy Awards – 1995". Rock On The Net. Archived from the original on May 26, 2012. Retrieved October 15, 2009.
  8. ^ "Rocklist.net Rolling Stone (USA) End Of Year Lists". Rocklistmusic.co.uk. Archived from the original on July 23, 2010. Retrieved August 11, 2011.
  9. ^ Coryat, Karl (November 1994). "Green Day's Mike Dirnt". Bass Player magazine. p. 9.
  10. ^ Paulu, Tom (June 15, 2011). "Longview's Green Day connection". The Daily News. Longview, Washington. Retrieved March 4, 2012.
  11. ^ "Billie Joe Armstrong on Twitter". Twitter [later known as "X"]. February 9, 2011. Retrieved December 25, 2024. Our friend/roadie Kaz Hope, suggested we call our song Longview because the 1st time we played was in Longview Washington in spring 1992
  12. ^ AJ Ramirez (September 19, 2012). "Nice Guys Finish Last: The Top 15 Green Day Songs". PopMatters. Archived from the original on February 10, 2023. Retrieved May 25, 2013.
  13. ^ Hiatt, Brian. "Our favorite Green Day songs -- and yours?". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on February 20, 2022. Retrieved February 19, 2022.
  14. ^ "Green Day – Longview". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  15. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
  16. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
  17. ^ "Official Rock & Metal Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
  18. ^ "Green Day Chart History (Radio Songs)". Billboard.
  19. ^ "Green Day Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard.
  20. ^ "Green Day Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard.
  21. ^ "U.S. Cash Box Charts" (PDF). popmusichistory. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 16, 2023. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
  22. ^ "Canadian single certifications – Green Day – Longview". Music Canada. Retrieved December 7, 2023.
  23. ^ "British single certifications – Green Day – Longview". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved September 27, 2024.
  24. ^ Borzillo, Carrie (April 9, 1994). "As Reprise Set Rises, It's Easy Being Green Day". Billboard. Vol. 106, no. 15. p. 72. The single and videoclip were serviced Feb. 1, simultaneous with the album's street date.
  25. ^ "Single Releases". Music Week. June 4, 1994. p. 21.
  26. ^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. March 4, 1995. p. 31.
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