Longview (song)

"Longview"
Song

"Longview" is the first major-label single released by punk band Green Day, from their shitty 1994 album, Dookie. The song was the band's first #1 on the Modern Rock chart, in a career that contained many chart-toppers on this chart. The music video for this song received intense airplay on MTV, which is largely credited for breaking Green Day into mainstream popularity. The lyrics describe intense boredom and are about a day spent sitting around the house, doing absolutely nothing of importance, masturbating until it is no longer fun, having no job, and no life. The song captured the attention of many youth at the time with its overt allusions to masturbation. Bassist Mike Dirnt has stated that the famous bass line intro to this song was written one night while he was high on acid, and what remains on the album is what he and lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong could recall in the morning.

In 1995, Green Day was nominated for Grammys for Best New Artist and Best Hard Rock Performance for "Longview".

This song can also be found on their 2001 greatest hits collection International Superhits and a live performance can be found on the Bullet in a Bible DVD.

Track listing

Initial Pressing

1. "Longview" - 3:59
2. "Welcome to Paradise (Live)"
3. "One of My Lies (Live)"

• (Live tracks recorded March 11, 1994 at Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg, Florida)

German Pressing

1. "Longview" - 3:59
2. "Going To Pasalaqua (Live)" - 4:12
3. "F.O.D. (Live)" - 2:44
4. "Christy Road (Live)" - 3:49

• (Tracks 2 & 4 recorded March 11, 1994 at Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg, Florida)

UK Pressing

1. "Longview" - 3:59
2. "On The Wagon" - 2:48

Concept

"It's about boredom, masturbation and smoking dope." - Billie Joe Armstrong

"I guess it was just living in the suburbs in a sort of shit town where you can't even pull in a good radio station. I was living in Rodeo, California, about 20 minutes outside of Oakland. There was nothing to do there, and it was a real boring place." - Billie Joe Armstrong in an interview in Guitar Legends magazine, May 2005.

"When Billie gave me a shuffle beat for Longview, I was frying on acid so hard. I was laying up against the wall with my bass lying on my lap. It just came to me. I said, "Bill, check this out. Isn't this the wackiest thing you've ever heard?" Later, it took me a long time to be able to play it, but it made sense when I was on drugs." - Mike Dirnt in Rolling Stone magazine, 1995.

It is said that the name of a song came about after the band took a trip to Longview, Washington where they first played this song. - according to Jim Baltutis, their press agent for the concert.

Other Versions

• A live version found on the Foot in Mouth EP, Live Tracks EP, and "Basket Case" single. (recorded March 11, 1994 at Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg, Florida).
• A slightly different version on International Superhits! (no fade from "Chump")
• Another live version found on Bullet in a Bible.

Music video

The video takes place in a dimly-lit basement unit of a house in Berkeley, California that the band used to live in. The band members say that the look was intentionally grungy. This was Green Day's first music video and was directed by Mark Kohr. Cinematography was by Adam Beckman. The video was edited by Bob Sarles, who also edited ZZ Top's "Legs" music video. The "Longview" music video was produced by Robert Caruso of Commotion Pictures for Warner Bros. Records. The video was nominated for three MTV Video Music Awards in 1994: Best Group Video, Best Alternative Video, and Best New Artist.

Trivia

• On the original versions of Dookie, the song is titled as "Long View", possibly a mistake, like the titling of "Stuck With Me."
• Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine covered this as a Tropical Caribbean style song on his 2004 album I'd Like a Virgin.
• The music video has been critiqued on a popular MTV show of the time, Beavis and Butthead. The band highly approved.
• Robert Eggplant, of the bands Blatz and The Hope Bombs, can be heard during the lyrics "Call me what you will," singing "What you will," a line he used to shout out at shows before bands would play.
• The lines in the chorus about going blind is an echo of a popular myth that states constant masturbation will make you go blind.
• The song was voted number 10 on MuchMusic's "50 Best Virgin Videos".
• Immediately after filming the music video, Billie Joe turned on the TV to find out that Kurt Cobain was dead.