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Cigarettes and Valentines

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Cigarettes and Valentines
Studio album by
Green Day
ReleasedCancelled; intended for Summer 2003
Recorded2002 - Winter 2003
StudioStudio 880 in Oakland, California
GenrePunk rock[1]
LabelReprise
ProducerRob Cavallo

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).[2] In summer of 2003, the album was nearly finished when the master tapes were mysteriously stolen from the band's studio.[3] 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. However, the American Idiot track "Homecoming", including demo tracks "Everyone’s Breaking Down" and "Just Another Year", contain elements of the album.[4] 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", a bonus track of American Idiot, was originally 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".[5] 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".[6] 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).[1] 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."[1]

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".[6] 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,[citation needed] 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.[1]

"Cigarettes and Valentines"

"Cigarettes and Valentines"
Single by Green Day
from the album Awesome as Fuck
ReleasedFebruary 21, 2011 (2011-02-21)[8]
RecordedAugust 30, 2010[8]
VenueCricket Wireless Pavilion, Phoenix, Arizona[8]
GenrePunk rock
Length2:45[8]
LabelReprise
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Green Day
Green Day singles chronology
"When It's Time"
(2010) 		"Cigarettes and Valentines"
(2011) 		"Don't Want to Know If You Are Lonely"
(2011)
Music video
"Cigarettes and Valentines (Live)" on YouTube

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.

References

  1. ^ a b c d Spitz, Marc (2006). Nobody Likes You: Inside the Turbulent Life, Times, and Music of Green Day. New York: Hyperion. pp. 152–156. ISBN 1-4013-0274-2.
  2. ^ "Lost Music: Green Day's Stolen Album, Kurt's Demos and Other Mythical Masterpieces". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on June 30, 2012. Retrieved 2010-10-03.
  3. ^ Hlavaty, Craig (June 14, 2007). "Lost Albums: CDs that deserve another listen". Houston Press. Archived from the original on January 11, 2012. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
  4. ^ NME (23 January 2024). "Green Day on the "bummer" of their pre-American Idiot album Cigarettes & Valentines being stolen". NME. Archived from the original on 24 January 2024. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  5. ^ "DJ Rossstar interviews Mike Dirnt @ Dr. Strange Records 26-02-2011". YouTube. February 27, 2011. Event occurs at 4:40. Retrieved June 9, 2024.
  6. ^ a b "Wanna Hear The Lost VU Record?". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2009-02-18. Retrieved 2008-02-01.
  7. ^ "Top 10 Albums You've Never Heard". Yes But No But Yes. Archived from the original on 2008-08-22. Retrieved 2008-02-01.
  8. ^ a b c d Cigarettes and Valentines (track listing). Green Day. Reprise Records. 2011.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  9. ^ a b Paul, Aubin (August 30, 2010). "Videos: Green Day: "Cigarettes and Valentines"". Punknews.org. Archived from the original on September 1, 2010. Retrieved August 30, 2010.
  10. ^ Reilly, Dan (August 31, 2010). "Green Day Recording Live Album, Perform New Song". Spinner. AOL Music. Archived from the original on June 30, 2012. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
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