It’s January 19th, 2020. I was standing in the frigid cold at 6 AM waiting for a show that wasn’t due to start for another eight hours. The icy wind cut straight through my multiple layers and thick wool coat. My feet were quickly turning into blocks of ice. My teeth were chattering. I could barely feel my hands. I was starving. My hair was starting to freeze. But my perseverance and pain melted as soon as Green Day hit the stage for their pre-NHL All Stars performance. Though it was an amazing night, I vowed never to do it again. Fast forward to January 13th, 2024. It's me versus the brutal wind chill once again. I braced the frozen tundra for the Saviors listening party. Though I'd already heard the album by then, I looked forward to hearing the record with other fans, seeing their initial reactions, and celebrating the beginning of an amazing era.
Saviors immediately clicked with me. It didn’t have to grow on me like Father Of All Motherfuckers and I didn’t skip around the record like Revolution Radio. As soon as I heard it, I fell in love. It’s a perfect amalgamation of everything that makes up Green Day: the tearjerking sentimental ballads, the upbeat songs about the innocence of love, the personal tracks about inner demons, the damning social commentary, and raging punk rock anthems. In other words, it was perfect.
Unsurprisingly, my Green Day bias gets ahead of me sometimes making it easy to ignore an album’s weak points. Instead, I ride the high of the band's return only for the music to grow stale months later. That’s not the case with Saviors. The record was still fresh after three months. Six months later I still had it on repeat. 10 months in I was still singing its praises. One year later, it remains one of my favorite Green Day albums. I still think it’s their strongest effort in years. I keep finding new things to appreciate about the album, like "Suzie Chapstick's" beautiful harmonies or "Goodnight Adeline's" booming chorus. Despite being a surprisingly dark record, the album makes me feel good. It perfectly captures the fear and anxiety about the craziness of the world right now. Anytime I listen to it, I smile. Not only because the music is awesome and relatable, but also because of the Saviors era as a whole.
The mood surrounding the era was celebratory. It was a celebration of new Green Day music, of landmark anniversaries for American Idiot and Dookie, and a celebration of togetherness – something we were robbed of during the FOAM era due to the pandemic. Whereas their previous album was divisive, fans and critics alike rallied around the new record. Even people outside of Idiot Nation were talking about them. The resounding praise, interviews, cover stories, and television appearances took me back to the days of American Idiot when Green Day was everywhere; when they felt like the most important band in the world. It created this air of positivity that lasted throughout the year.
Though I’ve been active in the fandom for a long time, I felt truly connected to the community during this era. I met up with fans in person, made new Green Day pen pals, and even started a small swag exchange with international fans. I’ve met so many awesome people who extended their kindness by sending stickers, bracelets, and sometimes even spare singles and asked for nothing in return. I loved helping out others by picking up merch they were looking for or sharing magazine scans. What I loved the most was celebrating each other’s wins. Anytime someone scored an autographed album, won a contest, or got into an exclusive gig we cheered them on. It was nothing but love and support, something I really needed as I struggled through the rest of the year.
Even though it felt like everything around me was falling apart, Saviors was always there to lift me up. Hearing “Corvette Summer” or “Look Ma, No Brains!” made me forget about my problems for a little bit. Waiting for new music videos gave me something to look forward to. Watching performances of “Dilemma” and “Bobby Sox” was a bright spot in an otherwise crappy day. Revisiting the album a year later I still feel all the excitement, awe, and joy I had when I first heard it. I also feel a sense of warmth thinking about the fun, kindness, and positivity of the fan community. And it’s something I hope continues throughout this year.
Thank you, Billie, Mike, and Tre, for creating an amazing album. Most importantly, thank you, Idiot Nation, for making this era unforgettable.
What are your favorite Saviors memories? How do you feel about the album one year later? Share them with us on the Green Day Community forum.
