You're listening to song-explanter where musicians take apart their songs and piece by piece tell the story of how they were made.

I'm Rishi Kesh Hirway.

This episode has some explicit language including a mention of drug use.

Green Day is a punk band from the East Bay in California.

Billy Joe Armstrong, Mike Dernst and Trey Kuhl have been playing music together since 1987.

They've sold over 90 million records. They've won four Grammys, including twice for Best Rock album.

They put out their first album in 1990 and their second album,

Kerplunk, in 1991. And then they moved to a major label and in 1994 they put out their

third album, Dookie, which was huge. It helped bring punk into the mainstream.

And this month is its 30th anniversary.

So for this episode, I talked to Billy Joe Armstrong about the making of one of Green Day's biggest hits of all time,

Basket Case.

Coming up, you'll also hear from Rob Kavalo, who produced the album.

Plus, you'll hear two different demo versions of Basket Case,

first of which is basically a totally different song.

Billy Joe Armstrong traces the history of Basket Case

from its origins as a cassette recording in a punk basement all the way to becoming a song that helped define an era of music. the creaks. Sometimes my mind plays tricks on me. It don't me

ten it up. I think I'm taking it up.

My chest paranoid like that's sad.

My son.

My name is Billy Joe Armstrong and I'm in the Bang Green Day.

The other fellas that are in the band are Mike Dernst, who's the bass player and Tray Kool is the world's most dangerous drummer.

...