This week's Song of the Week is the airy Rest; track 9 off Green Day's first album 39/Smooth, released in 1990, as well as the compilation album 1039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours (1991).

There's a certain dream-like quality to Rest's lyrics, they seem to describe the fleeting flashes of thoughts and images inside a tired brain that's not letting its owner go to sleep. It's unclear whether the "angel" that's keeping him up all night is being portrayed in a positive or negative light. The line "the gleam in your eyes, it troubles my brain" can be interpreted in many ways; the "trouble" could be a lusting or an infatuation, or it could be worry over some sort of malicious intent or hurt caused by the "angel".

Rest's sound is certainly a stand-out on 1039/SOSH, with its slow tempo, drawn-out vocals and hazy guitar; there's a sort of strange mellowing-yet-unsettling vibe to it. Looking back into Green Day's back-catalogue, the song is also an early indication of the band's potential range of sound and song writing that we all are now so familiar with.

Our video this week is a real oldie; footage of the band playing Rest at the Davis Community Centre in Davis, California in June 1989. The audio is surprisingly good quality despite the bad footage quality.
Lyrics for the song can be found here, and this is Rest's Song of the Week thread, where you'll find some member-discussion. Feel free to stop by and post your opinion or nominate next week's song