As we posted a few weeks back, Spotify has chosen Green Day as the focus of one of its Landmark video series. The four-part mini documentary is free for Spotify subscribers, and episodes two and three are now available for streaming.

Chapter two, titled "The Best Thing In Town," chronicles the band's slow but steady rise in the years leading up to Dookie. All three of the guys have some interesting things to say about this transitional period that spawned the band we know today:

[quote]Billie Joe: I remember getting the first test pressing [of the '1,000 Hours' EP] back, putting it on and listening to it for the first time and just going, "Oh my god, that's me on a record, on a piece of vinyl...I can't believe it!' Just one of the best feelings you'll ever have.

Mike: I first met Tré at a house party in West Oakland, and it was just this guy running around in a tutu with, like, a shower cap on or something, and he was just a nut. I was like, 'This guy is awesome ... who is this guy? What planet is he from? 'Cause I want to go to that planet!'

Tré: When John [Kiffmeyer] first told me about Billie and Mike, he said, 'Man I found these kids, they're like the punk rock Beatles...they're so cool, they've got harmonies and they just play the hell out of their instruments!' And I was like, 'I wanna hear that' — and he was right![/quote]

"Having A Blast" is the third chapter that follows the trials and tribulations Green Day faced as they decided to join a major label in 1993. Obviously, this brought lots of new growing pains to both the band and the punk scene from which they'd come. Billie Joe also mentions the realization of success that happened almost immediately after Dookiecame out:

We were playing [in Europe] every night, and we're like, 'Should we play "Basket Case"? Nah, it's kinda hard...' And, finally, someone said, '"Basket Case" is becoming a huge hit, you have to play the song live.' So we're like, 'Oh, okay...'


The series has been very well done, and stayed respectful to the Green Day ethos — Billie Joe, Mike, Tré and the other interviewees definitely don't hold anything back. It's a great crash course for anyone looking to brush up on their early Green Day history.

Check out the new episodes now, and keep an eye out for the fourth chapter!
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