"Longview" is the debut single by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

Green Day Green Day is an American rock band formed in the East Bay of California in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, together with bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt. For most of the band's career, they have been a powe ...

. It is the fourth track on the band's third studio album, ''

Dookie ''Dookie'' is the third studio album and the major label debut by American rock band Green Day, released on February 1, 1994, by Reprise Records. The band's first collaboration with producer Rob Cavallo, it was recorded in late 1993 at Fantasy ...

'' (1994) and their first single as a band. The song was the band's first single to top the ''Billboard''

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...

chart in the U.S. The music video for this song received heavy airplay on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

and is largely credited for breaking Green Day into mainstream popularity. The video was directed by the Bay Area music video director Mark Kohr who collaborated with the band on many music videos. In 1995, Green Day received four

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

nominations, including

Best Hard Rock Performance The Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance was an award presented to recording artists at the Grammy Awards until 2011. The academy recognized hard rock music artists for the first time at the 31st Grammy Awards (1989). The category was ori ...

for "Longview". The song was ranked at number 3 on the list of the Best Singles of 1994 by ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

''.

Concept

The song describes intense

boredom In conventional usage, boredom, ennui, or tedium is an emotional and occasionally psychological state experienced when an individual is left without anything in particular to do, is listlessness and dissatisfaction arising from a lack of occu ...

and frustration with an inability to self-actualize. Lyrically, the song is about a day spent sitting around the house, doing absolutely nothing of importance and

masturbating Masturbation is the sexual stimulation of one's own genitals for sexual arousal or other sexual pleasure, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation may involve hands, fingers, everyday objects, sex toys such as vibrators, or combinati ...

until the days are no longer fun. Bassist

Mike Dirnt Michael Ryan Pritchard (born May 4, 1972), better known by his stage name Mike Dirnt, is an American rock musician who is the co-founder, bassist, backing and occasional lead vocalist, and former guitarist of Green Day. He has also played in seve ...

has stated that the famous bass line intro to this song was written one night while he was high on

LSD Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), also known colloquially as acid, is a potent psychedelic drug. Effects typically include intensified thoughts, emotions, and sensory perception. At sufficiently high dosages LSD manifests primarily mental, vi ...

. The song is named after the city of

Longview, Washington Longview is a city in Cowlitz County, Washington, United States. It is the principal city of the Longview, Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Cowlitz County. Longview's population was 37,818 at the time of the 2 ...

Reception

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

'' listed "Longview" as the seventh best Green Day song, citing "This song didn’t become an instant classic of its genre merely because Armstrong said the word "masturbation" on the radio—it's all in the delivery." Entertainment Weekly placed it among their favorite Green Day songs.

Music video

"Longview" has a music video, which is the first one created by Green Day. The music video was directed by Mark Kohr, the cinematography was by Adam Beckman, and the editing was by Bob Sarles. The music video received frequent airplay on MTV upon release. The music video takes place in a dimly-lit basement of a broken-down house in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

, where the band used to live. The band members say that the look was intentionally grungy. In the video, Billie sits on a couch and watches television. At the end of the music video, he goes insane and tears up the couch, with feathers flying everywhere. The music video was nominated for three MTV Video Music Awards in 1994: Best Group Video, Best Alternative Video, and Best New Artist. The video is also included on the DVD

International Supervideos! ''International Superhits!'' is the first greatest hits album by American rock band Green Day, released November 13, 2001, through Reprise Records. It collects all of the band's singles released between 1994 and 2000 as well as a rerecording of ...

Track listings

First pressing # "Longview" – 3:59 # "Going to Pasalacqua" (live) – 4:12 # "F.O.D." (live) – 2:44 # "Christie Road" (live) – 3:49 Total length: 14:44 1995 re-issue # "Longview" – 3:59 # "

Welcome to Paradise "Welcome to Paradise" is a song by the American rock band Green Day. It first appeared as the third track on the band's second studio album, '' Kerplunk''. It was re-recorded and rereleased as the fifth track on their third studio album, ''Dooki ...

" (live) — 4:05 # "One of My Lies" (live) — 2:25 Total length: 10:29 Card sleeve # "Longview" – 3:59 # "On the Wagon" – 2:48 # "F.O.D." (live) – 2:44 Total length: 9:31 * All Live tracks above were recorded on March 11, 1994 at Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg, Florida. 7-inch vinyl box set # "Longview" — 3:59 # "Welcome to Paradise" — 3:45 # "Coming Clean" — 1:35 # "Chump" (live from Stockholm, Sweden; Same version on ''Live Tracks'') — 02:39 Total length: 11:58 CD Promo # "Longview" (radio edit) – 3:55 # "Longview" (album version) - 3:59 Total length: 7:54 CD promo 2 # "Longview" (Very Clean Version) - 3:55 # "Longview" (Clean Version) - 3:55 Total length: 7:50

Personnel

*Lead vocals and guitar: Billie Joe Armstrong *Backing vocals and bass: Mike Dirnt *Drums: Tré Cool *Songwriting: Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, Tré Cool *Production: Rob Cavallo, Green Day

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Longview (Song) 1994 debut singles 1994 songs Green Day songs Song recordings produced by Rob Cavallo Songs about cannabis Masturbation in fiction Songs about Washington (state) Songs written by Billie Joe Armstrong Songs written by Mike Dirnt Songs written by Tré Cool Reprise Records singles Warner Music Group singles