"When I Come Around"

Green Day
(Reprise, 1994)

On most of Dookie, singer Billie Joe Armstrong is your typical stoned suburban geek, content to waste away in a hedonistic muck of masturbation and all-ages shows. On this one, though, Armstrong dons the more interesting guise of stoned suburban loverman: he's got a nagging girlfriend now, and she's not too keen on his mindless pursuit of punk pleasure. He makes an immediate concession by downshifting to a more girl-friendly AOR tempo, then realizes he still really can't be bothered. Hey, you can't go forcing something if it's just not right.

-- Sean Richardson