On February 1, 1994, Green Day released their third studio album, Dookie. Since then, it has gone on to become a seminal album in alternative music. As Dookie turns 25, learn more about the album below.

1. Record labels were so eager to sign the band, one actually tried to bribe them with a trip to Disneyland.

Dick Loek

Following the underground success of the band’s second album, Kerplunk, major record labels were scrambling to be the first to sign the band. Some tried to entice the band with fancy dinners, but one actually offered to take them to Disneyland to discuss a new album. The band refused all offers and signed with Reprise Records after meeting their rep, Rob Cavallo, who had worked with one of their favourite bands, the Muffs.

2. “Longview”‘s iconic bassline was fueled by LSD.

The song is all about boredom. It’s all about sitting in the house, smoking weed and masturbating. Bassist Mike Dirnt took LSD one night to inspire himself and wrote loads of basslines. Only problem? The next morning, he and Billie Joe Armstrong could only remember one. And it was “Longview”.

3. The girl Billie sings about in “She” is the topic of many other songs.

The girl in “She” was an ex of Billie’s. While together, she showed him a feminist poem of the same name. Billie was inspired to write the song, but after showing it to her, they broke up and she moved to Ecaudor, prompting him to put it on the album. It is one of few Green Day singles that doesn’t have a music video. Billie would often perform the song fully nude.

4. “Basket Case” tackles mental health and sexuality.

The song is a reflection of where Billie was at while writing the album. He said it’s about his struggle with anxiety. He was diagnosed with a panic disorder years afterward, but at the time thought he was going crazy. Billie expressed at the time that, “The only way I could know what the hell was going on was to write a song about it.”

Billie used the song to come out as bisexual. The lyric, “I went to a whore, he said my life is a bore” is a reference to his sexuality. “Coming Clean” is too.

5. “When I Come Around” was written about Billie’s then-girlfriend, now wife.

Call it punk rock love! Billie wrote the song about his then-girlfriend, Adrienne. After a fight, they took some time apart, saying they’d figure out their relationship “when they came around”. The duo met in 1990, wed in 1994 and now have two full grown spawns.

6. Dookie is credited for bringing punk rock back into mainstream culture.

Along with the Offspring’s Smash, the album is credited for helping bring the genre back onto the charts.

7. It actually is named after poo.

Yeah, they do mean Dookie like that. After eating loads of nasty food on their previous tour that caused severe diarrhea, the band actually wanted to call the album Liquid Dookie, but that was deemed “too gross”.

8. The band toured the album in a mobile library.

AP Photo/Heather Clark

The band didn’t have the money for a tour bus, so drummer Trè Cool’s dad lent them his bookmobile to travel between shows.

9. Big winner!

Although the album only sold 9,000 copies in its first week, the album went on to become Diamond certified and earn the 1995 Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album.

10. Even bigger legacy. 

The album is held as one of the most iconic albums of the 90’s and of the genre. It had a massive cultural impact that still resonates with artists and fans today. Since its release, Dookie has been featured heavily in numerous “must have” lists, including Rolling Stone‘s list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, coming in at #193.

Long live Dookie, long live Green Day!

via GIPHY