Green Day is back — or maybe they never left. But with the band's stellar new album, Saviors, the trio of Billy Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tré Cool is clearly energized, inspired and firing on all cylinders. The album, which dropped Jan. 19, comes just as the group is celebrating both the 20th anniversary of its landmark rock opera, American Idiot, and the 30th anniversary of its breakout release, Dookie.
So, on this week's All Songs Considered, we go deep on what makes Green Day so special, the secret of the band's staying power and why we still love these guys, nearly 40 years after they first formed in California's East Bay.