Green Day is commemorating the 30th anniversary of their influential punk album Dookie with a unique twist on music re-releases.
The band has collaborated with the Los Angeles-based art studio Brain to create Dookie Demastered, a project that elevates beloved tracks onto retro devices, some of which may be challenging to use or even unplayable. For our focus here, we’ll explore how they adapted Welcome to Paradise onto a Game Boy cartridge.
This innovative cartridge can be used in a Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, or an Analogue Pocket, allowing you to play a four-minute version of the song. Additionally, some cover art will display on the screen during playback. The price tag for this nostalgic item is $39.
However, this is more of a raffle opportunity than a straightforward purchase. Fans eager for any of the creative items, which also feature Burnout on a player piano roll ($49), Having a Blast on a floppy disk ($19), and Basket Case on a Big Mouth Billie Bass ($79), can enter a drawing. Winners will be charged for the item, with limited quantities available; for instance, only 25 cartridges will be offered.
The official website describes Dookie Demastered as delivering an “unparalleled” listening adventure, compromising on sound quality and convenience, and sometimes omitting entire verses. Interestingly, the 8-bit chiptune version of Welcome to Paradise showcased on the product page fits the bill well. It could be compared to an expensive HitClip (younger readers might want to look that up), although a pricey HitClip is already included in the mix!
Whether this cartridge is worth $39 is up for debate, but if you can splurge and are looking for a whimsically eccentric piece of media, you have until 11 a.m. PT on October 11 to throw your hat into the raffle.