I could write entire essays on this band and what they mean to me. They have inspired many graphics, particularly when I’m in a, let’s call it, political mood.
Now, let me explain something first, I am not the most knowledgable when it comes to politics. I couldn’t tell you what the first amendment is, and nor, tbh, do I actually care. I have no real idea of the difference between Labour and the Conservative Party. All I know is that I live pretty comfortably under either government over here in the UK. What I will admit to, however, is my general dislike for politicians. Whether over here in the UK, or anywhere around the world, we are governed by a bunch of rich, power hungry people who were educated in places like Eton and Yale and whatever. They have no grasp of real struggle, or the real world, and yet they run countries. Some of them need to be beaten, in my honest opinion.
Now, if you’ve made it this far into my little blog, you’re probably wondering what the heck that last paragraph was all about, and where the band comes in, right? I get ya, I tend to ramble sometimes.
2004 was the first time I properly heard them and the message they wanted to spread, although I’d heard a few of their songs before and just couldn’t get into them in any form. I of course, speak of Billie, Mike and Tre. Now, as my last musical blog said, I grew up on a vast variety of music, one of those genres firmly being punk rock. I listen to The Clash and The Specials (Not technically punk, but they have that same spirit.) on a regular basis and can admit to owning a copy of Sex Pistol’s Never Mind The Bollocks. I listened to Sum 41 and Blink 182 a lot in 2001 and got behind that whole genre in such a way that it was unreal, it was all I listened to tbh.
(Wow, get Leigh, speaking about punk when he listens to B182 and S41 LOL)
Both albums, All Killer, No Filler and Take Off Your Pants and Jacket (No, I never got the connotation until someone bought it up on Reddit, it’s mastubatory, by the way.) were all I listened to, it was almost, unhealthy.
2004, everything changed. American Idiot was released and I finally understood why Green Day were so appreciated. Everything I hated about politicians and how they run my country, had a voice. It was around the time of the Bush administration but could easily be applied to today’s administration. It also spoke volumes about how I believe my own country is being run. Through music, I once again found a voice. I know that I am no revolutionary and am probably a freedom fighter in my own mind, but I had found a message through Billie Joe Armstrong, and it is one I still spread this day.
Now for the non-political bit. I worked backwards and bought Dookie, Insomniac, Nimrod and Warning and they became my go to albums. I would listen to them non-stop, weirdly, something I still do now when I’m in the mood for some GD goodness. Dookie, IMHO is one of the best albums ever made and I have the privelige (WTF am I gonna learn to spell that word without assistance?) of now owning the “Ernie cover.” Every song is a fucking banger and I know people will say that Basket Case, Welcome to Paradise, and perhaps FOD are the best tracks off that album, but for me, Pulling Teeth is the masterpiece on that album. I was visiting my old high school (Pulling Teeth was the song I was listening to in the car.) and learned that my music teacher, Clare Collard, had died of a brain aneurysm in 2000, two years after I left school. Now, she was not a dominatrix, but she was a very strict teacher, and was probably one of my first crushes. She was beautiful, she was smart and more importantly, she knew what she was doing. She was also very kind to me. To this day, I cannot listen to Pulling Teeth without thinking about her.
God Rest, Miss Collard, I may have only known you for two years, but I will always miss you.
I listened to Insomniac and, well, let’s say, I didn’t really like that one, although a couple of the songs are great. Next came Nimrod and, well, holy fuck, what an album that is! I’d rate it higher than Dookie, personally. I’d like to believe that it was the most reflective album Billie had written up to that point, it showed growth, it showed humility in a man who most perceived as arrogant, the same can be said for 2000’s Warning.
Warning was, in my mind, the prototype to American Idiot, it showed a band who were beginning to realise how they could send a message to anyone dissatisfied with how their country was being run, it showed that sometimes, being in the minority, was cool. Green Day were slowly becoming the punk band they were always destined to become. Songs about masturbation and being an outcast were suddenly turning into very political ones, they were anti-authority, they were anti-establishment and, to some degree, their barbs were very well hidden.
Did Green Day show arrogance in their interviews? Of course they did, but once 2004 came around and they released American Idiot, they proved that “arrogance” was very founded. They believed in themselves and that, IMHO, is what you want from a band.
That album changed my life. It is still one of the greatest concept albums of all time, imho. From the opener, American Idiot, all the way to the closer, Whatsername, you know you have heard a story and you have lived that story. I mean, c’mon, it was adapted to stage! (I saw it in Cardiff in 2012, I had already acquiesced to the idea that I was never gonna see Green Day live, so I went for second best.)
Because this isn’t an album review, I shall skip the next couple albums, although 21st Century Breakdown should deserve a special mention. I will jump forward to 2017 and the plot twist! Hyde Park, London, July 2017. Yes, I have the fucking t-shirts, yes I have the pin badges, and yes, I have the memories of crying my fucking eyes out when Billie performed Wake Me Up When September Ends (You’ll know from prior blogs that I lost my parents at a young age so Wake Me Up was a little, personal.) I had acquiesced to the idea of never seeing them live, until I fucking saw them LIVE!
Now, if you’re a Green Day fan, you’ll have seen the video of Bohemian Rhapsody sang along with a choir of 65,000 people. I was in that crowd and still view it as a badge of pride when people comment on it on Youtube. I was fucking there! I was one of those many choir singers (Trust me, you do not wanna hear me sing, it’s terrible. I could bring the dead back to life and have been known to clear pubs with my karaoke attempts. I’m glad I had 64,999 people to sing along with.) I shall enclose the video, and when I can find it, I shall enclose the video from my perspective.
I love anti-political stuff and that is why Green Day are my go to band, that is why I love them so fucking much, and, if you get a blog saying I’m listening to Green Day, take that as a warning that something very political is going to be posted in my graphics. Also, fuck Keir Starmer and Donald Trump!
