"I always look at people in a Green Day t-shirt and I think, 'What is wrong with that person? What kind of hangups does that person have?' Obviously, it's not just the catchy songs, it goes deeper than that."
- -Billie Joe Armstrong
When best friends Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt attacked their instruments in basements on Friday nights, they had no idea that Lawrence Livermore would sign them to a record label that would change their lives forever. Three fifteen year old gritty East Bay boys decided to form a band called Green Day in 1987. Livermore was transfixed by their pop-punkish rhythms and lyrics watched in a grungy, unlit cabin in the middle of nowhere. He took them under his wing.
One probably knew Green Day as three neurotic and twitchy teenage boys who wrote songs about smoking weed and being bored. This was true; in their early years. Throughout time, they have advanced into more political and global issues in America. Many people seem to think that Green Day is an "anti-America" or and America hating band. They're quite the opposite, actually. Their most recent music has put issues about war and presidents into fast, hard four minute songs. Armstrong's distaste for George W. Bush and his desire for the war to end is not ambiguous; although some misperceive this as hatred for the country. Billie Joe expresses that he believes people should do what they want, and not be controlled by conformists. He conveys this through the lyric, "Don't wanna be an American Idiot, one nation controlled by the media." The album American Idiot woke up the world and grabbed the attention about the corrupted state of America.
Green Day has numerous aficionados; and not just for no reason. Armstrong's lovesick lyrics paired with upbeat riffs speak to teens across the board from every background, city, and situation imaginable. These "hung up" teenagers can relate to the emotions portrayed through the music- boredom, alienation, frustration, and possible insanity. My personal favorite, "Jesus of Suburbia," is about a disenfranchised young teen who struggles to find himself. Many admire and produce feelings for this song because it helps them cope with their own similar troubles. It tells a story; which is why the song is so infectious. "Running away from pain when you've been victimized. Tales from another broken home." Through his lyrics, Armstrong embodies teenage angst.
Green Day had gone from grungy East Bay kids scrounging for rent to socially conscience men. Influenced by punk rock bands like the Sex Pistols and the Ramones, they have become one of the biggest and most influential bands of the past two decades. What Green Day managed to do was write extremely personal songs that actually mean something to the public because not only do they portray events, but emotion. With sing-along-able verses, they describe a way of life and a chorus that could easily grasp a mass of people. The bottom line is, that's the music Green Day wanted to write, and that's what they wrote.
- -Billie Joe Armstrong
When best friends Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt attacked their instruments in basements on Friday nights, they had no idea that Lawrence Livermore would sign them to a record label that would change their lives forever. Three fifteen year old gritty East Bay boys decided to form a band called Green Day in 1987. Livermore was transfixed by their pop-punkish rhythms and lyrics watched in a grungy, unlit cabin in the middle of nowhere. He took them under his wing.
One probably knew Green Day as three neurotic and twitchy teenage boys who wrote songs about smoking weed and being bored. This was true; in their early years. Throughout time, they have advanced into more political and global issues in America. Many people seem to think that Green Day is an "anti-America" or and America hating band. They're quite the opposite, actually. Their most recent music has put issues about war and presidents into fast, hard four minute songs. Armstrong's distaste for George W. Bush and his desire for the war to end is not ambiguous; although some misperceive this as hatred for the country. Billie Joe expresses that he believes people should do what they want, and not be controlled by conformists. He conveys this through the lyric, "Don't wanna be an American Idiot, one nation controlled by the media." The album American Idiot woke up the world and grabbed the attention about the corrupted state of America.
Green Day has numerous aficionados; and not just for no reason. Armstrong's lovesick lyrics paired with upbeat riffs speak to teens across the board from every background, city, and situation imaginable. These "hung up" teenagers can relate to the emotions portrayed through the music- boredom, alienation, frustration, and possible insanity. My personal favorite, "Jesus of Suburbia," is about a disenfranchised young teen who struggles to find himself. Many admire and produce feelings for this song because it helps them cope with their own similar troubles. It tells a story; which is why the song is so infectious. "Running away from pain when you've been victimized. Tales from another broken home." Through his lyrics, Armstrong embodies teenage angst.
Green Day had gone from grungy East Bay kids scrounging for rent to socially conscience men. Influenced by punk rock bands like the Sex Pistols and the Ramones, they have become one of the biggest and most influential bands of the past two decades. What Green Day managed to do was write extremely personal songs that actually mean something to the public because not only do they portray events, but emotion. With sing-along-able verses, they describe a way of life and a chorus that could easily grasp a mass of people. The bottom line is, that's the music Green Day wanted to write, and that's what they wrote.