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What if Green Day had quit?


madafaka

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I've been rediscovering the album Warning recently and was just sitting around watching old interviews from around 2000 or so.

I couldn't help but keeping in mind that the guys were at a seminal point of their career. They were at a critical stage where they were slowly riding out the wave that Dookie had created. They were three guys who had experienced coming from nothing for then finding success beyond what they could've ever imagined - standing in the glory of it and feeling like "they've made it" - to then slowly fade out of the limelight for six years and probably realizing that fame is fleeting and that their glory days were over. It's arguably the low-point of their career in terms of success, and as we know, they considered quitting for real. 

But then American Idiot happened. For whatever reason they were able to find a second wind of ambition and create their greatest masterpiece to date. Not only that, they were able to outshine the great DOOKIE - the giant beast that they had stood in the shadow of for ten years. Whatever risk there were of Green Day being remembered as a passing fad was crushed. Green Day can do almost whatever from this point on. They will always be remembered as "the real deal" because they stood the test of time. They managed to reinvent themselves and find mainstream success twice in their careers with ten years apart. I also recently watched the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, and that's a thing that wouldn't have been possible if not for American Idiot either. It is the combination of the successes of Dookie and American that has really saved Green Day's legacy as a band. And legacy is the buzzword I'm trying to get at, with this. How would Green Day have been remembered if they had quit after Warning? Around 2000 they were in an unspoken rivalry with blink182, at least in the eyes of the public, and so if they had quit then, they would've probably had a legacy similar to that of blink, which is a band that hasn't experienced a second wave of success.

They wouldn't have gotten inducted into the HoF, and they would've only gone down in history as a footnote in 90's music trends under the "Pop Punk" category. The guys themselves would've probably been a tad bitter about their legacy, as it's clear from American Idiot that they craved to manifest themselves in music history as more than a phenomenon, and that Billie Joe strove to impact the world in a bigger way with his songwriting. He seems frustrated in the interviews from around the time of Warning.

My question to you is, how do you think Green Day would've been remembered had they quit at certain points of their career?

Imagine that Dookie, Insomniac, Nimrod, Warning, American Idiot, 21st Century Breakdown or Uno, Dos, Tre would've been the last Green Day album in the history of the world. What if they had quit then? Or what if they decided to quit after this tour? Or what if they had never found success and had quit after Kerplunk? What would their lives have been like right now? While it's more troubling to imagine a world where the nazis won the second world war, it is also terrible to think of a world where Green Day had been has beens.

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I am sorry but I don't really understand the question.

what are you trying to asked if they would quit now or early in their career? which is it?

I would think Billie would still be in music playing with his guitar if he wasn't in band.

Mike he would fine normal job

and Tre will be dummer still be in music.

I hope that make any sense..

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3 minutes ago, Caroline Truong said:

I am sorry but I don't really understand the question.

what are you trying to asked if they would quit now or early in their career? which is it?

I would think Billie would still be in music playing with his guitar if he wasn't in band.

Mike he would fine normal job

and Tre will be dummer still be in music.

I hope that make any sense..

What I'm asking is how Green Day would've been remembered if they had quit at certain points in their career. What if they had quit after Insomniac for example? How would their legacy have been then?

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If they'd quit after Kerplunk, we wouldn't have been bothered at all.

If they'd quit after Dookie, we would still hear Basket Case on radio and we'd wonder what band is it and what happened to them because you know, that one song they have doesn't suck. 

If they'd quit after Warning, they'd have been something like Blink now. They might reunite a while later too. 

If they'd quit after AI it would have been a bummer, but not as bad as if they'd quit after the trilogy. That would have been fucking heartbreaking. I mean, it's always sad when someone gives up after they've made an ambitious effort haha 

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If they had quit before American Idiot, I think they would still be remembered as a successful and influential band and Dookie would still be remembered as one of the greatest albums of the 90s, but they wouldn't be seen as legends like they are today.

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While they could've quit after Dookie, I think it was important for them to stick around to prove that their success with Dookie wasn't a one off. 

Just after Warning was the most likeliest time that they could've quit, but I think it was the need to have a album as big as Dookie that kept them going

They could've quit after AI as it was a big album like Dookie, but they didn't quit as they still had so much to give. 

They could've quit after the trilogy, but that wouldn't have been a good ending to their career

They won't quit now as they've been together for so long and now is the least likelist time of their careers in which they could possibly quit, so they might as well play until they're in coffins. And I'd quite like to see them again! 

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4 minutes ago, madafaka said:

What I'm asking is how Green Day would've been remembered if they had quit at certain points in their career. What if they had quit after Insomniac for example? How would their legacy have been then?

oh o.k..and it is big "If"

I don't really know about two of their early album era(kerplunk and Insomniac)...but

if they'd didn't put out Nimrod.It wouldn't have song King of A-Day,Good Ridden time of your..they wouldn't have their first hits

If they'd didn't put out Dookie,they wouldn't have their career at all..because I think or they think it is classic best album yet.

Al well..it wouldn't don't even go there.

rest is history.

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I can't help but wonder if we are headed into a period where Green Day will slow way down and put the huge ambitions on the shelf and release new stuff just because they enjoy it, while doing other things with their lives as well. There is Oakland Coffee and a few other ventures that just makes me think that they are getting ready to retire Green Day from the limelight.

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7 minutes ago, madafaka said:

I can't help but wonder if we are headed into a period where Green Day will slow way down and put the huge ambitions on the shelf and release new stuff just because they enjoy it, while doing other things with their lives as well. There is Oakland Coffee and a few other ventures that just makes me think that they are getting ready to retire Green Day from the limelight.

I think Green Day will always be the main thing for them. They've put so much work into Green Day over the past 30 years and I don't thing they would just "give up" on that, if you know what I mean.

Especially Billie - he has said on multiple occasions that music and Green Day is his life. It's highly unlikley that he would choose a coffee company over a music career.

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3 minutes ago, Scattered Wreck said:

If the boys had quit we would all be far more productive

That is very true :D

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Gosh, lots of thoughts.  In my view, they had the total classic problems of having such a massive success as  Dookie, it's almost a blight on a young career as opposed to the great thing it first appears as it's so hard to move on from it.  If they had quit then, they may well have just merged in with lots of other bands who burned bright and disappeared, or they could have that long-term thing of "gee wonder what else they could have done", who knows.  I think they do appear to have had some sort of re-evaluation after Warning, I've heard it described in a number of ways, but 2012/13 is the most worried I have ever been, I really thought they may get call it a day at that point and wasn't sure Billie would ever feel up to touring again.  I think that would have been really sad as it would have felt like they had gone out with a whimper rather than a bang.  Now, I think they are loving their lives, they have nothing to prove and the fun they are having is plain to see.  It is very hard work though so might they reign it back a bit, possibly.  They are only 45 though, yes I get how old that is to some if you, and I can't imagine them giving up unless they were forced to for some reason.  I certainly hope not, here's to another 20 years or so.  They have lots of projects on the go but that's really not unexpected for creative people who have money to spare!

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7 minutes ago, G-L-O-R-I-A said:

I think Green Day will always be the main thing for them. They've put so much work into Green Day over the past 30 years and I don't thing they would just "give up" on that, if you know what I mean.

Especially Billie - he has said on multiple occasions that music and Green Day is his life. It's highly unlikley that he would choose a coffee company over a music career.

I agree with you 100%

Green day is BILLIE

end of story

I don't really think "quit" is right word for them.

maybe "going solo" it not what this poster asking..;)

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4 minutes ago, Caroline Truong said:

I agree with you 100%

Green day is BILLIE

end of story

I don't really think "quit" is right word for them.

maybe "going solo" it not what this poster asking..;)

Yeah, if they ever did split up, which I doubt they will any time soon, I don't think they would quit music. They would either go solo, or join another band.

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4 minutes ago, G-L-O-R-I-A said:

Yeah, if they ever did split up, which I doubt they will any time soon, I don't think they would quit music. They would either go solo, or join another band.

To me, if I had been in a legendary band like Green Day since I was a teenager, I wouldn't be able to stay in the business in any other way. Maybe as a producer, songwriter or solo artist. So maybe Billie Joe would've stayed in music in some way, but I can see Mike and Tré moving on to new things.

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it not bad with Billie goes solo or goes do side-project ..(he can go back to acting)..or maybe not!:dry:

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4 minutes ago, madafaka said:

To me, if I had been in a legendary band like Green Day since I was a teenager, I wouldn't be able to stay in the business in any other way. Maybe as a producer, songwriter or solo artist. So maybe Billie Joe would've stayed in music in some way, but I can see Mike and Tré moving on to new things.

Billie would definitely stay in music. I can see Mike doing other things, but I think he would still want to be involved in music in some way.

I really don't know what Tre would do. I could see him being a comedian or making sketch shows or something like that, but I don't think that will ever happen. :lol:

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7 minutes ago, madafaka said:

To me, if I had been in a legendary band like Green Day since I was a teenager, I wouldn't be able to stay in the business in any other way. Maybe as a producer, songwriter or solo artist. So maybe Billie Joe would've stayed in music in some way, but I can see Mike and Tré moving on to new things.

if they would goes solo..or "Side project"

Billie would go back to acting (i love him in O.World)

Tre maybe still be in music with his own band.

Mike open up music business..

but it is only my opinion.

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4 minutes ago, Caroline Truong said:

if they would goes solo..or "Side project"

Billie would go back to acting (i love him in O.World)

Tre maybe still be in music with his own band.

Mike open up music business..

but it is only my opinion.

I love Ordinary World, but I don't think Billie is a good enough actor to have a full-time acting career.

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I can't see any of them giving up on music.  Remember all those "the only way out if this band is in a coffin" comments, I thought they have all said that.   Think if Billie was going to go solo he would have done it before AI, I think there were rumours at the time.

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36 minutes ago, jengd said:

I can't see any of them giving up on music.  Remember all those "the only way out if this band is in a coffin" comments, I thought they have all said that.   Think if Billie was going to go solo he would have done it before AI, I think there were rumours at the time.

I don't think Billie will ever go solo. He might do more solo "side projects" like Foreverly with Norah Jones, but he'll always be loyal to Green Day.

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Green Day wouldn't have quit after warning. I'm pretty sure their deal with reprise was a 5 album contract (it's been a while since i've heard that but I swear I remember hearing that back in the 90's). Warning was their 4th album and even if the band was falling apart we still would have at least gotten Cigarettes and Valentines. if they quit after that then they still probably would have had enough $ to retire, but I'm sure they would still keep playing music one way or another, whether it was other bands or projects or if they just took time off and then reunited and became a club band. They still would have been hall of famers but it probably would have taken a little more time to get in. Dookie would have been enough for them to be considered and then having a cross-over hit like Good Riddance I think would be the tipping point to get them inducted.

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I don't know how unpopular that is but I'd totally love another side project like Foreverly, this time with a tour. 

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7 minutes ago, Jane Lannister said:

I don't know how unpopular that is but I'd totally love another side project like Foreverly, this time with a tour. 

Personally, I didn't like Foreverly. It was good, but it's just not my type of music at all. However, I'm not opposed to Billie trying other things outside of Green Day.

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