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Books about Green Day


IcyMoffatt

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Like the title says, lets talk about books! To be more specify, the ones about Green Day only, not those which only mentions the band in some paragraph. 

So, which ones do you own? Which ones did you read? Which ones will you recommand to read or not?

I'm currently reading Treasures of Green Day by Gillian G. Gaar. I bought it 2 years ago, but started to read it this week. It's interesting to have all those posters/pictures/tickets (reproductions of course!) which you can take out of the book. It really is like a treasures chest! On the other hand, there are some mistakes in the text. For example, the author wrote that Billie Joe played the role of St.Nick in American Idiot. (St.Nick is Santa Claus' real name!:lol:) Anyway, for the visual aspect of the book, it's a must have. But it isn't a must have if you want to read about real facts.

I have also the book Green Day: The Ultimate Unauthorized History by Alan di Perna. It's a huge book with a lot of pictures. The text is better than the one mentioned above. It was an interesting reading, very complete.

 

(I didn't find any threads about the subject. So I created this one. But, if there is already one existing, please close this thread.)

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I just got the Alan di Perna book today for my birthday! It's a beautiful book I'm gonna take my time with it. My kids know me so well. I screamed when I unwrapped it. ❤️

I read the one called Nobody Likes You (got it from the library). Glad I didn't buy it - it seemed like it was full of inaccuracies and just compiled magazine interviews I'd seen before. Then I have another one on order from amazon because it was suggested on the boards here as a source for early touring info which I'm interested in. I forget which one it is I ordered a used copy I can check and update.

good topic. I know everything is online these days but I still love books. The di Perna one will look great on my bookshelf when I'm done with it.

ETA: It's by Ben Myers "Green Day:  American Idiots and the New Punk Explosion"

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I think Gillian Gaar's other Green Day book, Rebels with a Cause, is the best one.  I found that one to have the fewest mistakes in it (although there is a pic of Jason Freese listed as Jason White, but seeing as Billie made that same mistake earlier this tour...) and had some info that I didn't know beforehand.  The Spitz one tends to be the most quoted one, but there are mistakes in it, the one that drives me the most insane being where he talks about Billie's lyric writing and uses I Was There as an example (that was Kiffmeyer's song).

The Alan di Perma one is probably my least favorite.  Simple facts such as Billie's and Mike's ages were incorrect (he said Mike was two years younger), and misspelled Billie's name at least six times.  Granted, there's mistakes in all of them (like Ben Meyers correctly saying Billie and Adrienne were 18 and 20 when they met, but later having them be both 22 when they got married.), but how do you spell the name of your subject wrong so many times?

I wonder if I could apply for a job as professional Green Day book editor?  :lol:

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I would strongly recommend In China With Green Day? by Aaron Cometbus. It's unique in that it's actually guaranteed to be factually accurate and you'll get an insiders point of view of the band that no other writer could provide until one of the band decides to write something themselves and even then they'll probably have Aaron edit it if they're smart :lol:

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6 minutes ago, Hero_Of_The_Hour said:

I would strongly recommend In China With Green Day? by Aaron Cometbus. It's unique in that it's actually guaranteed to be factually accurate and you'll get an insiders point of view of the band that no other writer could provide until one of the band decides to write something themselves and even then they'll probably have Aaron edit it if they're smart :lol:

Cometbus is friends with Green Day right??

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9 minutes ago, GreenDayTheory said:

Cometbus is friends with Green Day right??

He is in Pinhead Gunpowder with Billie and Jason. He was briefly in Green Day following the departure of John and before Tre joined. He played a few shows. He was a roadie for the band for many years but mostly he's their friend. He regularly is spotted at their shows, afterparties and award shows such as the Hall of Fame. In a recent interview he said the highlight of his punk career was just getting together with Billie, Jason and Bill Schneider to play together for themselves. That's a pretty huge thing for someone to say when they've played in a million bands, been self publishing for 35 years and interviewed The Ramones as a teenager! So yeah they're great friends. Oh and importantly he's been writing a zine which he's famous for since he was 13 and he's pretty damn excellent at it so this book rules!

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2 hours ago, Hero_Of_The_Hour said:

I would strongly recommend In China With Green Day? by Aaron Cometbus. It's unique in that it's actually guaranteed to be factually accurate and you'll get an insiders point of view of the band that no other writer could provide until one of the band decides to write something themselves and even then they'll probably have Aaron edit it if they're smart :lol:

Just ordered a copy. Thanks for the rec!

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I have the Treasures of Green Day book, and the Nobody Likes You book by Marc Spitz. Both are very good! I love the way Marc weaves storytelling through his interviews within the book, and how he describes the events. There's just something really cool about how he describes the American Idiot era at the end of the book, talking about how they traded in their punk skater clothes for tailored suits and were ready to take on the world. :lol:

As for the treasures book, I immediately put the concert posters all over my walls and admired them for hours, neat little reprints of lost history, especially the Lookout! records one. :D 

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4 hours ago, Hero_Of_The_Hour said:

He is in Pinhead Gunpowder with Billie and Jason. He was briefly in Green Day following the departure of John and before Tre joined. He played a few shows. He was a roadie for the band for many years but mostly he's their friend. He regularly is spotted at their shows, afterparties and award shows such as the Hall of Fame. In a recent interview he said the highlight of his punk career was just getting together with Billie, Jason and Bill Schneider to play together for themselves. That's a pretty huge thing for someone to say when they've played in a million bands, been self publishing for 35 years and interviewed The Ramones as a teenager! So yeah they're great friends. Oh and importantly he's been writing a zine which he's famous for since he was 13 and he's pretty damn excellent at it so this book rules!

Do you have a link to Aaron's interview? 

In China with Green Day was a really nice read, Aaron Cometbus is a really talented writer and he get's real personal which I loved. My favourite bit's were reading about how Jason White and Billie Joe's friendship started, and reading about Aaron's relationship with each of the band members, especially between him and Billie Joe. It's really great to hear from people who were with Green Day from the start. 

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9 hours ago, Hero_Of_The_Hour said:

I would strongly recommend In China With Green Day? by Aaron Cometbus. It's unique in that it's actually guaranteed to be factually accurate and you'll get an insiders point of view of the band that no other writer could provide until one of the band decides to write something themselves and even then they'll probably have Aaron edit it if they're smart :lol:

I second this! Most interesting and insightful piece I've read about them, uniquely personal. And Aaron's writing is just great whatever he's writing about.

I really enjoyed reading Green Day: American Idiots & The New Punk Explosion by Ben Myers years ago. It was right when I first got into GD so I guess any book telling their history etc would've been good at the time, but it was well written and had lots of interesting info and stories.

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5 hours ago, reneetaleena said:

Do you have a link to Aaron's interview? 

In China with Green Day was a really nice read, Aaron Cometbus is a really talented writer and he get's real personal which I loved. My favourite bit's were reading about how Jason White and Billie Joe's friendship started, and reading about Aaron's relationship with each of the band members, especially between him and Billie Joe. It's really great to hear from people who were with Green Day from the start. 

 

Here is the link to the interview with Aaron. It is long but it isn't just him, there are two others being interviewed with him. He mentions PHGP in the last half hour I think... Yes it is that long :lol:

 

 

 

 

34 minutes ago, Hermione said:

I second this! Most interesting and insightful piece I've read about them, uniquely personal. And Aaron's writing is just great whatever he's writing about.

 

Agree 100%. I'm so glad he wrote In China With Green Day? simply because it introduced me to everything else he's ever written which in most cases is much better. I'm addicted now. It was a gateway drug for sure :lol:

7 hours ago, pacejunkie punk said:

Just ordered a copy. Thanks for the rec!

You won't be sorry :D

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1 hour ago, Hero_Of_The_Hour said:

 

Here is the link to the interview with Aaron. It is long but it isn't just him, there are two others being interviewed with him. He mentions PHGP in the last half hour I think... Yes it is that long :lol:

 

 

Oh my god thanks for this, I've never seen a video interview with him (not sure any existed?) or really heard him speak and that's always bothered me :lol: 

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Never heard of the In China with Green Day book, but I'm gonna check it out! I hope the shipping isn't too much.

I have a few GD books, but the ones I read are Nobody Likes You, which was pretty forgettable to me and the Treasures book, which I found boring. I have a Nirvana book like that too and I find those books to be inaccurate and quick cash grabs. The pull out things are cool and pretty much make the book. I have the Rebels With a Cause book, but I haven't read it. I have Green Day Rising and it's a decent photo book. It costs way too much though.

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4 minutes ago, kaylubd said:

Never heard of the In China with Green Day book, but I'm gonna check it out! I hope the shipping isn't too much.

I have a few GD books, but the ones I read are Nobody Likes You, which was pretty forgettable to me and the Treasures book, which I found boring. I have a Nirvana book like that too and I find those books to be inaccurate and quick cash grabs. The pull out things are cool and pretty much make the book. I have the Rebels With a Cause book, but I haven't read it. I have Green Day Rising and it's a decent photo book. It costs way too much though.

There's a bookstore on North Avenue in Old Town that usually carries his zines.  Sorry don't remember more than that.  But even if you don't find it locally, it definitely worth getting and reading.

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Just now, lizziebix said:

There's a bookstore on North Avenue in Old Town that usually carries his zines.  Sorry don't remember more than that.  But even if you don't find it locally, it definitely worth getting and reading.

I think I know what store you're talking about. I'm gonna see if I can catch it locally.

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12 hours ago, Hermione said:

Oh my god thanks for this, I've never seen a video interview with him (not sure any existed?) or really heard him speak and that's always bothered me :lol: 

He's done quite a lot of radio interviews over the years but the video interviews are rarer though they do exist and even some with him as the interviewer when he was a teen. He's a very chilled out person and very calming to listen to and he's really friendly in person and not remotely intimidating as I imagined he would be after reading so many of his books and assuming he'd be super judgemental etc  :lol: 

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16 hours ago, Hero_Of_The_Hour said:

 

Here is the link to the interview with Aaron. It is long but it isn't just him, there are two others being interviewed with him. He mentions PHGP in the last half hour I think... Yes it is that long :lol:

 

Thanks for sharing! I remember that being announced but didn't know it was recorded. It's cool hearing Aaron mention the gorges in Ithaca cause I've been there!

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On 2/7/2017 at 2:34 AM, IcyMoffatt said:

Like the title says, lets talk about books! To be more specify, the ones about Green Day only, not those which only mentions the band in some paragraph. 

So, which ones do you own? Which ones did you read? Which ones will you recommand to read or not?

I'm currently reading Treasures of Green Day by Gillian G. Gaar. I bought it 2 years ago, but started to read it this week. It's interesting to have all those posters/pictures/tickets (reproductions of course!) which you can take out of the book. It really is like a treasures chest! On the other hand, there are some mistakes in the text. For example, the author wrote that Billie Joe played the role of St.Nick in American Idiot. (St.Nick is Santa Claus' real name!:lol:) Anyway, for the visual aspect of the book, it's a must have. But it isn't a must have if you want to read about real facts.

I have also the book Green Day: The Ultimate Unauthorized History by Alan di Perna. It's a huge book with a lot of pictures. The text is better than the one mentioned above. It was an interesting reading, very complete.

 

(I didn't find any threads about the subject. So I created this one. But, if there is already one existing, please close this thread.)

Im really interesting in treasures of Green day but when Im trying to buy I found two version.

Can someone tell me the difference between treasures of Green day and Green day treasures.

The author is the same, so I think is the same book

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It's the same book. Sometimes internet mixed things up, but it can also means there was a new edition of the book or the title changes depending of the country you're buying from. But my guess is it is just the internet mixing thing.

 

From readding all your comments, I understand the best book to have is the In China with Green Day. I must check if I can get it sometimes. Right now, I'm out of money. Maybe I can take a look at my local public libraries to see if I can find it there. I know one of them has a couple of Green Day related books.

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30 minutes ago, IcyMoffatt said:

It's the same book. Sometimes internet mixed things up, but it can also means there was a new edition of the book or the title changes depending of the country you're buying from. But my guess is it is just the internet mixing thing.

 

From readding all your comments, I understand the best book to have is the In China with Green Day. I must check if I can get it sometimes. Right now, I'm out of money. Maybe I can take a look at my local public libraries to see if I can find it there. I know one of them has a couple of Green Day related books.

Thanks for the info.

Im pretty sure its the same book but Im wanna makes sure before order it on Amazon.

Unfortunately here in italy no libraries has Green day books

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4 minutes ago, Stewe said:

Thanks for the info.

Im pretty sure its the same book but Im wanna makes sure before order it on Amazon.

Unfortunately here in italy no libraries has Green day books

In Philippines,especially in my place there are no libraries :lol:

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11 hours ago, Hero_Of_The_Hour said:

He's done quite a lot of radio interviews over the years but the video interviews are rarer though they do exist and even some with him as the interviewer when he was a teen. He's a very chilled out person and very calming to listen to and he's really friendly in person and not remotely intimidating as I imagined he would be after reading so many of his books and assuming he'd be super judgemental etc  :lol: 

Sorry to get off-topic, but... Have you met him? How was it!? 

 

And yes, In China With Green Day blows every other book on Green Day out of the water. Brilliant writing and insights.

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Okay you guys have talked about the In China with GD book so much, I'm gonna have to order a copy!! I hate the shipping cost, but after looking around it sounds like something awesome!

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33 minutes ago, kaylubd said:

Okay you guys have talked about the In China with GD book so much, I'm gonna have to order a copy!! I hate the shipping cost, but after looking around it sounds like something awesome!

I've ordered it a few days ago. Don't try Amazon, you can purchase it directly here https://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/zines/3501/ The shipping isn't much at all. It was around 11 USD for me and I had it sent to Germany :-)

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