"Our heroes following rules that they once disobeyed." - A reflexion about Green Day

[yuan]

I'm not gonna say anything inspirational; I'm just gonna fucking swear a lot

[PleasedToMeetMe]

I've been a Green Day fan for 18 years. I listened to Uno and then Dos right after on a long walk a couple days ago and I honestly think those albums are some of Green Day's best work. It's about the music and nothing more. When American Idiot came out Green Day were EVERYWHERE, this is nothing compared to that.

[tribesafehaven]

I don't really post but read the first page of this and just want to say that, there are two ways of thinking about this: 1) yes its not ideal for them to promote this way. 2) This is the new world of technology and in this new world of technology people like to steal music as if its ok and not really stealing, also the amount of promotion any company has to do for any product is now more than 10 times the amount of the promotion they use to to get the same success. Because of how many ads we see on the internet ETC...It takes more promo for people to notice something.....

So that being said we need to adjust our thought process on how things use to be and how things are now. One is not really better than the rest. Just different.

The main point I want to drive home, is that music is really just about music and connecting and hopefully helping people with it and I would allow GREEN DAY to do any type of promotionfor me to hear them, if I had never heard of them. I mean GREEN DAY means that much to me and has helped me through life so much so that if another person could be helped even 1/50th of how much I have been by GREEN DAY then they can go sing gay showtunes while cross dressing with Obama on Sesame Steet with big bird playing a banjo to time of your life while Tre makes out with a pigs butt. Seriously without promotion NONE of us would know GREEN DAY in anyway and thats not a world I want to live in.

I see your point still, but maybe just maybe your way of thinking isn't going to help anyone, including yourself, I mean come on, not listening to GREEN DAY or holding a grudge against them for trying to help people through music?

I will say that music is the only reason I really can enjoy life and have made it this far and I've met others who feel similar. Even if its just one person who gets to feel this way from the new ways of promotion, wouldn't that one life be worth it? It is for me.

Hell I would even welcome them to perform everyday on American Idol, cause I know people who watch that show need GREEN DAY in their life, HA!

Ok thats all, hope everyone is doin alright, one love,

-ChaseR

[Parley]

I am not argumenting against anything, I just could relate to her post. Quite amusing how you can't differentiate between a personal opinion and an agreement with somebody else's post.

I had to come back and re-read this post. Yup, you actually wrote "argumenting."

I'm hoping English is not your first language (not that I think you'll ever see this post).

[Annie, get your gun]

Wow! so many poplular posts on pg 1

Yeah, there are some things that make me kind of angry or make me "question" them; but I rather not to talk about it... 'Cause nothing's actually perfect. And I don't like to focus on stuff that I don't like because what's the point? I'll be spending more time complaining on "oh Green Day's doing this, why is Green Day doing that? etc etc" instead of doing what I love the most: enjoy their music.

And that "people never change" it's not that true. People DO change and it's not a crime to try new things.

Oh and, how long is going people to bitch about the soundtrack of Twilight?? It's already done. Get over it.

[Marrymebilliejoe]

Wow! so many poplular posts on pg 1

Yeah, there are some things that make me kind of angry or make me "question" them; but I rather not to talk about it... 'Cause nothing's actually perfect. And I don't like to focus on stuff that I don't like because what's the point? I'll be spending more time complaining on "oh Green Day's doing this, why is Green Day doing that? etc etc" instead of doing what I love the most: enjoy their music.

And that "people never change" it's not that true. People DO change and it's not a crime to try new things.

Oh and, how long is going people to bitch about the soundtrack of Twilight?? It's already done. Get over it.

THIS. A voice of reason

[Tre's Lost Testicle]

Personally, I understand your rage and your beliefs (Believe me, I felt the same when I was younger and heard the monstrosity of bullshit Metallica became in '03 with St. Anger, and then did again with Death Magnetic) But since I went through those days I realized, The point of music is not pleasing all of your fans by sticking with the past. The true point of being a musician is to stay true to yourself, and make the music you want to make. Not what the fans want you to make, a true fan will take it in stride and understand the musical differences between each album as the band slowly progresses. The only true way of "selling out" is to do what your fans want you to 100% of the time, Billie, Mike, and Tre started Green Day for their own pleasure, and their own enjoyment. If playing sold out arenas, putting their songs on a giant marketplace, and endorsing the shit out of themselves to try and give the mainstream pop artists a run for their money is what they want to do, then it is what they should do and have the right to. When it comes down to it all, what would you rather as a musician, To have stuck on Gilman St. and not gone much anywhere, and most likely fallen apart, or to create a massive multi selling band that has become the voice for two generations and counting, as well as a stepping stone band for the new era of punk rockers, and do what makes yourself as a musician happiest? I'd personally go with the latter option here.

[DannyDirnt]

Putting it in a spoiler because it's more text than I expected

I wanted to write pretty much what you wrote in this post. I agree with everything you said. I won't repeat it then Oh man, I started listening to Green Day when I was 11. I liked the sound and Idk, it just felt right. A few years later that first Panic! at the Disco video was on tv. I loved it, they were like "my second favourite band". Of course, until I saw Fall out Boy on tv. And you can guess it, until I saw My Chemical Romance on tv. Those two just faded into the background. I still occasionally listen to their music, but thanks to Green Day I found out about bands like the Clash and the Replacements which mean a lot to me. And after 8 years Green Day is still my favourite band. I changed as a person, the line "people change as well as minds" says it all basically. That's also why I started to look at music differently. The older I get, the more I appreciate music. Sometimes I can't believe I've been listening to, say, Nimrod for more than 5 years! Yet, when I'd listen to it now, I could hear a certain line or melody differently and/or see the song or album from a whole different perspective. Kind of like falling in love with the music again. And again. And again.

Some bands come and go, but for some reason Green Day isn't going anywhere for me.

It has nothing to do with punk or the way they promote their albums. I don't care! Seriously, sometimes I wonder why people get so worked up about this. They do what they like, and if you don't like it, that's fine. You can dislike one album while you love the other. It's like people put "Green Day" into a box and told themselves they can only listen to them if they stay inside of that box. Oh no, they go outside of the box! It's not good for their career! I don't know. I respect everyone's opinions. My personal opinion is just to not think about all the things they can't do much about, like merch or movie soundtracks. It's about enjoying the music. Whatever else they decide to do, whether it's starting a side band, making a musical or contributing to a good cause, it's cool. It's what they want to do. Awesome. Sometimes I like what they're doing, sometimes I don't. But I admire them for making the music they want to make, and doing what they feel is right.

I agree 100% but for the 'I've been listening to them for 11 years' part because I got into them in January-February this year. But I change my mind A LOT so it's weird for me to love one thing so much for so long. It has only happened to me 4 times counting Green Day as one fo them, and the other 3 times happened with things I liked when I was 5 or less because it's my childhood. I have got into bands like Muse, Simple Plan, Panic! At The Disco... but all those bands have gone fading away with time, but Green Day hasn't. Green Day's been my favorite year all the time and I'm confident this won't change anytime soon. And although Green Day ever stopped being my favorite band, I think they'll always mean a lot to me because I've only been their fan this year but thanks to them now I have friends and I have someone to go out on Saturdays. Thanks to Green Day I learned how to treat people and that if I don't fight for myself no one will do it. They made me be more independent and came in good harmony with my natural maturing process and gave me lots of new morals I'm pretty proud of. They helped me question things, because they were very different and made me work out why I do things they way I do and not the way they do and made me reassent some opinions, and change others. So I don't know what I'll think about it when I'm 40 and look back, but as of today I think all they've given to me is much more important than the fact of them being punk or not and also that I will always owe them more than I'll ever be able to pay back.

[marekpipe]

I remember when I had my first beer...

that is the greatest answer here :-D .. it´s like "I Know.....life is sooo hard"

[LazyPhil]

I get your point but I think that Green Day didn't choose to be part of the Twilight soundtrack since both are Warner Bros. productions

[WhiteTim]

I get your point but I think that Green Day didn't choose to be part of the Twilight soundtrack since both are Warner Bros. productions

Twilight is not really on Warner Music Group they just distribute it

And Warner Bros which owns the movies doesn't own Warner Music Group they sold the music group in 2005

They were approached Green Day said ok it's really not a big deal...

[kristóf]

Just because you're closed minded towards rap, it doesn't mean they should be.

I'm not close minded to rap at all. Really. It's just that i can't unite Green Day with that. I do like Nightlife, i mean, not "a lot", but it's cool, cause it's like... something fresh from Green Day.

But still, I keep thinking about it's so weird that I hear this song from them. It's not really just because of the rap parts, it's like the drum machine+rap+shitty lyrics combo, which reminds me of Chris Brown. It's not a rap with deep lyrics, for me it's just an empty song about that night, which is catchy&good, but not as good as other Green Day songs.

[Slave To The Network]

Oh yeah, sure Green Day isn't perfect. No one is. I don't think it's wrong for them to step out and show themselves in a different area than we're used to. I agree the Twilight thing pissed me off a little, but that's just because I hate Twilight, Stephanie Meyer, and Kristin Stewart. It's okay, though, because I know the members of Green Day don't particularly like Twilight either. Billie has even said himself that it's bad. I think it's almost sort of like a joke and a promotion all wrapped into one. The Voice thing is fine. It's cool for Billie because he and his family are big fans of the show. So why would he deny the opportunity to be on it? That would just be weird. If I was a big fan of a certain show and was given the opportunity to join in, I'd be like "Hell yeah!" And that's what Billie did. It also helped to promote their new music. So it was fun for him and good for the band. I don't see anything wrong with it. As for how punk they are, I couldn't care less. They have those roots and that will always be a part of who they are, no matter what music they experiment with making. They just plain make good music and I love them for that. You shouldn't be so critical. It's not all or nothing here. They'll always be my heroes!

[Hermione]

I'm not close minded to rap at all. Really. It's just that i can't unite Green Day with that. I do like Nightlife, i mean, not "a lot", but it's cool, cause it's like... something fresh from Green Day.

But still, I keep thinking about it's so weird that I hear this song from them. It's not really just because of the rap parts, it's like the drum machine+rap+shitty lyrics combo, which reminds me of Chris Brown. It's not a rap with deep lyrics, for me it's just an empty song about that night, which is catchy&good, but not as good as other Green Day songs.

I agree the lyrics aren't deep but the same thing can be said about many of the songs on the album and that's the point really, they're dirty rock and roll songs that feature sleazy characters. Even though it's a rap I think it fits in with that rock and roll feel of the album just fine - especially as the rap itself isn't that "rappy", it's more like seductive talking. Can't say it reminds me of Chris Brown (autotuned singing and crappy dance beats comes to mind when I think of him ), nothing in the song really reminds me of modern mainstream rap. With Billie's slurred singing and that twangy guitar someone on here described it as "zombie punk rap" which I think is a great description of it. And I like the breakdown at the end, the beat sounds like a proper old school hip hop beat. Each to their own as far as liking or disliking the song of course, but I don't think it's out of place on the album.

[DannyDirnt]

I'm not close minded to rap at all. Really. It's just that i can't unite Green Day with that. I do like Nightlife, i mean, not "a lot", but it's cool, cause it's like... something fresh from Green Day.

But still, I keep thinking about it's so weird that I hear this song from them. It's not really just because of the rap parts, it's like the drum machine+rap+shitty lyrics combo, which reminds me of Chris Brown. It's not a rap with deep lyrics, for me it's just an empty song about that night, which is catchy&good, but not as good as other Green Day songs.

I actually find the lyrics pretty good. They aren't as deep as in AI-21st CB but they still depicture pretty girl how the boy's pretty fucked up already by alcohol and/or drugs and that girl wants to fuck him so bad and she knows she's sexy and she'll take him to bed.

[inthehallwaynow]

why is this thread still going

[Guest]

why is this thread still going

Because you replied in it, noobsauce.

[inthehallwaynow]

Because you replied in it, noobsauce.

that IS why isn't it? im drowning in the noobsauce..its bbq

[DTH]

since not everybody reads the europe tour thread: exclusive tickets for 89 euros for the golden circle area. so no entry for everyone "only" paying 49 euros. thats fun.

[BlackBaboon]

since not everybody reads the europe tour thread: exclusive tickets for 89 euros for the golden circle area. so no entry for everyone "only" paying 49 euros. thats fun.

That sucks. But then again I don't really know how much these shows typically run for. I know if you're going to pay a large staff and arena owners you're going to have to raise prices though. Someone with more experience might help make me more/less outraged.

[Anaïs.]

I think this quote by Mike is the best rebuttal possible to the whole "sell out" claim:

"If there's a formula to selling out, I think every band in the world would be doing it. The fact that you write good songs and you sell too many of them, if everybody in the world knew how to do that they'd do it. It's not something we chose to do. The fact was we got to a point that we were so big that tons of people were showing up at punk-rock clubs, and some clubs were even getting shut down because too many were showing up. We had to make a decision: either break up or remove ourselves from that element. And I'll be damned if I was going to flip fucking burgers. I do what I do best. Selling out is compromising your musical intention and I don't even know how to do that."

[inthehallwaynow]

I think this quote by Mike is the best rebuttal possible to the whole "sell out" claim:

"If there's a formula to selling out, I think every band in the world would be doing it. The fact that you write good songs and you sell too many of them, if everybody in the world knew how to do that they'd do it. It's not something we chose to do. The fact was we got to a point that we were so big that tons of people were showing up at punk-rock clubs, and some clubs were even getting shut down because too many were showing up. We had to make a decision: either break up or remove ourselves from that element. And I'll be damned if I was going to flip fucking burgers. I do what I do best. Selling out is compromising your musical intention and I don't even know how to do that."

woah that was perfect hes so well spoken

[DTH]

I think this quote by Mike is the best rebuttal possible to the whole "sell out" claim:

"If there's a formula to selling out, I think every band in the world would be doing it. The fact that you write good songs and you sell too many of them, if everybody in the world knew how to do that they'd do it. It's not something we chose to do. The fact was we got to a point that we were so big that tons of people were showing up at punk-rock clubs, and some clubs were even getting shut down because too many were showing up. We had to make a decision: either break up or remove ourselves from that element. And I'll be damned if I was going to flip fucking burgers. I do what I do best. Selling out is compromising your musical intention and I don't even know how to do that."

that has just nothing to do with e.g. the ticket prizes. i don't complain they are big and playing arenas. i complain they more than double their prizes from one tour to another, creating a exclusive front stage rich kids zone, playing 23 songs when they always played more than 30.

acting like the fucking rolling stones or u2 (which i hate, fucking greedy companies). i don't want green day to become one of them. you all don't care, you still love them, no matter what they do... urgh.

[X-Kid-X]

Lol this is really stupid. How many times has Billie said this trilogy is about fun and getting everybody in the world to hear it? That's exactly what they were trying to do until the meltdown.

I have a question to think about:

If Punk Rock is supposed to be about disobeying the rules, then how come Punk Rock today has rules?

It's like it has to be fast, low voice, underground..

That's so fucking stupid in my opinion.

"Punk is not the music, the lyrics... it's a lifestyle" - Billie Joe Armstrong.

I don't know if it has anything to do with the thread, but I didn't even understand the point of the thread sooo....

[Hermione]

creating a exclusive front stage rich kids zone,

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this just at one festival show? If they start doing this at all their shows as standard I'll be complaining, but when they're playing a whole load of festivals all at different prices and this happens once I'm not going to start worrying or condemning them yet.