Blasphemy & Genocide: Unpopular Green Day Opinions, Part 2

[MillenniumFan]

13 hours ago, ¡Jenn! said:

WMUWSE is the only song I skip on God's Favorite Band  

I’ve come across quite a lot of fans that don’t like that song. They either think it’s been overplayed over the years (which is totally understandable) or they think it’s a poor song (which I don’t agree with). I guess part of my love for this song is irrational, since it’s probably one of the first GD-songs I heard and therefore probably is responsible for me getting into Green Day in the first place. But even so, I think it’s a great song. It’s slow / mid-tempo and repetitive yes, but packed with emotion imo. You just have to observe his emotional state when playing it live at various occasions to see what I’m on about. It also baffles me a bit when people don’t see its meaning / purpose in the story of AI (not saying you hold that position). To me it makes perfect sense, I interpret it in the following way: After being dumped by Whatsername (in Letterbomb) JOS is essentially pretty much at rock button, so in a lot of mental and emotional pain. WMUWSE is essentially a self-reflective song, a necessary part of every coming of age process / personal evolution. It’s true that Billie seems to be only talking about himself, but I would take his story and thoughts portrayed in the song as also a metaphor for what JOS might be thinking. He’s thinking about his past, the painful things that have happened to him that still hurt him today. At the same time though, it’s a song about trying to make sense of and ultimately accepting the past events as part of a personal evolution (‘’becoming who we are’’). Therefore, the song starts with a retrospective view of looking at the past, to then changing that attitude by looking forward towards the future. This evolution is necessary for JOS, because it causes him to accept what has happened (painful it may be) and think of a way forward. He therefore realises that things can’t go on as they have, nothing has turned out the way he hoped and that he needs to take action accordingly. That in turn then leads to Homecoming and the death of St. Jimmy. This song may not appear strictly necessary, as the story would probably work even without it, but I think it definitely has its place and importance.

Also, there’s something about the solo of this song that absolutely tears my heart out every time 

[Otis Big]

22 hours ago, Thatsername said:

I know that many people love X-Kid and I've tried to like that song so hard, but I just can't. It does nothing for me.

iiI feel in love

[Spike]

WMUWSE is better live than on the album. More dynamic. 

[MillenniumFan]

24 minutes ago, Spike said:

WMUWSE is better live than on the album. More dynamic. 

That’s true (the BIAB version especially) but I don’t think it’s a bad song on the album. Overrated and overplayed maybe, but not bad and imo not skip-worthy either. Also fits into AI very nicely regardless. 

Still, I think his voice in particular sounds much better live, because you can hear his pain and the full meaning of the lyrics a lot better live than on the studio version.

[The Bellie]

10 hours ago, ¡Jenn! said:

WMUWSE is the only song I skip on God's Favorite Band  

It's not one of my favorite GD songs, but still not one I would skip; and sometimes I have really intense emotions while listening to it, studio version.

1 hour ago, Spike said:

WMUWSE is better live than on the album. More dynamic. 

I agree it's slightly different and great live, but when it's too dynamic it looses something from the album version.

[AlissaGoesRAWR]

12 hours ago, ¡Jenn! said:

WMUWSE is the only song I skip on God's Favorite Band  

Oddly enough, Green Day always skips it at the concerts I go to, so don’t feel bad! 

Not bitter or anything. 

[Thatsername]

13 hours ago, ¡Jenn! said:

WMUWSE is the only song I skip on God's Favorite Band  

It's also the only song I usually skip on AI when I listen to the whole record. I don't think it's a bad song and I really, really like it live, but as some of you already said, it's just so overplayed.

[Christian's Inferno!]

Am I the only one who doesn't really listen to the radio? I never hear this overplaying because I don't really listen. And when I do listen to the radio, I never hear GD. Really, I can't recall any time I've heard GD on the radio.

[Beathe.]

I skip WMUWSE as well. It was always on the setlist for the AI tour and most if the 21CBD tour. For me it's overplayed live and on the radio/tv. There's so many other songs I would rather hear.  

[pacejunkie punk]

20 minutes ago, Christian's Inferno! said:

Am I the only one who doesn't really listen to the radio? I never hear this overplaying because I don't really listen. And when I do listen to the radio, I never hear GD. Really, I can't recall any time I've heard GD on the radio.

I don’t listen much because there’s no current rock music on the radio anymore but you do hear Green Day on “alternative”, classic rock and mixed format stations. Now that the RevRad singles have faded away, it’s back to Dookie and AI singles and the occasional Brain Stew. That’s what I hear. Most often played radio songs still are BOBD, WICA, and Holiday.

[Thatsername]

23 minutes ago, Christian's Inferno! said:

Am I the only one who doesn't really listen to the radio? I never hear this overplaying because I don't really listen. And when I do listen to the radio, I never hear GD. Really, I can't recall any time I've heard GD on the radio.

By overplayed I also meant that I overplayed it myself when AI was new And back in the day when AI was popular, WMUWSE was on the radio A LOT. Nowadays, not so much, but whenever I catch a GD song on a "normal" radio station (I don't listen to the radio so much either), in 90% of the cases it's WMUWSE. The rock radio station I sometimes listen to also gives Basket Case, 21 Guns and Back in the USA (yay!) quite some airplay over here.

[pacejunkie punk]

I would love to hear Back in the USA on the radio, never have but I’m happy to know it gets airplay somewhere.  During RevRad, Bang Bang and Still Breathing got played a lot and that was it.  Never heard RR once.

[Montclare]

I pretty much only listen to the radio when I'm in my sister's car, and Green Day is always played at least once, mainly Still Breathing, Basketcase, Good Riddance, and American Idiot.  A couple weeks ago, both Still Breathing and She (with a spoken intro by Billie) were played within a couple hours.  Maybe Billie just knows where to find me. 

[pouty bitch]

They don't play GD on the radio very often where I am (although I don't listen much). I've heard Good Riddance twice, BOBD once, and somebody else's cover of 21 Guns (which was weird because that came on about 2 minutes after I'd just been listening to the GD version of 21 Guns with my earphones).

[DeJennsitized]

I don't think it's an issue of being overplayed, since other singles on AI were overplayed and I still love them. I'd never skip BOBD, for example.

16 hours ago, Christian's Inferno! said:

Do you not like that song? Or do you not think it works in that album?

I'm just not a fan of it, really. I get the emotional connection to it many people have, but I don't really have that. 21 Guns is similar, but I don't skip it every time, just sometimes  I can't really explain it. It might be because it just takes too long to get going. 

[The Bellie]

On 11/02/2018 at 4:12 PM, Christian's Inferno! said:

Am I the only one who doesn't really listen to the radio? I never hear this overplaying because I don't really listen. And when I do listen to the radio, I never hear GD. Really, I can't recall any time I've heard GD on the radio.

I don't listen to the radio at home, and I only heard once 21 guns (also exactly when I was listening to it on my walkman, @G-L-O-R-I-A , I was in a shop heading to checkout, I removed my earphones, continued to hear the song and thought I was crazy for a second... I think I might have already related it somewhere, perhaps on the old fangirls thread when it happened a few months ago) and once Basket case at the bakery I usually go to. I was so pleased! 

On 11/02/2018 at 4:40 PM, pacejunkie punk said:

I would love to hear Back in the USA on the radio, never have but I’m happy to know it gets airplay somewhere.  During RevRad, Bang Bang and Still Breathing got played a lot and that was it.  Never heard RR once.

I would die to hear Still Breathing, Bang Bang, or Back in the USA on the radio! In France there's an alternative radio called FIP, I have heard it during months at work because that's what my boss listens to, but I never heard Green Day on it; I think it's because, from what I've heard, that radio channels smaller artists. Also, French radios have an obligation to channel a high percentage of French artists. That reduces the chance to hear Green Day. 

On 11/02/2018 at 7:08 PM, ¡Jenn! said:

I don't think it's an issue of being overplayed, since other singles on AI were overplayed and I still love them. I'd never skip BOBD, for example.

I'm just not a fan of it, really. I get the emotional connection to it many people have, but I don't really have that. 21 Guns is similar, but I don't skip it every time, just sometimes  I can't really explain it. It might be because it just takes too long to get going. 

When listening to AI, I would skip BOBD rather than Wake Me Up... BOBD is one of my least favorite songs to hear on AI album, American Idiot as well (even though I love to see live performances of them, especially BOBD). Sometimes I don't listen to some songs on a album because there are two or three I want to hear and that's it, sometimes I don't go to the end of the album because my listening time is done,  but as for skipping one usual song when listening to an album in full... On AI, it would be Saint-Jimmy (another one that I'm fond of live but not album), on 21st CB, East Jesus Nowhere (I enjoy it every time, but it's not a song I'd be in need to hear).

[WhiteTim]

my radio station plays She at least 6 times a day then Brain Stew American Idiot Basket Case and Still Breathing 

[pouty bitch]

I like Youngblood, and I'm actually pretty depressed that I'll probably never see it played live.

[Guest]

I don't like Dirty Rotten Bastards at all. 

[The Bellie]

5 hours ago, Nightlife said:

I don't like Dirty Rotten Bastards at all. 

It's one of the songs I took the most time to like on Tre, one day I surprised  myself singing along to it with a big smile and I enjoy it a lot now (still, not one of my favorites on Tre because there are several songs that I love too much on that album)

[pouty bitch]

Are We The Waiting is one of my favourite songs on AI (Idk if that's unpopular, but I barely ever see anyone talking about it). I just think that it's so underrated. There are some beautiful lyrics in it - I think that "the rage and love, the story of my life, the Jesus of suburbia is a lie," is one of the best lyrics Billie has ever written. And the transition from AWTW to St. Jimmy is my favourite part of the entire album, tbh. I love the contrast of the two songs - AWTW is so calm and actually pretty sad, and then BAM! It's St. Jimmy, bitch.

[DeJennsitized]

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

Are We The Waiting is one of my favourite songs on AI (Idk if that's unpopular, but I barely ever see anyone talking about it). I just think that it's so underrated. There are some beautiful lyrics in it - I think that "the rage and love, the story of my life, the Jesus of suburbia is a lie," is one of the best lyrics Billie has ever written. And the transition from AWTW to St. Jimmy is my favourite part of the entire album, tbh. I love the contrast of the two songs - AWTW is so calm and actually pretty sad, and then BAM! It's St. Jimmy, bitch.

I so agree  I think it's beautiful. 

[Christian's Inferno!]

2 hours ago, G-L-O-R-I-A said:

Are We The Waiting is one of my favourite songs on AI (Idk if that's unpopular, but I barely ever see anyone talking about it). I just think that it's so underrated. There are some beautiful lyrics in it - I think that "the rage and love, the story of my life, the Jesus of suburbia is a lie," is one of the best lyrics Billie has ever written. And the transition from AWTW to St. Jimmy is my favourite part of the entire album, tbh. I love the contrast of the two songs - AWTW is so calm and actually pretty sad, and then BAM! It's St. Jimmy, bitch.

It's so hard to choose favourites and least favourites on AI of all albums. Every single track contributes so much to the album

[Thatsername]

15 hours ago, G-L-O-R-I-A said:

Are We The Waiting is one of my favourite songs on AI (Idk if that's unpopular, but I barely ever see anyone talking about it). I just think that it's so underrated. There are some beautiful lyrics in it - I think that "the rage and love, the story of my life, the Jesus of suburbia is a lie," is one of the best lyrics Billie has ever written. And the transition from AWTW to St. Jimmy is my favourite part of the entire album, tbh. I love the contrast of the two songs - AWTW is so calm and actually pretty sad, and then BAM! It's St. Jimmy, bitch.

I agree with everything! And that drum intro is siiiiiiick live. 

[The Bellie]

On 18/02/2018 at 9:26 PM, G-L-O-R-I-A said:

Are We The Waiting is one of my favourite songs on AI (Idk if that's unpopular, but I barely ever see anyone talking about it). I just think that it's so underrated. 

I wasn't so much into that song until the concert I went to during which Billie picked up a flag I was holding with a friend, it was during Are We The Waiting, and we got to get it back. I was totally overjoyed then, I can't express how much. Since then I got into this song and absolutely love it. One half of the flag now lies next to my pillow, the other half is with my friend 

Here is the only video I could find about it, the sight is not extraordinary, but it immediately awakes my memories from that day  the flag part starts at 1:51 (I didn't put the link directly to it because the beginning of the video is as well beautiful). Also, I don't know if it can be seen very well here, but before Billie asked for the flag Mike was the first to point to it, I thank him a lot for that: