DecliningStandards Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 After seeing Green Day get inducted into the Hall of Fame, I felt overjoyed and ecstatic. My childhood band was getting recognized for the legends they are. For all of those spectacular and thunderous performances. The iconic albums that will stand the test of time. Those masterfully written lyrics that made you think when you heard them. For the past 26 or so years, Green Day has always been there. Solid, reliable and dependable. Releasing an album every few years that you just knew that you would enjoy. You just knew it. You couldn't explain why. From 39 Smooth to Tre, there was always something that you enjoyed about each album and you would be hard pressed to find a song that you disliked. I was introduced to Green Day when I was 8 years old, when I first heard Boulevard of Broken Dreams on the radio. It was the best song that I had ever heard. I dug deeper and my older brother told me it was by a band named Green Day. Well that was that and I was off to the record store to find this awesome song. I couldn't find the Boulevard of Broken Dreams single as it was sold out that day, so I bought the Holiday single instead which contained a live version of the song. I was absolutely in love with this song. I found out it was from an album called American Idiot. So on the day of my 9th birthday, you can imagine my ecstasy when I opened a shiny new copy of American Idiot, including a DVD for Boulevard of Broken Dreams and Holiday. I used to take my portable radio to primary school (elementary for most of you guys) and play it. In late 2005, I purchased Bullet in a Bible. My 9 year old self was entranced by the first live performance I had ever witnessed, apart from the Christmas carol performances we watch every year. Explosions, swear words I had never heard and sexual references that I didn't get blew me away and I was a Green Day fan for life. Green Day faded off the radar a few years after this and they were sort of in my peripheral vision, not forgotten but not at the top of my musical priority list. I was approaching my teenage years and was enjoying Katy Perry, The Living End and Faker. However in 2009, everything changed again. Not only was it my first year of high school and being a teenager, a certain well known rock band was making a comeback. Clad in leather jackets, skinny jeans and coal black eyeliner. Older, wiser, but no less energetic or cool, Green Day was returning. I never read internet news back then, so I had no idea it was coming. However, the second I heard Know Your Enemy I knew who it was and I was the happiest kid around. Everyone at school was singing 21 Guns and Green Day were coming to my country in December of that year. Life couldn't get any better. I didn't get to go to the concert, but plenty at school did and they loved it. Then the year ended and their massive stadium tour continued into 2010, with Awesome as Fuck being released in 2011. I bought Awesome as Fuck in the record store, without actually knowing that it had been released. It just happened to be a pleasant surprise. "Oh look, Green Day have a new live album, that's cool". So off I went and watched it the second I got home. Wow, what a performance. The singing was the best I had ever heard from them. I was a far bigger fan than I was before, as the CD had songs I had never heard before eg Who Wrote Holden Caulfield ?. Then in 2012, I kept listening to this awesome CD with awesome songs I had never heard before. Then it was announced that Green Day would be returning yet again. I was hugely excited as I had read the news so was prepared for the grand return. However, their comeback this time didn't feel right. There was no widespread anticipation, their new material just wasn't as good. They didn't return to be met with a grand reception like they did with 21st Century Breakdown. Armstrong went off the rails and they vanished out of sight. However, by that time I was delving into their old albums after hearing AAF. I was blown away and became a full blown fan, they were the only band that I listened to and still listen to. Now it's 2015. Green Day have been brought back into the spotlight with their Rock Hall induction. They look fresher and more energized than they have in years. Their place in history is sealed. However, I can't help but feel a strange sense of sadness. It feels like a part of my childhood is gone. That little boy who would play air guitar to American Idiot, imitate Billie Joe's jumps and scissor kicks and take his radio to school is gone. That first year High School kid that was lucky enough to be old enough to enjoy his hero's comebacks is gone. That 16 year old who watched Uno, Dos and Tre unfold during his final High School years is gone. I feel an emptiness, but I can't explain it. I have grown up with them and their induction has more or less coincided with my adulthood. They have grown up and so have I. It just feels like the induction has made it official. I feel sad that we can't be kids together anymore. Thank you Green Day for helping to make my childhood amazing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chin for a Day Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 I don't feel like I've lost my childhood, I feel like I've rekindled it. I've grown up with them, but I see no reason to grow old. This weekend was an emotional roller coaster of happiness, pride, and joy that just makes me that more anxious for what the future holds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerjeezus Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 Pretty much everyone was nostalgic this weekend, but I don't feel like we're losing anything. Life goes on and there are many new things ahead of us. Growing up doesn't change that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inthehallwaynow Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 I feel like a child left behind like a pet left in the rain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DecliningStandards Posted April 22, 2015 Author Share Posted April 22, 2015 I feel like a child left behind like a pet left in the rain I see what you did there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Libertine Angel Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 Not at all, the weekend served to remind me just how much I love Green Day and keep my Idiot flame burning bright. I was born and raised listening to Green Day, and this ratifies their everlasting glory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
21guns&novacaine Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 If anything, I feel like Green Day was a large part of my childhood, and without them I know I would have struggled a lot more. I'm proud for all their achievements and look forward to their future. Looking into the past, their music makes me nostalgic. But in a good way. So no, I don't feel like I've lost my childhood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youngreendayvet Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 I was scared to see American Idiot the musical for fear of losing an important piece of my childhood, but when I finally did watch AI it didn't take any of the memories I had of listening to AI away. Maybe GD being inducted isn't a loss of your of your childhood, but an acknowledgement of your adulthood as you mature along with GD's career. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blond-O-Sonic Shimmer Trap Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 It did make me feel nostalgic that they played When I Come Around of all songs at the show, that was the first Green Day song I properly loved. But when I was getting into them it was early 2004, so all their stuff was old to begin with. Although they were a big part of my childhood, I can still listen to them now and enjoy their songs. I have to space them out to get that rush of enjoying it like it's the first time I heard it though, but if I don't listen to American Idiot for months and months, the next time I put it on I'll still be blown away by it. The only "end of your childhood" moment I can remember would be finishing the last Harry Potter book for the first time. You're never going to get that experience back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lizziebix Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 No. But then I was an adult when Green Day firmed and married when Dookie came out. So they were never a part of my childhood. But in my adulthood they have brought me back to my childish fangirling ways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaded Nimrod Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 Not at all. However, I've been a fan since I was 15 in '94, so I grew up with them. They deserved this whole thing, they worked hard for it and paid their dues early on to make it happen. No losses here, only gains. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sara_gd Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 But but but, why do you think you "lost" it? Didn't it make your childhood better? I wish I had known them before so that I had more years of GD-amazingness on my back Oh, I read the full post and got it. Keep on evolving with them then! Certainly Green Day isn't only a kids band Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
That Dude Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 I like how Billie Joe has talked about growing old with his fans. and it really is true. I've been a fan since '97 and I don't see that ever changing. I was 12 then and now I'm 30 and I still think they are the best rock band around. Now with them inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame it is strange and wonderful. I think it has probably lit a fire beneath them and they are about to embark on what could be the greatest chapter of their career! They got to play some really old stuff and celebrate the last 20+ years of their career. Now it's time to move forward and bring the world some magical rock n roll. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anaïs. Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 Ngl, when I first saw the title I thought it was going to be a hysterical thread about the band breaking up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spike Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 I lost a part of my childhood when Longview introduced me to wanking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anaïs. Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 I lost a part of my childhood when Longview introduced me to wanking. Why do you have such negative associations then? Surely a song associated with orgasms could be nothing but wonderful? Sorry guys, I'll stop now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spike Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 Why do you have such negative associations then? Surely a song associated with orgasms could be nothing but wonderful? Sorry guys, I'll stop now. Because it lost its fun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iva Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 I was weeks from turning 12 when I first saw them, so, technically 11. 32 now and still liking them. Green Day made my teens MUCH more bearable in an unhealthy envirovment of economic sanctions, war, refugees all around, kitschy music and what eventually lead to bombardment. They will always be an important part of my life, and to know that I am passing by the first place where they played the whole of Dookie each time I do my 30km cycle rounds, I can only feel grateful and happy. Nothing lost, but a new experience has been gained. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spike Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 In seriousness though, no. I mean I'm always nostalgic when I listen to American Idiot because it takes me back to the time in my life when I was just really getting into music and that album had a massive impact on me, and ultimately led to me making some big life decisions. If anything, the Hall Of Fame stuff got me interested in them again, as I haven't really been listening to them much for the last year or so. It's just made me excited to see what will happen next. I don't feel I've lost a part of my childhood because the songs are still there in the same form they were all along, I had the experiences of going to multiple gigs, and in a way it's comforting to know they'll always be there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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