Popular Post pacejunkie punk Posted January 20, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted January 20, 2021 I remember Billie once saying in an interview that he wanted Green Day to have a Beatles like arc to their career. I think they achieved that. The cool thing is there are many interesting parallels that the bands share, here are the ones that I found -- 1. When John met Paul/when Billie met Mike: While both bands began when their main members were teenagers in high school, it was these relationships that propelled their respective bands. Two sets of best friends, who met as kids, and their first conversations were about music and songwriting. From there, they met in each others’ homes and taught each other chords and wrote songs. Both Paul and Mike became bass players by default. But that wasn’t all they bonded over. John, Paul, Billie and Mike had all lost parents and parent figures at formative ages. They all came into each other’s lives at this crucial time. Particularly for John and Billie, the loss of parents would be traumatic events that would shape them and inspire music their whole lives. 2. The Cavern Club/Gilman Street: Both bands had a local club they called home and played regularly where a particular local music scene and sound was created (Mersey Beat and East Bay Punk). The scenes even had their own newspapers (Mersey Beat/Maximum Rock and Roll) 3. Pete Best/John Kiffmeyer: Both bands started with drummers that were handsome, charismatic and popular but not quite the best fits for their respective bands and didn’t make it to their famous years. They made similar early contributions to their bands though, in that both drummers had connections that helped them get their first gigs. Pete Best’s mother Mona owned a club called The Casbah where the Beatles could play. John Kiffmeyer’s cred as a member of Isocracy helped get Sweet Children/Green Day on stage at Gilman for the first time. Once they grew beyond this need, both bands moved on from their first drummers. 4. Ringo Starr/Tre Cool: The act of changing drummers early helped both bands jump quickly to the next level and tighten their sound. Ringo and Tre were both the right fits at the right time. Plus their personalities meshed really well and they all became the closest friends. This is when both bands were considered fully formed. 5. Brian Epstein/Larry Livermore: Where The Beatles had Brian Epstein, Green Day had Larry Livermore. Both were older men that didn’t quite fit comfortably in their own circles and were viewed as outcasts. They preferred hanging out in a teenage scene of the Cavern/Gilman. They saw something special in their respective bands in their earliest stages and were instrumental in “discovering” them, ushering them through their first recordings. Where Larry owned a small punk record label, Brian’s family owned a chain of music shops that sold records and instruments so both had a hand in the record business in an unconventional way. (With their energy, harmonies and melodic songs about girls, Larry even compared Sweet Children to a punk Beatles and the first performance he saw to Beatles at Shea Stadium) 6. John, Cynthia and Julian/Billie, Adrienne and Joey: Both John and Billie married and had their first sons in their early twenties (21-23) at the start of their careers and just when fame hit, putting early stresses on their marriages. Both would eventually have two sons. 7. George Martin/Rob Cavallo: George Martin and Rob Cavallo were both young, relatively inexperienced producers when they met their respective bands, but their work would become so well known and their association with their bands so famous that it would springboard their own careers as producers. Both were credited with helping their bands to achieve that sound that is recognizably, distinctly their own, and are each considered somewhat of an additional member because of it. 8. (With)Meet the Beatles/Dookie: The albums that broke each band and sold millions, starting a cultural phenomenon. (British pop/Pop punk). (Edit: Interesting too that neither albums were their band’s firsts, but were in fact their second albums with their second drummers.) 9. Beatles for Sale/Insomniac: With the cynical title and songs like I’m A Loser, Baby’s in Black, and I Don’t Want to Spoil the Party, Beatles for Sale is the darker, more introspective follow up to the bright poppy Meet the Beatles (and a Hard Day’s Night), much like Insomniac is for Dookie. The dark side of fame was setting in for both bands and it was showing on their weary faces in the Beatles’ album cover art and Green Day’s Brain Stew/Jaded video. 10. Rubber Soul/Nimrod: With these albums, both bands start to stretch their wings and try new sounds for the first time, but nothing too crazy, most of it is still recognizable. Rubber Soul introduces keyboards and a sitar. Nimrod tries out some horns and strings. 11. Revolver/Warning: Experimentation takes another step with several acoustic ballads combined with some straight up weird shit (Tomorrow Never Knows/Misery). Both albums were influenced in part by Bob Dylan. 12. Sgt. Pepper/American Idiot: Five years on from Please Please Me and ten years on from Dookie, their mid-career, career defining, culturally influential concept albums. Both featured fictional characters. Sgt. Pepper, meet Jesus of Suburbia. Both enormous sellers that inspired a second cultural shift. 13. Abbey Road/21st Century Breakdown: The slightly overblown, sort of loosely conceptual albums to follow those masterpieces (though Abbey Road would follow on a couple years and albums later). Both have multi part songs in abundance and almost but didn’t quite know what story they were telling, but sound great nonetheless from start to finish. 14. White Album/Trilogy: Some real gems in here if you’re willing to dig through a lot of crap. Probably should have been a great single album. Just too many damn songs. Am I talking about the White Album or the Trilogy? (Edit: Both releases were technically self titled but nicknamed as “White Album” and “Trilogy” by the public) 15. Let It Be/Revolution Radio: Both bands decide to strip it down, simplify and get back to basics. Just the guys in the studio, doing it up old school. And it works. Apple studio, meet Otis. 16. Touring suspended: The pandemic has currently forced Green Day to temporarily quit touring and rely on studio work alone which was a choice The Beatles made when they stopped touring in 1966. For The Beatles, it was a time of explosive studio creativity and after seeing the output of 2020 alone with three full Green Day/BJA/Network releases, we can expect much the same from this period. Green Day continues to evolve and that’s exciting. Now there are reasons why the Beatles and still The Beatles. Where Green Day has one main songwriter that is the driving creative force of the band as many bands do, the Beatles had two and arguably three. The competition alone within the band pushed John, Paul and George to get better and better. That made them extraordinary. And where Green Day may have mirrored the Beatles’ creative output over the course of their thirty year plus career, the Beatles accomplished the same thing in a super compressed and intense ten year period, which was mind blowing. People forget that when the band broke up, the band members were mostly still in their twenties. Apart from that, it’s still easy to see why Green Day are a Hall of Fame and rare gem of a legendary band. 16 1 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jengd Posted January 20, 2021 Share Posted January 20, 2021 Thanks, I was really not aware of most of that, interesting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Welshy Posted January 20, 2021 Share Posted January 20, 2021 Wow this is great, I never would've connected the dots myself but there is a lot of similarity. Never realised Beatles broke up so young too. Also Green Day played some 21st CB songs at abbey road at the time so that's perfect. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pacejunkie punk Posted January 20, 2021 Author Share Posted January 20, 2021 1 minute ago, Welshy said: Also Green Day played some 21st CB songs at abbey road at the time so that's perfect. No way that’s so cool! I know I’m gonna think of even more I wrote this so fast so if I do or anyone else does just add them to the thread. Here’s another thought: Lapse in management: both bands had a brief period where they attempted to be their own managers with disastrous results (post-Brian’s death/post-Dookie) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Boy Named Booze Posted January 20, 2021 Share Posted January 20, 2021 Wow I didn't knew a lot of thing! At least you don't have a 17th parallel point about a member who has been assassinated. 1 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legendary Posted January 20, 2021 Share Posted January 20, 2021 Where's FOAM of The Beatles? 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lukastjimmy Posted January 20, 2021 Share Posted January 20, 2021 While I do agree with most of what you said (been a long time fan of both bands) I think GD's career can be better compare to the who's. Also for me the trilogy is their most beatle moment in the sense of sound and lyrical composition Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freezing Melons Posted January 20, 2021 Share Posted January 20, 2021 1 hour ago, legendary said: Where's FOAM of The Beatles? Check out some of John and Yoko's solo efforts 😂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trambopoline Posted January 20, 2021 Share Posted January 20, 2021 fun read- thanks for spelling it out for me!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gwen Stacy Posted January 20, 2021 Share Posted January 20, 2021 When I say Green Day is the last band that was the heir to what The Beatles achieved, people think I’m crazy but I really do believe it to be true. American Idiot was the last time a rock album reached into the cultural zeitgeist and had a rock/pop crossover appeal that was very beatleseque. And even though there have been great rock albums since, but partly due to technological and social changes, they aren’t as pervasive anymore. That’s why I hold them to such a high standard. 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pacejunkie punk Posted January 20, 2021 Author Share Posted January 20, 2021 18 minutes ago, Gwen Stacy said: When I say Green Day is the last band that was the heir to what The Beatles achieved, people think I’m crazy but I really do believe it to be true. American Idiot was the last time a rock album reached into the cultural zeitgeist and had a rock/pop crossover appeal that was very beatleseque. And even though there have been great rock albums since, but partly due to technological and social changes, they aren’t as pervasive anymore. That’s why I hold them to such a high standard. Not crazy at all. They are the punk Beatles 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerjeezus Posted January 20, 2021 Share Posted January 20, 2021 4 hours ago, Freezing Melons said: Check out some of John and Yoko's solo efforts 😂 How about Nightlife? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pacejunkie punk Posted January 20, 2021 Author Share Posted January 20, 2021 Added this interesting note that occurred to me: (With)Meet the Beatles/Dookie: The albums that broke each band and sold millions, starting a cultural phenomenon. (British pop/Pop punk). (Edit: Interesting too that neither albums were their band’s firsts, but were in fact their second albums with their second drummers.) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rumpelstiltskin2000 Posted January 20, 2021 Share Posted January 20, 2021 18 hours ago, Welshy said: Also Green Day played some 21st CB songs at abbey road at the time so that's perfect. If I remember correctly those performances at Abbey Road were aired on Ch4 TV here in the UK at the time. I have an Italian bootleg dvd of the show (although no idea where that is now!) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IsaGreenDay Posted January 21, 2021 Share Posted January 21, 2021 My two favorite bands! Totally agree. Many of the Beatles’s songs are such a cosmic force to me, sometimes I get the same feeling when I pay attention to some of Green Day’s melodies get amazed by the inspiration that must’ve been involved in it. I could say that about any successful band in history, but these two kind of stand out for their catchiness and depth. Reminds me of when Arica Pelino said something about there being a Paul McCartney vibe to Billie in the way that he came up with melodies so easily. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DookieLukie Posted January 21, 2021 Share Posted January 21, 2021 I appreciate the effort, but most of the points are true for a lot of bands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jengd Posted January 21, 2021 Share Posted January 21, 2021 8 hours ago, Rumpelstiltskin2000 said: If I remember correctly those performances at Abbey Road were aired on Ch4 TV here in the UK at the time. I have an Italian bootleg dvd of the show (although no idea where that is now!) I remember it being aired, couldn’t believe it, it was so good, and a large part of it was on YouTube for a short while, then just bits, would love to see that again! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 22, 2021 Share Posted January 22, 2021 These are really interesting parallels LOL, but I guess this kinda begs the question of what comes next. If we keep the parallel going, then the next thing for Green Day would be to break up LOL, and I don't really see that happening, especially not at their ages and at this stage of their careers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pacejunkie punk Posted January 22, 2021 Author Share Posted January 22, 2021 2 minutes ago, BillieMyLove said: These are really interesting parallels LOL, but I guess this kinda begs the question of what comes next. If we keep the parallel going, then the next thing for Green Day would be to break up LOL, and I don't really see that happening, especially not at their ages and at this stage of their careers. It’s not meant to be a predictor of future events. That said, all bands do end one way or another eventually, but I’m looking at parallels in their careers not at their ends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 22, 2021 Share Posted January 22, 2021 16 hours ago, pacejunkie punk said: It’s not meant to be a predictor of future events. That said, all bands do end one way or another eventually, but I’m looking at parallels in their careers not at their ends. That makes sense! I do love both bands and can definitely see the parallels that have contributed to the greatness of both. Yes, everything does end, because people eventually die LOL. This reminds me of what Billie said: "No one leaves this band unless it is in a coffin" (which on one level is really sweet and on another sounds like some kind of veiled threat LOL). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
That Dude Posted January 22, 2021 Share Posted January 22, 2021 On 1/20/2021 at 7:38 AM, legendary said: Where's FOAM of The Beatles? The White Album. I guess we need to match each Green Day album to a Beatles album. Let's do it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 22, 2021 Share Posted January 22, 2021 7 minutes ago, That Dude said: The White Album. I guess we need to match each Green Day album to a Beatles album. Let's do it! I thought we already paired the White Album with the Trilogy. 🤣 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pacejunkie punk Posted January 22, 2021 Author Share Posted January 22, 2021 1 hour ago, That Dude said: The White Album. I guess we need to match each Green Day album to a Beatles album. Let's do it! White Album : Trilogy See #14 in the OP On 1/20/2021 at 7:38 AM, legendary said: Where's FOAM of The Beatles? If the Beatles had stayed together five more years you would have seen it 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rumpelstiltskin2000 Posted January 22, 2021 Share Posted January 22, 2021 20 hours ago, jengd said: I remember it being aired, couldn’t believe it, it was so good, and a large part of it was on YouTube for a short while, then just bits, would love to see that again! I don’t really know anything about downloading stuff but if I can even find the DVD I'll look into it and let you know. There are some other 21CB interviews and stuff on it too. Could take me a while to find as most of my GD stuff is still in boxes from when we moved 10 years ago 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gwen Stacy Posted January 22, 2021 Share Posted January 22, 2021 3 hours ago, pacejunkie punk said: If the Beatles had stayed together five more years you would have seen it I disagree. 71, 73, and 74 had some of the strongest material of the group’s collective career. Had it been packaged correctly I think at least one of those years’ album could’ve been the best Beatles album ever. 72 was a rough year but theoretically the material would’ve there to make a decent album at least. I’d argue Paul especially didn’t start losing his touch until 83/84 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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