Why did Green Day stick on you?

[tatianakp]

To everyone who likes my essay, thanks so much for your comments.

I'm listening to Church on Sunday right now! This song saved my marriage 2 years ago, cause it makes me think about my mistakes.

I can tell Green Day have been really affected my life, which is pretty much perfect. Thanks them all.

[Miss. Awesome]

well when i was 6, or 7, i remember watching this one program, and i saw Billie, i thought that he was realy cute! (i still do!)

that was the first time i saw Billie and the band! i fell in love with them!!!

but when i was 5 i heard them on the radio, and ive been hooked ever since!!!

[LBcrosscountryMC]

About two months ago my girl friend lent me some CDs of a little bad called Green Day. I put them on my ipod and instantly melted when I listened to them. I listened to mainstream ones like holiday, and blvd but never really put any thought into them. One day I looked up the lyrics for Jesus of Subrubia and at that moment my love for green day was cemented. I looked up all the lyrics for all their songs and put them on my ipod just so i could read along with billie's singing and reflect on what the song means. But I had a couple of songs that just clicked with me those being Minority, Burnout, and Comeing clean. Since I was about 12 I had been confused about my sexuality thinking there was something wrong with me for likeing both sexes, but after listening to Minority, Comeing clean I realized there was nothing wrong with that. It was me and i wasn't wrong in feeling that way. Burnout came after minority and comeing clean because after i became more comfortable with the fact i was Bi people started giving me shit for it and i was becomeing very depressed but then i just decided F*** it and F*** them (not sure if i can say F*** on this forum) i didn't care anymore. I've fallen in love with my girl friend and now sooo many of the songs that didn't matter to me are becomeing favorites like Dry Ice and 1000 hours or 2000 light years away. Green day will always be the band that helped me become well me. And i will always love them for it.

[permanent_insanity]

I actually had an asignment in preforming arts in 7th grade where we had to watch a vid of this concert and write : each song title, and a couple sentences about what we thought the song was about

I remember that my answers were bullshit

and then I just couldnt get the songs out of my head, and looked them up on youtube and was hooked

[kaliese]

my first Green Day song was Misery, & i was pretty much hooked after that. i think what brought me to Green Day was that i hadnt heard any another artists like them before, and how it was just so catchy. lol

but now i really understand the meaning of their music and can relate to it. especially to the songs on Dookie.

[Daughter.of.Rage.and.Love]

that was really beautiful, and all very true, I loved it!

And indeed a perfect post to start with

[acoustix]

I was thinking the other day how did i actually get into Green Day. I remember first hearing Minority and thinking "Hm, the music is loud and obnoxious" (mind you i mostly listened to 60's rock and roll, and uh ... country). After i heard the lyrics I realized that was something I could totally get into. I got Dookie and heard Coming Clean and against was ecsatic that i was hearing stuff that I really could relate to. After the while the music grew on me more and more. Lyrics have always been a big deal for me, of course music has to be equally good for me to actually keep it.

So what about Green Day was it that really hooked you in? Made you obsessive about wanting to learn more about the band (because honestly, how many of you would be here in the first place if you didn't care enough to wanna know more?) Was it something specific happening in your life where their music gave you some comfort? Or were you just bored enough to give a damn about decent music.

You always have really great topic starters there holmes...

Anyway, I remember listening to Dookie with my cousin when I was MUCH younger (8 or 9) and I remember loving it. Most memorable song off of it was definitely Burnout. What got me HOOKED on Green Day was when I was at Barnes & Noble with my Paps one day and asked if he'd buy Dookie for me. I was 10 at the time and it had that "Explicit Content" crap on it and he refused. I cried, blah blah blah. Then, for my 11th Birthday, my MOM bought me my first CD player and my first ever CD actually was 1,039 SOSH. I got Dookie after that (I snuck buying that... Or stole it from HMV, I don't remember), followed by Insomniac. It pretty much went in order after that, everytime they'd release a new album, I'd get it. I remember I got Warning two days after it came out. Took me a while to get American Idiot though... I'm sorry Billie, I did pirate it FORGIVE ME!!! ::listens to Desensitized and hates self::

[karma1215]

I think the songs were lyrically important to me... they stuck out with me and Billie Joe Armstrong of course. He's just such a great frontman. All of them are just phenomenal musicians. I admire good music.

[badwolf]

idk. I listened to the AI album and thought they were awesome. So i listened to all the other albums, and just got more into them. I guess thats why i stuck to them, because they're a good band.

:/ i cant explain it.

[novacaine_kid]

What drew me to them I think was simply that I felt there was no other band, no other songs that could really touch me the way that Green Day's songs could. Of course theres always songs that will relate to me in some way, but this was different. When I first started listening to them, I was too young to really understand the true meaning of the lyrics, I just liked the tunes. As I got older I became more drawn into the subjects of the songs and the themes they represented. They helped me through some really dark times. The songs became the soundtrack to my life. I can pinpoint every significant moment in my life from the age of about 12 onwards to a Green Day song that I would listen to on repeat to either try to kill off the bad feelings or to celebrate something good. Good Riddance was my breakup song, Platypus was my angry song, Macys Day Parade was my feeling sorry for myself song but songs like 2000 light years away (which I associate with a past relationship) and 86 (not a happy song by any stretch but always lifted my moods) became my happy anthems. I guess in short, Green Day have shaped my musical life and are still the benchmark for me when it comes to that genre of music. Seeing them live was like an out of body experience, like a drug. I made sure I could see them as much as possible and plan on doing the same on the upcoming tour Although my interest in their music has cooled over the last few years, largely due to no new material and so many other bands that have filled the void. I cannot wait for this new album and I know I'll be hooked all over again once it drops.

[J'net]

What drew me to them I think was simply that I felt there was no other band, no other songs that could really touch me the way that Green Day's songs could. Of course theres always songs that will relate to me in some way, but this was different. When I first started listening to them, I was too young to really understand the true meaning of the lyrics, I just liked the tunes. As I got older I became more drawn into the subjects of the songs and the themes they represented. They helped me through some really dark times. The songs became the soundtrack to my life. I can pinpoint every significant moment in my life from the age of about 12 onwards to a Green Day song that I would listen to on repeat to either try to kill off the bad feelings or to celebrate something good. Good Riddance was my breakup song, Platypus was my angry song, Macys Day Parade was my feeling sorry for myself song but songs like 2000 light years away (which I associate with a past relationship) and 86 (not a happy song by any stretch but always lifted my moods) became my happy anthems. I guess in short, Green Day have shaped my musical life and are still the benchmark for me when it comes to that genre of music. Seeing them live was like an out of body experience, like a drug. I made sure I could see them as much as possible and plan on doing the same on the upcoming tour Although my interest in their music has cooled over the last few years, largely due to no new material and so many other bands that have filled the void. I cannot wait for this new album and I know I'll be hooked all over again once it drops.

That's a lovely read. Thanks for sharing those thoughts. I can relate to so many of them. Some of Green Day's songs that are really not particularly happy will usually make me smile or laugh just because I love the songs so much. Platypus is one of those. Recently I was driving to work and was rather stressed about the day ahead (okay ... very stressed ... this doesn't happen to me that often). For some reason, I chose to listen to Insomniac and started to remember how dark and tense it felt to me when it was first released (Panic Song was the first one to play, and I just had to laugh). Now all the songs are like old friends, and I sometimes forget they have those qualities. I just love them for what they are...part of my family...part of me.

[valeria carci]

hmm....

i have to admit it was because of the

"aaas" of boulevard of broken dreams

:/

[bass boy]

because of the incredible music. i was shocked when i first heard it.

[amy_runs]

Another thing I love about these guys is how they stick to their principles - no Botox, no teeth bleaching - they stay natural. I was most impressed by the little holiday Billie took in New Orleans a couple of years ago with Habitat for Humanity - he could have thrown money at the project and stayed in his cosy home - he didn't. He took his wife, and most importantly, his kids, down to the disaster area and got his hands dirty. That's a fabulous gesture, and a wonderful lesson for his boys to learn.

If that had been certain other nameless *coughbonocough* stars, the world's press would have been there every day by prior arrangement. All we knew about it was a personal diary and a handful of pictures released after the event. And I bet he did make a generous donation as well - that's just how he is.

You are so very true

hmm....

i have to admit it was because of the

"aaas" of boulevard of broken dreams

:/

Don't be ashamed, that is partly what led me to them too

[mandypants19]

I think i might have posted my story in here before, but oh well. I just remeber liking a bunch of their singles that were played on the radio, before i knew who it was. Then when american idiot came out, i guess i was about 12 or so, the real obsession started. i begged my older brother to share every possible detail about GD he could think of with me. i found this lovely website to fill me in on all the details my brother couldn't provide. I bought every one of their cds i could get my hands on. I particularly remember buying dookie. it was weird at first, cause i remember thinking that it sounded so different from AI, but by the time that cd ended i was in love. Overall, i think the reason they really stuck on me, and with me, is due to many different reasons. Billie's lyrics of course, the pure rawness and ferocity of their songs, and just the feeling of feeling connected to something.

[Celes Chere]

I wanted music to have fun and it seemed this guys where having it (Minority video)

[IzButt]

My friends made me listen to 3 bands after they found out that the only genre I listened to was bubblegum pop when I was 9-ish?. They made me listen to Good Charlotte, Fall Out Boy, and Green Day. Out of the 3 bands I loved Green Day. I really liked BOBD. So I was like, "Hmm maybe I should buy AI." So I like went to Target. But they were like sold out of AI completely. So my mom's like, "Why don't you buy another album from them to see if you like other songs from them before AI?" So I bought International Superhits. And I LOVED it. I used to play it constantly, like 5 times a day, BLASTING IT(especially Poprocks and Coke). I could relate to the lyrics. I also loved the drums and the rythm in the songs. And I generally just liked the way it sounded, it was so much btter than the crap I used to listen to.

Now I listen to Green Day when I feel sad to make me feel better, when I'm angry, when I'm excited, blah blah blah. And I have almost all of the Green Day albums except Warning and 1000/SOSH unfortunately(can't find them anywhere) but I still have the songs from downloading them XD

Good Riddance, Scattered, and Macy's Day Parade got me through some major shit.

My mom kinda likes Green Day too so she'll start singing along with me to like Welcome To Paradise, Boulevard Of Broken Dreams, Holiday, Basketcase, WMUWSE, etc. So if I make my mom happy with the music I like, that's like totally a big plus for me to listen to my type of music because I really look up to her.

EDIT:Forgot to add the fact that they have been a huge inspiration to my cartoon characters. Doh!

And the way I roll in the art world. Minority inspired me to make the decision to be original and not follow other art styles, the lyrics made me think. And to be generally different from everybody else. There are a few other songs that have really put and imprint on my art too. I listen to them almost every time I draw.

[bjrules]

American Idiot was the first song I ever heard from them and I just loved that song. Then I went out and bought the album and I loved every song on it so I got Dookie and International Superhits on the same day and eventually I got all their albums. I think part of what made them my favourite band was Billie's lyrics and voice and just the catchiness of the songs in general.

[saurus]

I had never heard anything like it, I didn't know music like that existed, at first it intrigued me so I listened to it purely out of curiosity. I liked it, it was different, there were times I could relate to it. And most importantly, it was something I could call mine. At the time I was the person who didn't have anything, I wasn't fashionable, I didn't have many friends, I wasn't into what other people were into. So Green Day turned into part of me in a strange way. I think about it now and think how incredibly sad I was. But that music became part of me, it made me feel like a somebody, sometimes it felt like the only thing I had and I liked that feeling of having something that would only go away if I wanted it to.

I've moved on now. I'm somewhat relieved, but those couple of years are ones I shall always remember.

I still pretty much agree with the majority of what I said.

[sharon mitchell]

I love the fact that they pulled out of performing at the Leeds/Reading festivals this year because they have an issue with the high ticket prices being charged; when I saw them at Milton Keynes the ticket was £24 plus the usual fees - a few weeks later Oasis were charging £45 for the same venue.

Green Day remember how disappointing it was to be unable to afford to see their favourite bands when they were less well off than they are today, and they try hard to keep their tickets at a reasonable cost. That is another reason why I shall be seeing them several times this tour.

[Greenday_Aussie]

I dont know what did it, When I come around just stuck to me as a 4 year old hehe, then Warning and Minority.

Then when AI came out I saw it in a video someone made, they told me it was Green Day and it begun from there, thats when I really got interested in music, as in, listening to music.

[Jynx it up]

For me, it all started around the American Idiot era. The radio was playing a few Green Day songs and I thought they were pretty decent, and catchy. When the DJ said they were by Green Day, I actually cracked up thinking that the name of the band was hilarious. Then he started giving away free concert tickets. [boy, I wish I was a fan then.] A week or two later, I was watching Fuse, and again Green Day was on it. I think it was the 'Wake me up when September ends', and I was sitting there going "Damn, this stuff is really good." I then of course, looked them up on yahoo music (when they actually had music on there) and kept on listening to the same 10 songs over and over again for about three weeks. During that time, I had already become a huge fan. 'Cause I'm one of those people that when they hear music they like, I do a good amount of research on the band. When my parents finally got tired of hearing the same ten songs, they took me out so I could get a Green Day CD. So with International Super hits as my first CD, I was hooked. I was going through like a weird and tough stage in my life and the music was all something I could really relate to. It also helped me really find myself in music. I grew up listening to classic rock, but somehow Green Day got me even more into music. Because of them, I started listening to so many bands that I would have never listened to.

[Astrid.]

Simple.

Because they make good music, which I even like!

[Chad is Rad]

They're just so much better than any other band. You know? They have depth and meaning and catchy songs...and Billie's voice is the best this world has ever heard.

[sharon mitchell]

They're just so much better than any other band. You know? They have depth and meaning and catchy songs...and Billie's voice is the best this world has ever heard.

I love you.