Unpopular Green Day Opinions

[November's Storms]

I gotta agree with Stephen here, Billie is probably their least talented member. The only reason he's deemed important is because he's reasonably attractive and he's a great lyric writer. He's a middling enough singer and guitar player. The whole point of a Mike and Tré album obviously wouldn't be to top the charts or make money, but to make cool sounds without being limited by Billie. Anyway, making music in order to get noticed is pretty sad.

Tell that to your username!

I wouldn't say Billie isn't talented, and I know it's probably not what you said either but phrasing it that way suggests something worse than my opinion. I think what he lacks in musical talent he more than makes up for in songwriting and sheer charisma. Green Day would not be nearly as big if it weren't for Billie's live performances.

[Tubbie Head]

Yes, Green Day wouldn't be the same without Billie. I would probably not even like them, so there.

[Guest]

Tell that to your username!

I wouldn't say Billie isn't talented, and I know it's probably not what you said either but phrasing it that way suggests something worse than my opinion. I think what he lacks in musical talent he more than makes up for in songwriting and sheer charisma. Green Day would not be nearly as big if it weren't for Billie's live performances.

I don't think it's her music that gets her noticed

Oh, for sure, he's an amazing performer, but he's not a great musician by any means. Yes he writes great lyrics, but his melodies are rarely more than 5 or 6 notes. He simply doesn't do adventurous or complex songwriting.

[November's Storms]

can we all just agree that green day wouldn't be the same without any of them and move on?

Not really, this is actually interesting discussion about Green Day. We need more of that around here!

[The Disappearing Boy]

FUCK ME

That's it. Mike and Tré need to ditch Billie Joe and do a record of that stuff, with Mike writing and singing. It would be my favourite thing of all time.

Particularly 2.43-2.45. I want to have sex with those two seconds of music.

[Guest]

Particularly 2.43-2.45. I want to have sex with those two seconds of music.

Fucking love when bass is played as a lead instrument.

[Z J]

Maybe take some inspiration from The Clash and bring in some reggae/ska elements to their sound, or continue along their rock n roll progression to become something akin to The Living End. Or just generally do something that actually pleasantly surprises me. There were plenty of surprises on the Trilogy, not many of them very good.

That would be interesting. I love Ska-Punk. And about the trilogy, we can definitely agree on that. Almost everything on the trilogy was surprising in a bad way or good but very formulaic and not new for them. Save for a few songs that is.

The band has the chops to tackle something bigger or different. As has been mentioned, Mike and Tre posses quite a bit of talent that they don't always get to show off. Although I think it applies to Tre more, because Mike has had an opportunity to use his bass skills plenty over the years. I do wish Mike would write more songs. Idk if Jason White is a good guitarist or not but they could afford to be more creative in that department (think Wow! That's Loud). And vocally I think Billie just needs time to re-focus and maybe take some of those lessons again.

I'm excited for whatever happens because quite frankly the possibilities are wide open

[Z J]

Well I wrote my post without noticing the massive discussion surrounding Billie's ability compared to the rest of the members. I think Billie is the most talented and here's why:

writes almost all the lyrics (brilliantly for the most part)

incredible stage performer

starred in a rock musical

plays guitar and sings simultaneously (may seem simple but it's still harder than just singing)

fairly consistent vocal performances over the years

writes great melodies

is writing music for another musical

I think Mike is the best at his instrument. His bass lines are a huge part of what GD does. Billie is not an amazing guitarist and he doesn't write "technical" music but isn't punk supposed to be about the message and the spirit of the music? Technical does not always equal good.

[Jollyroger118]

Billie's extremely talented and Green Days the only band that I can say I like every song. I don't think Biffy Clyro is any good but I would like to see Green Day go in a more Strokes direction with their song structure. I don't know what it is about Billie cause he's certainly not Slash but he plays his songs in a way that no one else can. Billie's a force to be reckoned with and he just likes to make solid songs. Strong on every front without being pretentious or dragging on, he's a very focused song writer. And in my opinion the trilogy has some of best music they've ever written but it could have been mixed different and of course the lyrics hold it back.

[Spike]

Well I wrote my post without noticing the massive discussion surrounding Billie's ability compared to the rest of the members. I think Billie is the most talented and here's why:

writes almost all the lyrics (brilliantly for the most part)

incredible stage performer

starred in a rock musical

plays guitar and sings simultaneously (may seem simple but it's still harder than just singing)

fairly consistent vocal performances over the years

writes great melodies

is writing music for another musical

I think Mike is the best at his instrument. His bass lines are a huge part of what GD does. Billie is not an amazing guitarist and he doesn't write "technical" music but isn't punk supposed to be about the message and the spirit of the music? Technical does not always equal good.

This. All of this. Forever.

Except, I'd say Billie is a good guitarist. Obviously most of his stuff is power chords, but that's a songwriting choice, it's not like he COULDN'T play more complex stuff. He has been playing guitar for 30 years, after all. And he's a great lead guitarist when he lets rip, not just for speed but for his melodies and phrasing. He's actually one of my favourite lead guitarists when he gets going, so bluesy and stylish.

As for his vocal melodies, 5 or 6 notes are all you need. Any more wouldn't suit a lot of the songs and it'd be a complete clusterfuck. In many aspects of songwriting, simplicity is important.

Mike is the best at his instrument, no doubt. What Billie said about him being the best bassist in the history of punk is absolutely right. He might not be the fastest, but he is the catchiest and most creative. A lot of Green Day's stuff features bass as the lead instrument, and that's one of the things that really sets them apart.

Obviously Tre is a very good drummer, too, and when he throws down fills it's magic.

Plus, we shouldn't underrate how tight they are as a unit. Absolutely dead on, all the time. That in itself is difficult to pull off so consistently, they're one of the tightest bands out there.

[Hermione]

Lol Billie writes all of Green Day's songs, I think that's a slightly bigger part of why he might be considered the most important than that he's good looking! Mike plays bass. Tre plays drums. Billie plays guitar, sings, fronts their shows, and most importantly writes their songs (with input from the others of course, but he comes up with them in the first place and writes all the lyrics and most of the music, the songs wouldn't exist in any shape or form without him and songs are what define a band). To say he's the least talented is outrageous!

However I can see why it's considered "wrong" to say any one of the band members is more important than the others. Regardless of who it might be the fact is Green Day wouldn't work with any one of them gone, they're all vital, so deciding which is more important is just academic.

[The Disappearing Boy]

Jason Freeze is pretty damn talented too.

[Z J]

This. All of this. Forever.

Except, I'd say Billie is a good guitarist. Obviously most of his stuff is power chords, but that's a songwriting choice, it's not like he COULDN'T play more complex stuff. He has been playing guitar for 30 years, after all. And he's a great lead guitarist when he lets rip, not just for speed but for his melodies and phrasing. He's actually one of my favourite lead guitarists when he gets going, so bluesy and stylish.

As for his vocal melodies, 5 or 6 notes are all you need. Any more wouldn't suit a lot of the songs and it'd be a complete clusterfuck. In many aspects of songwriting, simplicity is important.

Mike is the best at his instrument, no doubt. What Billie said about him being the best bassist in the history of punk is absolutely right. He might not be the fastest, but he is the catchiest and most creative. A lot of Green Day's stuff features bass as the lead instrument, and that's one of the things that really sets them apart.

Obviously Tre is a very good drummer, too, and when he throws down fills it's magic.

Plus, we shouldn't underrate how tight they are as a unit. Absolutely dead on, all the time. That in itself is difficult to pull off so consistently, they're one of the tightest bands out there.

How tight they are as a unit is the main reason why I think they're so incredible live. Everyone knows about the crowd interaction and what not but they are all so good together. The chemistry is undeniable. When I first got in to Green Day... I think the first show I saw on TV was them in Munich in 2009 and I thought "wow those songs sound just like the studio versions" and naturally I credited only Billie. As I watch more and more it's amazing how well they work together and to add to that, they incorporated more members live and it works very well. I point to American Eulogy live whenever I want to exemplify this.

Writing a song is just inherently a more complex task than writing a bass line, to expand on the "talent" discussion.

Biffy Clyro is a seperate entity and you could argue their last album wasn't exactly a huge step out of their comfort zone either. They are excellent, though, so I'd have to disagree with the person a few posts up. But the comparisons don't really work for me

[Spike]

How tight they are as a unit is the main reason why I think they're so incredible live. Everyone knows about the crowd interaction and what not but they are all so good together. The chemistry is undeniable. When I first got in to Green Day... I think the first show I saw on TV was them in Munich in 2009 and I thought "wow those songs sound just like the studio versions" and naturally I credited only Billie. As I watch more and more it's amazing how well they work together and to add to that, they incorporated more members live and it works very well. I point to American Eulogy live whenever I want to exemplify this.

Writing a song is just inherently a more complex task than writing a bass line, to expand on the "talent" discussion.

Biffy Clyro is a seperate entity and you could argue their last album wasn't exactly a huge step out of their comfort zone either. They are excellent, though, so I'd have to disagree with the person a few posts up. But the comparisons don't really work for me

It's especially amazing when you take into account that Mike and Tre have to keep up with whatever the hell Billie is gonna do next! I think it's a testament to how tight they are that adding the Jasons and revolving door of Kurt, Jeff, Mike, Ronnie, Timmy and Gabrial didn't loosen them up at all, the core members have managed to maintain tightness no matter who else has been in the band.

[munns6691]

Green Day is a band that thrives off Lyrics, catchy riffs and Vocals. Billie is a ton of that. None of them would do great on their own

[munns6691]

They all go extremely well together, which is what makes them all shine

[MaraGreenDay]

Lol Billie writes all of Green Day's songs, I think that's a slightly bigger part of why he might be considered the most important than that he's good looking! Mike plays bass. Tre plays drums. Billie plays guitar, sings, fronts their shows, and most importantly writes their songs (with input from the others of course, but he comes up with them in the first place and writes all the lyrics and most of the music, the songs wouldn't exist in any shape or form without him and songs are what define a band). To say he's the least talented is outrageous!

However I can see why it's considered "wrong" to say any one of the band members is more important than the others. Regardless of who it might be the fact is Green Day wouldn't work with any one of them gone, they're all vital, so deciding which is more important is just academic.

This, thank you!!!

[burnout_blast]

BJ is a talented guitarist IMO. He doesn't show it in his songs cos that wouldn't work and to know that is talent...many bands put a complex solo in catchy songs and ruin em with it cos it doesn't fit there. When BJ does solos live he plays more complex well where they are not in the way. He is not the greatest but he is talented for sure. Its about making songs sound right after all...thats more important than playing complicated guitar parts. The band wouldnt exist without any of em and their strength is that they are a great three or four piece.

[Oxymore]

BJ is a talented guitarist IMO. He doesn't show it in his songs cos that wouldn't work and to know that is talent...many bands put a complex solo in catchy songs and ruin em with it cos it doesn't fit there. When BJ does solos live he plays more complex well where they are not in the way. He is not the greatest but he is talented for sure. Its about making songs sound right after all...thats more important than playing complicated guitar parts. The band wouldnt exist without any of em and their strength is that they are a great three or four piece.

Well said. PERIOD, can we move on ?

[SmoothedOut]

After hearing 39/Smooth (after getting into to Green Day in the last decade) I could only dream of how it would be like if Billie would start adding solos to songs again. It has been said he became reluctant to add solos from Dookie onwards for fear of being labeled 'corny'. I've come to feel the same way about many of the solos on the trilogy and in recent live versions of songs. I don't like how Billie tried adding a sort of blues solo on 'Letterbomb' in recent concerts. I love the blues scale but it just doesn't fit on every song.

[munns6691]

After hearing 39/Smooth (after getting into to Green Day in the last decade) I could only dream of how it would be like if Billie would start adding solos to songs again. It has been said he became reluctant to add solos from Dookie onwards for fear of being labeled 'corny'. I've come to feel the same way about many of the solos on the trilogy and in recent live versions of songs. I don't like how Billie tried adding a sort of blues solo on 'Letterbomb' in recent concerts. I love the blues scale but it just doesn't fit on every song.

Yeah I'm just not overally big on solos honestly. Maybe 15-20 second ones sure, but anything more isn't compelling.

[Spike]

After hearing 39/Smooth (after getting into to Green Day in the last decade) I could only dream of how it would be like if Billie would start adding solos to songs again. It has been said he became reluctant to add solos from Dookie onwards for fear of being labeled 'corny'. I've come to feel the same way about many of the solos on the trilogy and in recent live versions of songs. I don't like how Billie tried adding a sort of blues solo on 'Letterbomb' in recent concerts. I love the blues scale but it just doesn't fit on every song.

I've never really understood his attitude towards solos. Fine he doesn't want them, but the reasoning is weird. A solo is as corny as you choose to make it. He said he didn't want to become Eddie van Halen, right? And I can understand that, but like everyone who has ever played a solo has done so in the style of EVH...

For what it's worth, his extended solo in Know Your Enemy live is the only thing that stops that song being corny and dull.

[Guest]

You want corny? Everything about Oh Love is corny as fuck except the goddamn solo.

[Anaïs.]

corny as fuck

Title of the 99 Revolutions Tour live album. Calling it now.

[Z J]

Yeah I'm just not overally big on solos honestly. Maybe 15-20 second ones sure, but anything more isn't compelling.

It's compelling if it's Jimmy Page ripping one of his incredible solos. The thing is solos of that length and magnitude are not a part of a punk song structure. Green Day is not a Jam-Rock type band so solos more often then not do not fit unless they're short.