Unpopular Green Day Opinions

[Spike]

I would agree about Brutal Love except for when he says "turn out the lights" and then five seconds later says "dance forever under the lights". I'm comfortable saying Brutal Love is my favorite song from the trilogy but it's very hard to get passed those lines. I've tried finding ways to justify it but can't think of a really good meaning

Yeah, that's always irritated me. My only explanation is artificial light vs natural light/stars etc, but even that kind of sucks.

[Jollyroger118]

Yeah, that's always irritated me. My only explanation is artificial light vs natural light/stars etc, but even that kind of sucks.

I've tried that too or even like a metaphorical light, like how he always tells people "turn out the lights" when they're playing versus his metaphorical light or something. It's irritating. But watching them play it live and watching Billie sing it I know they really like that song. So I can't hate it that much

[WhiteTim]

I've tried that too or even like a metaphorical light, like how he always tells people "turn out the lights" when they're playing versus his metaphorical light or something. It's irritating. But watching them play it live and watching Billie sing it I know they really like that song. So I can't hate it that much

I took it he means dance under the star lights

[Z J]

They do a lot of covers... doesn't mean anything...

Hell average and non GD fans don't even know of Coming Clean so its not like it had a huge impact like that imo

Rode GDs coat tails ha ha um okay...

But regardless I like Coming Clean it grew on me from when I first bought Dookie

They opened for Green Day in 94 and very clearly took advantage of a pop-punk market that Green Day created. Not saying the song had a huge impact. Doesn't mean it wasn't gutsy.

[WhiteTim]

They opened for Green Day in 94 and very clearly took advantage of a pop-punk market that Green Day created. Not saying the song had a huge impact. Doesn't mean it wasn't gutsy.

Just because they opened for GD doesn't mean they rode their coat tails... but I was mainly using PD as an example that punks weren't intolerant of gays well maybe some were but not all

[Z J]

I would agree about Brutal Love except for when he says "turn out the lights" and then five seconds later says "dance forever under the lights". I'm comfortable saying Brutal Love is my favorite song from the trilogy but it's very hard to get passed those lines. I've tried finding ways to justify it but can't think of a really good meaning

I thought that "turn out the lights/close your eyes" and "turn up the silence/the heartache of your life" is supposed to be the fans sort of blocking everything out and enjoying the moment (concert). Similar to the way Billie speaks about enjoying "the moment" during his little speeches. Music, and Green Day in particular are band that people use as an escape and they elevate them to be more than just a band.

So perhaps turning out the lights isn't literal

[DookieLukie]

Believe me, coming out is a huge deal. Don't know from personal experience, but several friends have had to go through it, and it wasn't easy. Writing a song about it back in the 90s, when people were far less accepting of the whole thing? Very ballsy.

Omg this again. Coming Clean isn't about coming out of the closet. It's about growing up and contradicting your parents and facing your own imperfections.

[Z J]

Omg this again. Coming Clean isn't about coming out of the closet. It's about growing up and contradicting your parents and facing your own imperfections.

Secrets collecting dust but never forget

SKELETONS come to LIFE in my closet

I didn't realize there was even any disagreement over what it was about. Btw it can be both what you say and what I say, in fact I think it is.

[DookieLukie]

Secrets collecting dust but never forget

SKELETONS come to LIFE in my closet

I didn't realize there was even any confusion over what it was about. Btw it can be both.

Do you have any source that the song confronts the issue of bisexuality or sexuality at all? I've always viewed that interpretation as a bit forced.

Secrets collecting dust but never forget...hmmm...maybe just personal struggles/addictions?

And "skeletons in my closet" is an idiom that means having dark secrets about shady things, or having grudges. Just because the word "closet" is used does not mean it's about sexuality.

[Z J]

Do you have any source that the song confronts the issue of bisexuality or sexuality at all? I've always viewed that interpretation as a bit forced.

Secrets collecting dust but never forget...hmmm...maybe just personal struggles/addictions?

And "skeletons in my closet" is an idiom that means having dark secrets about shady things, or having grudges. Just because the word "closet" is used does not mean it's about sexuality.

well being bisexual is a fairly large secret. So I always thought of him "Coming Clean" and realizing himself for the first time when he admits his sexuality to himself. I've seen it talked about before on a Dookie Documentary and they thought the same as I.

I guess we'll wait for Hermione to tell us

[munns6691]

The only songs that I don't really love from Dookie are Sassafras Roots, In the End, FOD, and Longview honestly. Apparently that's somewhat unpopular

[DookieLukie]

well being bisexual is a fairly large secret. So I always thought of him "Coming Clean" and realizing himself for the first time when he admits his sexuality to himself. I've seen it talked about before on a Dookie Documentary and they thought the same as I.

I guess we'll wait for Hermione to tell us

It could mean so many things, so it's kind of silly to assume it's about bisexuality.

[Z J]

It could mean so many things, so it's kind of silly to assume it's about bisexuality.

It's not really a stretch considering the language he uses plus he's bisexual and says he was figuring him self out at the time.

[DookieLukie]

It's not really a stretch considering the language he uses plus he's bisexual and says he was figuring him self out at the time.

Source of him saying he's bisexual? The video I know where he talks about it, he says he's everyone is bisexual in that they love men and women alike but choose one or the other to be intimate with. I don't ever recall him saying "I am sexually attracted to men and women."

[Z J]

Source of him saying he's bisexual? The video I know where he talks about it, he says he's everyone is bisexual in that they love men and women alike but choose one or the other to be intimate with. I don't ever recall him saying "I am sexually attracted to men and women."

Armstrong has identified himself as bisexual, saying in a 1995 interview with The Advocate, "I think I've always been bisexual. I mean, it's something that I've always been interested in. I think people are born bisexual, and it's just that our parents and society kind of veer us off into this feeling of 'Oh, I can't.' They say it's taboo. It's ingrained in our heads that it's bad, when it's not bad at all. It's a very beautiful thing."

from his Wiki page

[WhiteTim]

Nevermind zach posted it

Advocate always gets people to admit first Kurt Cobain then Billie lol

[DookieLukie]

Armstrong has identified himself as bisexual, saying in a 1995 interview with The Advocate, "I think I've always been bisexual. I mean, it's something that I've always been interested in. I think people are born bisexual, and it's just that our parents and society kind of veer us off into this feeling of 'Oh, I can't.' They say it's taboo. It's ingrained in our heads that it's bad, when it's not bad at all. It's a very beautiful thing."

from his Wiki page

Yeah...he's looking at sexuality in a different way. He's says we're BORN bisexual and life makes us like one or the other. He never says he wants to suck a dinkle.

[Anaïs.]

Yeah...he's looking at sexuality in a different way. He's says we're BORN bisexual and life makes us like one or the other. He never says he wants to suck a dinkle.

There's the small matter of him frequently kissing dudes at concerts.

[Z J]

Yeah...he's looking at sexuality in a different way. He's says we're BORN bisexual and life makes us like one or the other. He never says he wants to suck a dinkle.

It feels like your pettifogging the argument a little bit. He still had to come to terms with his sexuality. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess he wasn't born with an exact idea of who he is. The song, to me, tells us a bit about that process for him

[Anaïs.]

It feels like your pettifogging the argument a little bit.

The fact that you just used that word endears you to me for all eternity.

[DirtyRottenForgotten]

Hearing X-Kid live just bummed me out. I love the song, but no one knew it at my show and it was unfortunate just kind of seeing them play a song that obviously has a deep meaning for the band to a dead room. Like, WMUWSE is sad, but it gets such a reaction from the audience that it becomes powerful. With what I've seen from X-Kid, it's hard to make the song seem special when the audience doesn't get it. It's a shame.

I know! I think it is one of the best songs they have ever done and every time they have played it the audience seems so dead and it just makes the song less enjoyable as a whole live.

[DookieLukie]

It feels like your pettifogging the argument a little bit. He still had to come to terms with his sexuality. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess he wasn't born with an exact idea of who he is. The song, to me, tells us a bit about that process for him

Eh

[munns6691]

The lights thing in Brutal Love to me goes like this. "Turn out the lights, close your eyes" means kind of like turn off your mind, stop thinking (or overthinking) about everything. "Dance forever, under the lights" is like a flashback to actual dancing under some form of light or the same feeling you would get upon doing so. If the song is interpreted as literal love it could be at the wedding.

[Hermione]

My view is narrow? Perhaps allow me to expand. I have said, a number of times, that the wit of Green Day's lyrics (especially their early ones) is one of their best qualities. I listed songs that use "humor and simplicity" to make their point lyrically. American Idiot is big on humor I thought and Good Riddance is wonderful yet simple in it's lyrics. I also said "and a host of other songs"......did you chose not to read that?

How is it a "random bit" of lyric...? I think it's a clear line in the sand. Between what Green Day can do and what Green Day shouldn't do. The lyrics I cited from The Forgotten are bad for a couple of reasons: 1) Cliched (that alone doesn't make it bad, though) 2) An odd ABAC pattern 3) A lot of build up to the last line, but the last line "don't look away from the arms... of love" doesn't seem to capture the song in anyway. It seems anti-climatic. That's what I'm getting at. Meanwhile you have a snippet of Holiday, possibly their best lyrical song. Because of a few things: It's a statement. And a bold one at a time when the country still embraced the right's war rhetoric. It's creative in its attacking of both sides of the political sphere. "here the drum pounding out of time/another protester has crossed the line/to find, the money's on the other side. And its overriding theme is something is very apparent despite a lot of less than literal lyrics. What he's standing against and how he says it is powerful. The Forgotten is just not close. That was my point with the snippet of lyrics. I could go on ALL day comparing lyrics from other albums to the trilogy. I do like some lyrical work on there. Brutal Love is excellent, to me. Lazy Bones is as well. There are more.

I do think there are many ways for lyrics to be good. But lyrical content is not created equal. Some people will always be able to relate to songs with lyrics that aren't high quality (Sassafras Roots falls in to that category for me. As does Chump) I don't need lyrics that are deep and powerful. But the lyrics on the trilogy fail to have the same wit that another somewhat light lyrical album like Dookie had.

Just out of curiosity.....are there ANY lyrics by Green Day that you think aren't good?

I just think when it comes to lyrics it's more a matter of taste than good or bad. You've said the reasons you dislike The Forgotten's lyrics, I've said the reasons I like them. If someone can find meaning or enjoyment in them I can't see them as bad.

I'd say a lot of the stuff on their first album and early EPs isn't as good as their later work just because of awkward/dodgy phrases and rhymes and a lot of cheesiness. But even then in the context it doesn't bother me because I know it was written by teenagers just starting out and showed the promise of greater things to come, so although some of the lyrics may be bad they're endearing and I still enjoy them . I don't enjoy some of the more cliched phrases such as "She's an extraordinary girl in an ordinary world", and a lot of the cliched phrases on Warning. But I'd never assume that just because they're cliched or I don't like them that they weren't written with just as much passion etc as anything else. That's the main thing for me really, however bad I might think a lyric is that doesn't mean I know how much thought/passion/inspiration went into it.

Yeah...he's looking at sexuality in a different way. He's says we're BORN bisexual and life makes us like one or the other. He never says he wants to suck a dinkle.

He said he's bisexual so he is, simple as. "I think I've always been bisexual" not "I think I was born bisexual but now I'm not". There was another interview a couple of years ago where he was asked about that quote, and he said something along the lines of that it shouldn't be something that's debated, it should just be accepted. He also added, when asked, that since he's in a monogamous relationship for life he doesn't know if he'd still label himself as bisexual (simply as there's not much point I suppose) but that he'd "never say that I'm not". So basically, he is because he said so, but he isn't into labels.

I think it's crazy to think Coming Clean isn't about coming to terms with your sexuality, I can't see how it couldn't be.

[The Grouch is Tracy]

Hearing X-Kid live just bummed me out. I love the song, but no one knew it at my show and it was unfortunate just kind of seeing them play a song that obviously has a deep meaning for the band to a dead room. Like, WMUWSE is sad, but it gets such a reaction from the audience that it becomes powerful. With what I've seen from X-Kid, it's hard to make the song seem special when the audience doesn't get it. It's a shame.

I loved it, was singing along , and had a nice long eye contact verse or so with Billie. You could see that he was very into the song and very emotionally tied to it. I actually like X-Kid more since experiencing it live. Maybe having at least one or two diehard fans near the front singing gave him something to focus on instead of the majority of the crowd...