Green Day have been my favourite band since I was nine years old. That’s a long time, and so I’m bound to be incredibly biased when I think that they are, without a doubt, one of the best pop-punk bands out there. A lot of people write them off after the release of American Idiots — “sell outs” is a term thrown around a lot.
To be honest, if Green Day have sold out, they did it with Dookie. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Green Day have one of the best discographies of any band, with barely a bad album in there. Warning is, to some people, a disappointment but I personally love it as much as any other.
Green Day have, for starters, catchy pop-punk tunes. They’ve produced classic songs known by practically everyone below a certain age. Excluding American Idiot (because Boulevard of Broken Dreams, while wellknown, was also undeniably overplayed), Green Day have Basket Case and Good Riddance (Time of Your Life).
I’m not articulating my feelings on Green Day very well, mainly because they’re a band very close to my heart. If you’re not persuaded how awesome they are yet, well, that’s okay. I’ll admit that I can — and will — do better.
With Green Day, for me, there’s nothing that can beat the feeling I got when I sat in front of the TV and heard Good Riddance for the first time. Say what you like about Green Day, love them or hate them, but there is something about that song… Haunting and nostalgic, all at the same time, it conjures up feelings and memories that you never knew you had. Billie Joe’s voice is at its best and it’s a song that will stay with you for the rest of your life.
Compare that to the raw insanity of Basket Case, and immediately Green Day are not just a one trick pony. Their two greatest hits (again excluding American Idiot) are both completely different, and Basket Case encompasses the feeling that you’re going completely crazy and it doesn’t even matter. Best listened to loud.
But for me, the real gems of Green Day can be found in their albums. Take Worry Rock, from Nimrod. Another sentimal argument and bitter love/Fucked without a kiss again and dragged it through the mud. There is something about their ability to use the most rough phrases and contrast it with a catchy tune that gives their songs such an impact.
Like I said, it’s difficult for me to state objectively just how I feel about this band. Listening to their albums, I can trace different parts of my life. They’re one of those special bands which only comes along once in a lifetime. That said, I do believe that there will be at least one Green Day song for everyone.
If I haven’t convinced you of their sheer awesomeness, that’s okay. I won’t push it. But do me a favour. Pick up one of their albums and listen to it, all the way through. Open your mind and tell me there is not one song on there that you like. And once you’ve done that, I’ll call you a liar. Because I don’t think that’s possible.