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I went to a friends' wedding last weekend, she's a casual Green Day fan and went to a show with me once. At one point I asked the DJ (who sucked btw) to play Basket Case, and suddenly the bride, me and some other guests totally rocked the dancefloor and screamed the lyrics. Moments I am living for

THIS! Also, he's a writer and people didn't seem to get that. Just because you write about something doesn't mean it's related to you or about your or even about your life. I used to get that a lot in writing class too. People would ask if I was okay and stuff and I'm like...it's not about anyone...just something I wrote.

The thing is, he doesn't owe us anything in regards to his personal life. I remember when Dos came out a lot of people were repulsed and even said they couldn't listen to Green Day anymore, because he's an older man singing about sex and the songs weren't about Adrienne. But he's not obliged to cater to fans' perceptions of himself or his marriage. I remember him saying "I don't have expectations for a public reaction. If I want to write about sexual tension or straight up fucking, I will" and well, yeah I'm sitting at a bus stop in Austin defending the trilogy #trilogy4lyf

Agreed! I've said several times before that I believe that a lot of the trilogy lyrics are metaphors. The whole Lady Cobra / Nightlife thing is a perfect metaphor for the temptations of a rockstar- (or celebrity in general) lifestyle. I've always thought that Billie is talking about the tempations of drugs, alcohol and money rather than just sex. I know that many people hate the trilogy for the "cringeworthy lyrics", but I actually think that some of the lyrics are very interesting and deeper than you'd think after the first listen. It's just my theory though and I could be totally wrong

I don't like Homecoming anymore since I found out Billie actually sent his love a letterbomb and visited her in hell. It's morally questionable and he shouldn't endorse such behaviour.

I figured a lot of people would be interested in the history and tech info on Blue and all it's backups/replacements so I've made this list using info I've come across in interviews videos, and all random places. I've tried to include evidence where possible. Some info/guitars may be incorrect or missing, I've just made off the best of my knowledge. If you have anything to add or fix, definitely please let me know Blue - Fernandes Stratocaster "Revival" RST-50 (1982 - Present): This was the guitar originally owned by Billie's guitar teacher and later bought by Billie's mom as a gift for Billie. This guitar was used to record a lot from 39/Smooth till Nimrod. This one has been seen throughout the years with all different sticker. - Body, neck, and pickguard appear to be original parts judging by the look of them now. You can tell the pickguard is original judging by the cracks it has and the dodgy cutting where the new pick up was put in. Billie's guitar tech has also confirmed it's the original neck in the comments. - Bridge pick up was replaced with a Bill Lawrence L-500XL and then later a Seymour Duncan SH4 which he has used ever since replacing the BL though he has replaced the SH4 a few times. You can tell as the pick up colour sometimes changes from completely black to black and white, and completely white. The pickup is also angled. - Neck and middle pickups are most likely original as he doesn't actually use these ones anymore as they were disconnected when the bridge pick up was installed. - Tuning pegs/posts were upgraded to Sperzels around 1994 and have most likely been changed to newer ones a few times. - Saddle was changed to String Saver High Performance Saddles sometime after 1994. Proof of Saddles here. - String tree has also been changed from just one to two of them. Picture with one and two here. - Strap locks were changed to Schaller strap locks. - The tone pots are not used and the volume pot has been replaced with a 500K Seymour Duncan Yngvie "Fast Pot" - Inside electronics/wiring has most likely been changed over time. No proof of this but judging by the age it's entirely possible. - All other parts are most likely original though there is no way to be 100% sure without official confirmation. - Guitar strap is a red Ernie Ball strap. Blue Replica - Fender Stratocaster (1997 - 1999) Around Nimrod era Billie started using a replica of Blue with different stickers that was made by Fender rather than Fernandes. It's rumoured that he used multiple though all the pictures I've seen all to appear to be the exact same stickers in the exact same spot. - Fitted with Seymour Duncan SH4 on angle - Has logo on headstock sanded off. - Sprezels tuners. - All other parts appear to be original. American Sunburst Fender Stratocaster (2004 - 2005) This was used as a back up for Blue during the American Idiot tour. - Fitted with Seymour Duncan SH4 on an angle - Most likely fitted with Sprezels tuners - All other parts appear to be original. Blackout Telecaster (2009 - 2014) Starting the 21st Century Breakdown tour, Billie started using this guitar as a back up for Blue. This one had multiple copies made and Billie gave a lot away to fans who played on stage during this time. - Fitted with a Seymour Duncan SH4 angled. - Controls simplified to one volume knob. - Pickguard made by WD - All info can be seen on Rig Rundown. - All other parts appear to be original. Azul - Dark Blue Fender Stratocaster (2010) During the South American leg of the 21st Century Breakdown tour Blue had to be refretted so was temporarily replaced with this guitar. Guitar was a darker blue with random stickers place on like Blue. After the tour the guitar was never seen again. - Fitted with Seymour Duncan SH4 - Possibly fitted with Sprezels Tuners. - Headstock was broken after being dropped on stage. - All other parts appear to be original. Buddy - Buddy Guy Signature Fender Stratocaster (2016) This guitar was made as a back for the Revolution Radio tour using a Buddy Guy signature Stratocaster with Easy Bay related band stickers and dark blue pain down one part of the body. One one was made and was later gave away to a fan the same year. - Pickguard changed to white. - Fitted with Seymour Duncan SH4 angled. - Wammy bar removed - All other parts appear to be original. Swamp Thing - Dark Green Fender Stratocaster (2017?) This guitar appears to be the replacement for Buddy and the back up for Blue. Guitar was debuted on Billie's guitar techs Instagram but hasn't appeared to be played live yet. - Fitted with Seymour Duncan SH4 angled. - No Sprezels Tuners. - No tone control. - All other parts appear to be original.

Billie's like those children who get a new toy and are all excited to play with it and do for a while but then get bored and don't touch the toy again.

At my organization's volunteer event tonight, they're giving out special green lanyards for "1,000 hours" of service. They don't appreciate the reference but I sure do (secretly to myself) 😉

Me too. We went from nearly daily lives to none at all from Billie. Sad times, my friends, sad times.

I wish they'd do some more Instagram lives

I've always loved how the members of Green Day interact with the security guards.

Lets have a chat sometime! I love the trilogy and could chat for hours about it. Haha

Can't stop staring at this one 😍

I like you.

I think it's morally problematic to comdemn someone's work because of assumptions about their personal life.

@Hero_Of_The_Hour Is this the thing where you'll only take lyrics completely literally and black and white again? A song can be inspired by more than one thing. Bits of it can be inspired by things that happened years ago, other bits by something he was just thinking about, other bits by someone he met, other bits by his wife etc, it doesn't just have to be a literal account of one thing. He could write a song about a sexy fling and really have his wife in mind, he could just write something because it sounds cool. The possibilities are endless, not only limited to literally describing real things. I wonder did you miss that on the trilogy the cheating and partying etc ends badly, and he comes to the conclusion that being faithful/love is the better option? Even from your standpoint of assuming that by mentioning anything Billie is endorsing that thing and/or giving a 100% factual account of a literal event that just happened it still comes to a morally just conclusion in the end.

Not only this but I actually hear the Trilogy as the complete opposite of infidelity. This is self confessed fantasy from a guy that needs an outlet because he's been faithfully married since he was 22. He never got to experience these things is my takeaway (and it's frustratingly all around him and available) so he gets to live them out in songs. He literally says, "My imagination runs away" in 8th Ave Seranade to name just one example. I think if he had been doing these things he wouldn't have been writing about it, the fact that he is tells you it's fantasy and if you think about it, kind of healthy in a way compared to committing the actual act(s).

I'm sorry but there's a difference between music and real life. If you think it's "inappropriate" for Billie to sing what he's stated are fictional lyrics exploring the idea of having a fling then maybe try to remember that. Would you have a problem with him playing someone having a fling in a film because in real life he's a "married father"? Or writing a book about it? For all we know those songs could draw on experiences from before he was married or even experiences with Adrienne, or be entirely fictional, or a mixture. He's written about relationships with people other than his wife and new relationships etc on other albums and with FBHT, not sure why it's only a problem on Uno Dos and Tre especially when the conclusion there is that giving in to that stuff leads to bad results and that love and faithfulness is the way to go. It seems extremely artistically limiting to want or expect him only to write lyrics that literally describe his current life.

I love the fact that because of that tiny muttered flub this beautiful heartfelt ballad gets an explicit warning label. 😄 Only Green Day 😂

Your post seems really confused to me On one hand, you say that you "would take songs about cheating and affairs any day over cellos and shopping online..." but still you feel uncomfortable "listening to three albums about cheating or having affairs". Well, why? My life has been a severe addiction journey; that being said, I will never pretend knowing exactly and entirely what every section of his songwriting stands for to Billie, and of course the trilogy can't be reduced to a "folly of his addictions". I don't think either that there are songs that are only about one negative aspect of Billie's life and others that are only positive, the first ones being embarrassingly "honest" and the latter some "attempts at an obscure metaphor". Not the way I see RevRad, and it's my favorite album. Moreover, I think each of us is in right to listen to what he wants and likes without any justification needed, and even though we're not sure about the story behind the song (that we might never really know) and we only know it must have been something hard / not pretty. Every song Billie has written, wherever it comes from, is part of the person he is today. I'm most grateful to Billie, and everything new I learn about him, whether it can be related to present or past including his bad health/unhappiness at some point, is something I cherish and that makes me love even more all he's written, especially the trilogy songs, precisely because I understand more and more what time it must have been to him. I need and I want to understand this time also, and to feel what it makes me feel. Any moral blockage to it would be a misleading of mine.

I corrected it for you (you'll notice I put ≤ and not < I haven't forgot all about maths yet!). X-Kid is a great song, as Still Breathing is like a holy song to me. The irony is that when I listened to it the first times it kept cutting my breath with emotion. My thought is that there are many great songs in the Trilogy. They are different from any other stuff Green Day has done. I personally had my own necessary time to get comfortable with all its content, more because I had never heard something alike before and around me everyone was just like "wtf?" so it's more social or educational reason. So I progressively let these albums, notably Dos, come to me during my Green Day journey, and within a few months after discovering the band, singing along with Makeout Party or Wow! That's Loud are my most probable guilty pleasure

They remind me of teenagers; giggly and in love for the first time. It's adorable and endearing.

Okay he's really killing me now

I like jeff matika. I love his caustic sense of humor and I love how approachable and accessible he is.

Makes me really uncomfortable too, there are songs on Dos I just can't listen to anymore. It kind of sours the whole trilogy for me, even though there's far more good than bad. I know a lot of people have said the same, this isn't new. Since Billie almost always writes autobiographically, it just breaks my heart too much to think about that time, all the bullshit and what it must have been like. But seeing him out there kicking ass now, it's helped me appreciate the trilogy without so much of the baggage.

When a baby attends a Green Day show in utero, it is essential they get a souvenir to take home for once they make their debut 😆 My cousin attended the Cleveland show with me last week and surprised me with this at the hospital a few days later 😊