Defending Green Day

[Fuzz]

DEFENDING GREEN DAY

June 5, 2006

Written By: Andres

I'm writing this in response to all the comments back and forth about the comments posted on PunkNews.org. I posted a link to that site for entertainment. I find it funny when people bash Green Day with no sensible reasoning. The problem is that some users from here went to that site and posted posts with no sensible reasoning. It ended up making most of you who posted look like morons.

I don't like talking down to our visitors. It's because of your dedication that this site thrives. But I don't like the idea of bunches of you going on an attack prowl trying to defend Green Day. Green Day is undoubtedly one of the biggest bands in the world. They don't need to be defended all the time. There are always going to be people, whether online or the real world, who disagree with your taste in music. There's no reason for anyone to get defensive over the fact that people don't like the band.

GDA is visited by over 40,000 visitors each and every day. Most of these people are decent Green Day fans just looking for some update on their favorite band. That's why we continue to run GDA - for all of you dedicated fans. It sucks that a couple hundred people can go out to a site and make our site look like something it's not. When we post stuff, we don't want our visitors getting all pissed off and posting nasty crap on another site. That makes you - and us - just as pathetic as the people who bash Green Day. Green Day fans are supposed to be the logical people who can laugh at stupidity.

People who decide they no longer like Green Day because they became too popular, or because their fan base is younger - they are the ones losing out. We shouldn't have to try and convince people why Green Day is the best band in the world. People should be fans of a band for their music foremost, their personality is a big plus as well. But if you're going to lose respect for a band because of the way their fans are, then you shouldn't be a fan in the first place. I hate seeing people lose respect for Green Day because they see a few annoying fans.

We don't want GDA to have a negative image because some people feel the need to voice their opinion without some common sense or reasoning. We are all here for the same purpose - because we all respect Green Day for their music. This place should remain a place for fans to come together and share this common interest.

[Laurie]

I totally agree. If people don't like Green Day then so what!!! That is their opinion.

I wasn't aware people were even doing things that but it seems a little bit pathetic in my opinion. Instead of wasting time defending Green Day and arguing about them we could just be spending more time loving them!

BTW. I think the Editiorial is a great idea:D

[amber87]

Hiya :]

Long time lurker, first time poster here.

Well said. I don't see why people feel the need to go convince others that Green Day is a great band. If they don't agree, then whatever. It's their opinion & they're the ones missing out.

xxx Amber

[jnine13]

I don't really care if other people like them, it only makes it easier to get concert tickets if they don't. Why bother trashing someone else's site, it's like cyber gangs.

[Jimmy's_Rebel]

Brilliant article Andres, and i agree with every part of it. I thought it was really stupid when i followed that link the other day because of all the arguing going on over there.... :/ you just have to ignore those kinds of people and be safe in the knowledge that you have good taste in music

[judgesdaughter]

Thank you Andres for your article. I've heard a lot of bashing even between Green Day fans. The important thing here is the music. I was fortunate enough to become a fan back in 1994 and I have loved them ever since but I can't hold that against a fan who heard them for the first time recently. Does that make them any less of a fan? No. A true fan is one who really loves the music and who appreciates how talented these guys are. As for those who dislike Green Day, who think they aren't "punk" enough or who think Green Day are full of themself...that's their opinion. What kind of world would it be if everyone liked the same thing? I'm just happy that I've found a band who's music gets under my skin and who I can rely on to get me through the good times and the bad. That's their problem if they are missing out on that.

[greendayluver451]

I 100% Agree. That was a really good way to defend Green Day. Keep up the good ideas and work!

[vessy]

I agree, who cares what other people think, everyone schould listen to what he wants and let other people do the same without stupid comments. And the article is really good written so good job!

[CarolsDayParade]

i agree andres...

i hate all these "ex-fans" that now hate green day just because they have an anormous success.....

in italy this kind of people is growing day to day.....

anyway...

ANDRES FOR PRESIDENT!

[Sherri]

Amen. I completely agree with that. I'll admit that I did post on that site twice.. and even then I didn't feel like it was worth doing, it wasn't going to change anyone's mind. I really liked the part about how posting to defend them can almost be as bad as the other people who were going against Green Day.

[Astro_Zombie]

I love the editorial! It had to be said and I like the way you did it.

I get sick of people bashing Green Day, but equally sick of morons arguing back - not that you can really call their replies "arguments" because as you said, they're not reasoned. It sometimes makes me, not ashamed, but sort of embarrassed, that fans can be so stupid.

[Tunny's Girlfriend]

I totally agree with you. If people don't like Green Day's music, that's their problem! They're the ones missing out. We won't be able to change thier minds by arguing with them, and if we use stupid arguments that make as little sense as their arguments, then we only end up looking stupid. By the way, I think an editorial section is an excellent idea.

[nay]

haha, i got bored and read all that stuff people were saying to defend green day. it made me laugh. really though, what is the need? if you like them .. thumbs up for you! but just because someone else doesnt like them doesnt mean they are satans spawn or something. i think green day knows people doesnt like them. if it doesnt bother them, it shouldnt bother you.

[sandz2710]

I agree with Andres...everyone everywhere is entitled to their own opinion...be a funny old world if we all agreed 100% of the time

[M.J.]

Look at all the people saying the exact same thing.

But I mostly agree. Green Day knows people don't like them and they don't mind. In fact, it probably makes them feel fuzzy inside to know they're pissing somebody off. It would be taking away their fun to defend them.

And I think everyone feels the same about fair-weather fans. Even if the ones Green Day is getting are kind of the opposite. They're more like bad-weather fans. They only like the band when they're practically underground.

You just gotta let 'em be and to each his own like Andres said.

[Fuzz]

Yeah, well thanks for the all the positive replies. I almost didn't post it because I was worried that it would piss off some people. And i really don't have a problem with people goin on another site and posting something, I just wish more people would have posted valid point of argument. And when I started reading comments from the PunkNews visitors that said stuff like "All you people from GDA need to go away" and stuff like that, it kinda bugged me that GDA was going to get a negative image of users - kinda like GSB has gotten. Thats why I wrote it.

Anyways, look forward to more editorials, probably not many by me, but we'll be looking for people to write up stuff on Green Day, and probably other things that are going on in the world.

[Tyke]

I, contrary to Andres and most of the people replying to the forum here, actually dissagree with Andres completely on this topic.

The integral part of obtaining the Green Day Fan title is to persuade and convince people who dont even like Green Day, or dont even like punk to realize that Green Day is the worlds best band. If people never gave others a chance to listen to music they deem not good enough, how would they know whats good? Plus, a great portion of the fans today dont even like Green Day for their music, but more for their stunning looks. So it makes perfect sense to expose all teenage adolescents to the mouthwatering beauty of lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong.

And Andres, who the fuck are you to say that us 'true' fans are the ones making GDA look like something its not. If it wasnt for us, GDA would just be a cool website that 4 people go to. Our mission as fans is to spread the Green Day and GDA love around. We are doing you a favor, we are doing your site a favor, we are promoting the best band in the world, and all you can say to that is that we are stupid? I start to question how you became in charge of a Green Day fansite if you cant even appreciate your own fans.

[Window]

right om man

oh hey tyke thats acually how i was introduced to green day

and now im a total junkie my walls are covered with billie joe

and im working on owning all gd cd's but so far all ive got is

dookie and international superhits but i still do agree with andres

i never went around posting gd sux or anything im not an a-hole

and whille others peoples opinons get me all mad im not gonna

let that bother me my opinon is the only one im concerned with

[DeathOrGlory]

thanks andres, that was really awesome and kind of what i was trying to say yesterday (although i'm sure it came out sounding very immature and idiotic)

[Tyke]

right om man

oh hey tyke thats acually how i was introduced to green day

and now im a total junkie my walls are covered with billie joe

and im working on owning all gd cd's but so far all ive got is

dookie and international superhits but i still do agree with andres

i never went around posting gd sux or anything im not an a-hole

and whille others peoples opinons get me all mad im not gonna

let that bother me my opinon is the only one im concerned with

if you look around this forum, i bet you could find hundreds of posts saying:

simple plan sucks, or good charlotte sucks, blink 182 sucks, Andres sucks...

...dick

[Gwen]

Tyke is right : I don't understand why you run a site dedicated to Green day if you think it's useless to defend them and to make other people love them.

If, as you said, green day is the best band in the world, then they deserve us to defend them when somebody disagree.

I think it's cool when other people says stuff like "green day sucks" because it gives us a new chance to prove that this is false. I know that musical tastes are personal but it's cool to try to convince people that the band we like are great.

[Fuzz]

Well Tyke is a moron, so I wouldn't take his advice.

I run GDA because I'm capable of running it. I could care less if people defend Green Day, I just wish they would do so with some sort of decency so their defense looks valid, and not as a sad attempt for attention.

Arguing with people about which band is better, is like punching a glacier (in the words of Stephen Colbert). It's not like it's going to make a difference. In the end, the best that could come out of it would be the two people agreeing to disagree.

[The Underbelly]

I don't care if someone is anti Green Day, who am I to tell what someone else should or shouldn't listen to? I can only give advice. It's just if someone doesn't like Green Day, but reasons it stupidly, then I get a ditto image of that person. But if someone tries to defend Green Day like a moron, it's the same thing.

If people can have a reasonable arguement whether Green Day rocks or sucks, then I don't have a problem with it.

[Hannah Banana]

i completly agree. I was reading some of those posts and it really gives Green Day fans everywhere a bad name. When people act like that or talk like that, they just seem immature and ignorant. I'm not just talking about the GD fans that posted, it goes for the Green Day bashers as well. I have some personal expirience with this subject, so yeah. Thanks for posting the article! Hopefully it will prevent some unwanted internet grudges/fights. Lol

[StuckWithMe18]

I couldn't have said it better myself. People are always talking down on me, because, I am one who got interested because of American Idiot. They changed my life, and benefitted it. I could care less which album was "my first". Sure, I have all of the albums now, but American Idiot was the reason why I got interested and the reason why my life is so much better. It sounds cheesy, but it's true. I have no place to go around to all the ex-fans saying OMG ALL THEY DID WAS GAIN FANBASE blah&whatever, because, I am part of that new fanbase. But, I do think they deserve much more respect from people who used to be fans of theirs.