Green Day's playing

[The Doctor]

Ok I'm trying to get my friend into Green Day. So I started off with Christie Road, and this was her responce:

"ok. i'm trying to be open minded buuuut:

the drummer puts no feel in what he's playing and it's almost like he's struggling to fit in his fills and they're dragging back. all he's playing is straight eight stuff and that's all i ever hear them play it's like he doesn't have much creativity

the guitarist only really plays chords, nothing original and i don't like his voice

the bassist, well, i'm not a bass player but he sounds alright really

oh one more thing i must get in there is that he needs to tighten his snare drum "

I just want to know what you think of this.. I agree with her that it's only basic guitar chords, but I don't really agree with her about the drumming.. She described them as "straight edge" - I don't think so. I think Green Day have a lot of creativity in their music.

Then I sent her Fashion Victim and Scattered and she said (about both):

"i still feel the drumming is forced, too violent, not many dynamics put into it and no feel. the skin on his snare still sounds too loose. could be the quality of his kit but he'll be rich so he'd do something about that (simon's [Phillips, from Toto (her favourite band)] gives a reeeally nice sound, have a listen). his fills just consist of fast rolls across the drums, not much variation

the guitaring isn't as bad but still, not much creativity put into it. you never hear him go into any inetersting riffs or solos. he's like obsessed with chords again, i don't like his voice, it reminds me of those bands who like do those fake american forced accents (like blink 182)

the bass line isn't too interesting either"

I just want to know what you think of her allegations. There's probably a topic on how Green Day play their instruments but this is about what she said.

[nak321]

How can she tell that they need to tighen their snare drum?

[The Doctor]

^ I dunno! She drums, I just assumed she could tell from that

[penutt]

i don't know. i don't think about those things.

i think she has a point about the guitar part. but i don't really care. it sounds good anyway.

[Parley]

I hate the way Billie puts on that damned American accent.

[penutt]

I hate the way Billie puts on that damned American accent.

that's just his style of singing. i don't see anything wrong with it.

[The Doctor]

I hate the way Billie puts on that damned American accent.

That's what I was thinking she's silly. Actually I don't know if she thinks they are american or not.

[randomness]

i agree with her on the guitar playing, Green Day does, apart from on 1039 SOSH, just play chords. Billie is hardly the Jimi Hendrix of guitar playing, but he never tries to say he is, and not everyone likes a load of riffs. one of the reasons i think Green Day are so big is because they keep it simple. i disagree with her about the drumming, i think Tre does put effort into what he's playing. i also disagree with her about creativity, i think Green Day have alot of creativity, they aren't afraid to experiment with new things. as for Billie's voice, that's personal opinion

[Danette]

To me when I hear other drummers play their drums it sounds forced. To me however Tre's style of playing goes smoothly. So right now my face looks like this---> Playing chords is Billie's style of playing, if she wants solos send her some of the 1039 stuff and some of the Kerplunk stuff. And as for the Bass she said it herself she doesn't play bass, compared to other bass players who only do boring riffs, he puts emotion into his playing and doesn't do those standard boring licks.

[penutt]

i don't like solos.

[mbk]

I hate the way Billie puts on that damned American accent.

Ahhh, do the replies to your post make you wonder why you bothered?

And to thread starter, your friend has obviously never heard of punk rock. That's what's great about it, that it doesn't have all those ridiculous frills and ornamentation. That's its strength!

[WalkingContradiction118]

i agree with her on the guitar playing, Green Day does, apart from on 1039 SOSH, just play chords. Billie is hardly the Jimi Hendrix of guitar playing, but he never tries to say he is, and not everyone likes a load of riffs. one of the reasons i think Green Day are so big is because they keep it simple. i disagree with her about the drumming, i think Tre does put effort into what he's playing. i also disagree with her about creativity, i think Green Day have alot of creativity, they aren't afraid to experiment with new things. as for Billie's voice, that's personal opinion

you took the words right outta my mouth

[randomness]

i don't play drums, or any instrument, how can you tell if something sounds forced when you're just listening to it? even if you didn't want to do it, you'd still be playing the same notes or whatever as someone who did. that probably sounds dumb but yeah i don't know how you can tell to be honest

[The Doctor]

Ahhh, do the replies to your post make you wonder why you bothered?

And to thread starter, your friend has obviously never heard of punk rock. That's what's great about it, that it doesn't have all those ridiculous frills and ornamentation. That's its strength!

thank you!! that's what I've been trying to explain to her, but she's dumb and won't listen

[randomness]

thank you!! that's what I've been trying to explain to her, but she's dumb and won't listen

if she wants riffs tell her to go listen to DragonForce or something

[adzik1410]

That's what I heard from my pal. Simple, not interesting, therefore - sucks. First of all - punk rock is about simplicity. So it's about 3-4 chords repeated throughout the song. And sometimes I do feel as if they repeated themselves. But c'mon, BJ does some great things with his guitar. Mike's great with the bass.

My other pal, who knows much more about ALL kinds of music, unlike the first one - he told me they are pretty cool. Simplicity is that SOMETHING about their music. Or no, let me say 'simplicity'. Because I don't think their music is simple at all. And they are sure as hell creative. And the pal - he said Tre is thought to be one of the best drummers around. Pretty much what Tre says himself. Defending completed

[Danette]

i don't play drums, or any instrument, how can you tell if something sounds forced when you're just listening to it? even if you didn't want to do it, you'd still be playing the same notes or whatever as someone who did. that probably sounds dumb but yeah i don't know how you can tell to be honest

Well, you can tell if it doesn't sound smooth if it sounds like rough. Shit that doesn't sound right

[blank_space]

Did your friend mention anything about the lyrics/emotional content in the songs? In my opinion that's what makes Green Day outstanding, and I've always thought that's why they keep the music simple - so the song's meaning isn't drowned out.

And plus, because the songs are simple and fairly easy to play, it means everyone can join in the fun

[spark in the night]

I could agree with her on the guitar parts

but I dont think it's bad

[randomness]

Well, you can tell if it doesn't sound smooth if it sounds like rough. Shit that doesn't sound right

i don't see how drum playing can sound smooth or rough, maybe i would if i actually played drums

[Danette]

^ Its their style, if you hear a new Green Day song on the radio you could easily identify it and say thats GD. Why? Its because its their style, its what they are known for. Straight forward music with awesome lyrics.

i don't see how drum playing can sound smooth or rough, maybe i would if i actually played drums

Its hard to explain its like, if you do a drum roll and you fuck up it sounds forced. But as you keep practicing then it sounds smoother and ya..

[Parley]

Ahhh, do the replies to your post make you wonder why you bothered?

Frequently. But I'm stubbornly persistant. :wink:

[armatageshanks]

somebody who likes toto has no right to criticize music in such an indepth matter.

and what the hell is a "forced American accent?" usually if someone is American they sing in an American accent. that makes no sense whatsoever.

[long_live_greenday]

Did your friend mention anything about the lyrics/emotional content in the songs? In my opinion that's what makes Green Day outstanding, and I've always thought that's why they keep the music simple - so the song's meaning isn't drowned out.

And plus, because the songs are simple and fairly easy to play, it means everyone can join in the fun

haha, I just was saying that aloud when I read this

[The Doctor]

Did your friend mention anything about the lyrics/emotional content in the songs? In my opinion that's what makes Green Day outstanding, and I've always thought that's why they keep the music simple - so the song's meaning isn't drowned out.

And plus, because the songs are simple and fairly easy to play, it means everyone can join in the fun

That's so true. I've always thought Green Day's lyrics were one of their best features as a band.