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COMETBUS #54 Green Day In China?!


GDM

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I'll have you know (assuming, of course, that it's me you're talking about) that I have been to Sheffield, and been to Hillsborough to see Sheffield Wednesday play, and that I gave up somewhere between 10 and 12 hours of my BIRTHDAY to do so (there were huge delays on the trains from London owing to torrential rains that day). And I explored a bit of Sheffield as well, as much as I could

before I was absolutely soaking wet and the last train back

to London was leaving. Any disparaging remarks I might

have made about Sheffield and/or its football team(s) were

completely in jest. I love the North of England.

They better have been ! Always slightly bizarre to read about people from miles away knowing about & watching the blue & white wizards.

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The majority of Pinhead Gunpowder fans have heard of PHGP through being Green Day fans first, so the majority of people who buy their records are Green Day fans and that includes the 'real' fans too. It's sad that he'd leap to conclusions and be so judgemental about them.

I was making the point that there are fans of Green day (like myself) who heard on the grapevine about Pinhead Gunpowder and then listened to them. they continued listening to Pinhead Gunpwoder because they Like Pinhead Gunpowder not just because Billie Joe is in the band. I have talked to kids who were at Pinhead Gunpowder shows and they have said that they're fans (almost always girls, which as somebody whom identifies themselves as a feminist, makes me sick to my stomach) who chuck a fuck when they aren't up front to gaze at their beloved Billie Joe, they have no idea what any of the songs are and they cannot identify any of the band members, heck they don't even awknowledge Aaron Cometbus as a writer of Pinhead Gunpowder's songs.

My point is that these fans ruin it for every one else. And I don't think Aaron was being ageist or sexist I think in his own potentially tactless and honest way he was breifly mentioning this. I'm sure the guy has friends who are Green Day fans and doesn't think they are dicks. I also agree with larry Livermore's blog, it is purely the Lucky Dog Trout dance Hoopla all over again (from the way he described it anyway)

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I'm on both sides of the fence. I can see some fans as being pretty annoying (both "superfans" and just fans in general). I think the main thing to remember is that as long as you do what makes you happy and doesn't hurt anyone else, things are good. Besides, it's not like people are flying to Cali to go find the band members houses and dig though their trashcans to find worn out undies... now THAT would be creepy. One thing that I love about some of the Green Day fans I've met (and even some I haven't met), is that we are like a community. I have heard about fans giving other fans tickets for free, and being unselfish in other ways. It's good to meet people who understand the way that a band can have a positive affect, and feel the same way that I do (and I'm talking more about inspiration wise). One person's opinion on what he/she saw or experienced isn't going to change my views, and if this person doesn't know you, then his/her opinion doesn't mean anything.

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Interesting debate guys!

I still feel angry that someone can slag off Green day fans then expect them to fund his magazine, that's really taking the piss. I also feel some people posting are so sure this isn't an insult to them but just fans that have been branded, but I see it as him mocking anyone who likes Green Day and I also see it as an insult to the band, who pride themselves in having many generations of fans, original fans now bringing their kids etc.

I have never had the cash (or time) to follow the band around but I would have liked to have seen more shows, traveled a bit, met other fans, seen a FBHT show and the American Idiot musical. I also love the stories from the fans who have travelled etc. I was one of the original punks in the 70's, (I got into the music aged 15) getting backstage at many gigs, getting in for free etc. and meeting the Clash, Ramones, Dammed. Slits, Adam and the Ants, Sham 69, Blondie etc, etc. Best thing about Green Day is the fact they get kids into their music, and take them on a different route to the fuckin reality show/manufactured crap out there.

Most people are into punk because they didn't want to fit in. I wondered when it had become acceptable for people with a punk ethic to describe others as 'sad and middle aged' and collectively judging a group of people without knowing anything about them. I don't consider that good writing. It displays ignorance I would expect from some preppy teenager that doesn't know any better. I also noted that Larry Livermore mentioned the time he was left off the VIP list for the London Green Day shows, and how he described his route back to the hotel (via public transport) and missing the FBHT show. I felt really sad for him at the time that somewhere over the years he got left behind. I suppose this would make him a sad old bastard too in Cometbus's eyes. Cometbus is also deluding himself, if Billie left PHGP tomorrow how many people would attend the shows?

Nobody scanned the Green Day bits yet? Someone with the magazine please do so, save us all money that we can put towards stalking the band, or in the least pay for the next freebie that Cometbus has at our expense.

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No, they do not.

Nice to hear this from your point of view. I think it might rest some unsettled feelings a little bit. :)

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No, they do not.

LL, one of the rare occasions when a member can have more rep than posts :lol:

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The only thing that bothers me is some 'superfans' end up feeling entitled. Spending a lot of money on the band can go to some people's heads and you see the same people on barrier at every show and I don't agree with that. I heard a lot of it during Rocktober when FHT announced their show - "Well we should be able to go, we've earned it." And well, no, you haven't earned it anymore than the next person has.

Not that this is everyone. But it is a negative side to the whole following the band around thing that i've noticed.

Yeah, I don't like the whole "We deserve it" attitude. I don't mind seeing the same people on the barrier if they can get it, because at the end of the day, it's all down to luck when those doors open and how quick you can make it to the front. But I do agree that everyone has just as much of a right to be there. It bugs me when people get pissed off if they're not in their exact 20 degree right angle distance away from Billie or Mike. Build a bridge, like. You win some, you lose some.

When we were in New York we hung around a good bit after the shows to try and meet Billie Joe and I couldn't help but notice all the people around me who were saying things like "Hurry the fuck up, Billie. We're all standing out here waiting for you, freezing our asses off." It's like "Well then leave, you spa. Stop trying to ruin it for everyone else who actually wants to be here." He doesn't owe you anything, he's going out of his way to even hang back and sign those few autographs/take photos for fans. We were actually amazed at how long he spent doing it each night.

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Unlike Larry, who said in his writing that he wasn't going to judge what fans should act like, I do judge people, and hold some disdain for people who take it to that absurd level. You don't need to be at every event to try and compete with someone else or to say "I was there", or "I met them." As a matter of fact, I think I'm more bugged by people who do all this just to say "I was there" just for the sake of getting attention from it. And there definitely are people who do that.

It'd be silly for me to tell people they shouldn't spend their lives trying to be involved with Green Day, I've run a site dedicated to them for the past 7 years. But I've also purposely kept my distance and tried not to be everywhere my friends were. I just don't feel that need to be. Same reason that when I go to NY at the end of the month, I only plan on going to one show, and the rest of the time I'll spend it doing non-Green Day stuff. I just don't feel like I need to be a part of the 'group' every moment I can get away in order to feel like I'm apart of something.

Andres, there are always going to be people you like and dont like in the social circles you travel in. Our Green Day fan world is simply another one of those social circles you travel in. Your choices in how you choose to be a fan does not make you better or worse than how other fans choose to act. You imply that keeping your distance from Green Day activites makes you somehow a better fan in your mind. Be clear, it doesnt. You make your choices, others make theirs. Why judge? If a gaggle of 15-year-olds, 20-year-olds, 50-year-olds want to hound the band for signatures, what fucking skin is it off your nose?

Aaron hides behind his zine with hateful words and as far as I can see rarely, if ever, engages with Green Day fans, yet has piggy-backed off their fame for 30 years. Someone who knows him said to me, he MUST be aware of the intersection between Cometbus readers and Green Day fans but is probably in denial of that. Aaron is a big proponent of his "community" in supporting each other. I believe we, as a community of fans do that here. Perhaps its weird that we have created a community out of a fandom for a band, but hey, there are weirder communities that have been formed from shared beliefs in things as phoney as religion.

So, to each their own, judging is a waste of energy and does nothing but try to make you feel better about your own choices. Feel secure enough in your own choices without having to bring others down for theirs.

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I'm on both sides of the fence. I can see some fans as being pretty annoying (both "superfans" and just fans in general). I think the main thing to remember is that as long as you do what makes you happy and doesn't hurt anyone else, things are good. Besides, it's not like people are flying to Cali to go find the band members houses and dig though their trashcans to find worn out undies... now THAT would be creepy. One thing that I love about some of the Green Day fans I've met (and even some I haven't met), is that we are like a community. I have heard about fans giving other fans tickets for free, and being unselfish in other ways. It's good to meet people who understand the way that a band can have a positive affect, and feel the same way that I do (and I'm talking more about inspiration wise). One person's opinion on what he/she saw or experienced isn't going to change my views, and if this person doesn't know you, then his/her opinion doesn't mean anything.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Im outta reps but ++++++++++++++++ for your post. Worn out undies, yick.

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So, next question - who's gonna make the 'Green Day Fans - Eerie as Fuck!!' merch? :)

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So, next question - who's gonna make the 'Green Day Fans - Eerie as Fuck!!' merch? :)

Oh F**K....ouch, ow, ow, OWWWW!!! :lol: If I had any +reps left for today you'd be getting one for that!

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So, next question - who's gonna make the 'Green Day Fans - Eerie as Fuck!!' merch? :)

hahaha! oooh... someone has to! or bracelets!! hahahaha... and donate the proceeds to charity... maybe that will make aaron feel better... I kid!

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I vote 'Lonesome as f***' what with absolutely none of us having friends or lives or jobs or anything...

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hahaha! oooh... someone has to! or bracelets!! hahahaha... and donate the proceeds to charity... maybe that will make aaron feel better... I kid!

Luminous green on a black rubber band, I say. Or on a shirt, so you can make a real statement when you're standing around looking lost with your fatherless family and such.

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Everyone on here makes Aaron sound like a jerk, I've read it in several threads.

He's just as important and meaningful to Green Day as Billie, Mike and Tre.

So for those of you who want to make him sound like an elitist jerk your entitled to an opinion like he is but seriously if most of you were familiar with him then you'd know why he'd write things like this.

So Mike, explain YOUR take on why he writes things likes this.

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Niki Lee just wrote on Facefuck:

‎...i can be silly but i decided to be straight forward.

aaron cometbus may be the greatest underground writer alive. i don't care. when you slap the name GREEN DAY on something to sell it and then bash the very people you're trying to entice, it's a mistake. it was also a mistake to bash those same people when they came to help your friend anandi. see how it backfires, mr. cometbus? and, please, don't think you're not a middle-aged hanger-on yourself.

from: niki lee -- a middle-aged, out-of-work green day fan who lives in the moment and considers every exciting thing "a once-in-a-lifetime" because nothing is ever the same way twice~

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i still want this. anybody know how long it's available for purchase?

I doubt they're gonna run out of it before we get to NY :) I'd love to go to Book Thug Nation anyway so you'll have the chance to buy this issue and tons of other issues/books.

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I've been reading a lot of comments about how Cometbus is a dick. I don't want to be the black sheep again..but..I just feel as though he's passionate about what he writes. Yeah, I mean..sometimes things can be taken too far. But, he keeps the scene alive for me at least. I bought my first Cometbus at Moe's on Telegraph Ave. The cashier up front told me that the zine I bought (The Loneliness of the Electric Menorah) was all about Telegraph and Berkeley and that Moe was the guy on the front. Hearing that, it made feel me...as corny as it sounds, warm. I had no idea if Cometbus wrote bad or good things about Telegraph in the zine since I was just buying it at the moment, but it just made me feel like this was a guy that didn't give a fuck what people thought but wrote about things that meant something to him. Yeah, the whole love/hate relationship with Berkeley and him is relevant, but the last paragraph of that zine gave me the chills. It really shows you that he cares about things, as much as a dick he portrays himself to be, atleast to some people.

Nobody is arguing over his writing. He is a brilliant writer. TLOTEM was actually one of my least favorite issues. I just found the characters in that story not terribly compelling. Im not sure exactly what "scene" he is keeping alive for you.

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I just ordered the Green Day issue. Now I'm not sure I should have.

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I just ordered the Green Day issue. Now I'm not sure I should have.

Fallyn, all in all, it's a great read. Just take some things with a grain of salt is all I can say. A friend of mine actually suggested boycotting it... But that would deny us some great insight into the band that we normally don't get.

Just my two cents of opinion.

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I just ordered the Green Day issue. Now I'm not sure I should have.

Feel free to send it on this way if you don't want it!

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Fallyn, all in all, it's a great read. Just take some things with a grain of salt is all I can say. A friend of mine actually suggested boycotting it... But that would deny us some great insight into the band that we normally don't get.

Just my two cents of opinion.

I guess that's what I'll have to do. I did read back through a few pages of this, and got the gist of what it was Cometbus had to say about the superfans, and I also saw LL's post about how Green Day doesn't feel the same way. So, y'know, that'll help me to take some of it with a grain of salt.

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I guess that's what I'll have to do. I did read back through a few pages of this, and got the gist of what it was Cometbus had to say about the superfans, and I also saw LL's post about how Green Day doesn't feel the same way. So, y'know, that'll help me to take some of it with a grain of salt.

And from what I've heard, his slating of the fans only takes up 2 paragraphs in the whole story so there won't be much to suffer through

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And from what I've heard, his slating of the fans only takes up 2 paragraphs in the whole story so there won't be much to suffer through

Not true... he also says that some of the creepiest Green Day fans know the names "only the most terrifying of Green Day fans would recognize any of the Big Three (Jason White, Jason Freese, Jeff Matika) once they stepped offstage." So, his wariness of Green Day fans presumably extends a little bit deeper than those two paragraphs.

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