"Our heroes following rules that they once disobeyed." - A reflexion about Green Day

[uhleckseee]

Realise Green Day owe you nothing.

Daaayum.

That line hit hard. It's obviously true, you're not wrong, and I agree with you. It's just odd to see that physically. Puts everything into perspective and makes us thankful for what we all have. haha too bad Thanksgiving just passed. Out of the millions of fans this band has, there's no way they know each and every one of us. There never will be. So as much as it sucks to say, you hit the nail on the head. They don't owe us anything. Especially not after everything they have given us.

[WhiteTim]

I understand your point. My narcissistic part has been digressing, so I was editing right now.

The problem IS the live shows, too. They've always said their shows would have accessible prices but did you see the price for Emirates in the UK? 60 pounds. SIXTY POUNDS. How the hell is this affordable?

The promoters have to get the money back they spent GD... the more expensive a band charges the higher tickets are...

[.Holly]

all people defending green day in here kepp reffering to punk, what green day says, what other people do and try to justify every behaviour with that. that is the same argumentation structure that fundamentalist religious people like to use. not hold on to what you self think its right, keep refferring what other people do and say.

What?!

All that person did was state that as far as they were concerned, Green Day were "punk" in their own self-defined meaning of the punk movement. They also went on to state that this self-defined meaning involved: "following your own morals and not changing them to fit someone else's needs" and that the punk movement means "something different to everyone". If that isn't holding onto what you think is right without relying on what others have done or said, then I don't know what is.

And if you think that this discussion compares to religious fundamentalists and the ridiculous and grotesquely contrived things that they sometimes come out with (that are usually based on nothing), then I think you should re-read your history books or have a quick look at some modern examples. Take the Catholic church and some of it's rules for example.

[Katarina.]

I became a fan of the band when I was 15, right after American Idiot came out. At the time, I loved bands like MCR, Lostprophets, Yellowcard, The Used..... it was insane. Today, I still have these bands' music on my iPods, but I honestly can't tell you the last time that I didn't skip their songs. It's not because of their image or anything like that, it's simply because I've grown out of them, for lack of a better term. I still respect the bands, they still hold a place in my life. Hell, that was a monumental time for me in music when I first actually got into music.

Everyone also thought I'd grow out of Green Day. Friends look through my iPod and we all laugh at the bands included in there, but with Green Day, this is my fucking band. It doesn't matter what people say about them, I'm still going to love their music regardless. I grew up with little-to-no friends throughout school. Hell, I'm on my college campus now, I never talk to anybody. I'm only social with a select few people. Green Day has been my loyal friend for about 8 years now. I've put their music on when I'm having the worst day of my life, before water polo games in high school to pump me up (usually King For A Day), before going to concerts, when I feel great, when I'm driving....anywhere. Any mood, Green Day is there for me to bring me up, or just cry with me.

So no matter where this band may go with you, just keep in mind that these bands hold a special place in your life, regardless of your age. Come to terms with the fact that you most likely will grow out of a lot of music as you get older. I thought I'd like these bands forever, turns out, I like pretty mature music. I LOATHED Arcade Fire when they were out a few years ago, same with Queens of the Stone Age. Now I love them. It just goes to show that tastes change, but always stay true to yourself. Don't let music define you, don't let a style define you. Don't stick to, "well that's not punk," because, well, not a whole lot IS punk anymore. Green Day's attitun is punk, but I wouldn't say that their music is punk in the grand scheme of things. They have punk-like songs, but overall I wouldn't use the punk label. To me, this band doesn't have a label. They are everything to me. My music tastes outside of this band should signal that I don't like Green Day, but this band will ALWAYS be important to me.

Stop trying to label things. Stop trying to justify everything. Just stick to what you like, who gives a shit what other people think, and just enjoy the music, man.

Ninja Edit: I forgot to address the "selling out." The Black Keys said something recently against claims that they sold out, saying something along the lines of, "this is our job and this is how we make money to live." Look, Green Day is probably set forever if they stop right now. They're having fun and doing what they love. The only way that they can continue to do what they love is to keep the monetary flow. In today's world, the dollar doesn't go as far as it used to, so they have no choice but to do more.

Putting it in a spoiler because it's more text than I expected

I wanted to write pretty much what you wrote in this post. I agree with everything you said. I won't repeat it then Oh man, I started listening to Green Day when I was 11. I liked the sound and Idk, it just felt right. A few years later that first Panic! at the Disco video was on tv. I loved it, they were like "my second favourite band". Of course, until I saw Fall out Boy on tv. And you can guess it, until I saw My Chemical Romance on tv. Those two just faded into the background. I still occasionally listen to their music, but thanks to Green Day I found out about bands like the Clash and the Replacements which mean a lot to me. And after 8 years Green Day is still my favourite band. I changed as a person, the line "people change as well as minds" says it all basically. That's also why I started to look at music differently. The older I get, the more I appreciate music. Sometimes I can't believe I've been listening to, say, Nimrod for more than 5 years! Yet, when I'd listen to it now, I could hear a certain line or melody differently and/or see the song or album from a whole different perspective. Kind of like falling in love with the music again. And again. And again.

Some bands come and go, but for some reason Green Day isn't going anywhere for me.

It has nothing to do with punk or the way they promote their albums. I don't care! Seriously, sometimes I wonder why people get so worked up about this. They do what they like, and if you don't like it, that's fine. You can dislike one album while you love the other. It's like people put "Green Day" into a box and told themselves they can only listen to them if they stay inside of that box. Oh no, they go outside of the box! It's not good for their career! I don't know. I respect everyone's opinions. My personal opinion is just to not think about all the things they can't do much about, like merch or movie soundtracks. It's about enjoying the music. Whatever else they decide to do, whether it's starting a side band, making a musical or contributing to a good cause, it's cool. It's what they want to do. Awesome. Sometimes I like what they're doing, sometimes I don't. But I admire them for making the music they want to make, and doing what they feel is right.

[inthehallwaynow]

LOUD NOISES!!!

[WhiteTim]

Why is Billie being on The Voice or having a song on a soundtrack that big of a deal in the first place? Don't like The Voice don't watch it hate Twilight don't buy the soundtrack if I was going to go by a soundtrack them being featured on Freddy Got Fingerd would've 100x more offensive to me than Twilight...

The "Warner forced them to do Angry Birds Warner made them do Oh Love Warner held a gun and forced em to do Twilight" is old excuse a label cant force a band to do anything they dont want to do period. Plus while Warners owns the music they dont own the name Green Day nor the image of Green Day they kept the name before signing to Warner so Warner can't just place a song of theirs on a project without the group signing off...

Tickets prices well if you think it's too much then don't go noone is forcing you to go the prices I've seen is really not that outregous for a group of Green Day's status...

[TheGrouch33]

Welcome to the world, Green Day have said many times since 1994 that they are no longer a punk band, mainly because they are a mainstream rock band that has a contract with a major label, so if you feel that these actions of the band differ from your ideals then you should take down the dookie poster aswell. You should also know that Green Day also let the film "Godzilla" (1995-6) use their song Brain Stew which was even remixed for the soundrack (it was terrible), so are you going to get angry about that or just about the the Twilight issue because its the SAME thing. They´ve made TONS of commercials for the past 20 something years and now you feel so betrayed by the band? I think you will learn in life that there has to be some kind of moderation towards opinions, you cant be so radical about certain things.

Conclusion, they sold out years ago when they decided to distribute their records through Lookout, its not a bad thing, its just what musicians have to do to LIVE, that some do it in a larger scale than others ok, but dont pretend your beloved Dookie is not as commercial as the voice.

[Batgirl]

unfortunaly totaly missing the point. quite amusing how you argumenting against opinions that weren't stated.

I am not argumenting against anything, I just could relate to her post. Quite amusing how you can't differentiate between a personal opinion and an agreement with somebody else's post.

[Jace Peterson]

Why is Billie being on The Voice or having a song on a soundtrack that big of a deal in the first place? Don't like The Voice don't watch it hate Twilight don't buy the soundtrack if I was going to go by a soundtrack them being featured on Freddy Got Fingerd would've 100x more offensive to me than Twilight...

The "Warner forced them to do Angry Birds Warner made them do Oh Love Warner held a gun and forced em to do Twilight" is old excuse a label cant force a band to do anything they dont want to do period. Plus while Warners owns the music they dont own the name Green Day nor the image of Green Day they kept the name before signing to Warner so Warner can't just place a song of theirs on a project without the group signing off...

Tickets prices well if you think it's too much then don't go noone is forcing you to go the prices I've seen is really not that outregous for a group of Green Day's status...

jesus christ. ever heard of punctuation?

[WhiteTim]

jesus christ. ever heard of punctuation?

Actually yes but I'm on my phone and I'm too lazy to go through the extra shit for all the commas and periods etc plus this is a message board now if this site were work related then I'd take more time and effort...

[Cob]

Green Days is one of the biggest bands in the world now. When that happens, record labels look to exploit their BRAND, not band.

Take a look at KISS. Or Metallica. Or U2. Or The Beatles. Or Foo Fighters. Or Any other major label band. Their companies try to make money off the name alone, not the music. Take Blink-182 for example. Dude Ranch and Enema of The State are great punk records. But when they signed to MCA/Geffen, they didn't realize that they got a shitty promotion deal. So when they got super huge, they ended up getting attached to "Teeny Bopper" magazine and treated like fucking Kidz Bop, when they should have been on Rolling Stone, Kerrang!, or Alternative Press. Blink later said that this is what caused them to try and retake their image and their music (hence why they are now independent). Major Labels want money, that never reflects what the band wants.

This is why Green Day's songs are attached to Twilight, why there is an Angry Birds game, why their shirts are made in East Asia. Sure its kind of lame and a bit hypocritical, but ultimately it's not important. How else are they going to make a living to keep making kickass music? The fact is the name is now bigger than the music, and major labels are always going to try to make a buck off of that.

And of course Billie is going to talk about the American working class, that's where he comes from,; in fact, the band has never forgotten where it comes from, it shows up on every damn record.

Bring me some evidence that Green Day wrote a song only for money or had one written for them, and I'll say they sold out. Until then, they'll just keep being a great rock n' roll band to me; one of the best. And honestly, if you really are 15, get over all this an try to enjoy the music and try to enjoy your life. I may only be 18, but trust me, once you get out of the house or out of school, you're going to quickly realize that all these bullshit ideals are just that: bullshit.

[AJunks]

If Green Day truly changed your life as much as you said, then you wouldn't of just given up on them for basically nothing...

[Clockwise]

This argument is balls.

[Cob]

This argument is balls.

That's the best thing I've ever read on this site ever. I have made it my sig, if you don't mind?

[DTH]

I am not argumenting against anything, I just could relate to her post. Quite amusing how you can't differentiate between a personal opinion and an agreement with somebody else's post.

you=most people in this thread. e.g. the person you quoted.

[Guest]

I clicked on this because the title quoted a Rise Against song. That's all I have to contribute.

[DTH]

I may only be 18, but trust me, once you get out of the house or out of school, you're going to quickly realize that all these bullshit ideals are just that: bullshit.

i'm older than her and you. and that statement is just sad.

[Ritz]

Sell out or not, I have loved them always and I am sure they won't fade away on me. Mainly because I can relate to the lyrics well and that's what I like.

And about Green Day appearing on TV shows, I see it as 'Wow, we get more Green Day, that's so awesome.' So I am pretty happy.

[Cob]

i'm older than her and you. and that statement is just sad.

I'm not saying it's not sad, but ideas are just that: ideas. Pure idealism can never fully be applied in real life, compromises must always be made because things are not black and white.

It's like Rusty James. Everybody in the East Bay scene were kids who thought they were going to take down corporate America, but they all ended up joining it instead. Those who didn't just became angry and spiteful, and nobody wanted that.

I'm not trying to be cynical, I'm just saying that OP shouldn't be completely sold on their ideals because they will likely change and they may not be fully realized. Sorry if I phrased it strongly, but that's my opinion on the matter.

[SetOnOverdrive]

tl;dr

Stop Whining.

[inthehallwaynow]

remember dookie?

[RokketQueen]

IMO...The band grew up. They were quite young when they hit it big with 'Dookie'...Still in that phase of life where people are finding themselves and have that 'fuck you and the world' attitude. I've never felt that they sold out....They gotta eat too! They're making a living and I find no fault in that. As we grow older, priorities change. I've been a fan since I first heard 'Basket Case' while sitting in a bar one night (just dated myself right there...LoL). They've been successful and I'm sure they want to stay that way. To do so, they have to stay in the public eye and if that means doing things like 'Angry Birds', 'The Voice' or putting a song on the Twilight soundtrack...Then so be it. Personally, I love that they did all those things. They've stepped beyond what most people expected them to, most likely knowing that there were going to be some that hated it. To me, Punk means doing what you want and not giving a damn what anyone thinks about it. Punk is doing the unexpected; consequences be damned. I've never felt they crossed any lines because it's not up to me nor anyone else to set those lines....That's up to them. I'm just happy they're still cranking out music. They've literally been the soundtrack for my life and I hope they are for many years to come.

Just my two cents

[Parley]

I've been a fan of Green Day since the 90's, OP. I've read so many posts like yours and they always make me chuckle. You're entitled to your opinion and I know you're sincere and I appreciate that. I love Green Day and their music, too, but I can still realize that they're human and they're in the position to do anything they damn well please. They're also fallible and do stupid things, as well.

I was also surprised to hear that Billie was going to be on "The Voice", but I didn't find it upsetting in the least. It's not a big deal. Don't take it so seriously. Don't analyze everything the group does. You'll never know why they do most of what they do and you don't need to.

You're very young so I can't tell you to grow up. So I'll just tell you to relax and enjoy their music. It's enough.

[Anja]

Live and let live. Simple as that.

[EmmaCharlatan&Saints]

And the original poster hasnt posted for awhile. Well that excalated quickly. lol