Blasphemy & Genocide: Unpopular Green Day Opinions, Part 2

[stories and songs]

10 hours ago, Beerjeezus said:

I wouldn't mind shorter shows. Not that I don't enjoy their iconic super long sets, but it'd be easy to accept that they don't want to keep playing them at this point. And moreover, a cut could help freshen up the show. No KFAD, less filler and heyhos and 30 minutes are gone while we wouldn't miss out much and the show could be more energetic.

I feel the same way. I’m glad that this tour with two other acts might force them to tighten the setlist a bit. I really have gotten to the point where I strongly dislike them dragging out almost every song. I just wanna hear the song! We don’t need a breakdown in the middle.

That said, I do think this band’s interaction with the crowd is very special. No one is a better showman than Billie. They can keep the interaction, but just cool it with the monologues, laying down, excessive heyohs, etc.

[Guest]

Cut way down on the hey-ohs, get rid of KYE and open with a song that's actually good, stop making so many songs last 10 minutes, calm tf down with the scripted BS and for the love of god switch up the setlist. Also get rid of Matika but that's a given. 

 

I will bitch about these things forever. As a precaution, since I've posted aka bitched about this before: them already being amazing live doesn't have anything to do with it. There's still room for improvement imo. Them 'doing it for the CaSuAl FaNs' is not a valid argument to keep doing the same show over and over. That being said I can't wait for tour!!!!!!! Even if they keep all the BS I've listed above I'll love it as always, duh. Best live band on the planet but damn I hope they've at the very least updated their show. Best case scenario they give up most of the scripted stuff and let loose. 

[Christian's Inferno!]

If they replace KYE with 21CB (the song), I will go crazy. Ik they played that a lot in 2009/10 but if they actually play that in 2019/2020, that'd be awesome. Or basically any other song from 21CB

[stories and songs]

Opening with KYE last tour made NO SENSE. NONE. 

They really do need to switch up some of their regular songs. I love that they play so many classics and cover a wide range of their discography, but if you’re a big fan and see them three times during a tour...man, it sucks to see the SAME SHOW three times. And maybe that’s my problem for buying so many tickets, lol. I know a lot of artists play the same show every night. But they’ve been playing nearly the same show since the AI tour.

[The Grohl]

I honestly hate the whole oh but if we remove this song then someone who is seeing us for the first time will be disappointed. I get that, but you can't please everyone. When I saw them for the first time I really didn't care what they played. I was thrilled to finally see them!

Please change up the setlist! No matter what they'll always be amazing live but it can be frustrating when it feels like you've seen the same show several times, especially at this point in their career.

[JOE THE X-KID]

Rest is a good song 

[jengd]

With Bang Bang as a lead single, I will never understand why they opened with KYE on Revrad, I think though it backs up the feelings of the Revrad era being safe, perhaps they had to really work at building their confidence in performing again.

[Beerjeezus]

I don't think the disappointment about what you didn't see is real. There's always something else you get to see instead... I've never seen Brain Stew/Jaded, any Trilogy songs, they literally dropped Christie Road out of the shows I want to despite playing it almost every date. But none of that really mattered, their shows are always fun and in the end what's important is what they did play and not what was skipped.

That may not be the same for casual fans though...I've seen people complaining they wanted WMUWSE and 21 Guns, most probably not knowing they were lucky enough to hear Going to Pasalacqua and JAR.  So I can see the hits need to be played too haha

[UNICORN VOMIT]

1 hour ago, kaylubd said:

I honestly hate the whole oh but if we remove this song then someone who is seeing us for the first time will be disappointed. I get that, but you can't please everyone. When I saw them for the first time I really didn't care what they played. I was thrilled to finally see them!

Please change up the setlist! No matter what they'll always be amazing live but it can be frustrating when it feels like you've seen the same show several times, especially at this point in their career.

BUMP

 

Have faith in their catalogue

& @Beerjeezus I have no time for casual fans😑

[The Bellie]

18 hours ago, Nightlife said:

 Also get rid of Matika but that's a given

How's that?

I'm gonna give some real unpopular opinion on here:

I like Billie dragging on with the songs and ranting.

I like KYE at the beginning of the show and I think that for a 1st song t's better than Bang Bang. Bang Bang was great in second and then Rev Rad was the icing on the cake

The fact it's "scripted" doesn't mean it's not spontaneous. Nobody forces Billie to do that, I don't see why he would say something he doesn't feel like saying at the given moment.

[The Grohl]

I actually like KYE and it's a fine opener, but I do agree it was a bit weird to open with that on the RevRad tour and at this point, they can really open with something else.

[Guest]

19 minutes ago, The Bellie said:

How's that?

There's been lots of posts on here, one fairly long and detailed one very recently, describing his shitty personality. People can have whatever opinion about him and his actions they want, but to me he's not a good person. At all. That's the main part of it, the other thing is his contribution to Green Day could be done by someone else and at times, especially with The Longshot, his backup vocals are pure shit. 

[jengd]

4 minutes ago, Nightlife said:

 with The Longshot, his backup vocals are pure shit. 

I thought that too, there were times his backup vocals were awful with Longshot, sure Billie must have noticed or someone close to them told him.

[The Bellie]

15 minutes ago, Nightlife said:

There's been lots of posts on here, one fairly long  and detailed one very recently, describing his shitty personality. People can have whatever opinion about him and his actions they want, but to me he's not a good person. At all. That's the main part of it, the other thing is his contribution to Green Day could be done by someone else and at times, especially with The Longshot, his backup vocals are pure shit. 

Oh ok, yeah I know what's said around here about him. They way you said "it's a given" I thought you were saying that the band had decided to throw him out (but you were saying it from the point of view of the thread that is unpopular opinions I guess).

Well I have no personal opinion of him personally, but to me his pro contribution is fine. His backing up vocals never annoyed me. Of course millions of other people could do the job, but that's not the point. To me there's no relevance of throwing him out. and moreover I find it a bit pretentious from the forum as a whole (since it has become a trend to say that he is undesired lately) to say that someone should or shouldn't be in the band. I mean it's not up to us to judge or decide... well that's my opinion at least. (and I wouldn't judge someone is good or bad just from impressions and/or reported experiences, but only from my own. Good or bad for me)

[solongfromthestars]

I don't think RevRad was all that "safe." Musically it wasn't especially adventurous, but there are some notable moments. Somewhere Now got shit when it came out for being so "chill." The way it comes full circle with Forever Now is pretty unique. The only similarity I can think of is 21st Century Breakdown and See the Light, but I'd call those "bookends" rather than coming full circle. If I compared Say Goodbye to another Green Day song, just sonically it'd be East Jesus Nowhere, but that was a new sound for them at the time. Outlaws has a different, more haunting sound to other Green Day ballads like 21 Guns. It's unique in the way it follows up songs like Christie Road from a middle-aged man's point of view. Still Breathing is basically pop (and I love it). Most songs on RevRad don't really sound like another Green Day song.

The thing that really sets it apart from all other Green Day songs, though, is how openly personal it is. Don't get me wrong, Green Day songs have always been personal. Billie making his struggles so catchy is part of what defines Green Day and makes them popular. That personal element is usually hidden by metaphors and those catchy tunes, though, like a bandaged wound we can't quite see. RevRad is like an open wound. The world knew what Billie was going through and what he'd be singing about. Lines like "my name is Billie and I'm freaking out" sound shallow on the surface because they're so simple, but they're simple because real life isn't lived in metaphors. No one stands up at an AA meeting and says "troubled times, I know I cannot lie, I'm off the wagon and I'm hitchin' a ride." Billie called Still Breathing one of the most personal songs he's ever written and I can see why. "My head's above the rain and roses," "making my way to you," "are you scared to death to live?" and "I've been running all my life" are such vulnerable lines. Even "how did a life on the wild side ever get so dull/full?" and "I ain't gonna stand in line no more," with the way it's screamed are. I find Ordinary World as intimate as the rest of the album, too. Money and fame don't mean someone has everything. Billie spent most of RevRad singing about his issues, so obviously he still has them. The world has issues, too. But he's telling the subject that regardless, what they have together is more than enough and he accepts a life that isn't perfect. Whatever I think of this current era, I can see why he doesn't want to write from that point of view anymore.

[Beerjeezus]

I'd say Rev Rad is their most emotional album because of how straightforward it is. Maybe it's the second after Insomniac, but that's very different.

[The Grohl]

@solongfromthestars Yes, yes, yes, yes! Every time I see the complaint about RevRad being "safe" I honestly don't get it. Sure, it may be Green Day doing what they do best and they don't do anything super out of left field, but I've never considered it a safe record. Totally agree with everything you're saying here. 

[jengd]

Someone needs to setup a chart or spreadsheet or something to see if there’s a correlation between those who say Revrad was safe and those who don’t like FoAM so far, assuming a lot of their problem with it is that it’s so different 😂😂

[solongfromthestars]

I don't think Father of All or Fire, Ready, Aim are really that different for Green Day, to be honest. The higher pitched vocals are new but otherwise they're standard pop punk songs, nothing that out of the ordinary. Kill the DJ was different.

[Montclare]

2 hours ago, kaylubd said:

@solongfromthestars Yes, yes, yes, yes! Every time I see the complaint about RevRad being "safe" I honestly don't get it. Sure, it may be Green Day doing what they do best and they don't do anything super out of left field, but I've never considered it a safe record. Totally agree with everything you're saying here. 

Agreed.  Lyrically, I'd say it's Billie at his most emotionally vulnerable, totally exposed.  I wouldn't call that "safe".

[Beerjeezus]

4 hours ago, jengd said:

Someone needs to setup a chart or spreadsheet or something to see if there’s a correlation between those who say Revrad was safe and those who don’t like FoAM so far, assuming a lot of their problem with it is that it’s so different 😂😂

I think revrad was safe, musically speaking, but I don't dislike FOAM. I like that's it's a bit different. That makes me the true neutral 

[Thatsername]

17 hours ago, solongfromthestars said:

The thing that really sets it apart from all other Green Day songs, though, is how openly personal it is. Don't get me wrong, Green Day songs have always been personal. Billie making his struggles so catchy is part of what defines Green Day and makes them popular. That personal element is usually hidden by metaphors and those catchy tunes, though, like a bandaged wound we can't quite see. RevRad is like an open wound. The world knew what Billie was going through and what he'd be singing about. Lines like "my name is Billie and I'm freaking out" sound shallow on the surface because they're so simple, but they're simple because real life isn't lived in metaphors. No one stands up at an AA meeting and says "troubled times, I know I cannot lie, I'm off the wagon and I'm hitchin' a ride." Billie called Still Breathing one of the most personal songs he's ever written and I can see why. "My head's above the rain and roses," "making my way to you," "are you scared to death to live?" and "I've been running all my life" are such vulnerable lines. Even "how did a life on the wild side ever get so dull/full?" and "I ain't gonna stand in line no more," with the way it's screamed are. I find Ordinary World as intimate as the rest of the album, too. Money and fame don't mean someone has everything. Billie spent most of RevRad singing about his issues, so obviously he still has them. The world has issues, too. But he's telling the subject that regardless, what they have together is more than enough and he accepts a life that isn't perfect. Whatever I think of this current era, I can see why he doesn't want to write from that point of view anymore.

Agree 100%, RevRad has some of the most honest and in my opinion also some of the best Green Day lyrics ever. The ones you mentioned are definitely some of my favourites, also: "Hallelujah I found my sould under the sofa pillows" - that's just genious because it makes you laugh first, but when you think about it you find a deeper meaning. That's what I always love about Billie's songwriting and that's what makes him one of the greates songwriters of our time.

Yeah, RevRad was a big part of Green Day's and especially Billie's rehabilitation after very troubled times, and that's why it was such an important record for both them and us fans (at least I can say that for myself). And I kind of get that they want to move past this. But what I don't get is that Billie is now talking all of this down by saying that he blames himself for trying to write the "feel good song of the year" (he was specifically talking about Still Breathing) and stuff like that. It makes me sad that he feels like he needs to apologize, and I really wish he could just say in retrospective: "Today I probably wouldn't write it that way anymore, but the song is what it is because that's what I felt back then and it felt right back then."

RevRad era was such a happy, personal, positive and also vulnerable time like you said, and right now it feels like he is embarrassed of it. Maybe that's one of the reasons why I can't relate to the new era at all, it just feels like he wants to play the cool, tough guy so much that it feels forced and unnatural. I get that they want to move on, but moving on also means accepting your past and growing through it. Right now it doesn't feel like that, it feel like they're running away.

[Beerjeezus]

I guess what makes this feel underwhelming is that they're basically gping back to what they've been doing 10 years ago so it isn't really moving on, it's regressing  I like the idea of doing lighthearted stuff though...it worked for foxboro but they seem to be trying too hard when they try this with gd.

[pacejunkie punk]

 

59 minutes ago, Beerjeezus said:

I guess what makes this feel underwhelming is that they're basically gping back to what they've been doing 10 years ago so it isn't really moving on, it's regressing  I like the idea of doing lighthearted stuff though...it worked for foxboro but they seem to be trying too hard when they try this with gd.

@Thatsername I tried to quote you too but the new ios update has been a bitch on my phone.

But speaking to Billie’s “new” party attitude, although I like the music and I would be cool with it all if it was just presented as “let’s all escape our troubles and dance” (because I totally feel like escaping these days too) I think I have the most trouble to the throwbacks to the Rev and booze and fuck it all and feel like a badass specifically knowing that this is a person post rehab.  For that reason alone it doesn’t work anymore.
 

It’s easier to get on board with a badass character and party with them if they appear consequence free, but it’s less fun when you know the fallout was dire and they were very public about being grateful to have survived it intact.  It kills the mood and should make a person feel more cautious.  At least it should unless you’re in complete denial or it’s all an act in which case for the first time he wouldn’t be behaving with sincerity and I don’t know which is worse. 

[Montclare]

6 hours ago, Beerjeezus said:

I guess what makes this feel underwhelming is that they're basically gping back to what they've been doing 10 years ago so it isn't really moving on, it's regressing  I like the idea of doing lighthearted stuff though...it worked for foxboro but they seem to be trying too hard when they try this with gd.

I was thinking something somewhat similar.  I didn't get it at first when people were making comparisons to the Foxies, largely because I see the Foxies as superior to the two songs we've gotten so far (although I do like them), and then I saw someone on reddit say it's like running the Foxies through a bubble gum filter which made sense, and another person call it the FBHT part three, which made me think, how often does someone say part 3 of a movie series is the best one?

4 hours ago, pacejunkie punk said:

But speaking to Billie’s “new” party attitude, although I like the music and I would be cool with it all if it was just presented as “let’s all escape our troubles and dance” (because I totally feel like escaping these days too) I think I have the most trouble to the throwbacks to the Rev and booze and fuck it all and feel like a badass specifically knowing that this is a person post rehab.  For that reason alone it doesn’t work anymore.

It’s easier to get on board with a badass character and party with them if they appear consequence free, but it’s less fun when you know the fallout was dire and they were very public about being grateful to have survived it intact.  It kills the mood and should make a person feel more cautious.  At least it should unless you’re in complete denial or it’s all an act in which case for the first time he wouldn’t be behaving with sincerity and I don’t know which is worse. 

Regarding the weird song descriptions, I was thinking if Billie was saying them as the Rev, a character (somewhat), I'd enjoy them.  But as Billie, yeah, I'm a bit hesitant.  Part of me throws up my shoulders and says, what can you do, might as well enjoy the ride, but there still is that nervousness in the back of my head.