Blasphemy & Genocide: Unpopular Green Day Opinions, Part 2

[WhiteTim]

Dookie had angry songs as well Chump and Having A Blast are angry songs 

[Hermione]

1 hour ago, Scattered Wreck said:

Can we just agree to disagree now??  I"m not going to feel the way you do and I don't expect you to feel the way I do.  I was really just trying to explain that things are different if you are viewing them in current time.  Hindsight is 20/20.

I'm not trying to convince you to like it more or to feel differently about it. I just dispute that it was forced/fake when it's really clear to see from what happened to them, what they've said and how they've acted that it wasn't (although I do see how it could be perceived that way only from listening to the albums).

 

 

[Chin for a Day]

4 minutes ago, Hermione said:

I'm not trying to convince you to like it more or to feel differently about it. I just dispute that it was forced/fake when it's really clear to see from what happened to them, what they've said and how they've acted that it wasn't (although I do see how it could be perceived that way only from listening to the albums).

I'm not trying to convince you to like it more or to feel differently about it. I just dispute that it was forced/fake when it's really clear to see from what happened to them, what they've said and how they've acted that it wasn't (although I do see how it could be perceived that way only from listening to the albums).

I'm not trying to convince you to like it more or to feel differently about it. I just dispute that it was forced/fake when it's really clear to see from what happened to them, what they've said and how they've acted that it wasn't (although I do see how it could be perceived that way only from listening to the albums).

Someone got quote happy!    My only comment is that it is not clear that it was not forced or fake.  How someone perceives anything is subjective.  I perceive it as being forced and fake and you do not.  Neither one of us is wrong.

[Beerjeezus]

^dammit, I read it three times 

[Spike]

4 hours ago, Scattered Wreck said:

Correct it is a 2 chord song

Five.

[Chin for a Day]

1 minute ago, Jane Lannister said:

^dammit, I read it three times 

me too

Just now, Spike said:

Five.

If you don't look at the intro, the chorus is AB and the verse is EB, OK so 3, but two in each section

[Hermione]

35 minutes ago, Scattered Wreck said:

Someone got quote happy!    My only comment is that it is not clear that it was not forced or fake.  How someone perceives anything is subjective.  I perceive it as being forced and fake and you do not.  Neither one of us is wrong.

Sorry about that . I mean, Billie was openly pissed off and miserable in interviews and on stage at the time and the whole band has always been very open about how much all those things that happened to them affected them and how it influenced the album. It's subjective to an extent but I don't see any reason to think they weren't being truthful.

[henrybr]

1 hour ago, Scattered Wreck said:

I don't feel there was any experimentation with this album.  What do you think is so experimental about Panic Song and Brain STew???  Other than the intro to Panic Song, it is just a 2 chord power chord song.  FYI, Panic Song is one of my favorites on Insomniac.  Brain Stew is the same 3 chords over and over again and a pretty slow BPM for GD.  The album as a whole really isn't any faster than what they have done in the past.  

Also, I never said they were being something they were not, I said it gave teh impression that they were being something they were not.  Or that Dookie was something they were not.  Please remember, you are hearing the album years after it came out.  When I first heard it, there was no Nimrod, Warning, AI, etc.  I was just getting to know them.   Perceptions are very different if you are looking at it as it happens then if you are looking at it years later.  

I don't say that the album is all that different, I just think that it brings something new to Green Day music, both with the more pessimistic/dark aproach and with the music. I mean, it's not that Brain Stew was revolutionary or something, but it stands out, in my opinion, amongst what Green Day had done until Insomniac. Yes, the bigger changes in Green Day sounds really appear in Nimrod, with experimentations with other instruments, and all, but I don't think it makes Insomniac something that is just more of the same. But it's a perception. I think that until AI, Green Day really experimented and changed a bit on each album, even if more in mood than in music sometimes. Then comes 21CB, which for me is an attempt, a bit forced, to recreate AI in a bigger way. Then the trilogy, that for me is the more experimental Green Day since AI, and Rev Rad that bring things back to a more familiar zone.

Well, but back to Insomniac, I understand you perception back then. 

[Chin for a Day]

6 minutes ago, Hermione said:

Sorry about that . I mean, Billie was openly pissed off and miserable in interviews and on stage at the time and the whole band has always been very open about how much all those things that happened to them affected them and how it influenced the album. It's subjective to an extent but I don't see any reason to think they weren't being truthful.

Again, you are looking at it in hindsight.  You are reading the interviews in the future and with the knowledge of what happened in their lives.  They had a certain persona after Dookie and then that persona was very different with Insomniac.  If you only have two points in time to compare something, and those two points in time are very different, which one do you believe?  I'm not saying that they were not being truthful.  I was simply saying how it appeared to me at the time of release.  

Have you ever seen the film It's A wonderful Life?  I know I watch it several times every Christmas.  At the time of the release it was considered a commercial and artistic failure.  It did not break even until well after it's initial release and it was used as proof that Frank Capra could no longer make feel good movies that made money.  Now it is considered a classic and one of the best films ever made.   My mother wasn't fond of that film because she was prejudiced by the critics reviews and the fact that there were films considered much better released at the same time.  As years go by those prejudices are reduced and people can look at the film with an open mind.  My feelings for Insomniac are similar.  I know how I felt the time it was released and it is tough for me to get rid of those feelings, even with more knowledge.     

[Beerjeezus]

6 minutes ago, Hermione said:

Sorry about that . I mean, Billie was openly pissed off and miserable in interviews and on stage at the time and the whole band has always been very open about how much all those things that happened to them affected them and how it influenced the album. It's subjective to an extent but I don't see any reason to think they weren't being truthful.

Reading and watching interviews from that time is strange. I do believe they were being truthful but the way they, especially Billie, acted was disconcerting. It was as if someone turned a switch and they turned from guys who joked all the time to The Angry Punk Band™ and it's almost scary to look at. I mean, the way Billie got angry at the interviewers or the other times he would say all kinds of depressing stuff about being too old and whatnot. It must have been a pretty weird time.

[Hermione]

5 minutes ago, Scattered Wreck said:

Again, you are looking at it in hindsight.  You are reading the interviews in the future and with the knowledge of what happened in their lives.  They had a certain persona after Dookie and then that persona was very different with Insomniac.  If you only have two points in time to compare something, and those two points in time are very different, which one do you believe?  I'm not saying that they were not being truthful.  I was simply saying how it appeared to me at the time of release.  

Have you ever seen the film It's A wonderful Life?  I know I watch it several times every Christmas.  At the time of the release it was considered a commercial and artistic failure.  It did not break even until well after it's initial release and it was used as proof that Frank Capra could no longer make feel good movies that made money.  Now it is considered a classic and one of the best films ever made.   My mother wasn't fond of that film because she was prejudiced by the critics reviews and the fact that there were films considered much better released at the same time.  As years go by those prejudices are reduced and people can look at the film with an open mind.  My feelings for Insomniac are similar.  I know how I felt the time it was released and it is tough for me to get rid of those feelings, even with more knowledge.     

Right, in that case I'm with you! Seeing it that way at the time or thinking it comes across that way on the album I totally get. Only wanted to dispute whether it was actually the case, seems that's not what you were saying though  

[Spike]

58 minutes ago, Scattered Wreck said:

If you don't look at the intro, the chorus is AB and the verse is EB, OK so 3, but two in each section

Panic Song? Discounting the intro the verse is Bb Ab Gb and the chorus is Eb Bb Gb Ab. So that's 4, plus the twiddling in the intro.

[Chin for a Day]

11 minutes ago, Spike said:

Panic Song? Discounting the intro the verse is Bb Ab Gb and the chorus is Eb Bb Gb Ab. So that's 4, plus the twiddling in the intro.

Ok, I believe you.  I was wrong.  

[Wretched & Divine]

Why do you guys think Warning is so under appreciated? I'm afraid I might regret asking this of my favourite album.

[Shtrudel]

Just now, Wretched & Divine said:

Why do you guys think Warning is so under appreciated? I'm afraid I might regret asking this of my favourite album.

The songs are great, but the production is too underwhelming. It just doesn't do justice with them. Misery is the only track that fits this kind of sound. Well, others too, but not as much as this one.

[Chin for a Day]

1 hour ago, Wretched & Divine said:

Why do you guys think Warning is so under appreciated? I'm afraid I might regret asking this of my favourite album.

Warning is also one of my favorites.  

[Wretched & Divine]

1 hour ago, T@l said:

The songs are great, but the production is too underwhelming. It just doesn't do justice with them. Misery is the only track that fits this kind of sound. Well, others too, but not as much as this one.

I disagree, I think the production really suits the record. It's not polished, but in a different way to RevRad where the production sounds very dodgy and unintentional  It doesn't suit RevRad, but the rough 'round the edges finish on Warning is perfect for the overall feel and tone imo.

2 minutes ago, Scattered Wreck said:

Warning is also one of my favorites.  

I really like you 

[DookieLukie]

9 hours ago, Scattered Wreck said:

Correct it is a 2 chord song

and will always think that

 

First of all, the intro alone presents far more than power chords.

And glad to know your opinion is open to new points of view. 

I also think it's dumb to hate on power chords. When a band is making an album in a certain style, they normally use the tools of that style. Punk is usually power chords. Warning was more folk rock so it had more picking and usage of acoustic guitar. Punk is hard and fast and simple, so calling an album bad because it sounds like that is just a misunderstanding of the style of music being played.

[Spike]

3 hours ago, Wretched & Divine said:

Why do you guys think Warning is so under appreciated? I'm afraid I might regret asking this of my favourite album.

Probably because it was too much of a departure for them at the time. It's a bit middle of the road in places, and I can understand why people find the title track boring due to its repetition. That said, I wish it wasn't under appreciated because it's bloody fantastic. 

[DookieLukie]

I just find Warning kind of repetitive and depressing. Also sort of bland. I like a lot of the songs on their, but they kind of lack energy.

[Wretched & Divine]

8 minutes ago, DookieLukie said:

I just find Warning kind of repetitive and depressing. Also sort of bland. I like a lot of the songs on their, but they kind of lack energy.

That's fair, though I think we have different ideas of what makes something bland. I think Warning is a complete package and dislike Insomniac/can't connect or appreciate it the way you can. Macy's Day Parade does lack an energy and is in my top 5 favourite Green Day songs, so I think it works in their favour in that sense.

[RougeRogue]

35 minutes ago, DookieLukie said:

I just find Warning kind of repetitive and depressing. Also sort of bland. I like a lot of the songs on their, but they kind of lack energy.

That probably sums up my feelings as well. But I also probably haven't given it a chance in a long time and maybe if I did I'd feel differently.

[Stefano Bras]

Any of their studio albums is better than Insomniac, and that comes from someone who loves Insomniac.

[tresexy101]

I didn't read all the posts to be fair.  However, GD just threw Insomniac  one year out there after Dookie gained so much success and were being called sellouts.  Lawrence Livermore said that Billie was pissed and wanted to make an album that displayed punk.  So the album came out one year after dookie and was much 'angrier' as Lawrence put it so I question this...   If a herpe grows on my pubic area when it's not shaved or even trimmed and can't be seen, do I even have herpes?  

Oh, unpopular GD opinions...well, Panic Song could be seen NOW as an unpopular opinion since now they wrote Still Breathing.  Another unpopular GD opinion could be writing a shite load of songs while on pills and alcohol and actually thinking they sound good (Billie, you read me)?

[AlissaGoesRAWR]

I really needed to catch up on your unpopular opinions, huh... I'm not used to this thread being alive again!

 

On 10/19/2016 at 2:26 PM, Jane Lannister said:

I agree with both of you on something. Youngblood is a very catchy, bouncy song. It's very likeable or it would be, if it weren't for the lyrics. I can't like lyrics like that even when I try to. It reminds me of She's A Rebel a lot and that's a kind of a disappointment - I don't like it when they recycle old songs. However, Youngblood is musucally much more interesting. I like the instruments in it (and vocals too). When I listened to revrad for the first time I played the whole album twice and then listened to Youngblood one more time. It was stuck in my head for days, it still is. (revrad, my second least favorite from the album gets stuck in my head too. the lyrically worst songs are the catchiest. what a shame.) Youngblood isn't just plain bad, it's bad and fun at the same time. I can hate the lyrics as much as I do but this song still makes me smile whenever I hear it. And I love the "fuck you" part. It's like it came directly from She's The Rebel but as a goofy, tongue-in-cheek remake.

How you feel about Youngblood is mostly how I feel about it. Compared to other songs, I may not like the lyrics all that much, but it doesn't mean I don't like the song as a whole. I actually love the song and it's becoming one of my most-frequently-listened-to songs from the album. I can look past the cheesy lyrics because it's so much fun to listen to... it's stuck in my head constantly and seeing it live Monday was a real treat.

Basically, listening to Youngblood is kind of like eating a bunch of candy even though you know it has no nutritional value or substance, because it's so sweet and satisfying in the moment.

 

On 10/19/2016 at 2:35 PM, Scattered Wreck said:

When I first heard it I thought it should be an instrumental.  It is a very fun song musically.  I do think Youngblood is musically reminiscent of She's A Rebel, musically, but while I think they both can be classified as "I love you, your perfect" kind of songs, I think the lyrics are written differently.  To me She's A Rebel is adorkable Billie.  He is talking about her strength, her confidence, basically, he is telling us why he loves her so much.  To me Youngblood isn't adorkable Billie, it is insecure Billie.  He is just throwing out one bad cliche after another and none of it makes any sense.  He isn't telling us anything about their relationship.  He is just trying to say things that may be taken as compliments.  I despise When It's Time, for similar reasons.  To me that song is just so passive aggressive.  Every time i hear it, I just want to scream, "for fucks sake grow some balls and tell me you love me!"  I love Last Night on Earth, for various reasons.  The biggest is probably because he sounds so beautiful on it.  But also, there is a purpose to the song, he is telling her what she means to him and that he is hers forever.  

I think Billie's style of writing has always been pretty cliched ridden, but most of the time I think he uses them well.  So, it doesn't bother me that he does.  

Brandon really used that line???   That most definitely would not work on me.

I think we're just going to have to agree to disagree on the love songs, because you and I are polar opposites on nearly all of them except She's a Rebel, which I also enjoy. I'm not going down this road today.

Although I should clarify — Brandon and I started dating when we were 16, so our relationship was riddled with clichés and stereotypical teenage love from the start. He never used pickup lines like that, per se, but I'm sure if we read the love letters we used to pass in class to each other we'd be completely disgusted with ourselves. However, now he thinks it's hilarious to say cheesy pickup lines to get a reaction out of me in public (which is usually, "fuck off, you idiot," or something to that effect, but I do smile nonetheless ). He once catcalled me in our apartment parking lot to get me to laugh and our neighbor seemed super upset and offered to call police... too funny. I almost didn't claim him as my husband.

 

On 10/20/2016 at 5:54 AM, Hermione said:

Aww I really like that line. I think it's kind of more....honest and brave that he says his name. Like standing up and saying "My name is [   ] and..." and admitting something that's hard to admit is an embarrassing thing to do, so for a song where he's revealing these personal feelings it seems appropriate.

I agree completely about this line. I love it, and seeing the entire song performed live on Monday was absolutely amazing. On my initial listen, I never realized how personal the song was but it really has grown to be one of my favorites after I was able to take it all in and sit down with the lyrics (since I TOTALLY didn't listen to the leak before I got my lyric book, haha) and appreciate them.

Brandon actually noticed it before me and right away interpreted the first verse and chorus of "Freaking Out" to be referencing the iHeart Radio incident. I'm not sure if that's the intent, but with lines like "scream out my memories as if I was never there" and "burning lights and blackouts" I understand how it's easy to interpret the lyrics that way. I especially love the "thoughts and prayers" line because all it makes me think about is how everyone comments "my thoughts and prayers are with you" or "#prayfor[insert country/celebrity here]" on social media when a tragedy happens, even though it's basically the most impersonal thing you can say anymore.

 

On 10/21/2016 at 3:45 AM, iltrenta said:

Same thing for Troubled Times, falsely deep lyrics with an empty chorus:

We. Live. In. Troubled. Times.

Agreed. It's my least favorite song on the album and has already turned into a skipper for me. Although there's a good sentiment there, the music is bland and the lyrics are weak. Give me the fun, poppy, clichéd Youngblood over this any day. At least I can dance to it!

 

On 10/21/2016 at 5:02 AM, Marki. said:

I also find some of the lines in Still Breathing a bit too cheap/cliched, however, I absolutely love "I'm still breathing on my own - My head's above the rain and roses" and also "Are you scared to death to live?", that line hit me hard. The song really grew on me, I think I started liking it a lot only after I heard Billie singing it live (and just through a recording, can't imagine now how powerful it can be when you actually see them perform it). 

It's very powerful. He made more eye contact with the crowd during that song than any other and just seemed really into it and its message.

I teared up. I usually don't do that at shows, I do that in the days after...

 

On 10/26/2016 at 0:47 AM, henrybr said:

By the number of posts I read placing 21CB in green day top 4, 5, or even as the best album, I guess it's pretty unpopular consider it my least favorite GD album?

I'd say it's fairly unpopular among today's fans, but it sounds like we have similar tastes... I love Insomniac and can't stand 21CB either. I can't recall the last time I've ever been able to willingly get through the entire thing in one sitting. For me, it kind of falls victim to the same problems as the trilogy — too much to take in at once and then only a few tracks end up standing out at all. I have a handful of songs I listen to every now and then but never the entire thing.