Trilogy Discussion

[pacejunkie punk]

13 minutes ago, Hero_Of_The_Hour said:

Well he stood onstage and said that the song was about a girl from New York so I'm very positive he's not delusional and she is a real girl. I am also fairly certain he didn't imagine any quickie either. I may of course be wrong but so may you and since he did write Stray Heart apologising for an affair I'm going to go ahead and assume I'm correct. 

Read my post. I said it was likely a real girl that doesn't mean there was real infidelity or he would not be boasting about it in a song, on stage or anywhere else. Seriously do you not understand what fantasy is, and that you can fantasize about a real person and it can have nothing to do with your marriage and real life? Maybe you need to visit the fangirls thread, a few of us here could educate you. 😋 I don't care if he writes a 1000 songs, when he describes the trilogy as fantasy and there's  zero evidence to the contrary and guess what he and Adie are still happily married (and dancing and laughing) I'm gonna take him at his word. 

5 minutes ago, Hermione said:

I wonder did you miss that on the trilogy the cheating and partying etc ends badly, and he comes to the conclusion that being faithful/love is the better option? Even from your standpoint of assuming that by mentioning anything Billie is endorsing that thing and/or giving a 100% factual account of a literal event that just happened it still comes to a morally just conclusion in the end.

Like any good STORY. And if you don't believe that, just ask Amy or Brando. Oh, that's right, you can't. Kind of the point.

[Beerjeezus]

I think it's morally problematic to comdemn someone's work because of assumptions about their personal life. 

[emmericanidiot]

Literally all songs ever written in the history of ever are either based on real life or not real life. Personal interpretation is a great thing and trying to make judgements about someone's life choices shouldn't really be a big deal, it's just like 'oh, he might've cheated' or whatever, and then move on. 

Also Platypus is one of the most heartfelt and beautiful songs of all time.

 

[Hero_Of_The_Hour]

 This is so hilarious. I love how passionate you all are about my opinion of the trilogy. Good for you. I never judged Billie for cheating. I just said I wasn't fond of singing along to songs about cheating. It's my personal belief that the songs are not fantasy (as he stated onstage that one of the songs about cheating was about a girl from NYC). I think it's sweet that you all believe the songs are all just fantasy especially as WalrusGumboot pointed out, how fucked up Billie was on drugs and alcohol at the time. Either way it doesn't matter as it's the lyrics I'm not fond of. It's just my opinion that I don't enjoy these kinds of lyrics. That's all.

[emmericanidiot]

6 minutes ago, Hero_Of_The_Hour said:

 Either way it doesn't matter as it's the lyrics I'm not fond of. It's just my opinion that I don't enjoy these kinds of lyrics. That's all.

Same as I'm not particularly fond of the consistent use of 'fuck' throughout the whole thing, it's great when it adds emphasis to something, or humour, but as a filler in otherwise ~ok lyrics it gets boring. All about personal preference 

[Hermione]

13 minutes ago, Hero_Of_The_Hour said:

 This is so hilarious. I love how passionate you all are about my opinion of the trilogy. Good for you. I never judged Billie for cheating. I just said I wasn't fond of singing along to songs about cheating. It's my personal belief that the songs are not fantasy (as he stated onstage that one of the songs about cheating was about a girl from NYC). I think it's sweet that you all believe the songs are all just fantasy especially as WalrusGumboot pointed out, how fucked up Billie was on drugs and alcohol at the time. Either way it doesn't matter as it's the lyrics I'm not fond of. It's just my opinion that I don't enjoy these kinds of lyrics. That's all.

Just because a song is about cheating it doesn't mean it endorses cheating. Billie also stated the songs are fantasy as well as making one vague comment about one song being about a girl from NYC (without elaborating on in what context it's about her). And on the trilogy the conclusion is that cheating is a bad idea. Of course you're entitled to your opinion, but because you pick and choose what to take notice of and what to ignore the opinion you've stated doesn't make a lot of logical sense.

[Beerjeezus]

11 minutes ago, Hero_Of_The_Hour said:

 This is so hilarious. I love how passionate you all are about my opinion of the trilogy. Good for you. I never judged Billie for cheating. I just said I wasn't fond of singing along to songs about cheating. It's my personal belief that the songs are not fantasy (as he stated onstage that one of the songs about cheating was about a girl from NYC). I think it's sweet that you all believe the songs are all just fantasy especially as WalrusGumboot pointed out, how fucked up Billie was on drugs and alcohol at the time. Either way it doesn't matter as it's the lyrics I'm not fond of. It's just my opinion that I don't enjoy these kinds of lyrics. That's all.

I just love to see you ranting about your opinions.  

[pacejunkie punk]

6 minutes ago, Hero_Of_The_Hour said:

 This is so hilarious. I love how passionate you all are about my opinion of the trilogy. Good for you. I never judged Billie for cheating. I just said I wasn't fond of singing along to songs about cheating. It's my personal belief that the songs are not fantasy (as he stated onstage that one of the songs about cheating was about a girl from NYC). I think it's sweet that you all believe the songs are all just fantasy especially as WalrusGumboot pointed out, how fucked up Billie was on drugs and alcohol at the time. Either way it doesn't matter as it's the lyrics I'm not fond of. It's just my opinion that I don't enjoy these kinds of lyrics. That's all.

I guess what's frustrating me about your comments is I don't get how you equate the girl being real with the cheating being real. Do you not know how common it is for people to fantasize about real people? I just find your logic flawed -- well he said he really met this girl therefore he must have really had a fling with her and then confessed it to the world in a song. That seems unlikely if it were true. He may have been fucked up then but he has stated he never wrote songs while drunk. He knows what he's doing when he's writing.

This debate cracks me up to the point where I just have to post evidence of the Billie we know. Watch this starting at around 49:00.

So this is late 2010, around the time he was likely writing the trilogy songs. He's likely a little tipsy and very flirtatious but then this girl plants a serious kiss on him and he gets very embarrassed and laughs because he took it too far. Just watch his reaction. He would never and I know it. 

 

[Hermione]

Honestly it isn't even necessary to debate/provide evidence for Billie cheating/not cheating. Song lyrics and real life are two different things, can't make assumptions about one based on the other.

[DeJennsitized]

Basically none of us know the intricacies of Billie's personal life and it's dumb to speculate about it based purely on lyrics. If Billie couldn't possibly write cheating songs without actually doing it, what does that say about Bang Bang? Or Having A Blast, or Pulling Teeth? 

Tbh all the talk about Billie's past relationships makes me uncomfortable- what gives any of us the right to speculate about shit like that? 

[emmericanidiot]

22 minutes ago, Jenn. said:

Basically none of us know the intricacies of Billie's personal life and it's dumb to speculate about it based purely on lyrics. If Billie couldn't possibly write cheating songs without actually doing it, what does that say about Bang Bang? Or Having A Blast, or Pulling Teeth? 

Tbh all the talk about Billie's past relationships makes me uncomfortable- what gives any of us the right to speculate about shit like that? 

I like you. 

[Meliciraptor]

Wowsa, I was away for a trip and couldn't follow the discussions here regularly. This thread turned into a monster since I was gone 😂

My opinion:

1. I agree with @hermione that songs are fictional pieces of art. They are written with intend, revised several times and crafted with care. Often songs were even written many years ago, or consist of different pieces written in different times. 

2. The topic of infidelity in the songs doesn't make me uncomfortable. It's just songs not a manual on how to live life. For me it's like reading a book with fictional characters and the little stories of the trilogy are very entertaining. 

3. Humans are human (surprise), everyone makes mistakes. Judging other people for mistakes or being "morally questionable", that's what makes me uncomfortable. "Down with the moral majority", anyone? 

4. Billie's personal life, as several peeps here already pointed out, isn't our business. Personally, I always find it hilarious when fans claim to know one thing or the other about their idol's personal life based on speculations, their own "knowledge" of the person's character or something they read online. None of us knows shit about Billie, his family, his personal life and whatever is going through his mind. 

5. I actually can't believe we are having this discussion 🙈

[solongfromthestars]

The theme of the trilogy has never really made me uncomfortable. Even if it's literal, it's not for me to question whether he should have been singing about that or not. None of us know what his marriage is like, why the subject came up or what any hypothetical girl might mean to him. The songs are sincere (some of his best love songs in my opinion) and he obviously still feels comfortable with them all, so that's good enough for me.

[Christian's Inferno!]

2 hours ago, Hero_Of_The_Hour said:

 So because someone doesn't enjoy singing along to songs about cheating it means they're "condemning" Billie for every lyric he's ever written that isn't perfectly moral and virtuous   What an utterly ridiculous way to twist something.

Why do songs about fantasizing or temptation equal songs about cheating to you? It's not immoral to think about other people in a romantic way. I imagine that lots of people in happy relationships have these types of thoughts but don't act on them because they love their partner.

Also, why do you have to think about the fact that it's Billie singing/writing these songs and that he's married instead of just enjoying the song for what it is? A song intended to be a fun song to listen to

Do you really think if Billie actually cheated, he would write the kind of songs that appear on Dos?

[Hero_Of_The_Hour]

1 hour ago, pacejunkie punk said:

I guess what's frustrating me about your comments is I don't get how you equate the girl being real with the cheating being real. Do you not know how common it is for people to fantasize about real people? I just find your logic flawed -- well he said he really met this girl therefore he must have really had a fling with her and then confessed it to the world in a song. That seems unlikely if it were true. He may have been fucked up then but he has stated he never wrote songs while drunk. He knows what he's doing when he's writing.

This debate cracks me up to the point where I just have to post evidence of the Billie we know. Watch this starting at around 49:00.

So this is late 2010, around the time he was likely writing the trilogy songs. He's likely a little tipsy and very flirtatious but then this girl plants a serious kiss on him and he gets very embarrassed and laughs because he took it too far. Just watch his reaction. He would never and I know it. 

 

Honestly I find your logic to be flawed. "He would never and I know it"?. Awesome. And your "evidence" is that a random fan kisses him in front of thousands of people and he looks a bit embarrassed. Well then.

 

Keep going people...a discussion about lyrics has actually now become a discussion about Billie's personal life

10 minutes ago, MysticManiac said:

Why do songs about fantasizing or temptation equal songs about cheating to you? It's not immoral to think about other people in a romantic way. I imagine that lots of people in happy relationships have these types of thoughts but don't act on them because they love their partner.

Also, why do you have to think about the fact that it's Billie singing/writing these songs and that he's married instead of just enjoying the song for what it is? A song intended to be a fun song to listen to

Do you really think if Billie actually cheated, he would write the kind of songs that appear on Dos?

I couldn't care less if it's fictional or not, though personally I am of the belief it may not be fictional, I am not a fan of the lyrics. Simple. Ok what is a song like Stray Heart about? I don't care if we are talking fiction or reality. I'm asking. Is it about a guy apologising for fantasising about someone or is it a guy apologising for cheating?

Also I don't care if it's Billie or the man on the moon. It's the damn lyrics I don't like. The idea behind the song/s.

 

[Hermione]

8 minutes ago, Hero_Of_The_Hour said:

Keep going people...a discussion about lyrics has actually now become a discussion about Billie's personal life

And you're not part of turning it into that at all?  

Really I think most of the discussion has been about the nature of writing songs. But if we could leave out actually debating Billie's private life and providing "evidence" about his fidelity that would be good.

[Hero_Of_The_Hour]

1 minute ago, Hermione said:

And you're not part of turning it into that at all?  

 

No. I stated my opinion on his lyrics and it pissed of the entire forum.

[Hermione]

6 minutes ago, Hero_Of_The_Hour said:

No. I stated my opinion on his lyrics and it pissed of the entire forum.

Well you said the reason you don't like them is because you believe the lyrics about cheating not to be fantasy as Billie has said they are, if that isn't an implication about his private life I don't know what is. 

Still if you believe that you can believe it. Like I said let's just leave out discussing his personal business (ie his fidelity) now shall we.

[RedundantIdiot]

The concept of the ups and downs of love and relationships is a running theme throughout the Trilogy, through subjects such as infidelity, thinking about your ex, fantasising, and sex. Most couples in long term relationships will go though these ups and downs in their relationship, and I think that Billie does a great job of covering such issues across the Trilogy without implying anything about his relationship with Adrienne.

[Hero_Of_The_Hour]

4 minutes ago, Hermione said:

Well you said the reason you don't like them is because you believe the lyrics about cheating not to be fantasy as Billie has said they are, if that isn't an implication about his private life I don't know what is. 

Still if you believe that you can believe it. Like I said let's just leave out discussing his personal business (ie his fidelity) now shall we.

Actually I said this

6 hours ago, Hero_Of_The_Hour said:

I see where you are coming from. Although even See You Tonight would fit into the cheating narrative imo. I don't personally care about Billie's marriage like a lot of people here (seem weirdly obsessed by it) but listening to three albums about cheating or having affairs just makes me uncomfortable from a moral perspective. Like it doesn't exactly motivate me to sing along or jump around if you know what I mean. There are songs that sound really good that are about cheating such as 8th Avenue Serenade, and I do like that one, but I almost feel bad singing along because in the back of my mind I'm thinking of the fact that the song is about a girl from New York (Billie's own words) and he's singing about meeting her in the bathroom stall before the flames die out. It's impossible to ignore that the words are coming out of a married father and it makes me cringe...and stop the music. Maybe we just aren't used to Billie being really honest in his lyrics because he doesn't regret the trilogy as a folly of his addictions. It actually would be rather sad if he feels we are muzzling him because of negative feedback on his lyrics. He certainly went 180 in the lyrics on Revrad and almost every sentence is an attempt at an obscure metaphor. To be honest, I'd take songs about cheating and affairs any day over cellos and shopping online so as to vote at the speed of life

 

[Hermione]

8 minutes ago, Hero_Of_The_Hour said:

Actually I said this

 

And

2 hours ago, Hero_Of_The_Hour said:

...It's my personal belief that the songs are not fantasy...

But whatever, discussion of Billie's private life came into the conversation (through several of us not just you), now we're going to leave it out of it.

[Spike]

I don't like Homecoming anymore since I found out Billie actually sent his love a letterbomb and visited her in hell. It's morally questionable and he shouldn't endorse such behaviour. 

[solongfromthestars]

The thing is, he doesn't owe us anything in regards to his personal life. I remember when Dos came out a lot of people were repulsed and even said they couldn't listen to Green Day anymore, because he's an older man singing about sex and the songs weren't about Adrienne. But he's not obliged to cater to fans' perceptions of himself or his marriage. I remember him saying "I don't have expectations for a public reaction. If I want to write about sexual tension or straight up fucking, I will" and well, yeah

I'm sitting at a bus stop in Austin defending the trilogy #trilogy4lyf

[The Grohl]

5 hours ago, Maria Gloria said:

The thing is, he doesn't owe us anything in regards to his personal life. I remember when Dos came out a lot of people were repulsed and even said they couldn't listen to Green Day anymore, because he's an older man singing about sex and the songs weren't about Adrienne. But he's not obliged to cater to fans' perceptions of himself or his marriage. I remember him saying "I don't have expectations for a public reaction. If I want to write about sexual tension or straight up fucking, I will" and well, yeah

I'm sitting at a bus stop in Austin defending the trilogy #trilogy4lyf

THIS! Also, he's a writer and people didn't seem to get that. Just because you write about something doesn't mean it's related to you or about your or even about your life. I used to get that a lot in writing class too. People would ask if I was okay and stuff and I'm like...it's not about anyone...just something I wrote.

[Jacob Ives]

On 9/9/2017 at 5:16 PM, The_real_st_jimmy said:

I know right? I actually really enjoy listening to the trilogy! Sure, it may not be like American Idiot but it sounds good!

Lets have a chat sometime! I love the trilogy and could chat for hours about it. Haha