I’ve been dropping in and out of the Green Day livestreaming Youtube channel just to get a little pick me up from my favorite band. Lots of deep cuts and rare performances available on it, which has been extremely entertaining. I keep thinking how young they all look sometimes, but, boy, we were ALL young and stupid back then!
The live chat is also entertaining to watch. Of course you have the folks who will claim that Green Day is no longer punk, whatever that means, or the ones who claim that they never were punk. I honestly don’t think that punk is a label one chooses for oneself. It’s bestowed upon you by others, and afterwards, you are able to claim punk. And I still think Green Day is punk, stylistically. Billie Joe has obviously pushed the style of the band in different directions, according to whatever songs are bouncing around in his head. I’m constantly fascinated by the many side projects he’s had a hand in. Pinhead Gunpowder. Foxboro Hot Tubs. The Longshot. And even (The Network). It’s a testament to his creativity that he can eagerly collab with other artists to create something completely new. I’m in awe with how much the man loves music.
I’m also amused when GD fans are Kerplunk truthers. I mean, when they claim that Kerplunk was the only good album Green Day ever did and the rest of it, all 30+ years of it, is all trash because of selling out. Their entitled to their opinion, of course, but it’s a totally wrong opinion. The best bands don’t sell out. They influence the mainstream and reshape it so it becomes more and more like them, until they become the establishment.
But in the end, they’re still 3 friends who have been making music forever and will hopefully keep making music forever and I will still enjoy the fuck out of it and sometimes even still cosplay a silly little guy named Billie.
