Greenday, why do people like them?

[automyskin89]

I know this is a weird post, but I'm really curious as to how people like Green Day so much.  I really think their bad.  I know it's my opinion, but I just can't stand any thing they've ever done.  Do you like them (if so, how/why?) lol...

[allow that]

Because it's a breath of fresh air hearing actual, talented musicians on the radio instead of people who can't sing or write lyrics beyond a 5th grader's comprehension.

Regardless of whether or not radio plays them though, they're a great classic 90's band who stayed relevent by showing artistic growth and continually making non-cliche, non-surface-only songs that mean something. Oh yeah, and they sound great too.

[Deleted]

Umm you're going to get hell, especially with a signature like the one you have.

[laguy03]

The said:

Umm you're going to get hell, especially with a signature like the one you have.

LMAO.

[mst3k]

Mr. said:

they sound great

That's my reason.

[Unexpected]

Mr. said:

Because it's a breath of fresh air hearing actual, talented musicians on the radio instead of people who can't sing or write lyrics beyond a 5th grader's comprehension.

Regardless of whether or not radio plays them though, they're a great classic 90's band who stayed relevent by showing artistic growth and continually making non-cliche, non-surface-only songs that mean something. Oh yeah, and they sound great too.

Amen!

[Unexpected]

!~Be said:

I know this is a weird post, but I'm really curious as to how people like Green Day so much. I really think their bad. I know it's my opinion, but I just can't stand any thing they've ever done. Do you like them (if so, how/why?) lol...

Let me redirect the question to you cause I'm cuious: what do you like about Lindsay Lohan?

[allow that]

undefined said:

Let me redirect the question to you cause I'm cuious: what do you like about Lindsay Lohan?

Now that's a much more viable question that I totally can't figure out.

[automyskin89]

because I like Lindsay

[automyskin89]

The said:

Umm you're going to get hell, especially with a signature like the one you have.

i'm already there! :o

[Ragin]

!~Be said:

because I like Lindsay

But why?

You still haven't answered the question.

[automyskin89]

Ragin said:

But why?

You still haven't answered the question.

because unknown to popular believe I think Lindsay can sing like most young singers out there. I know no one (prolly) will agree but OH WELL...

[freeek04]

i admire Lindsay. But I also love Green Day and always have. They're so refreshing and relevant, and their songs I can actually sing along to.

Lindsay's one of the few popsters that doesn't annoy me with her stupidity, and her music isn't (always) dopey, unlike Hilary Dorf. She reminds me a bit of Holly Valance, actually. Except, holly's just SO much more awesome. But I digress.

[irice22]

They have catchy tunes.

However, a lot of their songs sound a lot alike! "Holiday" can easily be mistaken for a lot of material they have done earlier. "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" shows growth, but not enough to compensate for the rest of the record. I feel they are overrated, but I see why people like them.

[freeek04]

I just think it's the alternative to all the other shyte on radio lately. Radio listeners need to be reminded that there's more music out there than just rap and R&B, and that's their primary cause for existance at radio lately.

[Devil Marlena Nylund]

Personally, I'm not a huge fan of Green Day. Never was. But I respect what they do and the fact that they're able to still create albums that can cross formats but still get respect at their own. For the same reason why I respect the Chili Peppers, whom I'm also not a fan of.

[Sean]

They're OK - their hits are undeniably catchy songs. They may be a rock band but their hits are poppy in their hooks.

I think they're terribly overrated though. Especially the Time Of Your Life song... if I hear it one more time I'm gonna scream!! Especially since whenever it comes on most people around say 'I love this song'... I've never understood that one, it's awful.

[jimmy74747]

Because they hate George Bush. I really don't think that they would have gotten as much acclaim as they have if they didn't bash rock music's least favorite world leader.

BOBD is a very good song, but I really don't see anything deep or special about the lyrics. Its just got a great melody and a great ending. Okay, so the guy feels alone in this world. So did Whitesnake 15 years ago, yet music intelligencia thought "Here I Go Again" was utter crap. Purely political.

I do respect that they were able to somewhat reinvent themsleves and stick around as long as they have, but they are getting way too much respect for their first two singles.

[allow that]

jimmy74747 said:

Because they hate George Bush.  I really don't think that they would have gotten as much acclaim as they have if they didn't bash rock music's least favorite world leader.

Because we all know they had no fanbase prior to this year.

[Slinky]

jimmy74747 said:

Because they hate George Bush.  I really don't think that they would have gotten as much acclaim as they have if they didn't bash rock music's least favorite world leader.

It's true that they've gotten publicity for that, but the  American Idiot album is much more critical of society in general than Bush.  They might hate Bush, but the album appeals to people no matter what their political stripe.  That's why it's so successful, whereas the albums and songs that were made entirely to get Bush out of office just barely registered a blip on the music' world's radar.  It's also why this album will stand up as a classic, while an album that just specifically bashed Bush would be seen as dated and irrelevant in another 10 years.  I never would have bought the album if it were just one Bush bash after another.

BOBD is a very good song, but I really don't see anything deep or special about the lyrics.  Its just got a great melody and a great ending.  Okay, so the guy feels alone in this world.  So did Whitesnake 15 years ago, yet music intelligencia thought "Here I Go Again" was utter crap.  Purely political.

I actually agreed with that until I heard the entire album.  When I first heard BOBD, I commented on the Alternative board about how great the melody was, even if the lyrics were a bit cliche and repetitive.  In the context of the American Idiot album, which is what critics would have been reviewing (they rarely just review singles), the lyrics seem more powerful.  I can't really say why, but I've noticed that.

As to the question in the thread's title, why I like Green Day is simple, they came out with an very well-done album.  I liked Dookie when I was a teenager, drifted away from them when  they released what I thought were some pretty mediocre albums, and came back to them when they reinvented themselves and tried to do something that few bands have the nerve or creativity to do.

[jimmy74747]

Mr. said:

Because we all know they had no fanbase prior to this year. 

I was referring to music critics, not fans. They've never really had a problem selling records. This album won't touch Dookie's sales.

[Rob64]

It has nothing to do with Bush.

They're a great band. Plain and simple.

To me, they're "real". They make the music they want and it sounds great. They write everything themselves, play all the instruments, etc... Plus, they're been doing it for so long and they're still releasing great albums and songs. I give respect for that.

A Lindsay Lohan fan is asking what's so good about Greenday. That is TOO funny

[singingsparrow]

I used to think Green Day were overrated during the "Dookie" era. Occasionally they'd have the single I like, like "Time of Your Life (Good Riddance)" and "When I Come Around". But all in all, I saw nothing groundbreaking come from them.

With "American Idiot", however, I believe there is reason to welcome them back into mainstream. It's a strong concept album that takes so many emotions and struggles in a post-911 climate, and then in the process make a powerful political record that's free of the cliches you hear all across AM radio and Crossfire.

Rather, Green Day effectively invent their own characters that develop throughout the album as their own statement. The album sounds as if only Green Day could have written this, because with Jesus of Suburbia, for instance, you get the "soda pop and Ritalin" and other descriptive lyrics that resonate to the same crowd that's heard tracks like "Poprocks and Coke".

The characters are made believable. And to make a setting in front of a 711 store or in a shopping mall may make one think, "Big deal, I pass by places like this every day on my way to work!". But that's what makes the experience so startling and striking. And the record seems to touch on how we take the disillusioned youth for granted by focusing our attention on bringing "freedom" to other parts of the world, when in fact domestically so many other children are isolated, trying to find their own peace of mind, but many are orphaned upon the "boulevard of broken dreams".

We just haven't seen any state of the reunion address like this since Bruce Springsteen's "The Rising", which is pretty much the only other post-911 toned record that left an inspiration behind. But while "The Rising" focused on hope in crawling out of the darkness, "American Idiot" goes deeper into the post-911 psychology. It's not all candy and flowers to everyone, obviously, and "American Idiot" I believe leaves a powerful message. A couple million would already agree.

Besides that, I believe Green Day have come a long way since a decade ago. Musically they're more resemblant of The Clash than ever before with the epics "Jesus of Suburbia" and "Homecoming". But they're also true to themselves, and this mix is why "American Idiot" has already blown its predecessor "Warning" out of the water.

Sincerely,
Noah Eaton

[singingsparrow]

jimmy74747 said:

Because they hate George Bush.  I really don't think that they would have gotten as much acclaim as they have if they didn't bash rock music's least favorite world leader.

BOBD is a very good song, but I really don't see anything deep or special about the lyrics.  Its just got a great melody and a great ending.  Okay, so the guy feels alone in this world.  So did Whitesnake 15 years ago, yet music intelligencia thought "Here I Go Again" was utter crap.  Purely political.

I do respect that they were able to somewhat reinvent themsleves and stick around as long as they have, but they are getting way too much respect for their first two singles.

I don't think that's a fair assessment.

Steve Earle is against Bush. "The Revolution Starts...Now" didn't burn up like "American Idiot" has.

Antiflag are against Bush. They have a pop-punk sound with their songs all politically-charged, but they haven't blown up commerically.

Zack de la Rocha hasn't had a comeback, and he used to head Rage Against The Machine.

Ani DiFranco, R.E.M, Beastie Boys, you name it. Many of these politically-motivated artists haven't benefitted in this post-911 climate. And the latter two's most recent releases, in fact, are among their weakest commerically. "Around The Sun" is R.E.M's weakest-selling release in almost twenty years. "To The 5 Boroughs" is a far cry from "Hello Nasty" commerically.

I believe this record's success goes far deeper than that.

Sincerely,
Noah Eaton

[singingsparrow]

jimmy74747 said:

I was referring to music critics, not fans.  They've never really had a problem selling records.  This album won't touch Dookie's sales.

But "Dookie" was also released in a time when the music industry was flourishing, in comparison to the more challenging industry now.

Going double platinum or above nowadays for any rock artist is an amazing achievement. And I think "American Idiot" is going to sell a couple million more before it wraps up, as I see them picking up some Grammys, as well as having another hit single on the horizon: "Wake Me Up When September Ends".

I don't know about you, but though "American Idiot" may not match the sales of "Dookie", when you compare the standards of the music industry in 1995 to the standards of 2005, where back then it was a lot easier to hit diamond status or multi-platinum status, "American Idiot" is not far off where "Dookie" was.

Sincerely,
Noah Eaton

[singingsparrow]

Mr. said:

Because we all know they had no fanbase prior to this year. 

Well, I like to compare Green Day's "Warning" to U2's "Pop".

"Warning" sold less than a million, and it got a lukewarm amount of airplay, even on their chief format. The title track picked up some spins across the formats, enough to stik to some playlists for a couple months at least.

"Pop" has been U2's sole Achilles' heel. It's their only record to have gotten generally thumbs-down reviews, as well as their only considerable commerical flop.

Despite that flop, U2 is a band that had established themselves so well they would always have a central fanbase. "Pop" still sold close to a million, and when you have something considered a flop and it still sells about a million still gives you some sort of strange triumphant feeling.

And "American Idiot" could, perhaps, be their "All That You Can't Leave Behind". Somehow "All That You Can't Leave Behind" worked as an anthem to post-9/11, even when it was released before 9/11. U2 could thank their devoted fan base to pushing their album, as well as returning to their rock roots and having songs that can send strong messages across.

"American Idiot" is thriving under this similar formula. The only difference is that Green Day meant to write a concept album, U2's was more of chance. Because they stayed true to their roots, it kept their existing fanbase psyched, and when you can do that as well as create strong messages many can relate to, you're bound to prosper.

Sincerely,
Noah Eaton

[kellydicted]

Because they're different from what's out there right now and because I loved their 90's music

[Unexpected]

Catch some MTV live perormances.

www.mtv.com/music/live/performance.jhtml?contentid=1495996

They perform "Boulevard of Broken Dreams," "Holiday," and "Wake Me Up When September Ends."

[automyskin89]

wow, I didn't know the topic would go this way..lol...

[freeek04]

SingingSparrow said:

"Pop" has been U2's sole Achilles' heel. It's their only record to have gotten generally thumbs-down reviews, as well as their only considerable commerical flop.

Despite that flop, U2 is a band that had established themselves so well they would always have a central fanbase. "Pop" still sold close to a million, and when you have something considered a flop and it still sells about a million still gives you some sort of strange triumphant feeling.

that's even subjective though. I remember U2 in an interview saying that critics outside America (even many in Canada) loved "Pop", and questioned that maybe America just didn't "get" the Pop album. So even then, their fanbase and critics internationally still held it up as stellar. So I really think that the reception that album recieved allowed them to change their direction while still having the same confidence in their skills and not to look down at what the last album had accomplished.

Granted, it was more of a mixed bag than previous efforts (sales/critically), but that's not to say it was a "flop", per se.

"Warning" was definately a flop by comparison, i think. It didn't really do good business anywhere and nowhere would its message be very confused, people just weren't impressed. I consider this album to be a comeback in many ways. They've used the time away to their advantage, and come back with an amazing effort.