Green Day ?

[Sovietsky Souyuz]

Green day ? why are they jumping on the 'lets ***** about bush' bandwagon ? i know im probably goin to get shot down in flames for my opinion,

but why is it a current trend to whine about bush ? nu-punk bands picked up on bush about seven seconds after he won his election (by whatever methods) and actual political activists had been at it for many months...

so why does a band like greenday (all of whose albums i own) feel the sudden need to make a couple of political songs ? make some money basically methinks, theyve never been political in the past, but now seeing as fat mike has position as had anti-bush-'musical' person, they release 'american idiot'

personally i think its just a sad attempt at usin the song and album title to gain a few extra sales from the anti-bush movement, what are your feelings ?

[truthaddict11]

its an election year and since so much has happened since Greenday released thier last album maybe they felt they needed to write American Idiot.

[socialistfuture]

don't question it - its just great that they have - bush is inspiting a lot of music :D

[Hate Is Art]

I think it's cool, if it turns some little kid onto Politics then groove.

[GrYnEt]

I think it's good. It might just be another "image" thing, but any critisism of bush is good. Green day is a great band by the way.

[Sabocat]

I'm assuming you're referring to the impending release of American Idiot. So are you saying if a band becomes so distraught at the political climate that they feel it necessary to comment on it (in the way that an artist in their field communicates), they should just keep their mouths shut?

Also, there is probably just as big an audience that will find the song distasteful. So I guess it's at least probable that these are their feelings on the current political climate, as they certainly risk alienating the pro-war crowd and losing potential sales.

Songwriters are just like any other writer. They will and do write about their observations.


American Idiot

Don't wanna be an American idiot.
Don't want a nation under the new media.
And can you hear the sound of hysteria?
The subliminal mind-fuck America.

Welcome to a new kind of tension.
All across the idiot nation.
Where everything isn't meant to be okay.
Television dreams of tomorrow.
We're not the ones who're meant to follow.
For thats enough to argue.

Well maybe I'm the faggot America.
I'm not a part of a redneck agenda.
Now everybody do the propaganda.
And sing along in the age of paranoia.

Welcome to a new kind of tension.
All across the idiot nation.
Where everything isn't meant to be okay.
Television dreams of tomorrow.
We're not the ones who're meant to follow.
For thats enough to argue.

Don't wanna be an American idiot.
One nation controlled by the media.
Information Age of hysteria.
It's going out to idiot America.

Welcome to a new kind of tension.
All across the idiot nation.
Where everything isn't meant to be okay.
Television dreams of tomorrow.
We're not the ones who're meant to follow.
For thats enough to argue.

[RageAgainstTheMachine]

Its strange to see bands sing about how evil bush is but RATM sang about the freedom in peru and how they fight for what is right they dont follow a trend all im saying is if bands are political why dont they sing about all the evil in the world not just america

[Invader Zim]

Greenday have been on the anti-bush band waggon sinse it started mate, and they are not "nu-punk", Greenday practically saved (or destroyed depending on your outlook) modern punk back in the mid ninties, and sound absolutly nothing like most modern "nu-punk" bands, and retain the same sound as they have had from the start. They are from way before this outbreak of nu-punk, which was far more modern.

[Sovietsky Souyuz]

sorry for not bein clearer, i know greenday arent nu-punk, i was refering to bands like nofx and whatever else fat mike has on his lil record label......

and bands like RATM would sing about injustice in the other parts of the world because they had an actual understanding of it, they werent just jumpin on a trend to make money before ol' GW gets booted out of office, either via democrat or impeachment ......

[RageAgainstTheMachine]

Well good point and green day arnt nu metal there punk nu metal are linknin park and shit..

[Invader Zim]

Originally posted by Sovietsky [email protected] 8 2004, 11:26 PM
sorry for not bein clearer, i know greenday arent nu-punk, i was refering to bands like nofx and whatever else fat mike has on his lil record label......

and bands like RATM would sing about injustice in the other parts of the world because they had an actual understanding of it, they werent just jumpin on a trend to make money before ol' GW gets booted out of office, either via democrat or impeachment ......
Greenday were pointing out the flaws of society way back on the Dookie album.

[socialistfuture]

three cheers for greenday - at the very minimum it shows they dont support the kinda world bush envisions and shows they are willing to stake their fans support by doing it. good on em - it starts by critizing bush and making that mainstream - the next stage is to get people to go beyond that - to see its not just him but the whole power structure.

[Exploited Class]

Green Day is just popular punk, in my opinion. I loved them from the start, Dookie was a great album, singing about smoking pot, biting your lip as you cum and making it mainstream is pretty cool.

They are not at that same level of popularity that they once were back in the 90's with thier first 3 albums, so I don't see this at all as a sell out album or changing to meet current trends. At this point they have their audience/fan base and are doing two things.

1. giving their audience what they want to hear.
2. Singing about something they feel.

They aren't 70's early 80's hardcore punk, in sound and message, but this song is very remanisent of those days. Since there first album, I personally feel that their albums have just gotten more hardcore, this song and attitude is just a gradual step in that direction. It is also a little more obvious than previous messages in other songs.

[refuse_resist]

Green Day is a good band. Especially once you consider how long they've been making music now. They actually are a local band to me, since they started off in Berkeley, which is about 40 minutes away. I always go to the place they used to play back in their underground days to check out punk and hardcore shows.


Greenday were pointing out the flaws of society way back on the Dookie album.
True. I think it was on "Welcome to Paradise" they were talking about how the conditions are in Oakland and what the people go through.


Greenday have been on the anti-bush band waggon sinse it started mate, and they are not "nu-punk", Greenday practically saved (or destroyed depending on your outlook) modern punk back in the mid ninties, and sound absolutly nothing like most modern "nu-punk" bands, and retain the same sound as they have had from the start. They are from way before this outbreak of nu-punk, which was far more modern.
They formed in the mid to late 80's.

[The Forum Idiot]

They say they've been going around 15 years...but much like The Offspring they get immediately classed as Nu Punk since dickheads like Blink 182 ripped them off... I'd also like to say something about Nu Punk...and that its all super shit and in the words of eddie vedder "all these new bands sound just like the bay city rollers". Clearly talking about shit like Good Charlotte then...Rock on Pearl Jam and Green Day!

[che's long lost daughter]

I agree with you EC, Green Day are one of the few bands who make music that the audience would want and singing about what they feel. I like Green Day very much. There is also something "political" about their songs although I wouldn't say that they are a political band like RATM. Billy Joe might be a bit older now but those eyes always speak to me. :rolleyes:

[The Forum Idiot]

yes, when he sings he always looks like some guy's shoved a metal stick up his ass and up through his body yet if he says anyhing he'll die. Gotta love that look...