Green Day As a Rebel Anthem For Life (My OG Cred)
I remember hearing “When I Come Around” on the radio all the time when it first came out.
A friend of mine was all excited about Insomniac once it was released, so I stayed up late one night to record their performance of “86” on Letterman for her (and I was pretty horrified to be honest – All I could think was “drugs are bad”)
(Am I wrong?)
Regardless, this was my introduction to 90’s punk and ska, which shaped my golden rule of life – Do whatever makes you happy so long as you don’t hurt yourself or anyone else. This was the beginning of my journey into rebellion, introspection, and growth. In a lot of ways, this was the “dawning of the rest of my life”.
By the time Nimrod came out I was officially a fan (I think I’d even joined their “Idiot Club” LOL!) To this day, Nimrod is my favorite album because it really started to showcase the range of their musical talents, from the soothing beach tune “Last Ride In” to the hardcore “Platypus” – That was the most “punk” thing they’d ever done. Good Riddance is still played at some high school graduations! Not to mention that this tour was my first big concert; during “King for a Day”, I started pumping my fist in the air, and Billie Joe with his leopard print thong pointed right at me and got the whole crowd doing it! And I still feel special!
My friend and I accidentally wandered backstage after Warped Tour 2000 – We just wanted to hang out by Lake Erie while we waited for her mom to come take us home. Mike Dirnt walked right up and started chatting with us – I was so shocked and he was so chill, I didn’t even recognize him! A little later, we spotted Billie Joe having a beer with a couple guys – I started crying, MXPX consoled me, and I was speechless when I finally walked up to him. He said “you have really curly hair…I have curly hair too…do you want an autograph?” (Spoiler alert – I lost both Billie & Mike’s autographs, and I am devastated). Mike and Billie were absolutely the two nicest musicians I’ve ever met.
So of course I hated American Idiot. The eyeliner, the whiny emo, the perpetual black and red, and the new wimpy generation that fell in love with them just didn’t sit right with me. (Yes, I know that’s how the true OG punks felt about my fluffy 90’s punk and ska generation.) However, I respect it with every fiber of my being. Even though it’s obnoxiously emo, it’s also perfectly punk – They did what they wanted to do, and earned themselves multiple accolades as a result. They came back bigger, better, and bolder than they started.
To me, American Idiot is akin to Pink Floyd’s epic album The Wall. I can’t even imagine trying to write a story with music and lyrics. And to then see it turned into a Broadway musical?!? It makes me cringe, but it also makes me incredibly proud to have watched how far they’ve come. I adore & respect them regardless, and I’m just happy that they’re all happy, healthy, and empowering generation after generation with authenticity and resilience.
Lesson 1 : Authenticity is Everything
I liked 21st Century Breakdown, but the Foxboro Hot Tubs was just about my favorite thing ever. They wanted to lean into some “garage rock” and play some smaller shows, and so they did. And it was awesome!
Has a song ever randomly caught your attention that you wanted to take serious action in your life? One day, the song “Sally” came on my laptop super loud and slapped some sense into me :
Ok Billie, stop yelling at me!
It reminded me to push for what I want and don’t let anything get in the way. It reminded me to be who I am despite judgmental shit-talking extended family members, and to overcome the internal barriers I’d put up because of them.
Green Day plays music they want to play and they do what they want to do, reminding everyone to embrace who they are unapologetically, even when it doesn’t fit in with other peoples’ expectations.
How can you ditch one way you’re “faking it” this week?
Lesson 2 : Resilience Means Riding Out the Hard Times
Transformation is inevitable through difficulties – For better or worse depends on you.
Billie’s openness with his struggles over some of the things he’s dealt with gives hope to those who are dealing with similar circumstances. My mom passed away when I had just turned 15, and I felt completely lost. But knowing that Billie lost his dad when he was young, and seeing the beautifully inspirational man he’d grown up to become gave me hope that I’d figure it out.
Another example is how the whole band suffered a ton of stress as young punk “celebrities” – As fun as it could be at times, there was still tons of pressure from the record company, guilt for not spending more time with their growing families, and so on. With time, they learned to adapt and do what they had to do to preserve their own sanity as much as possible. A small example being that Billie occasionally shuts down his social media to clear his head (something we should all probably do!)
A big example is all the hate they got after releasing Warning, which was blown out of the water when they released American Idiot.
Suck it, haters – Just LOOK at that CROWD!
Failure or stagnation is just a part of growth, unfortunately. Write down a past failure or struggle in your own life, and how it led to something better (or could in the future).
Live Loud
What’s one way you’ve embraced authenticity or resilience in your own life? Drop a comment & let’s geek out about punk, ska, and all things rebellious!
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Rock on!!
Top 5 Green Day Songs for Authenticity
- Minority
- Longview
- American Idiot
- King for a Day
- Sally (Foxboro Hot Tubs)
Top 5 Green Day Songs for Resilience
- Boulevard of Broken Dreams
- Good Riddance
- Wake Me Up When September Ends
- Last Night On Earth
- 21 Guns
zen BLITZ 