Billy Joe Armstrong - GP Cover

[sunvalleylaw]

http://www.greenday.com/article.php?id=638


Green Day and Billy Joe are the cover story for GP this month. I have only skimmed it so far, but it covers some good ground I think, and also features a subarticle about their live guitarist, Jason White. I am excited to read it in full this evening. BJ seems realistic about what he does and doesn't do on a guitar, and that he needed to add a guitarist to do what he wanted to with the songs, so he could focus on what he does well. Looks good!

 

[bigG]

SVL, I know you like Green Day, and so do I. I was thinking about this after watching the Bullet In A Bible concert on Palladia a few weeks ago...I am a Who fanatic, and it occured to me that Green Day are The Who for a new generation...

Whatcha think?

G

 

[sunvalleylaw]

Well, I think you have a point there. Certainly, they take cues from The Who. He also mentions being a big Beatles fan, particularly in connection to melody, which I saw him mention as being very important to his songcraft. Like I said, I only skimmed it so far, and it is my bed time reading tonight. I very much like the melodic quality of GD's offerings. I also noted in other threads the obvious influence of musicians of the Who/Beatles era, and even that one song seems to cry out for a George Harrison style solo. But, Green Day being Green Day, they take the song in a different direction and punk it up instead.

I also would note something else. When I watched the Neil Young piece on PBS earlier this year, Neil had said he wrote "Living With War" because he did not hear any protest music from the younger generations. (not getting into politics, just noting his comments regarding that type of music). I thought about it, and thought that the only commercially successful band I could think of taking on those topics is GD. It is not like these guys are newbies either; the band was formed in 1987.

Given that, and given the "punk rock opera" nature of 21st Cent. Breakdown and American Idiot, I think you may be right. I also liked that they took a break from the big concept album in between, and issued the power pop/punky Stop, Drop and Roll under the Foxboro Hot Tubs name.

 

[red]

I also would note something else. When I watched the Neil Young piece on PBS earlier this year, Neil had said he wrote "Living With War" because he did not hear any protest music from the younger generations. (not getting into politics, just noting his comments regarding that type of music). I thought about it, and thought that the only commercially successful band I could think of taking on those topics is GD.

Do you not consider Pearl Jam a commercially successful band? Because you should give "Riot Act" and the "Pearl Jam"/avocado album a listen.