Greenday: The Band that Worked It's Way to the Top

Greenday originally known as Sweet Children has forever been my favorite band because it was the first group that I got into. One day I went to the store and it was the only name that I could remember. Through the years there music as well as the artists have grown and changed. Starting in Bodeho, California right outside of Berkley they started off playing at Gilman Street at a local punk venue with each cd progressing and changing in its sound.

Though part of the punk scene there music has never had a really hard edge lyrically. Songs from the very first cd were romantically charged and full of the pains of love. Some songs did show another side to Billy Joe such as "One of my Lies" and there was always that feeling of being an outcast which is seen in the song "Disappearing Boy"
Smoothed out Slappy hours was the first cd which had a rough sound to it with fast guitars and a high feeling of energy. Kerplunk continued on and was a bit more professional sounding and produced with songs like "2,000 light years away" which also happens to be a song written after Billy Joe kissed his wife for the first time. After Kerplunk came Dookie which became a major commercial success refining there sound even more with catchy tunes like Long View and Basket Case.
Insomniac was a rougher sounding cd with high distortion and an attempt at having more of an edge. Songs such as Brain Stewd and Walking Contradiction kept the bands success.

After taking a break for a few years the band came out with Nimrod which showed there new change in direction and there ability to be themselves. Songs like Good Riddance and Redundant showed Billy Joe's soft heartfelt side and songs like Nice Guys Finish Last, The Grouch and Platypus showed that they could still rock out. In my opinion this is the best cd combining the aggression and beautiful passionate lyrics with a high production quality and use of multiple instruments breaking away from there usual 3 instrument punk sound.

Warning would condemn them by many as sell outs because of its rather poppy sound with the anthem Minority and Warning. In my opinion this cd was just more creative and not something there typical punk fans were ready for. A lot of acoustic guitars are seen in this song and a new sound comes out. Songs like Misery and Dead Beat Holiday show a complexion of lyrics that reaches past the ordinary of love and hate showing the hard times of life.

American Idiot was to come out next with a really new sound. Claimed as a rock opera it combines emotionally charged lyrics and harmonies with a story line to carry you through the whole cd. Starting off with a message to the government and its title track American Idiot it then breaks into more thought provoking songs like The Jesus of Suburbia. To break things up there are more upbeat songs like Holiday and St. Jimmy. In my opinion this cd has the most range of feelings and thoughts in the lyrics and the creativity is higher then the band has ever ventured into. They truly have started to hold nothing back. With the track "Wake Me up When September Ends" the cd has been set forever in place as one of the greatest.

One of the most amazing things about Greenday in my opinion though is there live performances. A lot of punk bands have high energy but lack a sense of control and accuracy but Greenday sounds even better live then on the records. The singing is dead on and the pace is set faster fitting the adrenaline rush of performing. Billy Joe not only plays the songs but puts on a performance. During a part of the show members from the audience are even brought up to form a band on stage to play the end of a song.

Through the years Greenday has paved there way through the music scene becoming one of the top bands out of the 90's. Holding a punk energy and insightful lyrics they are more then the typical punk rock. From the beginning there songs have been about things like love and trying to find one's place in this life. Greenday was the first band that I really listened to and will always be special to me.