Instead of spending time answering e-mails (tomorrow, people. tomorrow) I decided to download some albums from the newsgroups to throw on the ol' iPod for my city commute tomorrow (kind of pointless as I'm currently obsessed with the new Patti Smith record). While deciding if I should grab a Green Day compilation I read this on the inconsistently reliable AllMusic.com...
So, even if they were unintentionally working within a familiar framework, they infused it with passion and unpredictability - particularly in the sense that nobody would have guessed that Billie Joe Armstrong was such a damn good songwriter, no matter if he was writing frenzied punk like "Brain Stew/Jaded," sub-Stray Cat strut like "Hitchin' a Ride," or affecting pop, like "When I Come Around" and "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)." Better still, that just scratches the surfaces of his talents, and it doesn't even acknowledge that he partnered with a band that could deliver those songs, resulting in a body of work more consistent and thrilling than the Sex Pistols and more ambitious than the Ramones. If that sounds like sacrilege, well, you just haven't listened with open ears, as this stellar collection proves.
Err... Okaaaaay. Discuss.
Posted by mikewolf at April 28, 2004 08:46 PMUpon further review, I'm willing to give them incredibly catchy with few exceptions. I might even be willing to pass on "more consistent" than the Pistols. More exciting?! C'mon. Have a sense of era. More ambitious than the Ramones? Again, writing neo-punk/pop songs in the '90s certainly isn't even close.
Posted by: mrw on April 28, 2004 09:10 PMSo, how's that imaginary girlfriend of yours?
Posted by: Frankenstein on April 29, 2004 03:45 AMI agree with your qualifications. Primarily because, for me, Green Day isn't about a body of work on CD. They are a great, great, live band though. I'm surprised the original reviewers didn't even mention that. Or maybe that was their point - everyone agrees they're great live, but don't consider their songcraft. Uh, in that case, I still agree with your qualifications, I think.
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Anyway, Green Day are like Fastbacks, Everclear, Zeke, Groovie Ghoulies, I'll stop there, I guess. These are bands of the past decade+, who were capable of blowing the roof off a club and wasting an audience, in a way only killer bands can do. Live is were they truly existed. Studio work - who cares?
Earlier, I'd say Smithereens, even Clash, fit the same mold. See the show!
I've tried to convince you to go see Gomez before, another awesome experience, but you never listen.
Posted by: deano on April 29, 2004 11:05 AM"More ambitious than the Ramones"? Who isn't?
The one Pistols album barely constitutes body of work, but to say Green Day is more thrilling reminds me of those rockabilly obscurists who think Johnny Burnett was better than Elvis. JB and GD are great, but they wouldn't have existed w/out the founders.
I do admire GD's principles, or at least the appearance of them. Their hearts seem to be in the right place, IOW. They write catchy stuff that never struck me as awe-inspiring musically or thematically.
Posted by: Vernam on April 30, 2004 10:47 AM