A Green Day Fan Site

~Green Day recorded two new tracks last week in Scotland, but we won’t be hearing them anytime soon.

“I smell pot. Jesus is gonna git you!”- Billie Joe Armstrong onstage in Nashville, TN, 2005.

I think I’m going to test the waters and drop myself into a little bit of controversy. Well, perhaps it’s more of a touchy issue than it is controversial.
For starters, I love Green Day’s new album; it swirls and soars with great melodies, lyrics and the metaphors and symbols light up with a great flash in your mind. I’m tempted to say that they have outdone themselves again, and that’s probably true. “21st Century Breakdown” delves deeper into the human experience than “American Idiot” in my opinion; “AI” was more about turbulent political times, maybe even the revolutionary ideas bubbling beneath the surface of pacified America. “21st Century,” on the other hand, explores more of the emotions people keep inside, not necessarily just the political atmosphere, but the overall state of our lives and the lingering sense of hope we all feel. Of course, before Christian and Gloria get to the hope at the end with “See the Light,” Billie Joe throws them into turmoil.
Which brings me to “East Jesus Nowhere.”
And here comes the touchy issue. I am proud and happy to admit that this is song is my absolute favorite off the new album; I find it to be the perfect Green Day song (or one of the most perfect ones). Not only does it have kickass guitar riffs and a great drumline that gets your heart pounding, it also reveals what Green Day do best- conveying a message to us. Now, I fully understand why there are some people who could get angry with the band; after all, religion is a very personal thing. I have two good friends who are religious myself. But it’s a hallmark of Punk Rock- of all Rock and Roll- to stir up the masses and get everyone all riled up. To be honest, if Billie Joe can sing about his darkest thoughts or feelings- namely suicide and drug use- why is it so shocking for him to write about religion?
You could even see it coming. It’s not like he’s a stranger to this kind of word play, either: Jesus of Suburbia (one of the most vulnerable and tortured characters I’ve ever encountered) speaks for himself. The religious metaphors are even present in the Foxboro Hot Tubs songs, from ‘Mother Mary’ to ‘She’s a Saint, Not a Celebrity,’ and even my favorite line of ‘the Pedestrian’: “it don’t take a Jesus/to save my soul.” The new album is full of word plays as well, like “Christian’s Inferno,” which in my opinion is a very clever one.
But I still believe “East Jesus Nowhere” is the defining song of Billie Joe’s opinion on religion or even his fears about it- clearly he’s fascinated by it, in a way. The song leans more toward his disgust with the commercialism of religion rather than his dislike of the idea itself. I can understand how people are quick to judge the band for something like this, but the explanation is all there. What Billie Joe is calling ‘blasphemy’ is the fact that there is greed within the church, the one place that is supposed to be free of sin. I’m sure there are times when people like that slip through the cracks and get carried away with all the power. (But keep in mind, I’m not saying it’s true for every church out there).
As a writer, I really have to appreciate the words he uses to paint such vivid pictures; one thing that gives me the chills is the repeated shout of ’stand up! sit down!’ which I find to be a very eerie representation of the Catholic service. That is something so powerful to me.
My favorite line is what follows: ‘Say a prayer for the family/drop a coin for humanity/ Ain’t this uniform so flatterin’?’
I think Billie Joe is messing with our minds at this point, making us take the root out of what his lyrics are saying. He’s pulling you out of your comfort zone so gradually you don’t even realize it. Whether or not he meant to do this, I have no idea. I think he’s voicing his disgust in that sentence; the ‘uniform’ he speaks of is something both the church goers and religious figures would wear; all this control is giving them power- now they feel as though they have a voice, when the truth is, the church is telling them what to think, what to believe, and they mistake this attractive authority for individuality. To top it all off, they willingly accept this conformity. And Billie Joe is understandably maddened by what he now realizes.
I can understand his religious frustration, but in no way am I saying it’s all the same- that all religions and churches are hypocritical and oppressing of all personality. But I know how it can certainly throw your mind into a panic, so badly to the point where your thoughts go in continuous circles. It can make you feel terribly inadequate because your faith is lacking. Just as Billie experienced his moment of ‘oh my god, is he really saying that?!’ I did so as well. And that’s why the song speaks to me.
Which brings me (hopefully) to the point. “East Jesus Nowhere” should be taken for what it is- a rock and roll song. It’s not some kind rant that was purposefully put on the album to stir up controversy, it’s an anthem of a person’s personal view and opinion; it wasn’t directed at one religion in general, and it’s not specifying that one is better than the other. We shouldn’t hate Green Day for pronouncing their own beliefs, just as we shouldn’t hate others for having their own different beliefs. The way I see it is, if you can find something like Punk Rock- which gives you everything and asks for nothing in return except maybe a profound thought; something that everyone can share, people from all backgrounds, races and creeds…
Why let something like a simple opinion keep you from enjoying it?
I’m thankful Billie Joe shared his message with us, even if not all of us can agree with him or like him for it. If anything, just immerse yourself in the music and be taken away from your world along with it.
Choosing whether or not to take meaning from it is entirely up to you.

When I first heard Green Day in 1994, I was fascinated by everything about them, and I was very curious about their roots. Other bands from the Gilman St. scene of the early 90s and late 80s were a tantalizing glimpse into a whole creative universe that had to be pretty special in order to be the magical cookpot that simmered and seasoned the likes of Green Day.

So, here’s a selection of songs that are some of the tasty morsels in that stew. With a couple of possible exceptions, none of them have the bright, crackling melodies that are Green Day’s trademark. The aesthetic sensibilities of the punk scene were, and are, ragged and raw. But compared to the serious lyrics and aggressiveness of hardcore punk, these bands represented something new at the time: politics and ideals, but also love, creativity, and lots of silliness.

Billie Joe (talking to Larry Livermore in 2001) said: “Everything we were doing, we were being heartfelt about it, we were singing love songs because that’s what we felt like. That’s what was in my heart…. Of course, there were always a lot of hardcore bands, I mean we were one of the only bands who were that poppy at that time, besides maybe Sweet Baby or Mr. T Experience…” Larry Livermore: “Sewer Trout…” Billie Joe: “Yeah, and maybe even Crimpshrine.” [ Source ]

Mr. T Experience - Gilman Street

This is not the best Mr. T Experience song, but I couldn’t resist the topic, and it’s from their early period, when they were playing Gilman St. with Green Day. (I really like this band, but get their later stuff…) Dr. Frank said, in 1995: “My intention was always to make a… basically a cross between the Buzzcocks and the Ramones, but it didn’t ever really come out that way, because we weren’t talented enough to accomplish it, and so it turned out to be something else…. Ironically, there are a lot of people who like the old inept band to the current, more ept.” [ Source ]

Sweet Baby - She’s From Salinas

Larry Livermore said: “Sweet Baby, along with some help from their friends in the Mr T Experience, pretty much invented East Bay pop punk.” [ Source ]

Crimpshrine - Summertime

Crimpshrine, which was formed by Aaron Cometbus and Jeff Ott, is often mentioned as a seminal band in East Bay punk. People get misty-eyed talking about them. Ben Weasel of Screeching Weasel calls them “the heart and soul of the East Bay.” [ Source ]

Isocracy - Rodeo

Isocracy, as you probably know, is the band that John Kiffmeyer was in. Their goofiness gets a mention in the Mr. T Experience song about Gilman St. (posted above): “Isocracy made a mess, we demand nothing less.”

Pinhead Gunpowder - Future Daydream

You’ve probably all heard this song, but I put it in because in this context, it sounds so similar to the other songs here: you can see (hear) the direct thread from the other bands to a project that Billie Joe was (and is still) a part of.

Blatz - Learning How To Smile

I don’t know much about Blatz beyond this song, which I think is wonderfully silly. Billie Joe played with them sometimes. Here’s a photo. Their Wikipedia entry tells a good story: lots of influential people from the scene were involved in Blatz.

Operation Ivy - Sound System

Again, everyone has probably heard this, but I couldn’t leave out Operation Ivy! Billie Joe said: “Jesse Michaels was so great on stage, so charismatic, good looking, with insanely great lyrics… that’s what I was into about him. And I always thought he had that sort of sensibility, that he could work both sides of the fence, the people who were into them because they had great music, and the people who were into them because of the things they stood for.” [ Source ]

Screeching Weasel - Hey Suburbia

Screeching Weasel are actually from Illinois, not the East Bay, but they were signed to Lookout Records and had a lot of influence in that scene, and on Green Day, though Ben Weasel modestly says otherwise: “Those guys were influenced by the Kinks and The Who, and by the heavy metal they’d listened to as teenagers (just like us), and by the bands that played Gilman in the early days, like Operation Ivy and Crimpshrine and Isocracy. I’d be shocked to learn that they’d ever heard those [Semi-Famous Old-Time Punk] bands prior to around their own third record.” [ Source ]

I’m not a completist, I’m not a record collector, and I’m certainly no expert on East Bay punk. I tend to pick out songs and bands to listen to haphazardly. I tried to keep this list short, but if you have any requests I can add them, or if people are interested I can make future posts with more songs?

~Listen to clips of 21CB’s bonus tracks on Green Day’s MySpace. A new one a day until Thursday.

~Listen to the b-side “Hearts Collide” on 1039SweetChildren.

~Green Day’s “Know Your Enemy” has shot up from 8th to number one on Billboard’s Modern Rock chart.

For a change of pace from all the chewing-on-our-fingernails anticipation of the new album, here’s a review, and previews, of the recently released CD of string quartet renditions of all the songs on American Idiot: Vitamin String Quartet performs Green Day’s American Idiot.

I know that some fans are not fond of Green Day covers — after all, who does Green Day’s songs better than Green Day themselves? — but this is so different from the original that it’s a work of art in its own right, and it’s a real tribute to the beauty and power of American Idiot: an album with so much depth and emotion holds up exceptionally well when translated into the moody strains of violins, viola and cello. I found myself listening to this again and again.

If I have any quibble, and it’s only a very small one, it’s that this album is almost too faithful to the original. The driving beat of the electric guitars and drums is rendered with a staccato quality that’s true to the album, but I kind of wish that the grand lyricism that string instruments are so good at would be allowed to assert itself in all its emotional, dramatic, sweeping glory. I guess I wanted the classical musicians to get carried away….

You can hear “American Idiot,” “Boulevard of Broken Dreams,” and “Wake Me Up When September Ends” on YouTube. (There’s also “Good Riddance” from another album.) See what you think. My favorite is “Jesus of Suburbia” but I’m afraid you’ll have to pick up the album for that one.

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