As someone else pointed out it’s wild just how good Green Day was immediately and how gifted Billie is with melody and as a vocalist. I adore his voice on 1039 and Kerplunk.
It’s also crazy how much his voice changed between Kerplunk and Dookie. He really found what become his iconic style.
No, Losing My Religion is a Blink original. You’ve never heard the story about how Tom’s original lyrics were “that’s me in the corner. That’s me in the spotlight, getting a nice blowjob”?
When I was 13 I was already into some guitar based music but then my friend made me a mix tape around 1998 and the 1st four songs on it were Burnout, Chump, Longview and Basketcase. I'd never heard anything like it but it instantly struck me. It literally changed my life and was my entry into 'alternative' music and determined much of my future friend group. Not a feeling you get much of as you get older.
My friend in I think 4th grade circa 1995 kept talking about Green Day and, around the same time, randomly, my uncle was like “you want this?” and he handed me the blue-shell Dookie cassette with no case and said he didn’t want it anymore. It definitely changed my brain chemistry and I ended up walking into a record store and seeing a huge Insomniac display and my mom bought it for me. I had no idea it was new. I thought it was an older album. I then bought Kerplunk on tape, got a CD player for Xmas that year, and bought 1,039 on compact disc. First band I called my favorite band and first physical media I could say was “my own” that wasn’t a Disney cassette m, etc. Great band. Great segue into talking about R.E.M.
I think Forever Now is a top 10 Green Day song and I can’t believe they don’t play it more live. Obviously there’s no fat to cut on any setlist, but it just OWNS. I saw them close with it on the Rev Rad tour and I’m so thankful I got hear it.
id say at this point there’s plenty of songs that can be cut due to the fact they’ve played the same set list for the last 15 years
Flip it around, “It’s The End Of The World As We Know It” if grittied up a bit could be a Green Day song
The original version of End of the World was later polished up into the unreleased stray track Bad Day which is even closer to being a Green Day song. Just adjust the guitar strumming and vocal affect to BJA and it’s there.
I have absolutely no memory which bootleg it’s on but, on one of the 30 or so random 80s eastern European-produced R.E.M. vinyl bootlegs I have, they play the initial melded version of End of the World/Bad Day that it existed as before Document was released. It’s still very rough and, from what I remember, is maybe mostly End of the World instrumental with some Stipe gibberish wailing and maybe the Bad Day chorus over it. As I type, I am realizing I probably remember too little to be worth this comment but it’s too late. I’m already here.
Wild to consider there’s probably a finished Green Day album out there, sitting on a hard drive. Looking forward to it.
Do we think that Cigs & Valentines is both better than anything they’ve released after AI AND features songs the band has no interest in reviving? Or will it be either mediocre or more in a demo stage than the rumors /myth have stated?