Amy Keung 2A Why People Love Green Day More than 130,000 Green Day fans attended the two-day concert held at the Milton Keynes National Bowl, England in 18th and 19th June 2005, and the concert is considered one of the largest shows in punk rock history and at the same time, ‘The Best Show On Earth,’ according to a Kerrang! Magazine Poll. With over 63.5 million records sold worldwide, 30 million in the US and three Grammy Awards in their pockets, the band Green Day consisting of lead singer and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, back-up vocalist and bassist Mike Dirnt and drummer Tré Cool, who have been together for over 15 years and are all from California, made their way into being one of the most successful punk rock bands on earth. Now begs the question: why is the band so successful? Mainly because they are punk rockers. It is a well-known fact that we youths are generally rebellious – the teachers at school had it drilled into our heads during one of those boring so-called life education lessons, and our parents remind us of it every single day. This time, teachers and parents are right - we sometimes disobey orders. For example, a boy called Tim has been caught instant messaging when he was told to finish homework. He is grounded for a whole week, and how do you think he’ll feel? Put off, of course. He’ll feel like the world is against him, nobody understands him, and he is all by himself. He will probably sulk, punch his pillow, but won’t dare breaking things and yelling because he doesn’t need another week of utter boredom. Now, put yourself in his shoes. Feel what he feels. Think what he thinks. Want what he wants to do. Still, you can’t destroy every thing in your sight or yell to no one but your room. But what if someone can yell for you? That’s when loud music comes in. A guitar, a bass and a drum set with a singer yelling barely discernible lyrics will represent the beast that’s clawing your insides, won’t they? Green Day has all that, and even more. A lot of their songs (for example, Jesus of Suburbia and Boulevard of Broken Dreams off American Idiot) are about anger, alienation, hatred and other emotions squeezed into a bomb waiting to explode inside someone feeling unhappy, like Tim or, one time or another, you. By listening to their music, you can be assured that you are not alone; somebody out there shares your feelings. Green Day plays rock music - the music of rebellion – and they understand us. That’s why rebels like us enjoy having their songs blaring loud into our ears. OK, I have a happy life – I don’t get caught being naughty and so I don’t get grounded. Green Day has nothing to do with me, right? Wrong. We all need music in our lives. It’s a way our emotions are dispersed. Songs with hardly any meanings are everywhere, and love songs is a perfect example – how a person seems unique to the songwriter or singer and how he or she would like to date them, how depressed they are after their break-up, how sick they are with their would-be ex-lovers…aren’t you a bit tired of them? We need songs that at least are different or even better, mean something. Green Day has those songs. In Walking Contradiction from Insomniac, a line goes like this: ‘I have no belief, but I believe I’m a walking contradiction.’ Are you a ‘walking contradiction’? Have you ever said that you hate all cats but you are obsessed with Garfield? Or that you know exercising is good for you, but you hate it? You have to admit that their words make sense. Well, try this: ‘We’re living in repetition, content in the same old shtick again’ comes from Redundant off nimrod. Are you aware of the fact that you are indeed ‘living in repetition?’ You say ‘hello’ to your dog everyday, and he happily licks your face with his tail wagging, and you feel happy about it. You cannot deny it - Green Day’s songs relate to our everyday lives and we can relate to their songs. Somehow, the band clarifies your life for you – what you do, what you are, and then you ask yourself why you behave that way. Congratulations, you are on the right track to finding the truth of life. Yet, music is not the only ingredient that goes into making a band successful. Passion has got to be thrown in. In the Bullet in a Bible CD/DVD which the concert at Milton Keynes is recorded, Billie Joe can be seen running from one end of the stage to the other for several times. He didn’t have to do that; he could stay still at the centre of the stage and perform all the songs the band has prepared and then go off-stage without attempting any interaction with the screaming people watching them. On the contrary, he yelled his voice hoarse to them and asked them to freak out, and so they did. Although after much yelling, jumping and running, Billie Joe eventually went off-key and had to gasp for breath while singing, the fans didn’t mind because they understood that having fun isn’t about everything being perfect; it’s about everything going crazy. Green Day makes us loose control thus relieving our pent-up feelings and ultimately, giving us great pleasure. Furthermore, the band always hold strong to their beliefs and always look on the bright side of life. When criticised, they can easily make fun of the people who don’t like them, and get away with the words against them by telling a joke. For example, in Billie Joe’s own words, ‘What do you mean we walked around dressed like girls? We walked around in our own clothes, they just happened to be dresses.’ They proved themselves different from others in a humorous manner, letting people who already like them admire them even more, and forcing people who look down on them at least notice their strong will of being influenced by no-one but their own selves. An example of Green Day’s optimism is when the master tracks from the album Cigarettes and Valentines were stolen. They started from scratch, fought hard against obstacles and produced their second best-selling album (with over 22 million copies sold worldwide), American Idiot, released in 2004. Their hopefulness, making them never giving up, has given them great success. Mike has once said ‘We write music for ourselves and if other people like it, that’s great.’ Indeed, a lot of people like Green Day because their ‘loud’ music depicts the feelings and thoughts inside every human being. Determination has kept the trio going and loving their fans. In return, their fans love them, too. That cycle is called ‘cause and effect.’ .