The punks at [the community center that will not be named] didn’t care about Green Day one way or the other. The people who booked the shows were only interested in bands with a political message, so Green Day was irrelevant to them. When a sloppy, funny non-political punk band played at the center, Nate sneered that they sucked. I found the band drunkenly funny and charming, and much more listenable than the dreary, angry sameness of hardcore, but this band was not political, therefore they sucked. While cutting up vegetables and washing up pots and pans for Food Not Bombs, we had to listen to Assück: guys growling unintelligibly against a barrage of raging noise, their guttural screams emerging as if from a grave. (We had discussions as to whether their name should be pronounced ass-sook or ass-suck. I still don’t know the answer, and it’s tearing me up….) Bands like these were okay to see live, for their pure rage, but listening to them while washing dishes…?
I had my own favorite mix tape, which I liked to listen to while walking across the Williamsburg Bridge (on the bridge no one can hear you singing along, off key), but I was too self-conscious to play it around the other volunteers at the center. It had all my favorite bands: Green Day, Screeching Weasel, The Pist, the Descendents, the Mr. T Experience, Pinhead Gunpowder. None of them were hardcore bands, with the exception of The Pist, whose name is pretty self-descriptive. But The Pist has some melody to go with their gruff vocals. They even have the occasional guitar break. Screeching Weasel is snarling, but with a funny, sardonic wit. And the Mr. T Experience is sweeter than candy. I had discovered all of these bands after I had become interested in Green Day, so that even if I had been willing to defend my choices to some of the more humorless punks, I felt like a Johnny-come-lately. Even the Descendents, which had been around since my youth, I had only known about since my interest in Green Day.
I don’t know if I was more self-conscious about liking bands like The Pist, that are so out of my timid and frumpy character, or geeky pop punk bands like the Mr. T Experience, that are just so goofy, and also would appear to be out of character for me, since I tend to come off as serious and morose. And Green Day? Alas, there isn’t any context, it seems, in which liking the bright melodies of Green Day, favored by mainstream teens and suburban housewives, is not fraught with embarrassing contradictions and sheepish admissions.
I appreciate music with a kick, even an assault, but it has to have at least a beat of some sort. Sal, who had blue dreads and flesh-tunnel earlobe piercings, caught me bobbing my head to a tape of Aus Rotten while we were making soup for Food Not Bombs. It had been a spontaneous, unselfconscious reaction to the song. I laughed and said, “Shhh, don’t tell anyone. I’m a secret punk.”
Aus Rotten had played a benefit for Food Not Bombs and had attracted such a large crowd that they had raised $1000. Since Food Not Bombs spent almost no money — nearly all the food we used was donated or dumpstered — $1000 was a large amount of money. Aus Rotten was one of the hardcore shows that I helped clean up after, as a FNB volunteer. And… Jesus! The place looked like it had been hit by a punk rock tornado. There was a used maxipad stuck to the floor, and a gob of spit or clear throw-up so big that Caroline said, “It looks like a fish.” The rule was that everyone had to clean up his or her own vomit, but there had been such a crush of people that it was impossible to find whoever had been responsible.
I didn’t usually volunteer at the hardcore shows. I felt like an interloper, among the aggressively attired punks, all in black with dreads or mohawks, and black bandannas around their necks. The one time I was taking money at the door with another volunteer, a guy came up and took a swing at him, in the tiny alcove that was the center’s entryway. I tried to restrain the guy, putting my arms around his waist from the back, but since I didn’t have his arms it was totally ineffectual. Brawls were not my area of expertise. When several people came from inside the center to help, I handed another volunteer the wad of cash I was holding and went upstairs. I was done doing door, for good.
March 7, 2011 at 7:39 pm
[ Category: Personal, Songs ]
“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?
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.
~As you know, “Know Your Enemy” is out today. It’s on iTunes, on the radio, all over. Listen here (UK) or on GDA. There’s a review here; it’s a bit lukewarm.
The eagerly and somewhat impatiently — at least for me — awaited 90 second clip of “Know Your Enemy” was just shown on CBS’s NCAA championship game. It included video of of all three band members performing the song, presumably from the official music video. It was mostly shots of Billie Joe singing and playing guitar (with black hair and wearing a black leather jacket for those who are keen on such details…), and there were fires going off in the background, reminiscent of the AI stage show. (GDA has the video if you missed it.) GD.com and MySpace have a different 90 second clip, audio only.
I enjoyed it more than I should, but as always with these things I’m very taken aback by the over-the-top marketing aspect. Maybe that’s an odd thing to focus on right now, when there was that lovely scream and all… It’s just nice that everyone is so jumpy and excited. I guess the hype is meant to help generate the excitement, but it would be nice if it were left up to us to spontaneously become excited, or not, without being so blatantly managed.
I think the way that mainstream culture functions we’re all pawns in its game to some extent, whether we choose to be or not. We can either turn away and refuse to consume commercial products, which is essentially the punk ethos, for which I have great respect and a lot of personal affinity — in my personal life I try to have as little as possible to do with consumer culture; I don’t even shop, except for food (that probably sounds snobby, but to me it’s a survival tactic, like keeping your head above water) — or we can accept its intrusion into our lives for the things we want to make a part of our lives. There are not many, actually not any, to be honest, other bands besides Green Day for whom I would watch a NCAA promo, or brave an arena concert, or sit in the audience of a TV show…
It’s been argued before, about the choices that Green Day themselves made: why didn’t they stick to the punk doctrine and refuse to be co-opted? I think their reasons are perfectly valid and commendable: if you want to make music and be able to go as far as possible with your own creativity, and connect to as wide an audience as is out there, then this is the game that is available. The alternative is to angrily bang your head against the wall, which many other bands have done, and I for one am glad Green Day have chosen not to do that. I’m glad that they want to share themselves with all of us, even if it means having to play the game.
Regardless of the naked commercialism inherent in putting out an album that is expected to sell many millions of copies, the way we each feel about it, personally, is ultimately its essence. Even the contact person from Warner, whose job it is to keep fan websites informed, said in an email that he was just as excited as I was, and that he’s been a fan since the 4th grade. There are corporations whose concern is with the bottom line, and surely many people in those corporations for whom that is the only concern, but then there are real human beings, who will fall in love with the album, and they (we) are the ones who will breathe life into it, and the aspect of it that is a product will become irrelevant.
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