Are Green Day Still Great?

Ahead of their new album's arrival, we had to ask our members: Are Green Day still great? Here's our favourite answer.

Green Day is an iconic punk rock band that has been making headlines for thirty years.

Yet it seems the spotlight has been focusing on them now, more than ever, with the upcoming release of their album, Revolution Radio.

It has already faced some criticism online, with many analysing the clichéd album cover and the few songs which have already been released. So, are Green Day still great?

Pre-Order the new Green Day album ‘Revolution Radio’ and get the song instantly at https://t.co/Eiare9J9I0 pic.twitter.com/r03fnIFy3v

— Green Day (@GreenDay) August 11, 2016

Personally, I was introduced to them twelve years ago when American Idiot was first released. My mum was a fan and would play the album on full volume in the car; we would sing along at the top of our lungs. Though, because I was seven at the time, we usually substituted the "f**ks" in the lyrics for "fluffy".

I’ve been listening and singing to every album of theirs ever since, so it’s safe to say that I was brought up on Green Day. My fifty-five-year-old mother and I even ended up at the front of a Green Day mosh-pit at their three-hour long performance during Perth's Soundwave Festival in 2014.

Even though I was a child who grew up on Green Day, it doesn't mean I never noticed their music changing.

From the punk beats of American Idiot, an album which was anti-government and anti-war, they moved into 21st Century Breakdown. The album was still very much punk, due to all the anti-establishment themes, but it sounded noticeably softer. Having said that, one of their softer songs, "Restless Heart Syndrome", is still one of my favourite tracks on the album. Their last record, Uno! Dos! Tre!, came out when I was finally a teenager. I was full of hormones and angst and found it easy connecting with the political ideas punk represents.

Now, finally old enough to properly enjoy the full meaning of Green Day's songs, I find myself disappointed because I feel that what I have been listening to isn't all that much about politics anymore. They seem to have gone further towards the alternative line, rather than punk. When I saw them at Soundwave, most of the songs they played weren’t from the official tour album, Uno! Dos! Tres! but rather, tracks from American Idiot and 21st Century Breakdown. Even with what I've heard so far of Revolution Radio, I can't help but feel they're a little slower than what they used to be.

Does this stop Green Day from being great? F*** no!

They are a band, made up of real people, and real people change.

Green Day’s music just confirms that they are in fact human, growing and adapting like the rest of us. They aren’t the same angst ridden teenagers they were when they started thirty years ago. They now have partners and children. They have different lives and encounter different problems. Just because their music is different - a bit softer and slower - doesn’t mean they aren't making great music. It’s just different, and that can scare people.

People aren’t good with change, especially when they rely on staples like their favourite bands to keep them going through their day to day life. Therefore, when their favourite bands start to show signs of changing, they tend to lash out and start saying things like: "The band is losing its touch!"

Really, if Uno! Dos! Tre! had been released by another band, I would not have been disappointed. It's a great album, on it's own accord, but for people like me - the older fans - we were looking for a bit of nostalgia. We wanted their new music to remind us of the times we had listening to their old music; that wasn't what we got.

It’s time we look past our nostalgia and old expectations, and start looking forward to something new and different.

Are Green Day the same as they used to be? No. Are they still great? Definitely.

Congratulations to Siana for winning this writing challenge, answering: Are Green Day Still Great? Siana wins a $50 Westfield gift card for her submission. For your chance to win, check out our latest writing challenges in our Comps section. Also, be sure to follow this guide on how to win the writing challenge!

Photo: YouTube - Green Day