Green Day - Berkeley To Broadway In 20 Years
Some context to help decide whether Green Day are sadder 20 years after their first album than most other bands who make it to such an anniversary (The Who were broken up in 1985, so they and any other band that waited till after the mark to reunite are disqualified from this exercise).
Rolling Stones: Whether or not you like Undercover or concerts sponsored by Jovan Musk, they’re definitely a cooler brand of awful than musicals and 21st Century Breakdown. Green Day hasn’t made a clip as awesome as “She Was Hot” since that one where they were football players, and I can’t even remember what it was called. Cooler at 20 than Green Day.
U2: Tempted to give them a pass, considering Green Day successfully beat them to Broadway and you can’t hold Bono being the worst against them because he’s always been the worst. That said, the best song on All That You Can Leave Behind (which may actually rock even less than 21st Century Breakdown) had a video that digitally added The Edge to scenes from a Lara Croft movie. Lamer at 20 than Green Day.
Ramones: broke up after playing Lollapalooza, but allegedly did some private gigs after…for the $$$!! Cooler at 20 than Green Day.
Cheap Trick: Made an album with Steve Albini. No one remembers it, but at least they were trying. Cooler at 20 than Green Day.
Red Hot Chili Peppers: Personally, I’ll take “The Zephyr Song” over “True Men Don’t Kill Coyotes.” But my poor taste aside, staying young by doing 1,000 reps a day is a lot cooler than staying young by applying ever more eyeliner. Cooler at 20 than Green Day.
Pink Floyd: How many groups can change auteurs as often as these guys did and still make such awesome album covers? Cooler at 20 than Green Day.
REM: I will never forgive these guys for not following the Law Of Led Zeppelin and breaking up after the drummer died (for all intents and purposes), becoming a hellish amalgam of XTC and the Stones instead of giving us the Mike Mills solo career we’ve all been waiting for. But “Imitation Of Life” was pretty great, and you kind of have to go to them to notice how badly they’ve lost the script. They’re humble like that. Cooler at 20 than Green Day.
Might think of more bands later, but I’m comfortable with what this study suggests.
