The name suggests a lot, and a lot of it is true. Those who don’t understand it will be offended if I elaborate further, and those who do, need no further elaboration.

Green Day belongs to the punk rock genre and is a basic three piece band with a Vocalist/Rhythm guitarist, a bassist and a drummer. Though a recent addition has been made to the band, most of the creative work comes from the original line up. Their music is even liked by those who think that “Rock is too loud,” owing to a lot of melody and simplicity in their music. Rhythms full of pace and fluency, equally fast drumming, and a bass line improvising around the rhythm, are a few noticeable and common features of Punk Rock bands. But Green Day brings a lot of melody and also drifts away from the traditional punk rock structures. The story started in a place calledRodeo, California. Vocalist Billie Joe Armstrong and bassist Michael Ryan Pritchard or “Mike Drint” met to form their first project “Sweet Children.” Though the bands name is in sharp contrast to the present one, the raw energy was no different back then. Before Green Day came to its present form, they released a few records under an independent label.

The real Green Day made its way into our awareness in the year 1994 with their debut album “Dookie.” This album was a huge success selling over 12 million copies internationally. Singles such as the fast paced “Basket Case” and When I Come Around” augmented their success and are still favourites in radio play lists. Green Day also performed at Woodstock, the rockers Olympics, in the same year and proved their worth.

This world wide success also proved to be a curse for Green Day as the punk community rejected Green Day, resulting in a loss of a lot of fans. This rejection provided fuel for their next album “Insomniac” that was released in 1995. This album was not as big as “Dookie” selling a meager sum of two million copies, meager in Green Day standards.

But Green Day refused to recognize this setback and started working on their next project “Nimrod.’ This album was released in 1997 and did well instantly. This album is considered to be one of Green Day’s best albums. The single “Good Riddance (Time of your life),” brought about a positive response not only from the fans but also from the critics. The new song was a favourite during most weddings and graduations. Though, this album didn’t show much success in figures and sales, Green Day could re-establish itself in the hearts of many lost fans.

In the fall of 200, Green Day released its next album “Warning” with their music deviating from its normal style. The experience they had gathered from the customary ups and downs of life yielded more meaningful lyrics. The first single “Minority” hit the top spot of the Billboard Modern Rock Charts within the first four weeks of release. The past years of success gave Green Day a chance to release a compilation of their hits in one single album “International Superhits!” This album contained all the ammunition required to bombard a “first time” Green Day listener.

Green Day’s next highly anticipated album “American Idiot” was released in 2004. Though this high anticipation brought along a lot of rumours, this album cleared all scope for them. This album assisted in the addition of new names in the Green Day fan club. The album, besides gaining multi-platinum status, also won numerous awards including Grammy nominations in both 2005 and 2006. “American Idiot” won The Best Rock Album of the Year at the Grammys.

Green Day has served every variety of music for us to taste; be it the slow, progressive, yet heavy “Brain stew” from the Godzilla soundtrack, or the melancholic “Wake Me Up When September Ends.” Green Day is an absolute necessity for those trying to get their auditory passages expand to the sounds of rock and punk. Presently, after all the touring and success, Green day is taking a well deserved break. So let us all, who thrive on the music created by these punk Gods, pray that the Green Days are back again (Factual information and figures from Wikipedia)

Siddarth Ayyagari

B.A (Journo, Psy & Eng)