Keeping it Green

This is not another post about the environment...

I was watching the Tony Awards and they featured "American Idiot," the musical based on Green Day's music. It made me think of some Green Day associated memories.

I first started listening to Green Day during freshman year of college. I mostly knew what I heard on the radio though, so basically just their top hits. My first boyfriend happened to like them and gave me "Dookie" on cassette when we were in the early phases of dating. He had this thing where he liked this one guitar chord in "When I Come Around." He got me to listen for it and now I hear it automatically. The hidden track on "Dookie" is really weird though. The first time I heard it, it freaked me out. They kept saying "I was all by myself."

After the hype of "Dookie" went away and they came out with a second album, I started losing interest. I didn't really give them much thought again until "Good Riddance" came around in the late 90's. I found it odd that they used that song on "ER" when someone's kid died. I know they talk about having the time of your life, but the title just seems odd for that type of situation.

In 2005, they started putting out more songs. "Wake Me Up When September Ends" and "Holiday" both remind me of the time when my first son was born. "Wake Me..." was playing a lot during that time and since I was due in September, it just fit. It also makes sense because I didn't get much sleep during the first couple of weeks after his birth. It would have been nice to sleep long enough to get into October. Also, I was watching a lot of TBS shows around that time and they used "Holiday" for one of the commercials promoting the channel. So that stuck in my mind and I made the association once again.

That's really all of my history surrounding Green Day. I don't know that I'll want to see "American Idiot." Some parts reminded me of "Rent," but it really just seems like a long music video.