I've been listening to Green Day since their early 7-inch records, and while I listen to them less than I used to, I've been impressed by how well they've handled their fame and popularity -- and think they're a band still worth watching. This lens will help you learn more about a band that might be the most famous alumnus of the Bay Area punk rock scene: Green Day.
Sites You Need to See
The best of what's out there
This handful of web sites represent the best of what's online about the band. If you keep up with these sites, you'll be as up to date as you could possibly be
- Green Day
- The official site for the band includes news, ringtones, music, videos and the Idiot Club pay-to-play community.
- Green Day Music
- Another official site, Reprise Records' Green Day pages mostly march in lock step with the above site
- Green Day 'Net
- Now we move onto the official fan site, which goes more in depth in terms of discography, lyrics, and similar information. There's also a lot of archival magazine articles and interviews, making this a great place to learn more about the band's history.
- Green Day Authority
- Despite a difficult design, this page is even more fannish -- featuring a Fan of the Week, band member lookalikes and other interactive aspects.
If You Buy Only One Record...
...buy this one
While its current home is up in the air, the Green Day CD "1,039/Smoothed out Slappy Hours" is in some ways the record I started with -- and what your introduction should be. Buy it used, Ebay it, just get it.Combining tracks from the 7-inch EP's "1,000 Hours" and "Slappy," the album "39/Smooth," and a Flipside compilation (one track), this record is Green Day's Rosetta Stone, the signifier of what was, as well as what could be.
I listened to the records included herein with the Mormon Little brothers and while pasting up issues of the zines ST and No Drama.
You'll also hear the first song Billie Joe wrote, as well as the song that shares the secret behind the band's name.
This is the one to get. Pay up, already!
Reader Feedback
What think you?
Share your ideas and insights
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Lumpkins
Oct 31, 2007 @ 1:49 pm | delete
- Green Day rules, saw them when Dookie first cam out and they were opening lalapalooza.
peace
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RedPenAnni
Jul 9, 2007 @ 1:49 pm | delete
- I like Green Day also. Pretty good band that has influenced many newer bands.
Good work keep it up.
Come visit me @ http://www.squidoo.com/mychem
for My Chemical Romance lense!
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Radical Records
Hear ye, hear ye
The band's back catalog, listed in the order I recommend you buy them -- with one exception (as mentioned above)
Related Labels
Other music imprints connected to the band
Green Day might be on a major label now, but that wasn't always the case. These independent labels have played a role in the band's past -- and present.
- Lookout! Records
- The band got its start at this long-running Bay Area label in the late '80s. And until not long ago, Lookout kept Green Day's back catalog in print...
- Adeline Records
- Billie Joe's label has released some wonderful records by other area bands -- and just branched out into clothing
Gawking at Green Day
Related YouTube videos
Let's see what people are sharing!
And, Bands
Other groups the guys are -- or were -- involved in
This isn't comprehensive, but members -- past and present -- of Green Day have also played in other musical groups. This is a partial roundup of related acts
- Pinhead Gunpowder
- This unofficial fan site details Billie Joe's collaboration with Aaron Cometbus
- The Frustrators
- Mike Dirnt's other joint
- The Ne'er Do Wells
- Green Day's original drummer, John Kiffmeyer (AKA Al Sobrante), played in this awesome, awesome band
Pogo Video
As seen on your TV
Want more than just the music? These DVDs are keen
Green Day, Seen
Flickr photos related to the band
This is an assortment of recent Flickr pictures that show up when you search for "Green Day."
Books for Smart Punks
Need to read? Read these
I can't vouch for any of these titles, but they might be of interest to the hardest core Green Day fans
Punk Scene History
Bay Area background
To learn more about the environment in which Green Day formed and thrived, check out these books and web sites -- which are not specifically focused on the band itself
- Despite Everything: A Cometbus Omnibus
- This hefty collection of material from Aaron Cometbus's long-running zine goes far to document what the Gilman Street scene was like
- Absolutely Zippo: A Fanzine Anthology
- Robert Eggplant's homemade punk zine is an awesome parallel read to Aaron's slightly more mature approach
- The Gilman Street Project
- An all-ages, non-profit, collectively organized music and performance venue -- co-founded by Lawrence Livermore, who started Lookout Records
- Maximum Rock'n'Roll
- Long-running Bay Area punk-rock fanzine -- even more crucial now that Paul Curran's at the helm. Paul was in Crimpshrine with Aaron, who's in Pinhead Gunpowder with Billie Joe -- he's been around forever
Green Day on Auction
Get your bid on
Collectibles and other Green Day items, courtesy of Ebay
by heathrow
Future historian, pedestrian, and media geek
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