Ok, a music post! Yes! We are getting somewhere! And now you guys are totally gonna be like "Oh man.. what the hell" but you opened it to read so here we are! I was 11 in 1994, my life, was changing in super serious ways. Then some snotty little punk was wheeled into a hospital rec room and my life was changed forever. I had heard a lot of music, but never truly felt it until this time. I was starting to feel the worst of emotions due to piling trauma already, I was molded for this. 25 years later, I may have fell into Green Day denial like everyone else for a time, but this is my personal reflection and thank you on what has impacted me most.
"Hey what's up?! We are The Lone Rangers from Los Angeles!"
J.A.R
I heard this song for the first time when I was getting stabbed in the neck with pencils at school. It was the intro year for bullying. I was no longer just a random head in a class, they had set their sights on me officially. I had just spent the last three years in a row losing someone I was attached to. My best friend I had spent every single day with had just walked away from me totally. I was a loner, and then one night listening to the radio, this came on. My heart lifted! The band I had just become obsessed with over the past few months, had written a song that I had taken as "They wrote this totally for me!" It was upbeat and happy, it was a young adults "Fuck you!" song. Two weeks after hearing this I borrowed Punk O Rama volume 1 from my cousin and yeah, here we are today with a legacy worth of memories.
"I don't know if a bear shits in the woods, but I can verify a Billy Joe does!"
F.O.D
And as we round the corner into getting the 'initial' songs out of the way, HA! Oh man, I crack myself u- sorry. This is another "all about the lyrics" for me. Whatever it may have been about, it hit me, why? A multitude of reasons that grew over the years from "I'm grounded" to "She's moving far away and I'll never see her ever again" The quiet buildup to explosive rage was was me, a tiny time bomb of something to say eventually. Still kind of that way sometimes, just in cooler and less self destructive ways! This song taught me the first steps of using music to cope with my feelings.
"Hold on, You'll pay us for what?!.... and.... how much?"
Basket Case
"Do you have the time, to listen to me whine" Those were the words that entrapped me. I'll always remember that. Its all I needed to hear. Those ten words molded everything. Like everyone else, I was a fan of this song. No, I was a fiend. Green Day was all I talked about. Little did I know how much this was going to help me in my future dealing with mental illness. As redundant as it sounds, even at 11 I could understand the references to something being wrong with me. Green Day was able to help me bring what I was feeling out on to the table, so my family and I could talk about getting help. The process is still ongoing. But thanks to Basket Case, it has comedic value sometimes.
"Dude, you broke the toilet!"
No One Knows
Even as I got older and punk rock had molded me well beyond skateboards and into mohawks and bondage pants, this band still held importance. Friends moved on, I moved around, and we never really saw each other again.. When I found out I was going to be a Dad, the very instant, this song was there to hold my hand through what I should do next. I didn't think I was ready, I knew I wasn't ready. I blamed everything on what was going to limit my parenting skills. I was going to be the worst dad because I was convinced I was not capable of taking care of anyone. I couldn't even take care of myself, at all, I was in and out of hospitals. Had zero goals. Loafed around and complained about life. And then I held my first daughter. I was the first one to hold her, and this song was right there again saying "See dude, told you it was gonna be OK". I don't like to brag but, I think they do OK sending the message. And when my mid life crisis comes, I'll rely on it again I'm sure!
"Hi we're Green Day and welcome to todays episode of Our Bassist Is A Juggalo!"
'86
Yeah I get what the songs about, but on a personal reflection, my dad bailed when I was 3 years old, in '86 haha. I hope that was simple enough. I want to clarify, the guy not being around didn't bug me. It was the moments he WAS involved, like custody hearings. I would skip school to go to with my mom. Just to laugh when he went to jail for not helping us out. I also want to clarify that was wrong of me. What messed me up was the one time I was allowed to communicate with him. He put his arm around me, said I was his son, and "I love you, I always will" and walked down the sidewalk. I remember to this day how my emotions carried at the moment. And I got in the car and put my headphones on just so I could listen to this the entire time.
"Dude! Blur reduction!"
Thanks for being there through, every single defining moment in my life. Whether it was an old song I cherished, or a new song I listened to a handful of times. You will always be Green Day to me, and it will always be the same band. I feel like I grew with the band, watching you guys mature, helped me mature. When you got help, I got help. and so on and so forth. And before I finish, if you ever read this. Was Longview reallllyyyy bout.. you know?
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