Talk:Green Day/Genre disputes

Page contents not supported in other languages.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

As these disputes take too much space in the talk page of Green Day. Any section about Green Day's genres has been placed here. psychomelo(discussion) 14:02, 22 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Green Day's Punk Disputes[edit]

I compressed all the separate punk dispute topics into one, please post your arguments here. --Mac Davis 08:53, 13 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

A comprimise has been made by listing Green Day as a part of both Pop Punk and Punk Rock. Green Day has had albums/songs in both the Punk Rock (Pre American Idiot) and Pop Punk (Post American Idiot) genres. Therefore, it is fitting that it be classified as both. This judgement is made based on the Wiktionary definitons of both genres.


--Djbob 06:07, 8 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Punk was a genre created to stop boredom.. Punk has changed a lot over the years. The Clash changed their style. The Slits.. lots of bands did. Green day are punk. They start from punk roots, have punk influences,live the punk lifestyle,and DO play punk music. Songs like :Longview,welcome to paradise,geek stink breath,take back,minority,platypus,st jimmy. ARE punk. Also most of their other songs are with just a bit of melodic edge to it. Green Days music is a LOT similar to the Ramones. If Ramones is considered punk so should be green day. Green day became very popular during American Idiot. Many punk band idols and band have said" punk is undefinable" it will definitely change over time otherwise it wouldve already died out by now. Green Day just set a new standard for punk during American Idiot,(as they did with the release of dookie) The Clash- became one of the worlds popular bands after the release of London Callling. Clash was still considered punk...

Point being- green day is a punk band —Preceding unsigned comment added by Guitarhead13 (talkcontribs) 22:06, 8 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]


Green Day is not punk, nor punk rock. They are pop-punk, and I believe they have been quoted as saying that. To be punk, you need to be making a political statement, which is absent from all of their albums save American Idiot. But in the case of that, they sound more like a genuine rock band. --66.68.32.177 00:00, 6 Feb 2005 (UTC)

  • Does it mean The Ramones were not punk either? As far as I know, they were not political at all. But have always been regarded as one of the greatest names of punk. -200.195.88.155
I'd say The Ramones were punk rock, and punk and punk rock are different things. Also, you don't need to be making a political statement to be considered punk, there've been tons of punk bands with no political message. --Yoko-onassis 6 July 2005 17:20 (UTC)
The Ramones are seen as the fathers of pop-punk. Ask anyone who takes their punk seriously. So no, they weren't strictly Punk; they were pop-punk.Canaen 08:53, 30 September 2005 (UTC)[reply]

They are upbeat and have little to no talk on politics or current events. Real punk is like NOFX and Strike Anywhere. Green Day is not. I tried to put that they were pop-punk but it kept being reverted. Andre Wong 02:43, 8 Dec 2004 (UTC)

  • The lyrics of a song do NOT change its genre. Ben Folds covered a song by Dr. Dre in his usual folk-y/pop style, does that make Ben Folds a rapper? Anyway genre is a very subjective matter. Stellis 00:16, 23 July 2005 (UTC)[reply]

I removed:

Green Day's music is similar to earlier punk bands:'

Because it's POV (many would claim Green Day is utterly unlike NOFX or Op Ivy). See Talk:Fiona Apple for some other reasons. Tuf-Kat

I've re-added the list under a different title: 'Other earlier punk bands include:'. I agree it is POV saying that Green Day's music is similar to those in the list, but I think a list of related bands is always useful, especially for genre-driven, subcultured music styles like punk rock. --Zaim

Ah, sorry, I've just removed it again (same list as above but with the addition of Rancid). "Other earlier punk bands" is too vague. We have lists of other earlier punk bands elsewhere - see Punk rock. It would, however, be good to say what the band themselves have cited as influences, or what reputable critics have said about their music, and what it is similar to. It's okay to mention critic's opinions, but we're not allowed to say whetehr we agree with them... -- Oliver P. 18:10 1 Jun 2003 (UTC)

Ah, that was quick. Just to note that that was my first Wikipedia edit. And I see what you mean, thank you for pointing that out. Wiki and Wikipedia is very nice. --Zaim
Oh, well in that case, welcome to the project! And yes, it is nice, I have to agree with you there. :) -- Oliver P. 19:23 1 Jun 2003 (UTC)

Green Day is so not like NOFX, and I think that they are more POP-punk than punk. Generally, traditional punk is darker and less upbeat. Like Pennywise. BTW, Zaim, I love Wikipedia too, as it has helped me infinitely on school projects. Thanks to all! Andre Wong 01:38, 18 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Come on, Green Day is so pop-punk. Their subject matter and their playing style is wayyy too upbeat.Andre Wong 00:14, 23 Nov 2004 (UTC)

This article comes across as being written by a fan. Not that that's necessarily a bad thing, but it doesn't exactly create a NPOV. I removed the incomplete sentence 'Hopefully they do.' as that doesn't exactly come across as Enyclopedic. I could say the same thing about many band pages on Wikipedia. Discolando 15:34, 23 Nov 2004 (CDT)

Upon further reflection, I removed the entire sentence, "Dirnt has been quoted on MTV as saying they may or may not find the master tapes soon." This is more of a temporary news blurb and doesn't add any value to the article. Discolando 18:16, 23 Nov 2004 (CDT)

Green Day is a pop-punk band; this is a well-established fact. If you want real Punk, I suggest you look at old Anti-Flag (first 3 albums or so), the Sex Pistols, Sham 69, the Dead Kennedys, or any number of other Punk bands. Although some of Green Day's earliest stuff (first album, no later) may be regarded as Punk, anything after is either pop-punk with rare exception (Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)), up until Warning or so. Then, it progresses into mainstream rock. This shit isn't a mystery, it's common sense for anyone who's been a punk for even a few months. Canaen 08:53, 30 September 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Nobody seems to agree on what music they play!! Green Day is it's own style of music altogether, they are always at least in some way different to other bands, they are unique.

I don't know why there's become this huge issue with the classification of Green Day, it is clearly noted on the edit page and in the talk archives that the consensus is that Green Day is punk rock. Jtkiefer T | @ | C ----- 01:44, 23 October 2005 (UTC)[reply]

It is actually not clear; I see just as many if not more people argue in favor of the punk-pop genre to classify this group. To compromise, I included both terms on the most recent edit since either way, they are both. As for the consensus bit in the article, I think it was referring to the pop-punk genre - that is how I first saw it. Now, agruements for the not-so-pop punk rock classification arise from the ideology that this genre was thought to have surfaced in the late 1990's - after Green Day first broke into the mainstream. However, they have virtually blended into the pop genre so much as of recent that they are having more success in that genre than "traditional" pop punk groups such as Blink-182 ever had. Drdr1989 02:37, 23 October 2005 (UTC)[reply]
I agree that it's close to Blink-182 in terms of being po-punk type but Green Day seems to be more hardcore rock, as shown by many of their songs. Jtkiefer T | @ | C ----- 03:18, 23 October 2005 (UTC)[reply]
Hardcore punk? Have you even listened to punk? Hardcore's eating your own shit on stage. Anyway, back on topic. Why have both? Pop punk is already saying that they're punk, so it's like repeating yourself. Someone debate me. And BTW, I don't think they're pop punk, I think that whole term is a contradiction. If anything beside pop, I see Green Day as emo. Gold Stur 20:50, 8 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Okay Punk Rock/Pop-Punk works in terms of the infobox and the intro paragraph, and I've changed it as such. How should it referred to after that though? Jtkiefer T | @ | C ----- 00:22, 24 October 2005 (UTC)[reply]

"Their brand of punk"? --Joewithajay 21:38, 24 October 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Since no one cares enough to reply, I'm changing them to just pop punk. Gold Stur 21:13, 16 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]
I disagree with the classification as pop punk only since don't they also qualify as punk rock? JtkieferT | C | @ ---- 23:12, 16 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]
Listen to Black Flag, GG Allin, The Clash, Dead Kennedys, and The Weirdos. Green Day sounds nothing like any punk rock band. They don't sound punk, they don't dress punk (how many punks dressed in suits?), and they certainly don't act punk. Also, punk bands never made slow songs, and the ones that did got ridiculed. Wake Me Up When September Ends is probably the best evidence needed to show that they're not punk. As DK put it in the song, Pull My Strings (where they act as a new wave band), "I’ll make my music boring. I’ll play my music slow. I ain’t no artist, I’m a businessman, no ideas of my own. I won’t offend or rock the boat." On top of that, punk bands didn't make 9 minute songs and appear on MTV. Punk was about being fast, quick, offensive, and independent, another thing Green Day isn't. Gold Stur 21:32, 17 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]
The most un-punk think I've ever heard of is telling someone they aren't punk (I know how circular that can be, but it's about as true than trying to define what punk is). Just a theory that my friend and I were pondering the other day (while watching the mediocre Bullet in a Bible DVD), though not a theory either of us came up with. I remember seeing Johnny Rotten talk about it in 1995. By your definition, though the Clash really weren't punk, Joe Strummer certainly wasn't. One of my favourite recordings of his is a slow, acoustic duet with Johhny Cash. They covered Bob Marley's Redemption Song. Then again, my favourite Clash song is Train in Vain.. which isn't especially fast or aggressive. It's kind of a sappy emotional song, really. All about some girl, and getting dumped by her. How horribly un-punk.. Kinda like signing with a major label (say, CBS) or wearing a collared shirt on stage[1]. -Le Scoopertemp [tk] 23:03, 17 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]
  • Then again, if you were to ask me to define punk, I'd say that punk is doing what you want, being who you want to be, and telling anyone who doesn't like it to FOD[2]. -Le Scoopertemp [tk] 23:09, 17 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]
The problem with classifying Green Day is that they don't fall completely into punk but neither do they fall under pop though they do fall under rock. JtkieferT | C | @ ---- 23:40, 17 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]
Ok, I've given in with ol' Scoops. I had no idea that there were in fact so many punk artists, I mean, some of these punk rockers don't even play music! No fear though, I've undergone the task of slowly going through Wiki and correctly labelling everyone who does what they want, be who they want to be, and tell anyone who doesn't like it to "FOD" (whatever the fuck that means) with punk rock. My first change is Dr. Dre. See if I've done you good, master. Gold Stur 00:17, 18 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]
I suppose you could make a pretty valid argument that Dr Dre is an follower of the punk ideology, honestly. I know Rolling Stone has. I wouldn't say he's punk rock, as his music tends to not be very rock-ish. I congratulate you on your sarcasm though. I suppose it was an attempt to call my bluff. Like I wrote earlier, you cite the Clash as a prime example of punk. I fail to see a large-scale difference between the Clash and Green Day. Both signed with major labels. Both have written songs that are loud and fast, as well as songs that are softer. Both have dressed in a vriety of styles over their carreers. In fact, I'd say the two are more alike than either is like GG Allin. Maybe you find my definition overly inclusive. I find yours overly exclusive, since your defintion excludes one of your prime examples of the genre. I'd say your definition is probably closer to hardcore punk. I certainly don't think Green Day (or the Clash) would fall in there. And FOD, as per the link, stands for Fuck Off and Die. -Le Scoopertemp [tk] 01:01, 18 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]
I actually debated including the Clash knowing that they were rather prime targets. However, I must now defend my decision. As I stated earlier, Green Day is not fast, quick, independent, and neither do they dress like punks, sound, or act like punks. The Clash was not always quick as they had reggae influences though they usually were, and when not, the punk sound was distinctive. The length, or quickness as I put it, of their songs, while lengthy for punk rock (highest I know of being five minutes) was not near as long as Green Day's nine minute works. Punk worked against progressive rock and an almost trademark signature of progressive rock was lengthy songs. Now, one could argue that the Clash and Green Day are both sellouts, and to be honest, I don't care much about the Clash, however, they were an early punk band and didn't really have much direction from past bands to build on, if that makes since. As for their clothes, I don't see how loosely wearing a collared shirts is any where near frequently appearing in a nice suit and tie. And really, Green Day does not act punk at all. As I quoted from DK earlier, they don't offend or rock the boat. Before you say it, the Clash wasn't too offensive, but they did dwell into more political issues (in a broad spectrum, i.e. Spanish Bombs), unlike Green Day, who has only just recently gotten into politics, and one could argue that it only makes them more pop-ish because they're on the bash Bush bandwagon. And lastly, they just don't sound punk. Atleast when the Clash did a slow song you could hear the reggae in it, WSE just sounds like emo / pop. Gold Stur 02:17, 18 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]
Like I wrote, it sounds like your definition of "punk rock" squares more directly with hardcore punk. Really, I hope you've read and absorbed that article and the punk ideology article I also linked earlier. While I don't disagree that Green Day are more pop than the Clash, that's also not entirely within their control. What's pop depends on what's popular. Stylistically, they haven't changed a whole lot between 1,039 Smoothed Out Slappy Hours and American Idiot. I find it hard to blame them for their success, given that fact. Thematically, they've changed and grown, as one would hope. They don't dress punk? I didn't realize there was a dress code... I don't think I've been following one... In fact, I always thought the whole conforming to a stereotype was kinda un-punk... Also, I'm not sure what your exposure level to Green Day is, but I find it hard to believe that you could listen to, say, Insomniac and say that it's not hard and fast. That would be the album that featured Geek Stink Breath, a video nearly pulled from MTV. It was a minor, and rather silly controversy, but they never seem worried about conforming to me. Ultimately, I don't see what the problem with the current classification is. It doesn't seem factually inaccurate to me, given the various things I've read and observed over the years. -Le Scoopertemp [tk] 02:54, 18 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Ok, let's say I give you all of that. I still fail to see how that would justify both the use of pop punk and punk seeing as how one is stating the other, only more accurately thus the use of pop punk devoids the use of punk rock. Gold Stur 03:04, 18 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

I suppose that's a valid point. However the current state of the page isn't my choice at classification either. Given the choice, I'd call them a punk band. No rock, no pop. It strikes me that pop-punk isn't really a valid description of the band, since they've not changed their style much, but have had two waves of popularity vs non-popularity. They're a punk band who play rock and happen to be popular right now. If their next album tanks, despite a similar sound to all their prior ones, would they still be "pop-"punk? Are Insomniac, Nimrod and Warning pop-punk? They certainly weren't very popular. In any case, punk rock/pop punk was a group compromise. I'm happy to live with it, even when they aren't popular anymore. -Le Scoopertemp [tk] 03:24, 18 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

What's all the fuss about? They have freedom of speech just like any other American. As for the heart grenade and swearing, their music is actually for mature listeners, hence the Parental Advisory on American Idiot.

Green Day is the most punk you're gonna get these days and are worthy of the label "punk rock". Bullet in a Bible is genuine punk, and if you don't believe me, then go listen to some sellouts like Good Charlotte or Fall Out Boy. Now the "pop", I would use for only considering it "popular", not the overproduced "pop" that you hear from the All-American Rejects or something like that. Green Day is solely based on ANGER, like any punk bands, not ANGST like pop-punk bands like GC or Simple Plan.--4.253.125.29 04:16, 19 November 2005 (UTC)Insomniak[reply]

True, Green Day is miles more punk than all of the bands you list, but I believe you would agree that many of Green Day's songs have a pop-flavor to them, not to mention the crossover appeal. I think the pop-punk/ punk rock is the most accurate description of them. Drdr1989 04:30, 20 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]
((personal attack removed Kelly Martin (talk) 13:17, 21 November 2005 (UTC))) Gold Stur 03:13, 21 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]
Early Green Day such as the 1039 Smooth and Sweet Children EPs were lo-fi, punk influenced and under produced. They also had no comercial success and therefore cannot be categorizies as pop. More recent albums have seen comercial success. For a 12 year old buying a Green Day album today Green Day are just another pop band as the child has no knowledge of past punk scenes. More mature listeners to even recent Green Day albums will still be be able to identify with the rockier punk elements of songs. I therefore believe Green Day should be classified as pop-punk/punk-rock. Heezy 11:46, 21 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]
Green Day does not sound, act, or dress punk. Even with their early shitty albums. ((personal attack removed Kelly Martin (talk) 13:17, 21 November 2005 (UTC))). Gold Stur 12:31, 21 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]
While I agree that Green Day are less punk than the unpunkest thing that ever wasn't punk, Gold Stur, I'm sure you must have better things to do with your time than write poorly-spelled personal attacks to other users. Please keep in mind WP:NPA and WP:CIVIL before you write your next comment, even if you are talking to User:Drdr1989. fuddlemark (fuddle me!) 13:08, 21 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]
Gold Stur, I have removed some of your personal attacks from this page. Please adhere to Wikipedia's civility policy henceforth in both your talk page comments and your edit summaries. Kelly Martin (talk) 13:17, 21 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

For one, Green Day is pop-punk, but pop-punk is a form of punk. While it's true they have deviated from this sound lately, they still are and will always be pop-punk. Green Day is pop-punk, as is NoFX, so whoever thinks NoFX is punk but Green Day isn't has a problem. And whoever mentioned the Ramones being the originators of punk but not political at all has a good point. A band doesn't have to be political to be punk, but many are anyway. Also, Green Day was political before American Idiot - listen to "Minority" and "Maria" for two good examples. With the exeption of War on Errorism, NoFX hasn't been all too political either. Their biggest hit was arguably "Bob", a song about as pointless as Green Day's "Longview".

Although it is true that NoFX is a pop-punk band, I contest your view of their lack of political content. Fat Mike himself says that they formed to make music about how much Reagan sucked. Canaen 08:58, 30 September 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Well said. Sabrebattletank 06:11, May 2, 2005 (UTC)

I completely agree with your position, this dispute appeared on blink-182's article. It is kind of lame to have these sort of discussions, instead of really caring about making a much better wikipedia...--Greedyredbag 18:19, 2 May 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Does it matter what the band is? They are who they are, they rock and make me have a good time. Call them what you will but why put lables on some thing that you don't really know. For all you know they could sing lullabies while in the shower or some thing like that and well that not punk or pop thats just lullabies in the shower. stars2005 may 19

Labels... puh! If we step back and put a bit of logic into this, we can correctly point out what kind of music they are. The most obvious indicator is how well-known they are in the musical mainstream, and since they've been causing a stir from the start with Dookie, it's safe to assume they're well-known. That factor immediately adds the word "pop" to whatever other genre they are. The other gender, then, breaks down into the musical conventions the band follows more closely - and although the sound is rather experimental, it all breaks down into basic chords on the guitar and a moving bass line (often at a fast pace). BAM - there's your punk label. Mainstream music (pop) + balanced chord structure and moving bass line (punk) = Green Day (pop-punk). And that's my only word on this subject. Wanderer 02:51, Jun 11, 2005 (UTC)

Really, we should be following NPOV, which means that anything controversial should be attributed to those who hold the opinions. Does anybody feel like citing some sources? It doesn't matter what I think, or what stars2005 thinks, or what Wanderer thinks; we should rather be citing print or web sources (how does allmusic classify them? how do punk purists classify them? add this to the article, with links and references as needed). Tuf-Kat 21:14, Jun 12, 2005 (UTC)

Forget about the punk part for a moment. How in the world is Green Day a pop group? This comes across me as being the funniest thing I have ever heard. 64.231.154.102 14:25, 15 July 2005 (UTC)[reply]

The official definition for punk rock from Webster's New World Dictionary and Thesaurus says, "a loud, fast, and deliberately offensive style of rock music". Green Day is not fast or deliberately offensive. May be loud, but not the above two. That's why I'm once again taking away the punk rock listing. Gold Stur 21:04, 5 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Part of their music is all three. Not all of their music, but a substantial part, mind you. This is why we have both categories. Drdr1989 01:41, 6 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]
Show me the "deliberately offensive". Gold Stur 02:02, 6 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]
"Deliberately offensive" is unnecessary in the definition, since the shock value of punk rock can be interpreted in various ways. Sometimes it was just the rebellion against the modern rock scene in the late 70s. certainly Green day has been offensive in their career at various times, be it starting a mudfight at Woodstock 94 or having a provocative politica viewpoint on their current album
And your overall argument is flawed since the definition of punk rock is most fluid in the minds of members of the punk scene. Sure, dogma emerges from time to time, but many artists, ranging from Joy Division to Beat Happening to the Minutemen to Big Black to Nirvana have interpreted punk rock as the ability to approach their music with a mindset that would allow them to do whatever they wanted. Some would consider Throbbing Gristle punk rock due to their approach and beliefs regarding music, even though sonically they're the template for early industrial.
If you want to apply the rather unspecific definition of "loud, fast, and deliberately offensive" to Green Day, then you have to apply to all punk rock bands. For instance, the Sex Pistols rarely played past midtempo speeds, and Richard Hell's "Blank Generation" is pretty relaxed. Punk rock was relatively faster than most other rock at the time, but it didn't become blindingly fast until hardcore bands like Black Flag (who actually slowed down later on) and Bad Brains speed up the tempos. Green Day generally plays at speedy tempos, and they can be pretty damn fast ("Jaded", "St. Jimmy", "Platypus (I Hate You)", to name a few). Aditionally, I don't see how the Damned's "New Rose", the Buzzcocks "What Do I Get?" or even anything put out by Bad Brains or Fugazi is in any way "deliberately offensive". And loud? Green Day has loud, distorted guitars on most songs. And you should note (given yoru criticism of sogns on the most recent album) that American Idiot is a rock opera, so there's a massive incorporation of many styles, tempos, and dynamics. Hey, pivotal punk rock double albums like Zen Arcade and [[[Duoble Nickels on the Dime]] were pretty diverse. The Minutemen incorporated jazz and funk (and even a Steely Dan cover), and three songs into Hüsker Dü's double album they bust out acoustic guitars and harmonize on "Never Talking to You Again". And both those albums wee released on SST, Black Flag's record label!
And let's not even get into mainstream musical popularity. If you define punk rock by set of ethics that rejects mainstream success, you have to acknowledge that a whole swath of CBGB's bands were signed to Sire Records (of many major labels other punk bands signed to) and the Sex Pistols topped the charts and sold albums by the truckload in the UK. In fact, punk rock was hugely successful in Britain. The idea of "punk rock integrity" mainly comes from the American underground scene, since punk rock was not largely successful in America. And even then you have figures like Greg Ginn, Ian MacKaye, and Mike Watt bemoaning the rigidity and factionalization of 80's punk rock in Our Band Could Be Your Life.
In my opinion you seriously need to deeply research both Green Day and punk rock in general. WesleyDodds 03:36, 11 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]
There's so many examples on every album. Some are actually covered in this talk page. In regards to the definition, I'm pretty much OK with it (although some people may interpret "deliberately offensive" in their own way). What I was trying to make clear was that part (again, not ALL) of their music has that punk-rock feel; some has a pop feel. With that, some people might think that they could denote it, therefore, as just "pop-punk". I was one, just like you. This was before I realized that the term "pop-punk" is actually new a subgenre of punk (like Simple Plan for example). The split categorization was meant to eliminate that ambiguation. I just don't see how one could compare Green Day to those who are true pop-punkers. Make sense or am I confusing you still?? Drdr1989 03:43, 6 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]
I can't see how any one could classify Green Day as punk rock at all. Like I said, give me examples of their offensiveness on their supposedly punk rock releasings.Gold Stur 04:27, 6 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]
I've already told you where to go look for the "offensiveness". Your classification opinions unfortunately go against consensus. You could still argue with it and very much disagree, but unfortunately the current consensus is a split. If I could keep it at only pop-punk I would, but their classification is unfortunately quite complex enough to go beyond being another Blink 182. At least you'll still have your pop-punk part in there, right? Drdr1989 20:41, 6 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]
Here is my little collection of evidence on why Green Day should be Punk-Rock (as well as pop-punk) I have structured it in terms of the Webster's New World Dictionary and Thesaurus definition from Gold Stur. Loud: Very much so. All the Green Day live gigs I have been to have been very loud. Fast: Album: Nimrod, Track: Platypus (I hate you), BPM:214... Album: Kerplunk, Title: Best Thing in Town, BPM:220... Album: 1039, Track: I Want to be Alone, BPM:192... nearly all tracks (including the modern ones) are over 180bpm. Deliberately Offensive: The Song "Green Day" from the Album 1039 is with reference to drug taking. Frequent references to masturbation and drug taking on the album "Dookie". Many people accuse them of anti-american lyrics on the latest "American Idiot". I think those points should satisfy the three criteria but I am happy to provide more if required. Now I have proved Green Day fulfill the dictionary definition of "punk-rock" heopfully we can settle on the "punk-rock/pop-punk" genre tagging even if it does mean slightly different things to different people. Heezy 21:08, 6 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]
Some of their recent songs like Wake me up when September Ends and Boulevard of Broken Dreams are some of their most played recent songs and those are neither loud nor fast. Drug use is not something that is taken offensive in today's music world. Rap, disco music, and rock from the 60s to today have had drug references. Nothing new or offensive. As for masturbation, not offensive. Have you heard of the hit pop song, Turning Japanese by The Vapors? Anyway, masturbation is essentially sex, just with yourself, and again, as with drugs, sex has not been a controversial issue in music since the late 60s early 70s and is prominent in today's rap, rock, and pop musicians such as Britney Spears. As for American Idiot being offensive, if it is, it's certainly not as offensive as other anti-government punk songs. Plus, the American Idiot album can't even be considered as punk in the first place because, as with mention of WMUWSP and BoBD, American Idiot is an album far too slow to be considered punk. And as with Drdr1989's rebuttal, just because the majority thinks some thing doesn't make it true. Democracy can't be applied to everything. If you vote on wether a green car is red or green, and everyone votes that it is red, that doesn't change the color. Your arguement isn't a valid one. Gold Stur 22:00, 6 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]
A consensus is a consensus. There has been much talk on this to lead to this consensus as you can see. Anyway, your car example is too objective. I'll add that your disco and 60's examples of offensive type materials just shows that the "offensive" trait doesn't necessarily mean a punk denotation. Drdr1989 23:15, 6 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]
  • Gold Stur he has a point, there is a consensus for the double classification. JtkieferT | C | @ ---- 23:40, 6 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]
Democracy, discussion and consensus are critical to the success of Wikipedia. Wikipedia is a democratic forum. As for your claims that American Idiot is "too slow" listen to the track "St. Jimmy" off of it that is over 180bpm. You may well argue that some of the tracks are slow therefore it cannot be categorizied as punk, in which case I suggest you listen to some of the slower Ramones tracks and then ask if maybe the Ramones should not be categorizied as Punk. GoldStar wrote "As for American Idiot being offensive, if it is, it's certainly not as offensive as other anti-government punk songs" Very true. It is not the most offensive album ever released. However if you want to see what impact it made look back to the MTV coverage of the recent US Presidential election where for once MTV were producing shows detailing how modern artists were getting political such as Green Day, Eminem and Puff Daddy. Another good place to look for the contraversy the album has caused is Wikipedia. The Green Day page has been vandalisied many times with complaints of Anti-american sentiment or false accusations over how Green Day hate Jews because they are anti-American. It is also important to consider that many artists go through different phases/styles over their carear. Even if you (GoldStar) do not believe modern Green Day recordings to be punk-rock you cannot ignore early Green Day recordings from the late 80's/early 90's where the fast beat, offensiveness and loudness was present at the same time as being hugely unsuccesful eventually signing to a small very minor label (Lookout) and not enjoying popular success until their 3rd album (Dookie). Heezy 10:03, 7 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]
As I have said twice before, just because the majority thinks something, that does not make it true and factual. The majority of people used to think that the sun, stars, and planets revolved around Earth. Today we know that's not true. If your arguement was correct though, the human race wouldn't even need science, just other humans to vote on things and then the voice of the people would be the definitive scientific answer. Can I be clearer? And Drdr1989, no, being offensive isn't just a trait found only in punk, but it is an essential trait. And what I was saying was that those disco, rock, and rap bands weren't offensive, so they're not punk. Mainstream = nonoffensive. Gold Stur 02:33, 7 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]
And you can quote definitions all you want and that doesn't make it right either especially in music where Green Day's music qualifies as many things but that doesn't make it right either, and actually the current version is not a consensus version because it is a compromise version due to lack of consensus so if you want to make the change then fine convince everyone that it's a good idea and I for one would be happy to go along with it but until then leave it alone. Btw, also what's your definition of offensive in terms of music and what do you think would qualify under that category in terms of music and bands? JtkieferT | C | @ ---- 02:47, 7 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]
I figure I should clarify, the current wording is not a consensus wording by the fact that no wording except for this compromise could be agreed upon, however the choice to use this wording was by consensus to prevent edit warring and ongoing issue with the wording. JtkieferT | C | @ ---- 02:55, 7 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]
Gold Stur, you keep missing the point over and over. Let's make it clear for YOU. The fact is: this a compromise based on comments for either sub-genre. Whether it is scientific or not is irrelevant here. Maybe 100 years from now if someone wanted to do some sort of "scientific study" the consensus could be changed, but until then, what you see is what you're gonna get. And I hope for your sake you don't think that all rock and rap are not offensive. Also, if those types of "non-offensive" genres talk about offensive stuff then where does that put punk rock? Drdr1989 04:18, 7 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]
Here a few links from well respected music sites that attribute punk (in particular punk-rock) to Green Day. (there of course many more of these available... just the same as there are many more sites definining Green Day as pop-punk) NME Big Cheese BBC USA Today Pure Volume I support the punk-rock/pop-punk genre tagging as we have considerable evidence and argument for both categories and it is unlikely we will ever reach a consensus on a single genre (and why should we! its quite ok for a band to have multiple genres throughout a carear) Heezy 10:03, 7 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]
Looks like both genres together wins as opposed to just "pop-punk". Lharvill 17:38, 7 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]
Ok, so I take it that if I got a petition going, saying that Green Day was actually an evil plan introduced by SkyNet and they are actually cyborgs, and I got say, 500 people to sign it, I could get that new scientific fact into Wiki? I'll get right on that. Gold Stur 20:45, 7 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]
Good luck on that, until you get that petition completed will you at least agree not to change it unless you can get a consensus to do so? I hate having the article protected since that means that neither myself (and I do have improvements I'd wish to make) or others can edit it. JtkieferT | C | @ ---- 21:54, 7 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]
Whatever. I plan to make it scientific fact that Green Day are cyborgs though. I went ahead and bought the domain www.greenday-cyb.org and am planning it out. Keep watch of it and be sure to be the first to sign the petition when I release it. Let the truth ring! Gold Stur 23:17, 7 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]
Pretty funny... Drdr1989 00:01, 8 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]
Well, I got the site up, check it out [3] and don't forget to sign the petition [4]. I know it's shabby, but it should take more shape over the weekend. Gold Stur 01:05, 8 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]
Hooo-kaay. Go ahead.... Get "enough" petitions. When you still get a rejection of both your pop-punk and cyborg claims, we'll let you know why. Can you get the Governator to sign? 69.236.136.85 01:27, 8 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]
Read above. This democracization is a common and completely accepted practice in Wikipedia. It relates directly to 1984. 2+2=5 because that's what Big Brother says. Green Day=punk rock because that's what the people say. Green Day will soon=cyborgs because that's also what the people say. Gold Stur 02:24, 8 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]
  • Brilliant straw man argument. You've failed to prove your point, so instead you'll attack the system. Aside from the patent absurdity of your claim, trying to re-define a band's place in the musical spectrum and trying to re-define a provable fact are two entirely different beasts. Whether or not something is "human" is both provable and binary. They either are, or are not. A musical genre would be neither wholly provable nor necessarily binary. This place is a secondary reference. It aggregates data from primary references. You can find valid primary references (for example, published music critics) referencing both genres, hence an agreement to include both genres. You can not, and will never, find a valid primary reference that would conclude that Green Day are cyborgs. The best you could possibly come up with would be something like "a totally non-scientific internet petition has deemed that Green Day are cyborgs." As opposed to the current situatuion, where a non-scientific survey was used to decide on the inclusion of verifiable primary source material. I must say though, you are fun to watch. Keep up the good work. -Le Scoopertemp [tk] 03:36, 8 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

I thought people would long be over the "Green Day is not punk" argument. Jesus, they began their career in the Gilman Street punk scene. They were on an independent punk rock record label. They're influenced by the Ramones, The Clash, Dead Kennedys, Buzzcocks, The Jam, and Hüsker Dü. Their musical style certainly contains the conventions of punk rock. I mean, if Green Day aren't punk rock, then the Buzzcocks and any other punk band with a sense of pop melody isn't, and that's pretty much 60% of the original wave from the 70s. WesleyDodds 08:21, 9 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Since there is considerable dispute as to Green Day's genre, I have added the disputed template there so that those of you who think Green Day is punk rock can be happy, and those of us that think they aren't can be a little settled. I R bold. And I have also added the request source info on the Lookouts: the beginning (1988-1992) section, more specifically, the third paragraph that compares them to the Beatles. Gold Stur 23:30, 21 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

  • I'm still curious why you couldn't just allow both categorizations to remain on the page, without adding the disputed thing. The fact that more than one category is given would seem to indicate that there is no total consensus on what their style is. There is also a note embedded in the article indicating that there has been some controversy over the categorizations and that the current wording is a compromise. And you still haven't provided more than opinion as to why they fail the punk rock classification. I find that especially interesting that you'll find several Green Day songs listed as examples of specific punk rock themes in the punk rock article. Quite frankly, the more of these assertions I read, the more I get the impression they're based solely on a quick look at Green Day since American Idiot came out (and perhaps including Good Riddance). All these things about how they dress, 9 minute songs, slow songs etc. I'd highly recommend people check out 1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours, Kerplunk! and Insomniac (particularly the latter). -Le Scoopertemp [tk] 00:02, 22 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]
I find it absurd that you say that all my arguments are opinion when all of yours and others arguments are also opinions. The whole genre debate is opinionated and is not a factual debate. Atleast with the tag everyone can know that there really is some debate, and not the result of a vote of opinions. And the note in the article is only visible when someone trys to edit it. With this tag, everyone can see it.

And last but not least, even if their old albums are punk, which I have listened to (albeit not entirely) and they sound more like skater music than anything, that doesn't mean that they should be given the punk label. The Beastie Boys started as a punk rock band but on their genre the Wiki article doesn't state "punk rock/hip hop". The most important thing that matters is what they are now or at the time of death / disbandment. Gold Stur 01:02, 22 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

  • I've also noted that my opinion and what I'm advocating here are not actually the same thing. I'm advocating maintaining the compromise that already existed. I've also provided links that can help to illustrate that other Wikipedians seem to be of like mind. I come back to the fact that they seem to fall in with most, if not all, of the points on the punk rock page. I just don't see why it needs to be changed from punk rock/pop-punk. You aren't happy with it, apparently. That's fine. That doesn't really make the article "disputed." I'd have to wager you could find someone to disagree with something on almost every article in this encyclopedia. The point is to find the happy medium. The happy medium here is not to stick in this disputed tag, it's to include the two tags that are generally agreed to be most appropriate: Punk rock and pop-punk. Then if someone disagrees, they'll go to edit the page and see the note regarding the perceived balance in the classifications. -Le Scoopertemp [tk] 04:17, 22 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]
Whether or not the The Beastie Boys were or were not a punk rock group is irrevelant since their current sound is definitely not punk. I know that our sturred friend pointed this out, but Green Day still has the punk characteristic manifest which renders the Beastie Boys issue irrevelant to this discussion. Drdr1989 06:04, 22 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]


I have taken the liberty of removing the tag since it interrupts the reading and serves no real purpose, there has to be a better way to do this. My suggestion is just to not note it since it's more of an editorial issue than anything else and their genre only seems to be disputed here and it isn't a wider global issue. I also added a little more to the html comment regarding it to note that changes to genre without talk page discussion would probably be reverted. JtkieferT | C | @ ---- 22:52, 23 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

How much evidence is needed to show that Green Day is not punk? I just thought of two more points for the case against a punk Green Day. American Idiot is a self proclaimed rock opera. Rock operas are traits of prog rock. Punk rock and prog rock are two highly contrasting genres that are at odds with eachother. The second point is Green Day's concerts. They are huge. Don't believe me? Do a google image search. And I also know that they are big from local concerts they've had around my area and people I know that have gone to their concerts. Punk rock concerts were small and usually in bars. Even during the times when punk concerts were big, they weren't near as big as Green Day's. So, in sumnation, here are is all the evidence that Green Day is not punk.
  • Don't sound punk
  • Don't dress punk
  • Don't act punk
  • Slow, long songs (very prog rock)
  • Self proclaimed rock opera (also very prog rock)
  • Large concerts
  • Frequent play on MTV
  • Signed with large record company
  • Non-offensive attitude and music

When I think of more, I'll add them. And since the tag left, so does punk rock. Gold Stur 01:57, 24 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Big time agreement with Gold Stur!!!!!!--Alhutch 00:40, 1 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]
I'd hardly call them non offensive and in terms of American Idiot being a rock opera your right but at the same time that's only one album. It doesn't entirely matter to me what they're categorized as long as it's at least one of the things that fits it but since the HTML comment now appears to be incorrect I'm going to remove it. JtkieferT | C | @ ---- 02:23, 24 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]
  • In its almost three decades of existence, punk music has evolved and mutated to create a diversity of sounds. Punks may now enjoy the earthy harmonious-ness of folk-punk, the nostalgic, but often still relevant anthems of 80s peace- and anarcho-punk, or the more abrasive offerings of hardcore punk ("hardcore" for short), and its own elaborate array of sub-genres (i.e. crust, grindcore, metalcore, thrash, power violence, etc.) In general, however, punk music is loud, fast, and usually didactic. The sound is meant to express impatience, frustration and discontent. It also expresses anger and aggression by being loud and fast. The rhythm is often monotonous, but can in some cases be extremely erratic and complex. punk ideology. Green Day's "loud, fast and didactic" songs outweigh any of their others by far, taking in their whole catalog.
  • As the punk movement matured, fashion became less important as punk ideas became more important. Punk fashion has also received criticisms for being meaningless and for being conformist as the fashion grew in popularity. punk ideology
  • They write, play and produce their own albums. They're vocal about their beliefs. They always have been. Their beliefs have become more political of late.
  • I can't deny that they have written two long, slow songs. And a handful of other short, slow songs. Over the course of 7 albums. Averaging more than 15 songs each.
  • I wouldn't call a rock opera "prog rock." Certainly not typical punk. Certainly not conformist.
  • They do draw big crowds, indicating their popularity. So did the Sex Pistols last tour. And the Ramones.
  • Frequent play on MTV is also a sign of their popularity, true. For American Idiot. And Dookie. Their other five albums did not generate the same video play.
  • The Clash signed to Columbia. The Sex Pistols signed to EMI and Warner during their career. Billie Joe also operates an indie label for other punk bands.
  • I suppose they're not offensive to some people. People who are anti-war or pro-pot legalization, for example. Some people, on the other hand, find their recent political leanings fairly offensive (hence them having been labeled anti-American by some). Their longer-standing drug stance never seemed to garner much attention at all. I'm not sure that's necessarily their fault. I don't find many punk bands offensive. My mother finds almost all of them (including Green Day) offensive.
I also note that you've gone through the punk ideology article and removed every single Green Day reference. I find some of the removals suspect, as having listened to and read the lyrics to the songs removed, they seemed to fit well within the sections they were placed (except perhaps Holiday, which probably got in just for one line in the song). -Le Scoopertemp [tk] 05:21, 24 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

I am not into Punk rock as much as others are, but I am a major fan of bands such as Iggy Pop, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Adicts, The misfits, Bauhaus and the Ramones. I dont think Green Day sounds punk at all with exception of his voice, because he and all the other pop-punk bands out there have that same tone when they sing.

Their guitars occasionally range close to the punk sound but not enough to be classified.

This is the thing you have to remeber when classifying the genre Pop, Pop means popular, aka mainstream desiring artists. One could say Britney Spears is EBM and Christina Aguilera is Soul, h however they both fall under pop because theyre music isnt their music and it is purposely intended to sell. Green Day's music is aimed to please their fans. POP-punk is a genre made to sell to a young crowd. Pop-punk or pop-rock doesn't HAVE to be an insult. Why do people not like it? Because little 12-14 year olds and I'd even say some older teens would love to be different and would want to believe their music is special too. Therefore they call their music names like goth, punk, emo. Even if their music is really just mainstream rock. Its real fans of punk that tell them Green Day is pop or pop punk. And then their fans get mad because that degrades their artificial esteem built upon feeling important.

Green day is just another example of their fans/hottopic making them out to be something they arent.

  • Again, this is all a your personal POV. The article description is based on citable references describing them as both. I can (and have) made all kinds of arguments for why they are punk rock. It's still my POV. It doesn't belong without references. And there are references. For both. You may not think they're punk rock. GoldStur may not. I may. Others may. We don't matter. We aren't valid primary sources. The article is for aggregating data from verifiable primary sources. It does. Being popular doesn't make you pop. If it did, Metallica would be pop metal and AC/DC would be pop hard rock. Not to mention that Green Day have released more albums (at least 5, depending on which albums you count) considered to be not commercially successful (ie. not popular) than the two that have. -Le Scoopertemp [tk] 20:22, 8 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]
As per the reasoning above if they don't qualify as one then the current version should be fine because it classifies them in a way as to not display a certain POV. JtkieferT | C | @ ---- 21:09, 8 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]
Punk rock is what they're marketed as, not what they are. WB knows how to capitalize on "teenage rebellion" and knows that their teen buyers want to be edgy and not another brick in the wall, so they market Green Day as punk rock. All the sources cited are listing Green Day by what they're marketed as, not what they are. And hell, I bet that to a USAToday writer there is no difference between punk and pop punk. Gold Stur 21:50, 8 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]
True about the marketing, but what they are is how the media (mainstream or underground) interprets them as - thus the classifications. No way around that, the media is much more powerful than you and me. Don't know about the USAToday writer deal, Lord help them, but I do know one thing. You need to get to work on your site. The site! The site!! Don't forget about the cyborgs!!! How is that coming along btw? Drdr1989 01:03, 9 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]
Well, I got a distinguished "Mr. Fag" to sign my petition, so it's going good. And I want to bring something up about sources. On Tony Hawk's American Wasteland, the game states Green Day as "Rock/Other" for genre, while they state Dead Kennedys, Black Flag, Sham 69 and Circle Jerks as "Punk". That's one major source against their punk listing, and it's one that one would think to be biased FOR Green Day's punk listing. Gold Stur 01:56, 9 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]
I don't see what you think the big problem is with having the compromise listing, it's just as good and considering the variety of Green Day's msuic it's just as accurate so what's the big deal with keeping it as it is? JtkieferT | C | @ ---- 02:26, 9 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]
1) It's redundant. Pop is short for popular, so pop punk = mainstream punk. Saying pop punk and then punk rock is not needed. 2) Punk rock is about being underground, not selling out, and about 50 other things I listed above. Green Day is not punk rock. They're not even pop punk. However, I know that their die hard fans will never accept that they're not punk or pop punk, so I'm being realistic arguing for pop punk and not something more fitting like just pop or rock. Gold Stur 03:22, 9 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]
Having two classes that have "punk" in them may seem redundant at first, but I already mentioned about the groups that are supposed to make up the "pop punk" category. That is why we need the punk rock thing in there, too. ...and of course the "pop punk" part - only due to their mainstream success. Anyway, keep working on your site. How about a pay-per-click campaign for that? Drdr1989 06:25, 9 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Okay, (Goodness, am I good at thses genre articles) first off, I would like to note that Green Day is ALTERNATIVE ROCK; meaning that they were punk (all the albums prior to Dookie) until they blew up into an international rock group, and yes, they are very popular now, but they don't sound like Simple Plan or Fall Out Boy (like Pop-punk). Green Day is alternative, no matter how punk their attitude on stage is, their music made them become commercial changed their style. Please agree, because Green Day is a great band, but their MUSIC isn't punk after becoming mainstream. Please, just label them alternative rock, because that is what they are.

While I agree with labeling them alternative rock (one of a few styles their music falls under), there is nothing inherent in punk rock that it cannot be mainstream. Punk rock certainly broke through to the mainstream in late 70's Britain, and many of those groups were on major labels. WesleyDodds 00:57, 10 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]
I think the unsigned user was referring to the genre rather than them being actually alternative to mainstream per se. Anyway, "alternative rock" is much too broad. The compromise punk split works best. Drdr1989 02:44, 10 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]


The inherent problem here is that genres are - by their very definition - subjective, especially in the case of somewhat generic bands such as Green Day, who's sound isn't original or static enough to easily categorise them. With that in mind, I suggest we leave this as Pop-Punk, and move on. It somewhat appeases those who claim Green Day is purely pop, it somewhat appeases those who claim they're purely punk-rock, and it's a nice middle ground for everyone else. Above all else, there's the fact that the band themselves have taken to calling themselves Pop-Punk nowadays, which is a marked move away from previous years/albums, where they stuck to the Punk-Rock tag. There have been a few examples of this, but the one that comes to mind is during their last appearance on Last Call with Carson Daly - Billie Joe specifically mentioned that they "wanted to show how divisive Pop-Punk could be". In the absence of strict guidelines as to what makes X band Y genre, perhaps we should just stick with what the band refer to themselves as? Such definitions are equally fluid, of course, but it seems like as good a place as any to start. Excursus 21:38, 12 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

I once thought that the "pop-punk" genre was the only one suitable (about six weeks ago); but there's just so much agruement for both genres that we couldn't think of anything but a compromise. Perhaps "divisive" means extending to "punk rock"? Long and short: Compromise works best! Drdr1989 01:42, 13 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Ok, ok, adding in my two cents from an avid Green Day listener for many years: When Green Day began, they may have been the very definition of punk. Over time they matured and mellowed, and formed albums such as "Waiting," taken by many fans as being very soft, and extremely un-punkish. Through Waiting and afterwards, their genre of music has been highly disputed. I think American Idiot falls between the cracks very well. I think it best to just plain call them rock. And that is something we can all settle on. Just call them rock. :) --Mac Davis 08:53, 13 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Rock is probably just about okay for American Idiot, but doesn't suit their early work. Either way, rock is possibly too broad a term for this, since just about any guitar band could be called rock if you tried. Also, another problem here is how you define punk - is it the attitude, or the music? The music doesn't fit the punk tag anymore (if it ever did - it's always had a distinct pop tinge to it), and whilst you could debate the merits of their attitude being punk, I've never been convinced attitude is relevant when it comes to defining a band's genre. The very fact Warning was such a departure for the band - and not in a commercially appealling way, either - means you could easily argue they were being punk there, but it's the most non-punk sounding record they've ever done. Which is more important in this context? Excursus 19:50, 13 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Just to recall comments made about Green Day's 'Punkness,' people said that they weren't an offensive band. Come on, these guys are offensive. Have you not heard 'Platyus - I hate you.' That song is about how happy Green Day are that journalist who gave Green Day bad reviews died of cancer. That is offensive! Even swear words are considered offensive. Green Day are an offensive band and I strongly believe that they are a punk rock band too. --Lutrov71 13 December 2005

No, this is completely inaccurate. Whilst the song was directed at a Journalist who had turned on them, he was very much alive at the time of them writing it. He only died later on, just prior to the album hitting the shelves. Excursus 19:50, 13 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]
This song was also very old and immature, back in their punk days. --Mac Davis 08:08, 14 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Seriously is there really a problem with Green Day either being punk, pop-punk or non-punk? This whole debate ,in my opinion (mind you), is really stupid. In general, Green Day is Alternative, if you take in account all and I mean all of their songs. I seriously think that Green day has their own style and I don't know why people compare them to other bands. Hello! no two bands are the same, however I believe that bands should be categorized in thier proper categories. I'm not saying that they are either punk or not. Either, please end this whole debate,or ask Green Day if they consider themselves as punk or not? Oh,my gosh! --"noboby" unknown 5:55 pm 12/16/05.

This is all completely ludicrous. Green Day are obviously pop-punk. They have the punk sensibilities of fast rhythm, simple chord structures, and bold lyrics. The have the 'pop' of selling millions of albums. They have brought 'punk' or any of its variants to the mainstream in a way no other band in history ever has, while not relying on traditional punk structure for what they accomplish. If that's not pop-punk then I don't know what is. If they themselves have re-defined pop-punk so be it, but they ARE pop-punk whther you like it or not. "Miami_pony" 12:21 pm 12/17/05

It's funny that now, when the old "consensus" looks as though it maybe endangered that there is no talk of a new "consensus". How often do we hold elections in Wikipedia anyway?... Gold Stur 18:54, 18 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Green Day gets labeled as "punk" solely for their Bush hatred. They're not even anti-government. Did they care when Clinton bombed Iraq? Oh, right, not ONE anti-war celeb whined about THAT... Jerry Only has stated a full support for the war(Misfits lost a friend on 9/11 in the towers), but I can see GD appealing to Glenn Danzig fans... soft sticks with soft and weak. Not that I know anyone with an IQ above 80 who listens to Green Stain's music. They always appealed to the D and F students, and now they're ant-Bush... hmm, wonder if it's even SINCERE, or just a convenient career boost? The fact Alice Cooper won't even acknowledge them is proof enough they're not a valid band. They cater to people who don't think(Bush opponents will eat up any propaganda they can be fed).

Green Day are not Punk. But it will be unfair to say they're Pop, either. Pop Punk is what they do. They're kind of a mixing between a rock band and a boy-band. They are sure not Punk Rock, There is a clear defenition for what Punk Rock is. And one more thing, Pop does not stand for "popular". It's a genre that is a bit of R&B and some Dance Music, mostly about love. In my opinion, They music is Punk, and they're lyrics is Pop. Psychomelodic 12:27, 4 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]


Does any1 care wot type of music Green Day play. We like it dont we.

Maybe YOU like it. Psychomelodic 15:01, 5 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]


I think Green Day plays Punk rock music. Maybe years ago they may not have been considered it but all music is change. The Punk rock we know today is different from the time of the Ramones but remember music is change. Green Day is definetley Punk Rock and should not be mistaken or compared with bands like Good Charlotte or Simple Plan who are known as pop-rock. To settle disputes I suggest we should change the genre of Green Day to Punk Rock/Punk-Pop to make people who think they are Punk-Pop satisfied as well. ~Helen

i think it's unfair to compare Punk bands to see whether they're 'punk' or 'pop-punk.' I've listened to Green Day since elementry school and always considered them to be punk until their album Warning. From that album you could tell they were trying to gain an edge with the audience. now with their new CD, they're only playing for the money. This is why I now classify them as a pop-punk band. they're selling themselves to the media. Also, you cant compare them to bands like the sex pistols, ramones and op ivy and other bands who arent around anymore. those bands have ended. who knows, maybe they would have fallen into the media and become 'pop-punk.' -jope

Agree with every word (also with what Gold Stur wrote). Face it people, they make Pop-punk. IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT YOU THINK. Only the facts are matter. If you still think Green Day is Punk rock, Please listen to American Idiot (song). If you still think they're Punk rock, well... not very good at identifying music genres are you.

Punk rock or not?[edit]


A comprimise has been made by listing Green Day as a part of both Pop Punk and Punk Rock. Green Day has had albums/songs in both the Punk Rock (American Idiot) and Pop Punk (earlier albums) genres. Therefore, it is fitting that it be classified as both. This judgement is made based on the Wiktionary definitons of both genres.


--Djbob 06:07, 8 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Well whoever made it was wrong, stop vandalizing the page before we reach a consensus 88.152.182.249 06:23, 9 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]

OK, If you think the music that Green Day plays today is Punk rock (and read the article before you comment!), please speak here.

It is time to change the consensus.

Yes, Green Day used to play Punk Rock. But that was 10 YEARS AGO.

Should it be included in the article or what? And if so, Whouldn't it be better with a small comment beside it?

The only classification they play today it Pop punk, and there's NO dobut about that (read that too, and listen to American Idiot. You'll see I'm right).

So, Anyone has to say something? I'm wrong? I'm right? I'm sooo not in and Green Day is da best heavy rock band?

Leave your comments here ;) New!!!!!oneone 05:17, 19 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Maybe I'm exaggerating, But they stopped playing Punk rock atleast 5 years ago.
Still I'll like to know what you think New!!!!!oneone 05:26, 19 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Well, enough time past and nobody thought I'm wrong. I'm editing the article. New!!!!!oneone 14:02, 20 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

It is not time to change the consensus. Please see the discussion here. Perhaps a few songs in American Idiot take a step away from punk-pop, but the fact remains that the majority of their work falls under this category. You cannot change this because of a few songs on one album. Jtrost (T | C | #) 14:08, 20 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Agreed, also any changes without consensus to their genre is considered vandalism and will be reverted on sight. JtkieferT | C | @ ---- 16:43, 20 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Definitely correct. That would be vandalism or at least ... a trait of something else. Drdr1989 01:39, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I wouldn't go as far as to calling this vandalism. I have no doubt the people who make this kind of edit have good faith, but it'd be nice if there was more respect for precedent. Jtrost (T | C | #) 01:59, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]


I read that, what's your point? Green Day made Punk rock in the PAST, before the album "Warning". I will revert the article now. By the way, I have an idea. 2 aritcles: 1. for Green Day before the "Warning" album, and 2. for after. The first aritcle could be Punk rock and the second Punk pop. And one more thing; AMERICAN IDIOT IS DEFINITELY NOT PONK ROCK! Agreed? New!!!!!oneone 15:08, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Please do not revert the article again. A consensus has been reached and going against that consensus is a bad idea. Also, regarding your edit summary, idiots all around me, please consult WP:CIVIL before making these remarks in the future. Jtrost (T | C | #) 15:11, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Well, I was not here when the consensus reached (Maybe that's why I wrote "It is time to change the consensus"?). I would like to have a discussion with anyone who thinks they're Punk rock and explain him why he's wrong. And yes, poeple who acuuse me of mental disorder are idiots. New!!!!!oneone 16:00, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The discussion is still available here. You are free to participate. Also it's considered impolite to make these kinds of changes without the consent of other authors. What you are doing could be interpreted as starting an edit war. Please refrain from these kinds of edits. Jtrost (T | C | #) 16:14, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I thought thats discussion was closed and a "consensus" has reached. I am now moving this part in. New!!!!!oneone 16:33, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I am on the record saying Green Day is not punk. Read a dictionary and look up what it says under punk rock. Gold Stur 20:48, 25 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Why to bands have to be classified? It might help someone if they don't no what a band sounds like and they want a general idea. Who doesn't know what Greenday's music sounds like. If you haven't heard them then you aren't from anywhere around here. There is no reason to put Greenday in a certain classification.

-Paul Feb. 5 Lake Tahoe

Damn, talking to you guys is like talking to a brick wall. "Green Day's not punk!", "What you are doing could be interpreted as starting an edit war. Please refrain from these kinds of edits." Yeah, great way to back up your argument, just completely ignore the evidence brought forth (and the worthless new concensus) and threaten people. Take debate class, please. I'm removing punk rock. Gold Stur 23:46, 7 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The Punk Rock designation does not remove from the designation of Pop Punk. It is just an addition genre defintion. Green Day has had albums (American Idiot) that have completely fit the Wiktionary definition of Punk Rock. For this reason they are considered to be a part of the genre. --Djbob 00:27, 9 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The Wiktionary entry for "punk rock". 1. a harsh rock music originating from the 1970s with angry, offensive lyrics; a reaction against progressive rock. Notice it says "a reaction against progressive rock". As said earlier, a rock opera is prog rock, along with long slow songs. Both of which Green Day has done. This means they AREN'T punk rock. Gold Stur 01:26, 9 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]
You fail to notice the semicolon in the definition. That means that "a reaction against progressive rock" is an alternative way of defining the genre. --Djbob 02:15, 10 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The issue is not whether they are punk rock now (they definitely do not make punk music now) but they have been punk rock and much of their major music falls into that category thus the dual listing is probably the best way to categorize it since both are correct. Pegasus1138Talk | Contribs | Email ---- 01:59, 9 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Anybody knows that don't play punk now (well, excepts the fanatic fans in wikipedia), but since they played punk like 6-7 years ago, shouldn't it be "1988-1999: punk rock, 2000-present: pop punk"? It can confuse a visitor who only listened to American Idiot and looks at Green Day's article and sees "punk rock". Damn, he might even belive that American Idiot IS punk rock. psychomelo(discussion) 06:32, 9 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]
And wikipedia is not a fan site club. "punk rock" was added by fans who listen to MTV's Punk (!). Therefore, me, as Britney Spears's fan, have made Talk:Britney_Spears#Adding_rock_genre. psychomelo(discussion) 06:35, 9 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]
FYI, I do not listen to MTV's "Punk" or whatever you wish to call it. In fact, I do not watch any MTV at all. My musical interests are wide are varied and include everything spanning from country to hip hop. I have albums from bands like the Clash and the Sex Pistols. I know what Punk Rock is. Let's refrain from insults, shall we? --Djbob 02:15, 10 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I think we are in confuse. But OK, I accept the idea that they did punk rock in their past and the punk rock label can stay in their article. Now, after we got over that, read the section below. psychomelo(discussion) 02:51, 10 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]
(section below moved to Talk:Billie Joe Armstrong#Country music)

Okay, lets define punk here. Is it a lifestyle? A clothing style? A rock subgenre? Point is, there are so many definitions of punk now. It used to be, you basically just had to be different, but now you have to be a certain KIND of different. Oh, you have to dress like this, wear your hair like that, only listen to these bands. I've been listening to Green Day and a ton of other punk bands all my life, they're all different people! Punk doesn't even know what punk is anymore, so drop it! -Emogoth

Punk is a scene (like for example the Hip hop culture) of people who make and listen to Punk rock, dress and act diffrently, acting 'outgoing-ish', rebel the government, police, mainstream culture etc. AS WE CAN SEE, The people who listen to Punk rock (and are part of this "scene") do not consider Green Day as Punk rock. It doesn't means they're not Punk pop. I think Punk pop is the perfect defention for what they are. Making pop\rock music with some elements of Punk, but admired by teenage girls and get screentime on MTV. 88.155.176.98 13:03, 14 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Seriously peoples! I mean it! Drop before I get really mad and suck your blood! Quit stereotyping people and music. Punk rock does NOT nescesarilly need to be anti-political, Green Day are not emo, they don't make goth rock, they aren't pop, (for proof, just listen to some south-central Minnesota raido. Honestly, Jessica Simpson is played litterally ten times more than Green Day) and if you don't like what I'm saying, you're gonna have to live with it, cause trust me, I am a rock expert! Now shut the hell up! -Emogoth

Guys, please, be civil. Raising your voices only makes it harder for a discussion to continue, and makes everybody look bad. A concensus has been made already, see the beginning of this section. Kareeser|Talk! 17:40, 16 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]


What part of contradiction are you fans not grasping. A consensus has been made, and you are happy with it because it supports your love for Green Day. You're brushing aside the fact that the consensus does not include any of your opinions. You all consider Green Day Punk Rock, right? And what songs do you consider Punk? Please excuse me while I reference what a few of you have said in Green Day's defense:

Let's start with Drdr1989.

"Whether or not the The Beastie Boys were or were not a punk rock group is irrevelant since their current sound is definitely not punk."

Right. So you're saying that the label given to a band should be based on what they currently sound like. Well, that's fine, since the current consensus is that their current sound is punk rock. So many people have gone back to old punk rock bands, like The Ramones, for instance. The point is, and you outlined it for me, thanks, that that band is over. Therefore no, we are not going to go back and change their label. However, because The Beastie Boys are still playing music, you will change their label? Alright, fine. Last time I checked Green Day was still playing (enourmous crowds, I might add). Based on the majority of the Green Day fans' claims here, Green Day's new music is not considered punk rock. I emplore you, go right ahead and follow through on what you said.

I'm also pretty sure Le Scoopertemp wouldn't be too please to hear you say that, since he does not share your opinion, but probably thinks he does.

"Quite frankly, the more of these assertions I read, the more I get the impression they're based solely on a quick look at Green Day since American Idiot came out (and perhaps including Good Riddance). All these things about how they dress, 9 minute songs, slow songs etc. I'd highly recommend people check out 1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours, Kerplunk! and Insomniac (particularly the latter)."

Le, come on. The current consensus is that new Green Day is punk rock. The statement above clearly shows you disagree with that. You claim that although you have opinions, you are not totally driven by them. I ask you, if not saying anything about the current consensus even though you disagree with it, just so that this particular band you enjoy gets stuck under the label you'd prefer, isn't completely hypocritical and soley opinion based, what is?

My personal opinions are close Gold Spur's, although perhaps not in such a biased and angry manner. Green Day is not punk rock. Look at what punk rock is. Examine it. You've given examples for the bpm. Fine, but how fast a song is doesn't automatically make it punk rock. Look an angry girl feminist electronica; that stuff is fast. It's not punk rock. Just because fast defines all punk rock music, does not mean that all fast music is punk rock. To be punk rock, fast is a must, yes. But it is also true that punk rock is either political or very opinionated. The only political Green Day song that falls under the fast music category is American Idiot, and I'm pretty sure I'm speaking for everyone here when I say that song is not punk rock, but simply a "hop onto the bandwagon". Whether or not Green Day actually dislikes Bush is actually pretty irrelevant; was disliking Bush original? No. Another part of punk rock is originality, and that's another thing I think we can all agree on. So far the only song I see that falls under two of the must's for punk rock is American Idiot. Until someone finds me a second, I'm standing behind my opinion that we immediately change the label to pop punk. And even if you do find another example, I'm not budging. All of you have said something along the lines of "oh, but they had so much good old stuff, screw the new stuff", which is basically a ratio. So go ahead, find me another example. Then it'll be 2 verses about 120. Superb.

Thus, pop punk. Soon. Because the "pop" itself is there because it means the group is mainstream popular. And by the looks of the fans' thoughts, "don't worry, Green Day will simply go back into being unpopular soon and all the teenyboppers will forget about them." At which time we will have to reach a new consensus, because no way in hell are Green Day simply "punk".

Finally, I move we reopen the voting for the consensus, no matter who thinks what. Because 95% of us are in agreement with the current consensus that American Idiot is punk rock, despite what we may or may not say.

-Natalie, 16th March, 2006.

You, and many others, are trying to define Punk Rock. However, you cannot do this. The definition used most be from a dictionary. Wiktionary itself defines Punk Rock as this: "a harsh rock music originating from the 1970s with angry, offensive lyrics." Green Day has at least one song that fits this. That means Green Day fits the definition. End of story. -Djbob 23:32, 29 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]
That's stupid. BJA has country songs but he's not country. psychomelo(discussion) 13:12, 1 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]


Pop Punk is type of Punk Rock so if it is Pop Punk it has to be Punk Rock. All systems go 18:28, 27 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Ok, my take on Green Day being punk. Wow, you people are so undecided. Is it really hard for you to figure out Green Day's genre? Their genre is Neo-punk or Alternative Punk. Or if you want it more specific, yeah the are punk. Punk and Hardcore Punk are different things. Sex Pistols, Clash, Green Day, Ramones - punk, Dead Kennedys, Black Flag, Minor Threat - hardcore punk because its played even harder and faster. As for the definition of punk being loud, fast, and offensive. Green Day fits. Yeah they are fast and yeah they are offensive, do you know how many Americans are offended, not to mention how "real punks" HATE them. If a punk band is HATED, then yeah the band is punk. Green Day probably has less fans than any other punk band. Ramones, Sex Pistols, Clash, Dead Kennedys all these bands have way more fans than Green Day. As for Green Day being loud well they are loud. But many earlier punk bands were not loud. I've been listening to Sex Pistols, Ramones, Dead Kennedys, Black Flag albums and they simply weren't loud, probably that's due to poor production of the album, I don't know. As for putting Green Day and Pop in the same sentence, what have you been smoking? Yeah, right, Green Day sounds exactly like Christina Aguilera and Beyonce, yeah give me a fucking break... By saying Green Day is pop you are comparing them to real pop artists and that bull. Green Day sounds nothing like Christina Aguilera so stop calling Green Day pop and please learn some music history. Remove the pop genre from their article. If you don't want to put punk, put Neo Punk or Alternative Punk or Rock or Hard Rock... And if you insist that Green Day is "pop" and bands like Sex Pistols, Ramones, Clash, Dead Kennedys, Black Flag, Circle Jerks are punk, then it is REALLY BAD for these punk bands that a "pop" band like Green Day rocks way harder than them. It just makes them look bad.

P.S. Listen to Green Day's song "Minority". That song defines punk. Sex Pistols or The Ramones or Dead Kennedys could never ever write this great song.


If John Lydon says you're not punk, you ain't punk motherfucker, sorry! Tim010987 (talk) 06:41, 14 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Look you guys can all have your beliefs(I for one think they’re punk rock and pop punk shouldn’t be a genre) but can we just enjoy their music for being catchy, award winning, and downright beautiful. They’re concerts are awesome and they are awesome. Can we at least agree on that. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Fneer7 (talkcontribs) 00:21, 8 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Emo?[edit]

Since when did Green Day get classified as emo? Was this some sort of vandalism or did I miss something? Cjmarsicano 02:09, 30 September 2005 (UTC)[reply]

That's kind of funny. But vandalism is not, which is what it is. --Mac Davis 08:53, 13 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

haha green day emo.--ChildOfMorella 17:45, 27 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Green Day should not be considered emo in any sense of the word, regardless of the makeup and hair changes they've made. Even though some songs are mellow and depressing on American Idiot, they are not emo. If so then most country music songs should be called emo. Ever heard "Whiskey Lullabye"? It's about two people drinking themselves to death.

i completely agree. they're not emo at all, and i really can't think why anyone would think so.-emopunk

yeah they aren't emo at allAll systems go 18:23, 27 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Yeah, they are definately not emo. To the person who didn't sign saying "Green Day should not be considered emo in any sense of the word...," Emo music isn't characterized as emotional and depressing lyrics, it is characterized as a mixture of punk and pop, in any way, "true" emo is said to be mainly underground.--Iluvmesodou 07:19, 18 August 2007 (UTC) Pie![reply]

I agree, they are not emo at all. I have no clue why people would even say that. --Jesant13 13:53, 19 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Emo is now the most overused word in the English language. Ndriley97 (talk) 21:39, 11 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

No. Only 4 songs from them are emo and that’s it. (WMUWSE, Jesus of Suburbia, Letterbomb. and Homecoming) All of those are from American Idiot so American idiot but be a tiny bit emo but for the rest of their songs and albums, no. Rockandrollkid2009 8:44, 10 September 2020 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2601:18D:87F:C690:589:14DB:2EE7:D0FB (talk)

Criticism[edit]

I've removed as unsupported the following material. Per WP:V, WP:CITE, and even WP:WEASEL there needs to be something to back up these claims. Tell who said these things, and where. - brenneman(t)(c) 06:37, 28 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Much of Green Day's most recent work has met with a degree of wide-ranging criticism. Many argue that their latest commercial offerings are of inferior artistic and creative merit to their earlier works. Furthermore, many argue they have used political messaged to plug a hole left by this decline in creativity, and as such they are accused of playing off trends in American society to their own commercial betterment. Still others attack the mere notion of the Pop Punk gender espoused and led by Green Day.

Uh, I've been saying that for a long time.Gold Stur 23:00, 28 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]
Many doesn't cut it though in terms of inclusion into an article so it should be sourced or left out. Even if it can be sourced it may be better to be left out though. JtkieferT | C | @ ---- 23:23, 28 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Green day punk rock? ha![edit]

green day are punk rock, angry vocals and the torn clothes and the attitude... They're far too punk from other punk bands, pop-punk NOT —Preceding unsigned comment added by Mr.Rotten (talkcontribs) 17:54, 22 February 2006

Please take a look at all the debates on this talk page about this topic... and please don't repeat them.--Greedy 18:00, 22 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Latest edit - See if this works. I linked to the actual disambig page for punk. I'll leave it someone else to be more specific if need be. Drdr1989 08:41, 12 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I have trimmed it slightly to remove the genre reference from the intro paragraph since that reads pretty well and gets rid of that issue. The box is accurate as is in terms of they're genre since they have music in both categories and I definitely like the sentence explaining their genre change in terms of their music. Maybe the topic of how they're music has changed over the years should be delved into more deeply into the article. Overall, I love the changes... nice work Drdr1989. Pegasus1138Talk | Contribs | Email ---- 09:07, 12 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks! Drdr1989 19:02, 12 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Genre again[edit]

Please users, check the additional genre that have been added recently. I'd like to know the consensus here. Personally I think, Green Day does not fall into Pop Rock and Alternative Rock. (And someone, please start archiving the discussion, this page is getting way too long) --Andy123(talk) 08:32, 21 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I agree Green Day are certainly not 'pop rock'. Punk or Pop Punk are the best terms to describe their music. Someone should change that first paragraph.

My personal opinon is that Green Day is mostly Pop-punk\Pop-rock. They are clearly more Pop-rock than Punk rock. As for Alt. rock, well you can say they're music is alt.rock (and it tells in GD's-related articles they are alt.rock), but the pop\punk\rock definition summarize it. "Pop punk, Pop rock" is what is suggest. psychomelo(discussion) 00:32, 22 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]

How is Green Day clearly more 'pop-rock' then 'pop-punk'? Some songs on warning do lean towards the 'folk/punk' side, however i think that they identify themselves as 'punks', and that is the term that most accuratly descirbes the majority of their music. Jacknife737 04:43, 22 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]

As it said in #Punk rock or not?, It doesn't matter how they (nor the fans) describe themselves. The only condition that brought the judgment is the music they play. Take this is an example; Tomorrow 50 Cent will claim his music is Alternative hip hop. Should Wikipedia change his genre description? No. The most Wikipedia can do is to add a sentence "On 23 March, 50 Cent told in an interview to People Magazine that his music isn't as much as mainstream as his critics claim". Green Day do not make Punk rock. They play a Pop\rock mixture with some elements of Punk. "Listen to Black Flag, GG Allin, The Clash, Dead Kennedys, and The Weirdos. Green Day sounds nothing like any punk rock band." (Gold Stur, 17 November 2005). If you wish to dispute about the Punk rock genre specifically, Do it in #Green Day's Punk Disputes. However, I admit they played some Punk rock in their past, Which is widely detailed in the article itself. As for the main genres, Punk rock should be out. psychomelo(discussion) 13:41, 22 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]

All the bands you just like Allin and Dead Kennedys were hardcore punk.. An offshoot of real punk rock. Punk rock wasnt that fast or heavy before hardcore came out. So hardcore cannot be considered reall punk rock. Warning was just an experimental album for green day.. where they tried out different genres. Punk is a genre that changes alot because it was a genre started to rebel against boredom. Green Day(Along with other californian bands) has saved punk rock by reviving it,otherwise the culture wouldve been dead by now.. Green Day must be credited for it. All the punk bands that exist now owe to green day and other californian invasion of melodic edged punk rock(otherwise called pop punk...) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Guitarhead13 (talkcontribs) 22:16, 8 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]


This seems like its more or less your opinion. The Clash, sound nothing like the Dead Kennedys but you would classify them both as punk. I personally consider Green Day to be 'pop punk', a perfectly acceptable and widely used term. Jacknife737 20:34, 22 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Me too. psychomelo(discussion) 22:14, 22 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]


Seriously and finally, Green Day's genre[edit]

Firstly, let me settle what "punk rock" is. It is not always fast, it is not always short, it is not always political, and it is not a stereotype.


Punk started out rewferring to 1960's garage rock, tending towards a rebellious, loud, nature. The meaning changed when it was applied to the Ramones, who were inspired by these acts among others. The Ramones essentially played bubblegum pop with a rock and roll attitude (any true fan will know they said this themselves). They had short, fast, three-chord songs. At the same time, bands formed in the UK and Australia - The Sex Pistols, who played similar music but without the speed, and the Saints, who sounded almost identical but had not heard the Ramones when they formed, and did not even share most of their influences. So, in its original inception, punk was rock and roll, plain and simple, written in a bubblegum pop style.
Next, punk diverged. Punk became a culture, and punk bands wrote songs that were always expressive of anger, alienation, repression, rebellion, nihilism or anti-establishment values. Hardcore punk evolved. So did Pop punk, in the Buzzcocks and Descendents, Oi! in Cock Sparrer and the Cockney Rejects, Anarcho-punk in Crass and their followers, and other subgenres.
In modern times, punk exists on many levels: Crust punk bands like Wolfbrigade are punk, but so are pop-punk bands like NOFX, and yes, if you talk to any punk they'll tell you NOFX are really pop-punk. Born/Dead, the Suicide Machines, Amen, Rancid and Rollins Band all sound different, but are all punk.
To those who say punk bands don't record long songs: Crass, the most punk band ever, recorded the 23-minute Yes Sir, I Will. Slow songs? Black Flag's My War broke the myth that punk has to be fast long ago. Apolitical songs? Come on. Black Flag, Fear, Cock Sparrer, and the sheer number of other punk bands who all recorded songs about beer is all the evidence we need.
And, on a final note, pop-punk is not an insult, it is a genre.

Green Day's early recordings, and up to around Dookie, are certainly pop-punk, and this should be obvious to everyone. They were never a barely-melodic, rough, screaming, angry band. They were a punk band who tended more towards fun and joke songs, who were often melodic with big hooks and a sing-along quality. They were undeniably pop-punk.

After that, though, they become more diverse. Insomniac took a harder punk sound. Nimrod features the acoustic, sad Good Riddance, some more darker-sounding music, and a slight folk-punk influence. Warning: went into pop-rock and folk rock, and left their pop-punk roots nearly entirely.

Most recently, they released American Idiot, which fits neatly into no genre so specific. It is influenced by pop rock (hooks, choruses, aesthetic), punk rock (riffs, tempo, aesthetic), prog rock (rock opera, solos, long and complicated songs), heavy metal (riffing, solos), and to a lesser extent by other genres. I personally don't think it's punk-influenced enough to be considered punk rock or pop-punk. I would say that would be absurd.

Given their diverse styles recently, their disparate influences on American Idiot, and the fact they fit neatly into no genre any more, they should be classified merely as modern rock. The article should describe them as a modern rock band, and note where appropriate that they started out as pop-punk. --Switch 14:26, 23 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]

The problem is modern rock isn't a genre, it's a radio format. if you want to reference a source, AMG lists them under Pop-punk, punk revival, and alternative rock. WesleyDodds 08:05, 30 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I'm ok with Pop punk, Modern rock. psychomelo(discussion) 13:18, 1 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

This sentence should be removed: Once considered a punk rock band, their music now leans more towards pop punk/pop rock

It sounds rather POV, and it makes it out to seem that only recently people have been calling Green Day pop-punk, when that controversy has raged for years. The intro would work fine without it. WesleyDodds 01:01, 6 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

It has agreed after many discussions that Green Day is no longer a punk rock band. psychomelo(discussion) 12:01, 6 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Really that doesn't mean anything. Juts because it's agreed up on here in Wikipedia doesn't mean it's accurate or appropriate. They're still listed as punk on Allmusic. They're still called punk in the media. If everyone brings conflicting sources we can analyze them and then decide appropriate action, but imparting a decision based on our opinions isn't the proper way to do things.
I also think this whole genre argument is ridiculous because it's based more on people's opinions and misconceptions rather than a large-scale analysis of available sources. WesleyDodds 04:14, 7 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]
They're called punk because they call themselves punk. Read the discussions above and you'll see why Green Day is not like any other "punk" band. Seriously, you can't say 2006's Green Day is punk rock. We use the pop punk genre to describe Green Day's punk. psychomelo(discussion) 10:13, 7 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]
By the way allmusic says in the article that they're pop-punk, and in the info box that they're also rock and alternative pop. Do you really still thinks Green Day is everything said in punk rock? psychomelo(discussion) 10:30, 7 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I have read the talk, and I've posted arguments in the main Talk Page that are not replicated here. My main assertion is that punk is rather broad in the first place, as evidenced by such subgenres as New Wave, Post-punk, and pop-punk. Yes, I think Green Day's music can still be described as punk rock, notably the songs "American Idiot", "St. Jimmy", and "She's a Rebel". Musically they follow the same conventions that Green Day has used before on other records. Personally I was a little disappointed with American Idiot because there are a lot musical cues and ideas that have been used before on previous albums. It's really not all that different. I sometimes get the feeling that this whole argument stems from the massive success of "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" and "Wake Me Up When September Ends". Hell, The Damned's "Smash It Up Pts. 1 & 2" really doesn't follow most conventions associated with punk rock, but it's considered a punk rock anthem.
As I've stated before, Green Day draws influence from bands such as The Ramones, The Clash, The Jam, and Hüsker Dü, so it can't be said that "Green Day is not like any other 'punk' band". They've been compared to the Buzzcocks plenty of times.
And mind you, pop-punk is a subgenre of punk rock as a whole, so if we're classifying Green Day as pop-punk ,then they are playing a form of punk rock. Even if they have changed style, that does not mean we remove it from the infobox. Just look at Siouxsie & the Banshees.
Finally, we should all be able to at least agree that Green Day is a rock band, since every single subgenre being debated is a rock subgenre. Basically every band article on Wikipedia starts with a sentence along the lines of ("insert artist) was a (insert nationality) rock band". The specific and potentially controversial flagging of subgenres does not even need to be introduced into the main body of the article. WesleyDodds 10:59, 7 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]
OK, first of all noboday said anything about removing the punk rock genre from the article. Second, punk rock is a very wide term, from hardcore punk to pop punk and that is the reason it says in the article "Green Day once played punk rock, now leaning more towards pop punk". Third, of course they are a rock band! The debate is on the subgenre, is it punk rock? alternative rock? pop punk? pop/rock? Because Green Day is a bit of all that, all these genres are mentioned in the article because it's important to the reader. Rock stands for many genres (from Britpop to Grindcore), and we don't want to confuse the reader. psychomelo(discussion) 12:33, 7 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]
That's assuming the reader is familiar enough with these subgenre terms in order for them to be useful for distinctions. That's why most band pages refer to the band as rock initially, since most everyone at least knows what rock music is.
I have no objection to the genres currently listed. My main problem right now is with that single line in the first paragraph, which if it is going to make such a declaration needs something to back it up. WesleyDodds 22:37, 7 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]
That's why the subgenre terms are linked; so that if a reader finds an article on a band that fall into a subgenre they're not familiar with, they can read up on the genre. There's nothing wrong with mentioning subgenres in the article. But Green Day have played many genres; they have played pop punk, punk rock, alternative rock, post-grunge, hard rock... I'm happy with these classifications. I am not happy with the claim that they played punk rock and now lean more towards pop punk and pop rock; that's simply not true. Kerplunk! is more pop punk than anything on American Idiot. In fact, I thought Green Day moved away from what they've done in the past; they have long been one of my favourite pop punk bands (my mother introduced me to them shortly after the release of Kerplunk!), and I found the new album to focus more on post-grunge and hard rock, which was rather disappointing. That's just my musical experience talking. --Switch 15:40, 8 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]
We should just removed it. It's a silly line. WesleyDodds 01:42, 10 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Agreed, it's unnecessary and POV. I propose Green Day are listed simply as a "rock band", with subgenres kept in the infobox, including punk rock, pop-punk, alternative rock and post-grunge (Feel free to correct on those). Yes? --Switch 11:37, 10 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

The purpose of my original edit was to define the genre as specifically as possible in an attempt to resolve some rather extensive despute over the genre. And of course it is not POV. The references would obviously be their music. I'll make a small change, though, to avoid confusion that they are becoming more pop by the minute. Drdr1989 22:54, 12 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

it works just fine without it. What you must understand is that analysis of music is rather subjective; it's certainly better to reference someone else' analysis of music rather than for a Wiki editor to do it his or her self (hence WP:NOR). Also, the sentence doesn't resolve anything; it infers that Green Day has become pop punk/"pop/rock" since Dookie, when even then they were labeled pop punk and considered sellouts. Additionally, the first album is more akin to power-pop than punk rock. Unless were can write a satisfactory sentence that addresses subgenre classifications (right now the only serious genre debate we're having is your reinsertion of that line) that line needs to go. WesleyDodds 01:18, 13 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Again, the edit was made in attempt to resolve excessive and extensive genre disputes and their overall progression over time. We don't need to go through the turmoil of referencing 100's of subjective reviews of their genre classification. Plus, there is no "original research" being done here, but merely a description of how their music has evolved using terms ("pop punk"; "punk rock") that neither I nor anyone else in our community drew out of hat; therefore: nPOV. If you think a revision to that sentence needs to be made, don't delete it into thin air; ammend it after I put it back, or develop something else and put it into its place and then we'll review it. And no, it does not look fine without it. The intro looks plain without a mention of the genre - what is the group like?? Drdr1989 03:48, 13 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]
A suggestion: would the word "punk" work in the first sentence? No "rock", "pop", nada?? That could work, after that we can delete my sentence, but not without the "punk" idea. Discuss... Drdr1989 04:20, 13 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Given that this is a Good Article that is being worked into a Featured Article, the obvious solution is the addition of sound clips in order to highlight their sound. My overall point still stands: certainly music genre can be mentioned in the first paragraph (as I've stated before, most band articles start out listing their overall genre, ie. rock, jazz, hip-hop, etc.) and that's perfectly fine. We also have the info box which lists genres. However, this sentence is simply not an appropriate sentence for reasons we have already discussed above. If anything, it's allowing for more arguments rather than solving them. WesleyDodds 06:15, 13 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I wouldn't have put the sentence in there had there been a debate to begin with, one that that took into account how Green Day has evolved with their music. The only thing to watch for when putting the genre in the first sentence as is traditionally done is that the reader will interpret that as being what they are RIGHT NOW. Now, I noticed that you have put the "rock" portion on, which is OK. Would "punk"/"rock" work - two different genres? I.e., as opposed to "punk rock?" If you take Journey or Styx and compared them to Green Day, obviously the latter would be more towards punk, although still rock...but not punk rock (hopefully I haven't confused anyone). Maybe if we worked it like that then we could delete my sentence. I'll actually try it right now... Drdr1989 16:28, 13 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]


Continue of discussion[edit]

I'm ok with removing that line, and the only genre who'll be mentioned in the opening paragraph will be Rock (Green Day is a rock band ...) and all their genres will be listed in the info box. In Green Day's current state, saying "Green Day is a punk rock\pop punk band ..." is simply a lie and exaggeration of their punk rock "career". psychomelo(discussion)

Works for me. --Switch 07:45, 11 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Okay here's my thought on Green Day's genre: they are alternative rock. They are not 100% punk, even though they've had some abrasive songs (Geek Stink Breath, Take Back, Platypus (I Hate You), and probably the rest of Insomniac too). I believe Green Day were confused as to what punk really was; when they first performed back in Berkely (on Lookout! records) their work was nothing but pure pop-rock. In fact, during 'Driven: Green Day' on VH1, it even said that the Gillman wouldn't let them perform because they weren't "punk enough". They only got on stage because of John Kiffmeyer (who was a respected member of that scene).Green Day has always made their OWN sound and they've always experimented with different types of songs. Alternative rock is the only genre that can classify these guys because alternative rock is electric-guitar, bass and drum- driven music with an edgier-than-pop sound. However, if you want to get technical, their albums can go as follows:

1,039 smoothed out slappy hours= pop-rock with punk ideal (indie label)

Dookie= Pop-punk (Longview, F.O.D), pop-rock (When I Come Around).

Insomniac= Punk (but lighter compared to pure punk) (Geek Stink Breath, Babs Uvula who?)

Nimrod= Experimental/prog rocks almost (Take Back=Punk, Good Riddance= Acousic ballad, King for a Day=ska)

Warning:= Pop-rock (but let's put it this way: it's NOT the bubblegum crap the likes of Kelly Clarkson and Hillary Duff put out. Again it's THEIR own sound.)

Shenanigans= Pop-punk/pop-rock (most of the B-sides are pop-punk, such as 'You Lied' and 'Don't Wanna Fall in Love', the pop-rock being 'Suffocate' and 'Do Da Da'.)

American Idiot= Like Nimrod, the album has different guises: Emo is NOT one of them. Just because a song is mellow and/or depressing does not make it emo. Progressive Rock is more like it really, because of the addition of solos, longer songs, tempo changes etc...

In my OWN opinion, and you can argue this if you'd like, alternative rock, in conclusion, is Green Day's genre. They've always made their own sound in the sense that they wouldn't sit down and be like "hmmm, let's make a punk album now and next year we'll do pure pop". Also, consider their influences; they've been influenced by the Kinks and the Ramones; two totally different-sounding bands. Thank you.

Mike.



It's crazy to expect a band to fit into one category all of the time. Green Day are sometimes pop-punk, sometimes punk-rock. To fit into a genre doesn't mean you have to exactly imitate the style of bands that came before. The reason Green Day aren't offensive is because it's almost impossible to offend people these days. Not like when punk started and you got into trouble just for using the word bollocks on an album cover.

Oh, and Green Day are offensive. They offend most proper punks. St jimmy 20:54, 15 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

So is it agreed that punk rock should not be considered as one of their *main* genres like alternative rock and pop punk? Psychomel@di(s)cussion 20:09, 17 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

No, I disagree. In fact part of their importance is ushering in mainstream success for punk rock in the US in the 1990s. WesleyDodds 10:48, 18 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]
But it can confuse the reader that their current genre is punk rock, and that's a big problem. Psychomel@di(s)cussion 13:21, 18 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I don't see where confusion can stem from, especially given that pop-punk is a subgenre of punk rock. Explain. WesleyDodds 22:17, 18 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Well, from what I understood from your earlier comment you say that "punk rock" should stay because they played punk rock in the 90s. At the article's current state (Genre(s): Punk rock, Pop punk, Alternative rock), it is understandable that Green Day play punk rock *today*, and that may cause confusion to many readers who are not familiar with Green Day. Psychomel@di(s)cussion 22:57, 18 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]
In terms of my personal opinion they are still punk rock. In my personal opinion a lot of critics of the "changes" that came with American Idiot fail to graps the concept of a rock opera. Of course there's going to be stuff like "Wake Me Up When September Ends"; they have to create a musical dynamic on the record! In comparison, Hüsker Dü had a clear evolution from hardcore punk to alternative rock. There's a big leap between Zen Arcade and their final album Warehouse: Songs and Stories that I just don't see with Green Day. WesleyDodds 23:11, 18 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Not saying Green Day are 100% alternative rock and pop rock (though close), yet I find "punk rock" a bit hmm... 'hardcore' to describe Green Day in these days. Therefore I think pop punk is a great solution. In mainstream consensus they are called punk band (whether justified or not), but when compared to punk rock and pop punk bands the real picture reveals. In less formal words, I don't think Green Day are anti-mainstream enough to be called punk (rock). Their music is rock, with pop and punk influences. Therefore pop punk is a great way to describe them, and punk rock is not. They may have punk rock songs, but focusing on these songs gives the wrong impression. Psychomel@di(s)cussion 02:21, 19 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]
But here lies the assumption that punk rock is inherently anti-mainstream. Most of Green Day's punk influence comes from British punk bands, and punk was a huge pop culture movement there. There's a huge cultural difference over how the genre developed and was perceived in the US and the UK. In simple terms, in the UK punk broke through, in the US it didn't, and attitudes and punk ethics developed differently accordingly. In the US, an anti-mainstream attitude and DIY ethics became inherent to the punk rock movement, because ther was no chance it would succeed anyways. Thus came a stigma with "selling out". However, as time has passed those attitudes have been challenged and altered. Not every punk band is Black Flag or Minor Threat. WesleyDodds 02:50, 19 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The problem is, punk is more than a music. It's a culture. Reading punk rock's firse sentence gives you what punk is: Punk rock is an anti-establishment music movement. Therefore it cannot be mainstream. It can be popular, sure, but not in the public opinion (a.k.a participating and winning 7 awards in the MTV Video Music Awards). You gotta be punk if you want your music to be punk. Psychomel@di(s)cussion
That's utterly false. How many times have you heard the Ramones, Clash, and Buzzcocks in commercials? Not every punk band has the same values. How punk were Talking Heads by those standards (and they were one of the original bands from CBGBs)? Obviously punk rock is tied to the punk movement, but we're trying to determine music genre here, not their approach to the music industry. That's another issue. Plus I never heard anything about not accepting awards being a part of the punk philosophy.
Mind you, various sources have described them as both punk rock and the subgenre pop-punk, both ten years ago and these days. If there's going to be an argument of whether they are punk or not, that should be in the article and cited (especially in the Dookie section; I'm surprised there's nothing there about all the shit they received in 1994) but I don't think there's any stretch in affixing the genre labels that are currently used in the infobox, because those have been used quite frequently. WesleyDodds 03:26, 20 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Psychomelodic according to your definition of punk-rock no band can achieve mainstream success without becoming punk-pop. Which means that bands like Clash, The Ramones etc. are punk-pop. St jimmy 19:31, 21 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Did not said that. I wrote to you a very long answer and accidently clicked the red X which closed the page so I'll just say there is a punk culture and Green Day is not a part of it not by music, fashion, additude nor fans. Psychomel@di(s)cussion 02:22, 29 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]


I think it is correct to have punk-rock and punk-pop as their genres.... But Alternative Rock? I don't think that's right because Green Day doesn't sound anything like Matchbox 20 or 3 Doors down....
-- Dreams3692

But they do sound like Hüsker Dü. Macthbox 20 and 3 Doors Down are in no way the epitome of alternative rock. WesleyDodds 20:24, 30 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]


I think agreement has been reached that Green Day are alternative rock, pop punk and punk rock if not punk (one could argue for them being punk pop too). Can we reach a consensus on post-grunge? I think American Idiot, and parts of nimrod, were very post-grunge. --Switch 08:33, 1 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

That's a rather diffcult issue. Ceretainly they were one of the most succesful and influential bands of the post-grunge era (that is, modern music after grunge broke through), but the way the genre is defined here on Wikipedia is bands influenced by grugne yet were not part of the original scene. It's kind of the same issue that coems with post-punk, being that it could be referring to a specific sound (Joy Division, Gang of Four, PIL, etc.), as well as music that emerged in the aftermath of punk (which would include the genres post-punk, New Wave, and alternative rock).
And once again I must state how insanely ridiculous that the phrase "Green Day are a California-based rock band . . ." is not allowed in the intro. When did we agree on that? One of the last times it was removed called it a "false and unwanted genre classification". I'm sorry, but do people not understand how music genres are classified and relate to one another? Of course they're a rock music band! We've only been discussing rock genres!!! WesleyDodds 06:29, 2 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I don't really think it's a difficult issue. They were influenced by grunge (I think - this is unsourced as yet), and they certainly share many sonic similarities with Silverchair or the Foo Fighters. And as stated, they were definitely one of the more popular acts of the post-grunge era. So where's the issue? --Switch 11:32, 9 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]
How can you say they wetre influenced by grunge when they started playing music before grunge and haven't changed their sound significantly since they started. St. Jimmy 11:44, 9 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I know the band loves Nirvana, but I'm not sure they were really influenced by grunge aside from the fact that its success allowed them to break into the mainstream. There's a Guitar World article I'm going to source pretty soon where they spend most of the interview talking shit about various bands, including Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, and Bush (in addition to Henry Rollins, Johnny Rotten, Smashing Pumpkins, and so on.) The interesting thing is they list their primary influences as Hüsker Dü and The Replacements, those iconic bands that bridged the gap between punk and the beginning of alternative rock. WesleyDodds 04:32, 10 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Yeah but they're not grunge. St. Jimmy 11:14, 17 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]


OK, I've read over this entire section and here are my thoughts. Personally I would be inclined to classify Green Day as just an alternative rock band (no "pop-punk", "punk" or "punk rock".) Their newest album, ("American Idiot") is less-punk and more rock than anything earlier, such as Dookie. If we look at it from a purely musical sense, most of the album doesn't follow the hallmarks of punk songs. (1/8 notes, fast, aggressive) Songs like American Idiot and St Jimmy are definately punk influenced in their musical style but on the other hand, most of the songs on that particular album (all the singles, the acoustic ones) have a more mainstream rock sound. From an idealogical perspective it's true that some of Green Day's songs have protest lyrics, but you cannot state a band to be "punk" just because of protest lyrics. What about Midnight Oil -- are they punk? Additionally, the songs can't really be considered offensive: if it's being played on MTV than it is obviously not offending the general public. Something can't be called offensive just because a minority think so, it needs to be something that offends big groups of people.

Green Day are not post-grunge, as it's been said, post grunge generally refers to bands that are influenced by grunge but weren't actually in the big grunge revolution of that started off in the late 80's and grew in the early nineties. If (as somebody said, I think) we consider them to be a post-grunge band simply because they gained popularity after grunge did, then every band from 1994, 95 and 96 and be heaped into the 'post grunge' pile. That said post grunge is probably equally valid to 'punk rock', but still I'm with the ordinairy 'rock' crowd (which seems to be just me, at the moment). Flage 07:25, 22 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

It's starting to get to the point where we create a whole new genre to define them. --68.25.166.193 (talk) 23:15, 12 August 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Well give me the diference, is it that you think those "real punk" bands before Green day were better, pop-punk is a stigmatized term and I think it shouldn't be used at all, so my point, Green day is as punk rock as it gets. Tin Master1 (talk) 07:25, 17 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Green Day are not punk they are stinky pop[edit]

I have literally listened to every Green Day song on thier major label releases. The majority of their songs are definitely not punk. Who in their right mind would call "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) punk? Only the Brokeback Mountain crowd would call Green Day punk. 172.194.24.91 03:18, 6 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I tend to disagree. True, Green Day are not what called punk rock, but I think pop is more like Britney Spears. If you find an error in a song's genre, fix it. Green Day is a rock band (with many sub-genres like pop/rock and pop punk). psychomelo(discussion) 21:49, 10 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Green Day is punk 2601:89:C602:C3A0:E:E1C6:58F1:5EFB (talk) 02:53, 2 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]
"Only the Brokeback Mountain crowd would call Green Day punk." Thank god we have people who can stand up say the homophobic things that need to be said about Green Day, from behind the banner of anonymity. HOW BRAVE OF YOU, SIR!

--CannedLizard 01:59, 30 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

WHO CARES????

there realy a bad band, so who gives there only popular with teenage girls because they masturbate on stage, realy they are definintly not punk, and i think calling them "rock" would be the biggest complement of their lives ... i'm settling for pop or you could create a sub genre of rock called "smeg" for them ... p.s can ppl stop vandilising the page it's just giving thoes losers the attension they so despretly crave! by humhum_9

They are not pure punk (punk rock), but they use elements of punk in their music. They're a mixture of pop, rock and punk. That's why it says "pop punk" in the info box. Psychomelodic (people think User:Psychomelodic/me edit) 17:47, 15 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Pop punk is a sub genre of punk. 2601:89:C602:C3A0:E:E1C6:58F1:5EFB (talk) 02:54, 2 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

shouldn't green day be post punk revival/punk rock/punk pop true, green day isn't punk, or punk rock. but they're not pop, or even pop-punk. they are post-punk, or as some would say, punk revival.-emopunk

AMG says that they are punk revival (to my understanding, is a genre less punk than the real punk rock, but not so pop as pop-punk (or punk-pop)), punk-pop, alternative pop/rock and post-grunge. I tend to disagree with the post-grunge classification, but the other three are correct. They played punk rock songs like "st.jimmy", "reject", "geek stink breath" or "i hate you", but most are punk revival or punk-pop. Alternative Pop/Rock refers to the songs that don´t fall completely at Rock or Alternative Rock but also don´t fall at Pop/Rock. pitoresco 17:38, 30 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Green Day is anything but pop! I think they have several genres. Some of their earlier stuff like 1,039 Smoothed Out Slappy Hours and Kerplunk! is alternitive and then later like Insomniac, Dookie and Nimrod are more punky. In some songs Warning has a cool folk sound ans shinanigans is also more alternitive. I think American Idiot is just straight rock. People are saying that they're not punk because they dress in suits. But punk isn't even about the way you dress. Anyway, I really don't think this band can just have on sraight genre but one of those is definitely not pop!

Wow, lot's of stuff in this thread! They are definately not pop, and who in their right minds would call them pop, it's just so inconceivable how someone can call them that. They are indeed punk revival, and Psychomelodic, I'm pretty sure this section is not for opinion, "WHO CARES??? there realy bad," but instead to debate its genre. (They're also not only popular among teenage girls) --Iluvmesodou 07:27, 18 August 2007 (UTC) Pie ate pie.[reply]

Green Day - Punk rock[edit]

Green Day is NOT punk rock, they are pop-punk.

Green Day - Good Music[edit]

You know, there are really only 2 genres. Good music and Bad music. Green Day fit into the Good Music genre. They write great songs, with a tune and a melody. Also, they can play their instruments and Bille Joe can actually sing. If this means they arn't "Punk" or "Punk Rock" or whatever, then good, I don't care, and neither do Green Day. You know what, no one cares, so whats the point of this article?!

Music theorists, musicians, and critics would debate your classification of genres. WesleyDodds 07:51, 7 July 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Green Day aren't good music...Almost anyone can write a song "with a tune and a melody" if they understand music theory, meaning modes chord structures etc. Genres are detirmined by the dynamics, tempos, instrumentation, rhythms, atmosphere, and song structures typical to a certain type of music, not to whether it is "good" or "bad".
To the person who started this thread, even though many agree on this philosophical view, we're talking about "real" genres. The person who wrote above me is correct, except for the part where he mentioned, "Green Day aren't good music," I mean, how can you say that!? --Iluvmesodou 07:31, 18 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

How are Green Day pop-punk?[edit]

Green Day have only one pop-punk album and that's Dookie... other albums are different

1039 Smoothed out slappy hours - it sounded, to me, very grunge

Kerplunk - Was just straight up Mainstream Rock

Dookie - Pop-punk (the only pop-punk album)

Insomniac - Punk rock (actually pretty similar to the Ramones and Sex Pistols, just listen to Geek Stink Breath and the album is pretty offensive, remember the mother of some kid complaining about it)

Nimrod - Hard Rock (with the exception of Time of your life which is a rock ballad)

Warning - Alternative rock (its their own sound, as someone said) with punk lyrics

Shenanigans - Pretty much had an instrumental sound

American Idiot - Rock

But MY POINT IS that you can't put them in a pop-punk genre when they only had ONE pop-punk album. Its not right. So I think pop-punk should be deleted from their genre.

Also why the need to put 3 genres. Can they just be called Rock?

And didn't Green Day formed in 1986 not 1988? I read somewhere Billie Joe and Mike Dirnt formed the band when they were 14.

Also their first label is Lookout, from where did Skene! come from?

There has been months of discussion to explain all of those (especially the band formation and label). Read the discussions. --Switch 03:21, 1 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

DIY not EMI[edit]

At 19,500+ words and 38 pages of dispute as to Green Day's genre, including a whole seperate sub-article (or whatever it's called) of genre disputes, I think that it is more than apparent that there is certainly controversey as to Green Day being "punk". This atleast warrants some mention on the Green Day article. If not, then I have lost all respect of Wikipedia. Gold Stur 01:37, 25 July 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Alrighty...[edit]

Here's my thoughts on the subject: the way that the genres are organized now is really ugly. Does it need to say punk rock/pop punk/alternative rock for every single song? No!

My idea goes thusly: earlier songs, from before Dookie, are punk rock. No arguing about specific ones. Songs from Dookie onward are a different matter. Things like She's a Rebel and other softer, more radio friendly tunes can be pop-punk. Harder hitting songs, like American Idiot, are punk rock. And songs that don't fit the bill for any of these (i.e., Boulevard of Broken Dream, Homecoming) can be alternative rock.

Multiple genres for a band is fine, but not for a single song. --172.193.134.93 22:29, 2 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I slightly agree with the exception of "American Idiot, are punk rock," I would classify American Idiot as Punk Revival.

Genre[edit]

I don't think that Green Day are Punk rock or punk pop. They are punk revival/alternative rock. Also on the intro paragraph shouldn't we say green day are a rock band. DavidJJJ 17:27, 16 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

"Punk revival" would imply that their sound emulates the sound of early "punk" bands like the Sex Pistols and Black Flag, which it does not.

Tallying up the debate[edit]

There are claims that a concensus regarding Green Day's genre has been met, I don't believe this however, so I am going to tally up on this page who considers the band "punk rock" or not. And those who fall in between to give a better view of what the concensus really is.

Not Punk Rock[edit]

People who are of the opinion that Green Day should not have their genre as punk rock, but may have a more suitable genre such as pop punk, alternative rock, rock or pop rock.
  • Green Day is not punk, nor punk rock. - 66.68.32.177
  • Green Day is not. I tried to put that they were pop-punk but it kept being reverted. Andre Wong
  • Green Day is a pop-punk band - Canaen
  • Green Day sounds nothing like any punk rock band. They don't sound punk, they don't dress punk (how many punks dressed in suits?), and they certainly don't act punk. - Gold Stur
  • I agree that Green Day are less punk than the unpunkest thing that ever wasn't punk - User:MarkGallagher
  • Green Day is pop-punk - unsigned
  • Green Day (pop-punk). And that's my only word on this subject. - Wanderer
  • Its real fans of punk that tell them Green Day is pop or pop punk. Green day is just another example of their fans/hottopic making them out to be something they arent. - unsigned
  • I suggest we leave this as Pop-Punk, and move on. - User:Excursus
  • This is all completely ludicrous. Green Day are obviously pop-punk. - "Miami_pony" 12:21 pm 12/17/05
  • Green Day gets labeled as "punk" solely for their Bush hatred. Green Day are not Punk. They are sure not Punk Rock, There is a clear defenition for what Punk Rock is. - User:Psychomelodic
  • I now classify them as a pop-punk band. they're selling themselves to the media. -jope
  • Agree with every word (also with what Gold Stur wrote). Face it people, they make Pop-punk. - unsigned
  • The only classification they play today it Pop punk, and there's NO dobut about that . - User:New!!!!!oneone
  • Perhaps a few songs in American Idiot take a step away from punk-pop, but the fact remains that the majority of their work falls under this category. You cannot change this because of a few songs on one album. - user:Jtrost
  • Punk is a scene of people who make and listen to Punk rock, dress and act diffrently, acting 'outgoing-ish', rebel the government, police, mainstream culture etc. AS WE CAN SEE, The people who listen to Punk rock (and are part of this "scene") do not consider Green Day as Punk rock. I think Punk pop is the perfect defention for what they are. - user:88.155.176.98
  • My personal opinions are close Gold Spur's, although perhaps not in such a biased and angry manner. Green Day is not punk rock. - Natalie, 16th March, 2006.
  • green day are not punk rock, wheres the angry vocals and the torn clothes or the attitude? They're far to emotional to be punk, pop punk maybe but punk rock? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by - user:Mr.Rotten
  • I personally consider Green Day to be 'pop punk', a perfectly acceptable and widely used term. user:Jacknife737
  • Given their diverse styles recently, their disparate influences on American Idiot, and the fact they fit neatly into no genre any more, they should be classified merely as modern rock. The article should describe them as a modern rock band, and note where appropriate that they started out as pop-punk. - User:SwitChar
  • Green Day's genre: they are alternative rock. They are not 100% punk, even though they've had some abrasive songs. I believe Green Day were confused as to what punk really was; when they first performed back in Berkely (on Lookout! records) their work was nothing but pure pop-rock. - Mike
  • Personally I would be inclined to classify Green Day as just an alternative rock band (no "pop-punk", "punk" or "punk rock".) - User:Coolcamxl
  • Green Day are not punk they are stinky pop - user:172.194.24.91
  • they are definintly not punk - humhum_9
  • why the need to put 3 genres. Can they just be called Rock? - unsigned
  • I don't think that Green Day are Punk rock or punk pop. They are punk revival/alternative rock. Also on the intro paragraph shouldn't we say green day are a rock band. - User:DavidJJJ
  • Green Day are not a punk rock band, their music has nothing in common with the genre from 1977 known as punk rock, I'll be agreeing with Steve Diggle and John Lydon, GREEN DAY NOT A PUNK ROCK BAND. - Deathrocker 08:56, 25 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
  • The are not punk rock, or even punk pop. They are just pop. The fake British "mockney" accent of the lead singer is testimony to this. Put it this way, if I met Green Day in a dark alley, I'd me more like to laugh than run the other way. No one would say that about the Sex Pistols or the Ramones. Poseur is probably a better characterization. They are despearately clinging to the anti-establishment, punker label for the cred it gives them and the records its sells. Those of us who were around for the real thing, though, we know better. Ndriley97 21:21, 2 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Punk rock[edit]

Those who are of the opinion that Green Day are a punk rock band.
  • Green Day is punk rock - User:Jtkiefer
  • see debate above - User:Scoops
  • Green Day is the most punk you're gonna get these days and are worthy of the label "punk rock". -4.253.125.29
  • Their musical style certainly contains the conventions of punk rock. -WesleyDodds
  • I think Green Day plays Punk rock music. Green Day is definetley Punk Rock and should not be mistaken or compared with bands like Good Charlotte or Simple Plan who are known as pop-rock. ~Helen
  • Green Day are punk rock, NOT pop-punk. - unsigned

Neutral[edit]

People with the point of view that they have made recordings in both pop punk and punk rock genre, and thus should mention both
  • People accused Green day of not dressing punk. That's wrong .Punk is an attitude not a dress code. These days Punk has changed a lot and so have the people who consider punk beleifs. Green day has also changed with time. Until American Idiot they were punk, but with a melodic edge which would make it Pop punk. What happened in American Idiot was that though the music didn't sound punk it still had a good amount of punk ideology behind it. Same case with 21st century breakdown. So they are punk. But It's slightly dying out of them.Another point to mention is that they are accused as sell-outs. Actually before american idiot was release Billie Joe Armstrong expected it to be a disaster which it did in the punk scene but quite the opposite otherwise. People are terming success as "selling out". On a whole you can say that Green day plays alternative music and some amount of punk, but all of it has punk beleifs to it and the attitude you need to play punk.Oh and to all you fags who call Green day sell outs, they don't give a shit. That's whats it's about at the end isn't it? They can play what music they want. Punk or not its still good. This page is full of opinions from people who have f***** up brains .I'm not proud to say I'm one of them. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.172.13.58 (talk) 06:32, 4 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]
  • Definitely both. Dookie is very pop punk, but albums like Insomniac and American Idiot are definitely punk rock, more the lyrics than the sound of the music though... DavyJonesGSB
  • I think the pop-punk/ punk rock is the most accurate description of them. Drdr1989
  • I therefore believe Green Day should be classified as pop-punk/punk-rock. Heezy
  • Green Day is alternative, no matter how punk their attitude on stage is, their music made them become commercial changed their style. Please agree, because Green Day is a great band, but their MUSIC isn't punk after becoming mainstream. Please, just label them alternative rock, because that is what they are. - unsigned
  • I think it best to just plain call them rock. And that is something we can all settle on. Just call them rock. :) -- user:Mac Davis
  • In general, Green Day is Alternative (...) I'm not saying that they are either punk or not. --"noboby" unknown 5:55 pm 12/16/05.
  • Green Day has had albums/songs in both the Punk Rock (American Idiot) and Pop Punk (earlier albums) genres. Therefore, it is fitting that it be classified as both. - User:Djbob
  • The issue is not whether they are punk rock now (they definitely do not make punk music now) but they have been punk rock and much of their major music falls into that category thus the dual listing is probably the best way to categorize it since both are correct. user:Pegasus1138
  • Anybody knows that don't play punk now (well, excepts the fanatic fans in wikipedia), but since they played punk like 6-7 years ago, shouldn't it be "1988-1999: punk rock, 2000-present: pop punk"? Seriously, you can't say 2006's Green Day is punk rock. We use the pop punk genre to describe Green Day's punk - user:psychomelodic
  • It's crazy to expect a band to fit into one category all of the time. Green Day are sometimes pop-punk, sometimes punk-rock. To fit into a genre doesn't mean you have to exactly imitate the style of bands that came before. - User:St jimmy
  • I think it is correct to have punk-rock and punk-pop as their genres.... But Alternative Rock? I don't think that's right because Green Day doesn't sound anything like Matchbox 20 or 3 Doors down.... -- Dreams3692
  • They played punk rock songs like "st.jimmy", "reject", "geek stink breath" or "i hate you", but most are punk revival or punk-pop. - User:Pitoresco pt
  • My idea goes thusly: earlier songs, from before Dookie, are punk rock. No arguing about specific ones. Songs from Dookie onward are a different matter. Things like She's a Rebel and other softer, more radio friendly tunes can be pop-punk. Harder hitting songs, like American Idiot, are punk rock. And songs that don't fit the bill for any of these (i.e., Boulevard of Broken Dream, Homecoming) can be alternative rock. - User:172.193.134.93
  • I think that punk rock/pop punk should be their genre as per all of the above. Some of their songs are punk rock, others are pop punk.--JUDE talk 20:37, 14 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Concensus[edit]

As of 14 March 2007

Green Day is punk, everybody knows that...[edit]

If anybody here thinks with their own head they can understand why Green Day is punk, if not I feel sorry for you. If you want pop-punk then listen to Simple plan, Avril Lavigne or the later albums of Good charlotte. If you want power pop or pop rock I suggest you listen to No doubt or if you want pure pop I suggest you listen to George Michael, Michael jackson, Christina Aguilera, Beyonce... Green Day is pure punk and all their albums show that. Insomniac and American Idiot are the most punk of their albums. They are very hard, loud and fast. Which I can't say for many of the other punk bands. Let's see: The Clash, Rancid and The Stooges are NOT hard and loud enough to be punk. Don't believe me? Go listen to any of their albums. They sound like pop-punk. Sex Pistols don't have punk lyrics, it's all screaming lyrical nonsense. Green Day doesn't have to scream to get their point across. Sex Pistols sound like an ordinary hard rock band. And Sid Vicious is a Nazi moron, wearing a shirt with a swastika on it, f ucking skinhead. Black Flag is heavy metal and not punk. Circle Jerks are one of the most upbeat and poppy bands I've ever heard. Black Flag Dead Kennedys, Anti-Flag and The Exploited are all racist scum and they are definitely not punk. That's not what punk is about. On the other side these last three bands are all comforming to the punk community which contradicts them being punk. Punk is DIY (do it yourself) and that also means being yourself. And everybody loves these last three bands I mentioned for their racist and extremist views. Punk bands are supposed to be hated. I don't see people hating Dead Kennedys, in fact EVERYBODY loves them. For god's sake, they are like the Backstreet Boys. Green Day is punk because they play loud, hard and fast punk rock music and have punk lyrics. They are very much hated as I can see just from this talk page and from a lot of other forums. They are anti-war and anti-racism. Plus, has anyone heard their song "Minority"? That is what punk is all about. Even their ballad "Time of your life" sounds angry. At the end of that song you can hear clearly how Billie Joe bangs hard on his acoustic guitar. It has a lot of anger.

List of punk bands are: The Ramones, New York Dolls, Joan Jett and The Blackhearts, Billy Idol, Social Distortion, Minor Threat, Bad Religion, Green Day, first albums of Blink 182, Descendents, Buzzcocks, Stiff Little Fingers....

I'm tempted to remove this as irrelevant, useless and stupid. But I'm also tempted to leave it as an example of what not to do. I am most tempted to go through each sentence and point out what is incorrect about each one (and there's not a single one that wouldn't deserve it). Alas, I will leave it here for other people to observe.
(By the way: If you leave Crass out of your elitist "real punk" bands list, you fail at punk elitism). -Switch t 16:15, 30 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]
You forgot the clash and New York Dolls. 2601:89:C602:C3A0:E:E1C6:58F1:5EFB (talk) 03:04, 2 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Actually, your comment is useless and stupid... All I am saying is the truth, so screw you, I have the right to say this, read the First Amendment. Everything I said is completely true, do a little research and you will see. Don't do what the stupid punk community tells you. Be DIY. By the way, you political beliefs suck, you stupid left-winger. You are a f ucking communist.

All you are saying is your opinion, which is arbitrary and contrary to pure facts (the fact you think Circle Jerks are more poppy than the Ramones or Buzzcocks, both of which were self-proclaimed pop bands, is categorically wrong). You have the right to say whatever you want, but you do not have the right to waste Wikipedia space by posting long rants which contribute in no way. Do a little thinking and you will see. I of all people am not prone to "do[ing] what the stupid punk community tells" me. I have a Billy Idol patch on my jacket, in fact, but that doesn't mean he's punk rock. OH NO YOU HAVE INSULTED MY POLITICAL BELIEFS; I WILL NOW GO CRY BECAUSE THIS DEEPLY OFFENDS ME. You're just making yourself seem less reasonable. By the way, there is an entire Wikipedia article on that word you won't type, so you can drop the superfluous spaces. -Switch t 04:46, 1 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]
You’re 100% wrong Billy Idol is considered punk. Fun fact there are different sub genre of punk. 2601:89:C602:C3A0:E:E1C6:58F1:5EFB (talk) 03:09, 2 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

What I am saying is not my opinion, it's facts. I am objective. And you need to be objective also. Circle Jerks are a very poppy band. I've listened to their albums so I know what I am talking about. And you don't know anything about punk. Ramones and Buzzcocks and yes, Billy Idol are one of the best punk artists... And I insulted your political beliefs because they truly suck... You think communism is the best economic system... Go to Cuba or Russia and leave us right-wingers alone.

What you are saying is your opinion. You are not objective. Circle Jerks sound poppy because they are influenced by ska and the Ramones; on the other hand, Billy Idol, Ramones and Buzzcocks are poppy because they are influenced by bubblegum pop. There is no way it is possible to reasonably claim the Ramones are less poppy than Circle Jerks. You also are not being objective regarding politics. Neither Russia nor Cuba are or ever were communist, as every schoolchild knows. Further, I am not a communist, I am an anarchist. The fact you failed to realise this despite the fact my user page states it explicitly more than once does not lend you or your narrow-minded worldview credibility. However, this is not the place to discuss this. Drop me a line on my talk page (click the "T" next to my name). -Switch t 05:08, 2 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]

There is no point to talk to you anymore. You are just ignorant. And this can be concluded from your last post. I've proved that Green Day is punk and you just proved my point that Circle Jerks are a poppy band. Whereas The Ramones, Buzzcocks and Billy Idol are real punk. Go ahead listen to them and Green Day and your ears will be ringing... now try listening to Circle Jerks, they are not hard AT ALL. When I listen to them I feel like I am listen to Avril Lavigne. So, Circle Jerks are a definite pop-punk band, not Green Day as you fail to realise.

You've "proved" (sic) nothing. The Buzzcocks are not "harder" than Circle Jerks by any definition. -Switch t 06:08, 3 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Difference in Genre and beliefs[edit]

I'm not trying to take the "high and mighty" route, but we've gotten a few emails to our site asking us if we had any opinion in this dispute, so I thought I'd leave mine. I think that most Green Day fans who take a deeper meaning to Green Day's music will classify them as punk. The band got their influence from the entire punk scene. They didn't write the same kind of music as those in the same scene, but thats where they came from. The band has never lost that "punk attitude" that first motivated them to write the music they did, and i think that same thing is still in their music today. As for their actual genre, I think I'd agree that pop-punk might fit them best. They are a rock band, they are a punk band at heart, but I think they did have a large role in the rise of the pop-punk scene. My personal opinion is that they are a punk band, they started out a punk band and have carried that same badge with them throughout their entire career. I think punk is more than just the music, and thats why i still consider them a punk band. But to a large degree, if you're solely talking about the style of music they play, and not the attitude, motivation, or beliefs of why they write what they do, then i think pop-punk fits more than just rock or just punk alone. Only because 'Rock' is such a broad general genre. A compromise doesn't hurt. ~ Andres | --Gdauthority 02:17, 14 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Hello Andres! While I agree that Punk is a huge part of Green Day, and a bigger part than any other genre they could be considered, I also agree with wikipedia's policy on this. We need several sources and a general consensus. A General consensus hasn't been met. The only thing we can do is keep raising awareness about this article to both green day fans AND outsiders so that we can get a clear cut opinion on the matter. I know that to Green Day fans ( such as myself ) these guys will always have a huge punk rock influence, and for those of us who were there at the beginning, they *were* punk rock, even after Dookie. These days their genre has broadened and widened and in world where Punk Rock Is Dead, I think it's harder to label bands. If you're willing to help, perhaps we can find some sources together that state by people who are well established in the punk rock world, that Green Day have substantial punk rock influence. Any help would be great. We're kind of floundering here.--JUDE talk 20:33, 14 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Actually, a consensus was met months ago. That's how we settled on punk, pop-punk and alternative in the infobox. This page should really be archived or something. WesleyDodds 09:30, 17 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Yes i completely agree with you. What most punk bands tend to do, is come out with few good-sounding punk rock songs then they seem to run out of it because they are too scared that people wont think they are punk. Green Day do what they want. Thats what DIY is, they dont need anyone telling them theyre music is punk or not. They knowthemselves they originate from a punk scene and do play Punk music Billie Joe Armstrong - " We are a band that has potential to become one of the best bands in the world. When you have your eyes set on that you forget all that bullshit about if you are punk or not"

But i do disagree with you about the Sex Pistols. Sex Pistols clearly made the way for punk. They took influence from no music(because no "punk" was around and just did what they did and got claimed the worlds biggest punk band. They are not hard rock. they are real punk. So is green day. Also dead kennedys arent racist. Exploited on the other hand are. There is no place for racism in punk. Punk was a culture about fairness and equality and giving room to people who didnt fit in. Then later on bunch of racist freaks joined the band wagon and gave the impression punk was a racist culture, which is not. Bands like Exploited have no room in it. Whereas green day promote no war no racism policies. Punk is an undefiniable music genre-as said by many punk idols. Punk has changed a lot. The vital punk has to do is make your audience feel part of the music. Green Day has influenced MILLIONS with their music. THey have got lazy kids of their asses, and made them start rock bands... thats what punk is about. Musically- pop punk is fast rock music with pop music in it- simple plan,avril lavigne.. green day is nothing close to that. Green Day has still that raw edge to them that punk used to but green day purified and perfected the sound of punk . Not edited their sounds like most "popstars" —Preceding unsigned comment added by Guitarhead13 (talkcontribs) 22:26, 8 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

If Ramones are punk .. SO IS GREEN DAY![edit]

Green Day is not only a punk band, but also one of the most influential.

Pop Punk is supposed to contain direct elements of "pop" music, which means fake harmonies,voice overs, synthesisers. Pop Punk bands would be music like Simple Plan who have the tempo of punk but use direct elements of pop music.

Green Day make melodical music and thats the only reason they are considered pop punk. If you consider green days music to the so called "real" punk bands, its very common. Green Days music is much similar to Ramones/stiff little fingers.. In fact the ramones have got MORE pop punk songs than green day if you compare. Some people green day doesnt make a political statement. They did with american idiot. But Ramones hardly made political statements(The only song that was close to mentioning anything political was "Blitzkrieg Bop" or "Teenage Lobotomy(cia did a job on me.) so does that mean ramones arent punk? Ill write down what the genre for the albums should be.. And please consider MY OPINION ON THE ALBUM GENRES BEFORE CHANGING THE GENRE OF GREEN DAY

39 Smooth- 1)Pop Punk 2)Punk Rock

Kerplunk- 1)Pop Punk 2)Punk Rock

Dookie- 1)Punk Rock 2)Pop Punk

Insomniac- 1)Punk Rock 2)Punk Rock 3)Punk Rock(Their most punk album)

Nimrod- 1)Punk Rock 2)Pop Punk 3)Alternative Rock

Warning- 1)Alternative Rock 2)Pop Punk

American Idiot- 1)Punk Rock (one of their most punk aswell..it was major but london calling was a huge album too..)

I only mentioned POP punk for the sake of it.. Green Days music shouldnt be considered pop punk.. Green Days most "punk" songs- Longview Welcome To Paradise One Of My Lies Who wrote Holden Caulfield? Geek Stink Breath Stuck With Me Brat Platypus( i hate you) Take Back Hitchin A Ride St Jimmy .. .. are just some

Green Days "pop" punk ones that do use direct pop features(only some do) Scattered Uptight ( most nimrod ongs use pop features thats why only nimrod should be considered pop punk.. Guitarhead13 (talk) 18:16, 27 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Yep so is the clash 2601:89:C602:C3A0:E:E1C6:58F1:5EFB (talk) 02:59, 2 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

post-grunge[edit]

i agree with punk rock, pop punk, alternative rock; but how are they post-grunge? ▓░ Dark Devil ░▓ ( TalkContribs ) 09:38, 14 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Check out the article! Post-grunge. It's pretty informative, and Green Day fit in the category rather well. When Kurt Cobain died, Green Day had just finished recording the video for Longview. They emerged into the limelight right around the same time that Grunge was fading into a new genre, hence being called "Post-grunge".--JUDE talk 10:03, 14 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

oh ok i see- thanks ▓░ Dark Devil ░▓ ( TalkContribs ) 01:25, 15 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

LOL[edit]

I cannot believe that you guys call Green Day punk. Seriously.

Look at the consensus a few topics above me. Here are the results:

There are more people claiming that Green Day isnt punk rock than people that are neutral or say that Green Day is punk combined. So obviously, the consensus isnt an issue.

Anyway, the claim that Green Day is punk isnt sourced. According to WP:V, "Any edit lacking a source may be removed..."[1] So I can take it out, and it wont be vandalism! So dont go all (rvv) if you revert my changes.

Here is the truth about Green Days genre: Green Day is Pop rock and alterntive. Emo tries to get radio airplay. Now, if there is something we can all agree on, its that true punk rock doesnt try to get on the radio. Thus, emo isnt punk anymore.

Also, following that up, Green Day sold out and is now making music only for money and radio airplay. And, like I said before, true punk rock doesnt desperately try to get on the radio. Thus, Green Day isnt Punk Rock!!!!! And punk-pop is a subgenre of punk rock, so Green Day isnt punk-pop, either!!!!! Prepare to be Mezmerized! :D 21:36, 8 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Actually Mezmerized, Green Day is barley played on the radio. Its usually Miley Cyrus or Imagine Dragons or any other of that shit. Green Day is never really played the only time I actually heard them on the radio was once every couple of months or so. The only songs that they play from them is Basket Case and When I Come Around. Like I said they don't really play their music on the radio that much, they usually do that for bands or singers under the pop genre. Play their songs over a million times like Miley Cyrus, One Direction, Fall Out Boy, etc. - TreCoolGuy

You really need to brush up on your knowledge of "punk" Joe Strummer "It gets boring after a while, touring the same clubs, seeing the same faces. We wanna do somein big." - Before the release of London Calling, after which Clash would become one of the worlds biggest bands. "Punk is something thats undefinable. There was a never a definition to punk, All you have to do is be yourself" Mike Ness , Social Distortion. Green Day is a band that has punk influences, originate from a punk scene, and DO play punk music.. They saved the whole culture with other californian bands in the 90s. If they didnt there would rarely be any clubs around you could go 2 see some punk because the genre was dieing out. Green Day deserve punk credit. Green Day just purified and if i may say "perfected" the raw sound of punk. Pop punk is music that uses real pop features in its music like fake harmonies- Simple Plan.. Green Day is nothing close to it. Green Day is nothing close to that, they still have a raw edge which real punk must have. If you actualyl ever listened to some Ramones songs,and you consider ramones punk.. And you think green day isnt punk?? You dont know anything —Preceding unsigned comment added by Guitarhead13 (talkcontribs) 22:33, 8 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

"You dont know anything." You really need to brush up on your knowledge of "WP:CIVIL"

"If you actualyl ever listened to some Ramones songs,and you consider ramones punk.. And you think green day isnt punk??" Yep. Thats my POV.

"Pop punk is music that uses real pop features in its music like fake harmonies- Simple Plan.. Green Day is nothing close to it." Oh. You mean like whiny lyrics (Boulevard of Broken Dreams), mellow acoustic songs that arent ballads (Wake Me Up When September Ends), selling out to the crowd (everything after "Dookie"), and poppy hooks (American Idiot)? Nope. There is no way Green Day has any of those traits. --Rolls eyes--

"'Punk is something thats undefinable. There was a never a definition to punk, All you have to do is be yourself'" So singing about fantasy themes with a ukalelee playing random notes is punk? Well, If Im being myself, then it is. And if that was true, then all country music is also punk, as they are just "being themselves". Face it, punk has a true definition.

"Green Day...play(s) punk music.." Yeah, but the thing is, punk is a subculture over a musical style. Green Day lacks the punk attitude. Plain and simple. They are only interested in making money and getting airplay (why else would they sell out?). Thats it. And that intrest is the anti-punk thesis. Punk is anti-commercial and anti-corporate. Green Day is pro-commercial and pro-corporate. That is why Green Day isnt punk. Prepare to be Mezmerized! :D 01:33, 9 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Oh, and take a look: [5]. Straight from The Sex Pistols, a true punk band. Prepare to be Mezmerized! :D 01:40, 9 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Green Day lacks the punk attitude ?? Green Day lead the THIRD WAVE OF PUNK, where it was mostly bratty bored teenagers. They used to steal cars during interviews.. Crash celebritiy parties.. Mooned in shop windows.. Crashed the FOX room where they played live.. Thrashed the Virgin Music stores in London and broke all the guitars there.. NOT PUNK YOU SAY?? Green Day wasnt influenced by POLITICS so much,therefore they dont try to do something they are not.. They do rebel, but not politically. They completely rebelled politically for the first time with their song MINORITY.. then they came out with American Idiot.. How the hell is green day desperate to get airplay?? Do you think when they were recording AMERICAN IDIOT, they would think that Anti-Bush songs would actually get airplay in an age where only clean rnb songs got most airplay??.. Their american idiot album was discovered then got good airplay.. They had nothing to do with it..

Yes punk is indeed undefinable.. When punk first started.. THERE WAS NOTHING called "punk" it was only americans who gave it that name.. It was bored teenagers, who had teh same taste to make agressive/rebelling music that they all found fun. Just compare Sex Pistols and Sioxsiee and the Banshees.. They were very different yet considered punk.. THe only thing punk MUST do is influence kids to make more PUNK music and rebel and stand up for their rights . Green Day did that, and did it VERY WELL! They literally saved the whole punk scene. After the whole hardcore scene ended.. Punk was dying.. Clubs were closing down because of less funding because noone knew about punk anymore.. Green Day played punk music in a time where punk wasnt even close to popular.. They did what they did and got big.. Green Day helped people know about punk again.. clubs started opening again.. And punk started getting big again.. Nomatter how much of a hardcore punk you are now.. You need to credit green day..

They also make simple three chord but meaningful,melodical songs.. Which has influenced millions of lazy kids to get of their as* and made them start rck bands and do something with their life.. Thats what punk is supposed to do —Preceding unsigned comment added by Guitarhead13 (talkcontribs) 18:28, 27 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

They are not punk at all. Watch the movie Sid & Nancy or watch a NY Dolls concert on the viddy if you want to know what punk was all about. And I don't care what Joe Strummer says, it was always about the money and sex, just ask Johnny Lydon or Malcolm McClaren, who pretty much turned the whole thing into a joke. Green Day can actually play more than simple chords on their instruments, which actually almost per se makes them not punkers. I'm not a Green Day hater, but am sick of people trying to categorize themselves into a genre 30 years after the genre died out. Just $0.02 from someone who was actually there the first time around. Ndriley97 (talk) 21:52, 11 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Punk Rock[edit]

I think Green Day is Punk Rock,'cause they sound so. We're talking about a music genre, not about some methapysical abrasct matter: just listen to the music and note how it sounds punk rock. Tanderbau (talk) 13:30, 3 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

no. it is not punk rock anymore. —Preceding unsigned comment added by USAFAN123 (talkcontribs) 03:20, 13 May 2009 (UTC) gosh what do i have to do to tell you it is punk rock!I think i would know its still punk i listen to it every day!Definetly love Green Day!!Nothing will ever make me change my favorite music not even my friends! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.79.128.140 (talk) 05:54, 4 June 2010 (UTC) still i think you should not say no not punk any more. nota good enough answer!!all i want isfor to listen to my favorite music in peace! leave me alone! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.79.128.140 (talk) 05:58, 4 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Headline text[edit]

oh my gosh i love Green Day and just hate paramore and i think both are punk! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.79.128.140 (talk) 05:50, 4 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Emo[edit]

Should be added to genres. 77.127.142.244 (talk) 10:03, 22 August 2009 (UTC)[reply]


Hmm[edit]

What people are saying is that Green Day isn't punk because they "sold out". Punk is about not conforming so Punks conform to not conform where as "sell outs" get to do whatever the hell they want and no conform to anything. Also Green Day is named as Punk by Rolling Stone and Kerrang, and many other famous sites and magazines. So if you true punks want to conform to hating "sell outs" like Green Day or something then you just conformed or sell out. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.94.60.174 (talk) 04:11, 22 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Musical type[edit]

I think it should be as follows: Punk Rock Rock Punk Revival Arena Rock

If I can find surces I think those styles would be the most correct —Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.45.187.98 (talk) 15:37, 14 August 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Post Grunge and Garage rock[edit]

After reading what lots of users have said about Green Day being post grunge and/or garage rock. I believe they are both, I went on multiple sites saying Green Day's genre. Many say Punk rock, pop punk and alternative rock. Others its punk rock revival, garage rock, garage-punk, hardcore punk, pop rock and even post grunge. I went on allmusic.com thinking that it is a very reliable source for bands and singers they had it down "post-grunge" as a genre for Green Day. Heres the source where you can find that. [2] Many other websites have said green day is post grunge. For garage rock, its one of the genres for both their albums Dos and Tre.[3] It is also a genre for their side band the Foxboro Hot Tubs. Thats all the info I got. - TreCoolGuy

Let’s settle this[edit]

Green Day is a multi genre band, plain and simple. They have punk songs, they have pop-punk songs, they have alternative songs. I see a lot of people trash Green Day because that’s what the punk community tells them to do, and isn’t that a little bit ironic? A mentality based around rebelling, but you enforce the opinions of others without bothering to create your own? For me personally, I think Green Day’s content before Dookie fits pretty well with the punk genre. After that, it becomes closer to alternative music, but songs like St Jimmy and American Idiot still preserving that punk vibe. MVL0 (talk) 21:44, 30 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]

father of all?[edit]

didn’t GD say in father of all motherfuckers it was a departure of their punk rock genre and going into garage rock?

I think they definitely fit a bunch of genres but it’s not cause they don’t fit the “punk rock” requirements, but because they decided to change their style halfway through. shit like American Idiot or Kerplunk is definitely punk rock but afterwards they mostly stray into garage rock (with a few punk songs left)

idk thought I’d give my two cents, I think they started off punk and went into a more garage feel (dunno about saviors though, only listened to the singles so far) Insane&Insecure (talk) 20:59, 27 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

also lol, sorry I know this thread is over a decade old I just wanted to add new info since father of all came out 2020 Insane&Insecure (talk) 21:00, 27 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]
  1. ^ WP:V
  2. ^ http://www.allmusic.com/artist/green-day-mn0000154544
  3. ^ Grierson, Tim. "Green Day - Tre - Review". About.com. Retrieved March 26, 2013.