Or At Least I Hope So
After reading Entertainment Weekly's article on Green Day and their latest album "American Idiot", I, being a lover of punk (although not as up on it as I once was), ran out to the store and bought a copy. Rock on! The album is fresh and creative, and it has songs that just scream out of the speakers. My favorite thus far is "St. Jimmy", which has all the raw guitar riffs you might expect from the Ramones or the Clash.
The article, though, noted something interesting. The lead singer, Billie Joe Armstrong, says in the interview, "U2 started out more or less as a punk band and wound up one of the biggest bands in the world. I think it's okay to want that." Yes, Billie, it is. But when Bono was your age [32], he was already fronting one of the biggest bands in the world. I think a major reason was the difference between hope and despair. Green Day's music is loud, raucous, and well written; in addition, some important things are being said, such as the analysis of media in "American Idiot" or civic religiosity in the "Jesus of Suburbia" suite. After the analysis is done, however, the listener is left feeling, well, a little like the band members, who say in one of the songs that they need a shot of Novacaine. U2, however, constantly vacillate between crisis and hope. What starts off as dilemma ends in embrace. Perhaps that's why "The Passion of the Christ" sold more tickets than "Fahrenheit 9/11 (among other reasons); perhaps that's why a hopeful George W. Bush beat a dour John F. Kerry (among other reasons); perhaps that's why it's so hard to stomp Christmas out of the public sphere. We seem to understand that we need hope. And we apparently reward those who traffic in it.
The article, though, noted something interesting. The lead singer, Billie Joe Armstrong, says in the interview, "U2 started out more or less as a punk band and wound up one of the biggest bands in the world. I think it's okay to want that." Yes, Billie, it is. But when Bono was your age [32], he was already fronting one of the biggest bands in the world. I think a major reason was the difference between hope and despair. Green Day's music is loud, raucous, and well written; in addition, some important things are being said, such as the analysis of media in "American Idiot" or civic religiosity in the "Jesus of Suburbia" suite. After the analysis is done, however, the listener is left feeling, well, a little like the band members, who say in one of the songs that they need a shot of Novacaine. U2, however, constantly vacillate between crisis and hope. What starts off as dilemma ends in embrace. Perhaps that's why "The Passion of the Christ" sold more tickets than "Fahrenheit 9/11 (among other reasons); perhaps that's why a hopeful George W. Bush beat a dour John F. Kerry (among other reasons); perhaps that's why it's so hard to stomp Christmas out of the public sphere. We seem to understand that we need hope. And we apparently reward those who traffic in it.
posted by The Parson | 6:27 PM
1 Comments:
Amen Parson, I'll have a beer with you! I am always drinking out of a half FULL bottle anyhow!! Caught you first on blog ladder (near beer maybe?) and followed you over here. Hope to keep up with your thoughts, it's nice to find someone who I can relate to. Here's to increasing your fold!!
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