by Robert Wilkinson
Today we celebrate half of the rhythm section of Green Day, the indefatigable Sag drummer Tre Cool. He, along with Aquarian Billie Joe Armstrong and Taurus Mike Dirnt (with a shout-out to Scorpio Jason White), are a major musical force and social conscience in our world. Today we have some videos!
If you've never heard of Green Day, here's a bit I wrote in Billie Joe's birthday celebration,
In case you've been on one of the Moons of Neptune over the past 20 years, I should explain that Green Day blazed forth during the so-called "grunge" alternative rock movement of the mid-1980s. The band stormed out of Berserkeley to global popularity and influence through its uncompromising brand of neo-punk rock that forced the suits to sit up and take note....
And now, on with the shew. I've found early, middle, and relatively recent performances, so enjoy the many phases of Green Day! We begin today's party with a basket full of great videos of Green Day doing some classics. Some may require buffering time before you hit play, but hang in there. It's worth the wait!
Let's begin with a video that matters. Here's a remarkable performance for "Instant Karma: the Campaign to Save Darfur," Amnesty International's effort to put the focus on genocidal war criminals. A powerful video of Green Day doing the John Lennon classic Working Class Hero offering a chilling indictment of genocide!
From MTV, a video of their newest hit, Know Your Enemy.
At this point I should say that due to a WMG dispute, there are a LOT of Green Day videos that have only been available sporadically, but should be more accessible in the future. We can only hope....
Let's move into some videos of early classics. Here's Green Day performing "Basket Case" with another version from Chicago in 1994 of "Basket Case."
From Barcelona, a version of "When I Come Around."
From a 1997 "Live in the Alley" performance, "Nice Guys Finish Last" with another version from the Chelmsford Festival V98 of Nice Guys Finish Last and Hitchin' A Ride done as a medley.
Here's one of their best! From 1995 in France, "Good Riddance (the Time of your Life)."
Recent material features some magnificent live performances. We now groove into my favorite Green Day song, "Holiday." Written as an in-your-face challenge to the Bush War Criminal administration, Billie Joe makes it clear that "This song is not anti-American. It's anti-WAR!"
This version is magnificent. From the Billboard Awards ceremony, "Holiday." Here's another version of "Holiday," live in the studio.
From the album of the same name, here's American Idiot.
Also from "American Idiot," here is "Boulevard of Broken Dreams," along with great performances of "Wake Me Up When September Ends" and Give Me Novacaine.
I found performances of some covers. Here's Green Day doing the Sonny Curtis classic, "I Fought The Law", and here's the Chuck Berry classic "Johnny B Goode."
An interesting Live Audio 1990 performance that features fragments of several early songs set to still photos.
And if you still want more, here's the official Green Day You Tube channel where I'm sure you can get dialed in to what's up with this amazing group.
Happy 37, FEW3. The adventure you began in 2007 that got bumped into high gear in early 2008 turns a big corner very soon. Enjoy the flow while playing the game.
© Copyright 2009 Robert Wilkinson
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