Green Jovi? (Boulevard of Bad Music)

[Sample_the_Dog]

When did Jon Bon Jovi start ghostwriting for Green Day? Or maybe it was Sammy Hagar who penned the utterly awful "Boulevard of Broken Dreams".

Btw, I happened across a video clip when searching around to see if GD had actually written this drek. All 3 members of the band are walking down the road while Billie Joe sings "I walk alone...."

Is this song a joke? (Serious question.)

[Snooooopy]

I always change the radio station when I hear this song come on.

[Jurph]

Originally Posted by Sample_the_Dog

Is this song a joke? (Serious question.)

Holy CRAP. I have been meaning to ask the same question. Compared to the rest of the album, that song is dreck. You're telling me Billie Joe can't fill up a chorus with anything better than synonyms for "alone" over and over? "I'm the only one, and I walk alone!" RIGHT.

My current theory is that someone told them the album needed two singles, one fast, one slow. Billie Joe asked why, some marketroid said "slow songs are in again" or "it worked for Nickelback" and Billie laughed and decided to show off his song-writing talent by penning a song that he knew would become a Top-40 single, in a voice that he had absolutely no respect for. It's so over-the-top about its loneliness that I'm sure he's satirizing something -- possibly the American Teenager's perception that every teenager is totally miserably alone?

I can't quite figure it out, but there's no way the guy who wrote American Idiot willingly picked that song to be the single from that album, unless he really did want to laugh all the way to the bank.

[WordMan]

I like it - guess there's no accounting for taste. I take it within the context of the whole album, and I love the guitar with with vibrato/tremolo on the amp at the beginning.

FWIW, I think "Extraordinary Girl" is the pure pop song on the album and should've been the next single.

[Blackclaw]

Originally Posted by Sample_the_Dog

When did Jon Bon Jovi start ghostwriting for Green Day? Or maybe it was Sammy Hagar who penned the utterly awful "Boulevard of Broken Dreams".

Btw, I happened across a video clip when searching around to see if GD had actually written this drek. All 3 members of the band are walking down the road while Billie Joe sings "I walk alone...."

Is this song a joke? (Serious question.)

It doesn't sound anything like any Bon Jovi song I've ever heard. Admitedly, I don't listen to Bon Jovi intentionally so I may have missed their one angst filled piece.

I like "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" so

[Captain Crunchy Crunch]

Well, I love Boulevard of Broken Dreams! It's a powerful song with a great intro, a fantastic, soaring chorus, and a killer, tempo-changing ending.

I think Billie Joe has really matured as a songwriter.

Oh, and the video is great too. For some reason, the way Tre Cool walks in that video is hypnotic.

[Indygrrl]

I like the song, but I've always thought Green Day was a joke.

[Captain Crunchy Crunch]

Originally Posted by Indygrrl

I like the song, but I've always thought Green Day was a joke.

A joke?

They redefined the Punk-Pop genre. They opened the doors for a flood of American neo-punk, punk metal, and third wave ska revivalists. Their debut album sold over 8 million units. They have had over 15 radio hits. Their latest album is on virtually everyones Top 10 list. They are a great live band, with some legendary performances.

They have been on the major scene for over 10 years now.

A joke? No way!

[Telperien]

Oh, come on. That song is great to sing while washing dishes. It bothered my mother quite a bit. Not sure if that was the song or my singing, though.

[Ike Witt]

Originally Posted by Captain Crunchy Crunch

A joke?

They redefined the Punk-Pop genre.

Of course there are some of us who think that punk and pop don't belong in the same descriptor. Whatever the band may have had got sold out a long time ago.

[brianjedi]

I thought it was an ok song, personally. Then again, I've always kind of liked Green Day.

The other day on XM, I heard a Green Day/Oasis mashup of "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" with "Wonderwall." That was kinda interesting.

[WordMan]

Originally Posted by adam yax

Of course there are some of us who think that punk and pop don't belong in the same descriptor. Whatever the band may have had got sold out a long time ago.

*yawn* Good music is good music. Get over the labels. You are welcome to not like that track, but that album is solidly excellent.

Joey Ramone and the rest of the band - the alpha and omega of punk - spent their entire careers trying to "make it."

And Captain Crunchy Crunchy - minor nit: Dooky was their major label debut. They had two indie releases - 39 Kerplunk and one other - before that. Not that it matters - I completely agree with your post.

[shy guy]

Ahaa. I heard this song on the radio for the first time the other day, and I wondered what the fuck Green Day were thinking. Awful, awful song, and the Bon Jovie comparison is apt.

If Billie Joe's voice wasn't so distinctive, I would have thought I was listening to a Good Charlotte song. They certainly have the faux-angsty garbage down.

[Soapbox Monkey]

Originally Posted by WordMan

Joey Ramone and the rest of the band - the alpha and omega of punk

Well, since we are only 5 days in, I will call this the overstatement of the year. The Ramones? The alpha and omega of punk? Are you serious?

Umm...Buzzcocks, Stooges, The Clash, The Velvet Underground? How you or anyone can call simplistic mediocrity like the Ramones the be-all-end-all of punk is simply mind-boggling.

I just don't understand the Ramones worship at all.

[WordMan]

Originally Posted by Soapbox Monkey

Well, since we are only 5 days in, I will call this the overstatement of the year. The Ramones? The alpha and omega of punk? Are you serious?

Umm...Buzzcocks, Stooges, The Clash, The Velvet Underground? How you or anyone can call simplistic mediocrity like the Ramones the be-all-end-all of punk is simply mind-boggling.

I just don't understand the Ramones worship at all.

Read Please Kill Me: An Uncensored Oral History of Punk by Legs McNeil - the guy who coined the term "punk." Yes, it starts with the Stooges and the Velvets - and the Doors even - but acknowledges that the Ramones are pretty much it. Sorry - be mind-boggled.

[Soapbox Monkey]

Originally Posted by WordMan

Read Please Kill Me: An Uncensored Oral History of Punk by Legs McNeil - the guy who coined the term "punk." Yes, it starts with the Stooges and the Velvets - and the Doors even - but acknowledges that the Ramones are pretty much it. Sorry - be mind-boggled.

It doesn't really matter if he made up the word or not (which I'm having a hard time believing) it does not make him the absolute authority on the merits of every band he decided to catalog under his "new musical genre."

I hereby declare that The Shins, Modest Mouse, Bright Eyes, Sufjan Stevens, and Linkin Park are what I call "neo-folk." With that said, Linkin Park are the greatest neo-folk band ever. Nevermind the fact that they lack the talent or songwriting ability of any of the other artists I mentioned, they are clearly the greatest neo-folk band. Doesn't really matter what anyone else thinks, I gave the genre a name. A NAME damn you!

Now of course I'm not saying the Ramones are as bad as Linkin Park, but I needed to put a band in that list that stood out. I meant no offense. Unless you like Linkin Park.

[Sample_the_Dog]

Ramones kick ass. Nearly everybody, even their contemporaries, cites them as an influence. They are seminal East Coast US punk, at least for my generation.

Stooges gotta be the daddies, though. Hard to believe that "I Wanna Be Your Dog" came out in the 60's!

[WordMan]

Originally Posted by Soapbox Monkey

It doesn't really matter if he made up the word or not (which I'm having a hard time believing) it does not make him the absolute authority on the merits of every band he decided to catalog under his "new musical genre."

I hereby declare that The Shins, Modest Mouse, Bright Eyes, Sufjan Stevens, and Linkin Park are what I call "neo-folk." With that said, Linkin Park are the greatest neo-folk band ever. Nevermind the fact that they lack the talent or songwriting ability of any of the other artists I mentioned, they are clearly the greatest neo-folk band. Doesn't really matter what anyone else thinks, I gave the genre a name. A NAME damn you!

Now of course I'm not saying the Ramones are as bad as Linkin Park, but I needed to put a band in that list that stood out. I meant no offense. Unless you like Linkin Park.

He didn't make up the word, he started a magazine with two friends called "Punk" that was covering the scene that the Ramones, Television, Suicide, the New York Dolls and the Dead Boys and a number of other bands were making happen in the Lower East Side of New York. It led to that word becoming synonomous with the music. Read the book. Or any book on the history of punk, there are plenty.

Beyond that, frankly, do your homework - you are welcome to not like the Ramones all you want, but not understanding or acknowledging their place as an influence is.....silly. Your attempt at an analogy with neo-folk implies that what we are discussing is purely subjective and your opinion is just as relevant. It isn't - as Sample states, many many respected bands - including the Clash - cite the Ramones as a seminal influence. Do your homework. (and the Stooges are clearly hugely influential, too - Iggy's nickname of "The Godfather of Punk" is there for a reason....).

Let it go Soapbox - you're in over your head.

[Soapbox Monkey]

You can be better and more important than who you are influenced by.

[Sample_the_Dog]

If this song isn't a joke, why steal the title from a Tony Bennett record? And why come so close to the chorus of Whitesnake's "Here I Go Again":

And here I go again on my own,
Goin’ down the only road I’ve ever known.
Like a drifter I was born to walk alone.

Why throw in this phrase:

Read between the lines
What's fucked up

Why make a cheesy-as-hell video with Billie Joe singing "I walk alone" while walking with Tre and Mike?
I think Jurph may actually be right. They had pressure to put a hit on the record, so they did, and they're laughing their asses off. Other artists have done it.

[Sample_the_Dog]

Originally Posted by Soapbox Monkey

You can be better and more important than who you are influenced by.

True, but when almost everybody who matters cites a band as an influence, you gotta figure there's something there. You might want to go read what other punk bands have to say about the Ramones. Like WordMan says, you ain't gotta like it, but to call it mediocre? No way. Simplistic? Sure. They're a power chord band. What's amazing is how much fucking JUICE they got out of that simple formula.

[Soapbox Monkey]

Originally Posted by Sample_the_Dog

True, but when almost everybody who matters cites a band as an influence, you gotta figure there's something there. You might want to go read what other punk bands have to say about the Ramones. Like WordMan says, you ain't gotta like it, but to call it mediocre? No way. Simplistic? Sure. They're a power chord band. What's amazing is how much fucking JUICE they got out of that simple formula.

My beef is with the "alpha and omega" thing.

Punk existed before The Ramones, and it sure as hell would have kept on going even if there had never been The Ramones. The question is, to what degree, but I think it would be a pretty small difference. They ain't no Beatles or Chuck Berry or Pixies.

[elfkin477]

Originally Posted by brianjedi

I thought it was an ok song, personally. Then again, I've always kind of liked Green Day.

The other day on XM, I heard a Green Day/Oasis mashup of "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" with "Wonderwall." That was kinda interesting.

Are you sure? There's at least three mashups that include Travis too - the one I've heard includes " I Wrote for Miles" in the middle. Funny how they can take three songs I like and put them together in a way that sucks up until the last 30 seconds or so...thus far i'd rather they not mashup any songs since I've yet to hear one that improves any of the songs.

As for "Boulevard of Broken Dreams", it's the first Green Day song after Nimrod that I actually like. I like wistful. Sue me.

[Sample_the_Dog]

Originally Posted by Soapbox Monkey

My beef is with the "alpha and omega" thing.

Punk existed before The Ramones, and it sure as hell would have kept on going even if there had never been The Ramones. The question is, to what degree, but I think it would be a pretty small difference. They ain't no Beatles or Chuck Berry or Pixies.

I agree that "alpha and omega" is stretching it, but I took that as hyperbole anyway. After all, ain't nobody the alpha and omega of any musical genre.

I'd also agree that "they ain't no Beatles", but I think they're much more influential than either the Pixies or Chuck Berry. I know, I know, Keith Richards loves Chuck, and I know he was innovative -- kindof an Elvis in reverse -- but black artists of the time pretty much dismiss him. They weren't listening to him. Punks were listening to the Ramones, and trying to capture their energy.

[Sample_the_Dog]

In the time it took my last post to post, I realized I had to retract. I can't say that the Ramones were "much more influential" than Berry. That's just incorrect.

[WordMan]

Originally Posted by Sample_the_Dog

In the time it took my last post to post, I realized I had to retract. I can't say that the Ramones were "much more influential" than Berry. That's just incorrect.

Sample - you seem to know your music, my use of hyperbole, and have the willingness to go back and correct yourself when you overstate. You rock. I agree with everything you said - including the modifier - Chuck Berry is pretty damn influencial (even if he was considered a hayseed by the black artists of his day - he was just trying to play Louis Jordan's horn arrangements with two strings on his guitar...).

With all that in mind, I again concede that Boulevard isn't the best song on the CD and is worthy of some of the derision you throw at it. The Whitesnake quote - ouch, that hurts. I still stand by my love of the overall CD. Just listened to it again over dinner....

[ISiddiqui]

Btw, I LOVE the song. I think it fits the theme of the Punk Opera that is "American Idiot" as well. It definetly fits the feeling of isolation and alienation of the rest of the album.

It is one of my fav songs on the entire album.

Btw, I think "Holiday" would be a great choice as the next single, but I really, really want them to release "Jesus of Suburia". That would be fun .

[Sample_the_Dog]

I would like to dispel the notion that this is a punk song. It's a pop-rock tune. It's about as punk as my Aunt Sophie.

[Jurph]

Originally Posted by Sample_the_Dog

I would like to dispel the notion that this is a punk song. It's a pop-rock tune. It's about as punk as my Aunt Sophie.

Dude, your Aunt Sophie is f**king METAL. Seriously, though. This belongs on a mix tape with GNR's "November Rain" and Nelson's "Love and Affection" and every other mid-tempo ballad that an otherwise high-tempo rock band ever recorded. Damn... now I've gotta go download that Nelson song. Turns out it was pretty good, just overplayed.

But it was never punk, and neither is BoBD.

[Kantalooppi]

The other day on XM, I heard a Green Day/Oasis mashup of "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" with "Wonderwall." That was kinda interesting.

Yeah, I've heard it too. I've been unable to think of the Green Day tune as anything but "Wonderwall of Broken Dreams" since.