American Idiot?

Orkut is a fantastic site where you can keep in touch with people who you keep in touch with just for the sake of maybe networking. It helps you avoid those unwanted calls on birthdays from people who you talk to once a year. A typical conversation goes like this:
Anon: Hey Ashwin, Happy Birthday!
Me: Thanks man
10 second pause....
Anon: So, what are you doing today?
Me: Nothing, maybe just dinner..
10 second pause...
Anon: Soooo, hows life???
Me: Hey listen, im really sorry, i am getting another call right now..ill call you sometime, ok?
Anon: Yea sure, bye..
with that ends our yearly ritual)

I am an avid "orkutter", logging in almost everyday, mainly because of my obsession with Leeds United (this great article should probably help you understand why i still like Leeds). But when there is no activity on the community, i do tend to go to the other communities that I am part of.

There is this Green Day community on there which has thousands of members in it. I have always been a huge fan of Green Day as it was my first experience of good English music other than the Backstreet Boys or N'Sync (Don't get me wrong, i don't hate them..i started listening to them again recently because this friend of mine said she totally hated them, i'm still trying to convince her..)

Like any other fan community, they have a lot of activity there including posts and polls. I came across one such poll which was: Which is Green Day's best song eva?? (exact words)
The options were:
Boulevard, Wake Me Up When September Ends and Jesus of Suburbia

Now I don't deny that these were really good, but what irks me is the fact that these people who say that Green Day is their favorite band eva! don't even know what Green Day is about. This was just one song, or one album which was populist as compared to the rest of their albums which according to me are far better than most of the songs in the American Idiot album (Holiday is the one song that is remotely close to their style in the 90's)

What I am trying to say is that, to understand the real Green Day and what they are all about, one has to listen to the older albums which got them appreciation in the 90's. Green Day along with bands like The Offsprings and Rancid are the reasons for the revival of punk rock in the 90's after the glory years of The Ramons, Sex Pistols and The Clash (These bands are worth a listen) in the 70's and 80's. What appealed to me about Green Day's music was the fast paced songs with amazing drumming and Billy's vocals.

I am not going to make you understand which albums they released and the discography. You could just use this: www.justfuckinggoogleit.com or Wikipedia

Instead, I am going to give you my top ten (non American Idiot) Green Day songs of all time:

1. Good Riddance (Album: Nimrod)
   
2. Basket Case (Dookie)
   
3. When I Come Around (Dookie)
   
4. The Grouch (Nimrod)
5. Uptight (Nimrod)
6. Nice Guys Finish Last (Nimrod)
7. Minority (Warning)
8. Welcome To Paradise (Kerplunk)
9. Emenius Sleepus (Dookie)
10. Redundant (Nimrod)

If you like these, I have more to recommend. Leave a comment or, if you desperate, add me on orkut, i don't get many frandship requests.

Ash