Every song released by Green Day owes something to the classic rock genre. Although Billie Joe Armstrong was influenced by musicians such as Operation Ivy and Crimpshrine during his formative years in the Bay Area, he also frequently took inspiration from The Beatles for his masterpieces. In the latter part of his career, he paid homage to the classic rock and roll of the past. Although Armstrong never pretended to be a music snob, he never thought of one of the biggest bands in history as a particular favourite.
However, Armstrong’s native punk rock filth would have likely spit any kind of classic rock in the face. Most bands that filled haunts like 924 Gilman Street concentrated on creating a more discordant approach to punk music, as opposed to the tunefulness of acts like Ramones.
Green Day, initially a hidden gem, possessed a unique musical background that set them apart from others. Armstrong’s songs were more cerebral than bands focused on power chords. They sought depth instead of just pounding and screaming. In fact, he even included the dreaded vocal harmonies that were hard to come by in punk rock.
Armstrong never intended to play three-chord punk music indefinitely. Even though his melodic sensibilities would come in handy when working on Dookie. Armstrong experimented further with writing a traditional pop-punk song as the band developed in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He eventually decided to focus on a concept album with American Idiot. With allusions to Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, and The Beatles among others, Armstrong’s masterpiece would be both a love letter to the rock he grew up loving and a direct shot at the Bush administration.
Billie Joe Armstrong made it plain that he didn’t want to dabble in progressive rock, unlike Pink Floyd with The Wall, even though the record followed the format of a rock opera. Regarding the band’s musical philosophy at the time, Armstrong would remark, “I’ve never been into Pink Floyd, ever”. Adding that he didn’t have time to listen to Roger Waters’ prog philosophy. Pink Floyd has always struck me as the quintessential example of skirting the issue. For that kind of thing, I’m too impatient. I mean, I’m really impressed with Pink Floyd. We couldn’t have recorded a record like American Idiot without them.
When Armstrong was creating his opulent conceptual pieces, he would often draw inspiration from Pete Townshend’s Tommy-inspired operas. Similar to songs like “A Quick One While He’s Away,” Armstrong eventually combined song snippets into epic narratives for songs like “Jesus of Suburbia” and “Homecoming”. These songs served as distinctive bookends to the album’s narrative.
This influence persisted in the band’s subsequent album, 21st Century Breakdown, where the story was divided into three acts spread throughout the track listing. Armstrong explained that Green Day experimented with various progressive rock concepts. However, they remained committed to maintaining the pop roots of their sound. He said, “We always come from that power pop side, whether it’s The Who, Cheap Trick, or The Jam“. I believe that power pop is the source of pop pun, that kind of songwriting”.
