"Good Riddence (Time of Your Life)" by Green Day from Nimrod

If my brother's in Mom's car when Green Day comes on, I have to resign myself to not hearing it. He complains till Mom changes the station; and if Mom doesn't to tease him, I still don't get to hear much over his whines and groans. While I can hear why someone might find the band's sound annoying, I can also hear why they're one of a friend's favorite bands.

"Good Riddence (Time of Your Life)" was an experiment as a pop ballad. The guitar, accented by violin, reminds me some of Jars of Clay's "Art in Me", or at least Jars of Clay's musical style in their original CD. It's a very pleasing, soothing sound.

Billy Joe Armstrong provides vocals that you'll likely either hate or appreciate. Like Flyleaf's Lacey Mosley, he sings in an unusual style that accents his band's distinct sound. You've probably heard it at some point; Green Day's been around since I was a toddler.

As one of the less psychotic songs by Green Day—to borrow an adjective some of my friends use to describe the band—"Good Riddence (Time of Your Life)" speaks of how situations suddenly crop up in life that require change. The band's language is clean in this song—for once—though parents might not want their younger children exposed to the imagery of "tatoos of memories and dead skin on trial".

It's a soothing song with an interesting encouragement to make the most of the opportunities for change.

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Lyrics: 4/5
Music: 4/5
Vocal(s): 4/5
Overall: 8/10

"Boulevard of Broken Dreams" by Green Day from American Idiot

That I can sing along with this song somewhat when I hear it says something. Not only do I rarely listen to the radio, but my brother wails whenever this band comes on, so the station is changed when he's in the car, which is most of the few times that I hear to the radio. (Bit hard to stop someone who's 100 lbs. bigger than yourself and still growing.)

Green Day sounds… unusual. I know, this freaky gal has little room to talk considering she likes Nightwish. But I can hear why my brother hates Green Day—and why one friend loves their sound (though she admits that she doesn't care about lyrics).

One thing Green Day certainly isn't is stock. As far as whether their music is above or below average really depends on if you like the style or not. It's definitely rock, but it kinda defies explanation. I find the verses soothing while not slow enough to be calming, and the choruses metalish while not hard enough to wreck my pulse. A lot of (electric) guitar, cymbals, and other things I can't identify mesh together in a combo you might hate or like, but at least the melding doesn't sound like the mixer can't hear very well.

The same love/hate response applies to the singer's voice. Billy Joe Armstrong is as much of Green Day's odd sound as the rest of it. The voice is easy to hate or love, once you get used to it.

Now, lyricwise, there's a problem. The f-word appears in this song, and it's obviously buzzed out. You might not realize what's being said in the censored version, but if you listen for it, you can figure it out pretty easily.

Overall, the song talks of walking alone down the "boulevard of broken dreams," which is "a lonely road", but it's "the only one [the singer] has ever known"; "it's home to" him. Sometimes he wishes for someone to find him, but till that happens he's alone on the road. Despite the song's dark loneliness of lyrics, the sound doesn't really come across that way. The song narrator's attitude seems to be saying "This is me" with a shrug, rather than a plea for company that most songs with this topic are.

At least there's the censored version, but that crude word choice really wasn't necessary.

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Lyrics: *2/5
Music: 4/5
Vocal(s): 4/5
Overall: *6/10

*Contains the f-word.