Greenday - American Idiot CD?

[Libero]

Even if it’s a bad example?

Well that depends, if you delve deep enough I am sure that you shall find a bad example in everyone. This also depends on the example, nobody is perfect, if the flaw that the person you admire has is a small issue then that can clearly be overcome, if on the other hand that person promotes abortion, the death penalty, racism, drug use etc then clearly they would not make a good example. It all depends on the contributary issues.

 

[Gerrygarvin]

despite the name “pay to cum” has positive lyrics, generally indicating that “paying to cum” is a bad thing. Anyway, that song isn’t on the album “rock for light” anyway. Typical bad brains lyrics from that album:

Coptic Times
“These are coptic times with no burdens over me. So I choose to read the Holy Bible. and take what Jah has given me. It seems that all through life, one fact prevails. That the righteous all live on. These are coptic times. Leaving this place won’t be no big disgrace, let loose those lies and hold on to your faith. Revelation been foretold, now the next is up to you. I choose to do the right and live in truth. Israel must unite, Israel must unite. It’s the youth who God has ordained and he’s calling you.”

their later stuff has positive lyrics as well, but unfortunately awful music. I pretty much agree though, normally lyrics probably won’t turn anyone evil. Ice Cube’s “predator” was pretty much my favorite album when i was that age. Still, I think there’s a happy medium. No one needs to be listening to G.G. Allin or deicide.

CA Rose- I wouldn’t be worried about her picking up “subliminal messages” I don’t think there’s any real evidence that is possible.

 

[ElizabethAnne]

Libero:

Well that depends, if you delve deep enough I am sure that you shall find a bad example in everyone. This also depends on the example, nobody is perfect, if the flaw that the person you admire has is a small issue then that can clearly be overcome, if on the other hand that person promotes abortion, the death penalty, racism, drug use etc then clearly they would not make a good example. It all depends on the contributary issues.

In my earlier post I was referring to those who deny or bash faith. I think that’s a pretty bad example.

 

[Libero]

In my earlier post I was referring to those who deny or bash faith. I think that’s a pretty bad example.

Agreed, I dont think Dani Filth would be a very good example.

 

[CARose]

infabilly:

What’s going to stop your daughter from listening to Green Day when she’s an adult? What if she’s hanging out with friends and decides to “live a little” and listen to Green Day at her friends’ house? You won’t always have control over her, and their lyrics aren’t going to have her start cutting herself and “send her to Hell”.

I’m not trying to control what she chooses to do as an adult, I’m trying to ensure that she arrives at that point with her soul intact and happily set on her way in life.

I think that a lot of how we look at these things changes when we have children of our own, for whom we are responsible. I don’t think anything before motherhood really prepared me for understanding just what an awesome responsibility it is to raise a person to adulthood. I know I faced many challenges and temptations, and I also know that I took more wrong turns than I’d care to admit. I bare the scars of these errors to this day and I’d like to ensure that my daughter be given the greatest possibility of avoiding the trials I encountered. I can’t protect her from all of lifes challenges, but I can set her on a course with the greatest likelihood of success, happiness and spiritual well being.

God Bless,

CARose

 

[infabilly]

My mother is Christian (goes to church, etc. I’ve mentioned this before), listens to Green Day and other bands that aren’t religious (she actually listens to most of the music we listen to), letting us listen to whatever we want, and never blaming music for our actions or ways we thought (because lyrics never influenced us).
If my mother didn’t like the way a band looked (ie; Slipknot), she would tell us. But she lets us learn from our mistakes, as she’s had many in her life, she’d just rather we not regret them. She raised us as Christians, but still lets us believe what we want (like my big interest in astrology, she knows I enjoy reading my horoscopes just for fun and would never get deeply involved in it).
I know I’m going to be protective of my children when I have them. Everybody says I’m going to act and think differently once I have a child. I know I’ll set some boundaries and everything, but I’m not going to shield them from music, especially the kind that tells the truth (reality-lyrics like Green Day’s). But that’s just how I’d raise mine.

I don’t think a band would send your daughter down the wrong path if she’s faithful. I mean, all she’s most likely going to look at “American Idiot” as are anti-war lyrics, and just shrug off the cussing. I’m sure she’s still going to be an active Catholic, even if she does happen to hear Green Day’s music.

 

[Heather07]

I love this cd!! The lyrics might be a bit questionable in some areas, but I barely understand half the lyrics anyways. I just listen to it for the actual music because that part is very good. Green Day is very talented musically and I say as long as the lyrics do not hinder your Faith in any way or cause you to sin, then there is really no problem with it. Once kids are mature and old enough to understand right from wrong and block out the negative parts of the songs and enjoy the good parts, then its probably ok to let them listen to it.

 

[buffalo]

Heather07:

I love this cd!! The lyrics might be a bit questionable in some areas, but I barely understand half the lyrics anyways. I just listen to it for the actual music because that part is very good. Green Day is very talented musically and I say as long as the lyrics do not hinder your Faith in any way or cause you to sin, then there is really no problem with it. Once kids are mature and old enough to understand right from wrong and block out the negative parts of the songs and enjoy the good parts, then its probably ok to let them listen to it.

When you but their CD or listen on the radio you advance their message and you strengthen their desire to put out more trash. As a Catholic everyone should do their best not to advance evil no matter the talent. Satan is indeed very talented too, he has a way to make evil look good.

 

[joyfulmess]

How do you know that kids will block out the words (which are in question**)…you didn’t ** and you praise their music. If they see you listening to it and they hear it too, they don’t know you are “not listening” to the bad stuff in the lyrics. That’s because “one” has to make a concious effort to filter everything that enters your mind and once you have done so…then avoid it all together.Children don’t know this unless you teach them by setting a good example yourself. Sure you can continue to filter the same thing over and over again and again…but by then your filter may become clogged and you run the risk of becoming de-sensitized. Is your filter clogged? Our Lord in Heaven wants us to make the kind of choices that will keep us holy, including the things we allow into our minds and our childrens minds.There is alot of other music that you can liten to and enjoy that does have good lyrics and good music. Guard yourself and your childrens minds, don’t let them become clogged with things that God would not approve of. Make that choice today, God gave you that choice.

 

[mike182d]

deb1:

THe problem is that I don’t see Greenday as evil. I don’t like their choice of language but I don’t have a problem with their music itself. IF I thought that it was evil I certainly wouldn’t listen.

So, apart from writting songs about cross-dressing, masturbation, pot smoking, et cetera., how does their music uplift or edify?

Or, as a better question, if someone you didn’t know just sat down next to you and started talking about pot smoking, how much they like masturbation, cross-dressing, etc. instead of singing about it with a band, how long would you sit and listen to them?

Usually the answer is not very long. Its amazing, though, how much sweeter music makes something that is otherwise vile taste. Its like eating chocolate covered cockroach when you ordinarily would never just each a cockroach because of how good the chocolate tastes to you. Is the chocolate that good that its worth eating a cockroach for it? Is the music *that *good that its worth having to sit and listen to some talk about immoral subjects?

Just trying to put things in perspective.

 

[joyfulmess]

:clapping:

mike182d:

So, apart from writting songs about cross-dressing, masturbation, pot smoking, et cetera., how does their music uplift or edify?

Or, as a better question, if someone you didn’t know just sat down next to you and started talking about pot smoking, how much they like masturbation, cross-dressing instead of singing them with a band, how long would you sit and listen to them?

Usually the answer is not very long. Its amazing, though, how much sweeter music makes something that is otherwise vile taste. Its like eating chocolate covered cockroach when you ordinarily would never just each a cockroach because of how good the chocolate tastes to you. Is the chocolate that good that its worth eating a cockroach for it? Is the music *that *good that its worth having to sit and listen to some talk about immoral subjects?

Just trying to put things in perspective.

 

[joyfulmess]

Thats an excellent analogy (chocolate covered cockroaches), I know that part of what is going on here is that God’s people have not made the choices they should make and they are being lured by satan via music and other media. The scary part is that they aren’ t " listening"…why is this? Its almost like some kind of “spell” like the pied piper. Satan is not playing games here…he is out to destroy your soul and your childrens souls any way he can. Its about time you realized there is a spiritual war going on and you are on the wrong side**…but you’re not listening**
:banghead: .

 

[mike182d]

joyfulmess:

Thats an excellent analogy (chocolate covered cockroaches), I know that part of what is going on here is that God’s people have not made the choices they should make and they are being lured by satan via music and other media. The scary part is that they aren’ t " listening"…why is this? Its almost like some kind of “spell” like the pied piper. Satan is not playing games here…he is out to destroy your soul and your childrens souls any way he can. Its about time you realized there is a spiritual war going on and you are on the wrong side**…but you’re not listening**
:banghead: .

That should be a song: “But You’re Not Listening.”

Instead of using punk music to rebel against the “establishment,” I always thought Christian punk was great for rebelling against the secular “establishment.”

Hmm…I’ll have to sit down with my guitar and see what I can come up with. lol.

 

[joyfulmess]

mike182d:

That should be a song: “But You’re Not Listening.”

Instead of using punk music to rebel against the “establishment,” I always thought Christian punk was great for rebelling against the secular “establishment.”

Hmm…I’ll have to sit down with my guitar and see what I can come up with. lol.

Make those lyrics meaningful, they don’t have to be rebellious just make sure that a positive message comes across loud and clear… by the way **got any riffs ** :dancing: yet?? LOL

 

[Heather07]

buffalo:

When you but their CD or listen on the radio you advance their message and you strengthen their desire to put out more trash. As a Catholic everyone should do their best not to advance evil no matter the talent. Satan is indeed very talented too, he has a way to make evil look good.

I totally understand your point and I agree with you, but I have enjoyed this kind of music since I was a kid. I know when I hear bad lyrics and I filter them out so I can enjoy the actual music. If this is considered a sin, then I guess I just learned something new today. Its just really hard to stop listening to and buying music that you have grown up with and accustomed to over the years and really like. When I buy it, my intention is never to advance the evil of it…in fact that thought does not even cross my mind. I will say, now that I think about it, that a young child probably should not be allowed to listen to it because they won’t realize what they are getting into. I know I didn’t when I started listening to it, but no one was there to tell me otherwise or keep me from it and I liked it so how was I supposed to know it was bad? I had always been told that as long as the music you listen to and the things you see on tv do not cause you to sin then its not so bad…but what do I know? I have been to Green Day’s American Idiot concert and it was very entertaining and tons of fun, but when they started yelling out curse words and directing some of them toward Bush and all that, I got angry because I like this band and when they do things like that, it just ruins the fun. I still do not feel like they are evil…but maybe when I get much older I will think differently. I am still in RCIA and have much to learn still. All I know is that its really hard to not listen to something you like…but if you feel like your child should not listen to it, I understand why. I know when I have children, I will not let them listen to it…but once they are old enough to live on their own, it will be outta my hands. Sometimes I wish I was raised Catholic and to understand these things as a child so things like this would not even be an issue, but I do know that life is a big learning experience and I accept that.

 

[kitty021]

Hi, I am 17 years old and I have been raised Catholic. This will be a long post, but I hope some people will read this and try to understand where I am coming from.

I currently own the American Idiot CD and have to praise it as a great work of art, worthy of its Grammy. I am fully aware of the politically charged lyrics in this album and the swear words in most of Green Day’s music.

Whoever wrote that Dookie was fantastic while American Idiot made Green Day a “sell-out” - that is beside the point of this discussion. As to Dookie, I would like to say that it has at least as much objectionable content as American Idiot when considering both the number of swears (read the lyrics to “Longview”) and content (masturbating, getting stoned, etc…even the album title is somewhat “out there”).

Listening to Green Day is not going to wreak havoc on your soul. It is not inherently evil and while the band does take risks, they have proven to be effective at relating to audiences around the world. Their now 4-year-old album was not created with the intent of garnering more attention, but with the desire to communicate a strong message. I think the content is indeed a bit strong for a 13 year old, but it also depends on the kid. I have a soon-to-be 13-year-old sister who is sensible and mature beyond her years. She loves the album while understanding that it is not any form of consent to act out or become a reckless rebel. She and I both recognize the music as the work of art that it is.

Addressing the references to “Jesus” “sitting on [his] crucifix” and the title of their tour DVD “Bullet in a Bible,” the people criticizing these phrases obviously don’t know much about the band’s most recent work. If you actually watched the Bullet in a Bible DVD, you would see that the name came from their visit to a war museum in England in which they were shown a display with a bullet shot into the pages of a bible. The band members had the utmost respect for all that was preserved in the museum. All of the seemingly anti-Christian phrases do not advocate anti-God sentiment, but instead blatantly display to the audience all of the irony that has plagued and plagues our nation and the world today. There is indeed anger and sometimes even hate in the characters described in the songs, but it stems from frustration with their lives rather than a desire to embrace Satanism.

I’ve come to see this album in a different light over the many times I’ve listened to it. It isn’t meant to be unpatriotic or anti-religious, but is in fact somewhat patriotic in the sense that it promotes us being true to our country with our own ideas as individuals untainted by the media and uncontrolled by the far-reaching hand of the government. Green Day is basically saying it’s okay to speak your mind and that you shouldn’t be afraid to use the freedom of speech bestowed upon us. The whole “religious” thing is simply a metaphor - albeit a rather strong one. But this jarring aspect of the album content is just part of Green Day’s intent to shock the members of their audience into realizing that feeding into the “American Idiot” mentality is not for the greater good.

I know many will disagree with me on my points, but this is what I have taken away from listening to this album. Thank you for taking the time to read this.

 

[LilyM]

Hi, I am 17 years old and I have been raised Catholic. This will be a long post, but I hope some people will read this and try to understand where I am coming from.

I currently own the American Idiot CD and have to praise it as a great work of art, worthy of its Grammy. I am fully aware of the politically charged lyrics in this album and the swear words in most of Green Day’s music.

Whoever wrote that Dookie was fantastic while American Idiot made Green Day a “sell-out” - that is beside the point of this discussion. As to Dookie, I would like to say that it has at least as much objectionable content as American Idiot when considering both the number of swears (read the lyrics to “Longview”) and content (masturbating, getting stoned, etc…even the album title is somewhat “out there”).

Listening to Green Day is not going to wreak havoc on your soul. It is not inherently evil and while the band does take risks, they have proven to be effective at relating to audiences around the world. Their now 4-year-old album was not created with the intent of garnering more attention, but with the desire to communicate a strong message. I think the content is indeed a bit strong for a 13 year old, but it also depends on the kid. I have a soon-to-be 13-year-old sister who is sensible and mature beyond her years. She loves the album while understanding that it is not any form of consent to act out or become a reckless rebel. She and I both recognize the music as the work of art that it is.

Addressing the references to “Jesus” “sitting on [his] crucifix” and the title of their tour DVD “Bullet in a Bible,” the people criticizing these phrases obviously don’t know much about the band’s most recent work. If you actually watched the Bullet in a Bible DVD, you would see that the name came from their visit to a war museum in England in which they were shown a display with a bullet shot into the pages of a bible. The band members had the utmost respect for all that was preserved in the museum. All of the seemingly anti-Christian phrases do not advocate anti-God sentiment, but instead blatantly display to the audience all of the irony that has plagued and plagues our nation and the world today. There is indeed anger and sometimes even hate in the characters described in the songs, but it stems from frustration with their lives rather than a desire to embrace Satanism.

I’ve come to see this album in a different light over the many times I’ve listened to it. It isn’t meant to be unpatriotic or anti-religious, but is in fact somewhat patriotic in the sense that it promotes us being true to our country with our own ideas as individuals untainted by the media and uncontrolled by the far-reaching hand of the government. Green Day is basically saying it’s okay to speak your mind and that you shouldn’t be afraid to use the freedom of speech bestowed upon us. The whole “religious” thing is simply a metaphor - albeit a rather strong one. But this jarring aspect of the album content is just part of Green Day’s intent to shock the members of their audience into realizing that feeding into the “American Idiot” mentality is not for the greater good.

I know many will disagree with me on my points, but this is what I have taken away from listening to this album. Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Kitty - it pays to look at the dates threads are last posted to before you respond. This thread was last posted to over two years ago - chances are no-one remembers it, no-one who posted on it is still a member of the forums, etc.

 

[child_of_God85]

Hi, I am 17 years old and I have been raised Catholic. This will be a long post, but I hope some people will read this and try to understand where I am coming from.

I currently own the American Idiot CD and have to praise it as a great work of art, worthy of its Grammy. I am fully aware of the politically charged lyrics in this album and the swear words in most of Green Day’s music.

Whoever wrote that Dookie was fantastic while American Idiot made Green Day a “sell-out” - that is beside the point of this discussion. As to Dookie, I would like to say that it has at least as much objectionable content as American Idiot when considering both the number of swears (read the lyrics to “Longview”) and content (masturbating, getting stoned, etc…even the album title is somewhat “out there”).

Listening to Green Day is not going to wreak havoc on your soul. It is not inherently evil and while the band does take risks, they have proven to be effective at relating to audiences around the world. Their now 4-year-old album was not created with the intent of garnering more attention, but with the desire to communicate a strong message. I think the content is indeed a bit strong for a 13 year old, but it also depends on the kid. I have a soon-to-be 13-year-old sister who is sensible and mature beyond her years. She loves the album while understanding that it is not any form of consent to act out or become a reckless rebel. She and I both recognize the music as the work of art that it is.

Addressing the references to “Jesus” “sitting on [his] crucifix” and the title of their tour DVD “Bullet in a Bible,” the people criticizing these phrases obviously don’t know much about the band’s most recent work. If you actually watched the Bullet in a Bible DVD, you would see that the name came from their visit to a war museum in England in which they were shown a display with a bullet shot into the pages of a bible. The band members had the utmost respect for all that was preserved in the museum. All of the seemingly anti-Christian phrases do not advocate anti-God sentiment, but instead blatantly display to the audience all of the irony that has plagued and plagues our nation and the world today. There is indeed anger and sometimes even hate in the characters described in the songs, but it stems from frustration with their lives rather than a desire to embrace Satanism.

I’ve come to see this album in a different light over the many times I’ve listened to it. It isn’t meant to be unpatriotic or anti-religious, but is in fact somewhat patriotic in the sense that it promotes us being true to our country with our own ideas as individuals untainted by the media and uncontrolled by the far-reaching hand of the government. Green Day is basically saying it’s okay to speak your mind and that you shouldn’t be afraid to use the freedom of speech bestowed upon us. The whole “religious” thing is simply a metaphor - albeit a rather strong one. But this jarring aspect of the album content is just part of Green Day’s intent to shock the members of their audience into realizing that feeding into the “American Idiot” mentality is not for the greater good.

I know many will disagree with me on my points, but this is what I have taken away from listening to this album. Thank you for taking the time to read this.

No, I completely agree with you. Alot of people will see the title of a song or what have you and just judge by that without looking at the actual meaning.
I wouldn’t say that I’m a fan of Green Day, I like some of their songs, and they are talented, but it’s not really my taste.
It reminds me of my favorite band, Rammstein. They sing about questionable stuff alot of times, but people need to really look at the deeper meaning of their lyrics before making a judgement, the songs have an actualy social message.