Remember Whensday – Billie Joe Armstrong

Happy 44th birthday Billie Joe Armstrong a.k.a the lead singer of Green Day. It’s hard to imagine you without your signature red tie but I guess we all have to grow up and trade for a classic black one instead. I know that I can say this in agreement with others, but thank you for making my short punk phase in middle school a little more bearable. All those times minutes spent singing “American Idiot” were not spent in waste, but in rightful teenage angst. It is through your music that we were able to stand together and jam out in our DC Shoes and circulation-constricting skinny jeans.

Born in 1972, Billie was surrounded by music from an early age with a musician as a father. Even after the hard loss of his father at the age of 10, Billie still pursued music and would write his feelings about this tragedy in “Wake Me Up When September Ends.” However, the band we know and love would not be the same if they hadn’t changed their name from Sweet Children to Green Day in 1989 due to their fondness of something…green. They would eventually go on to win the Grammy for Best Rock Album in 2005 for American Idiot and have several more nominations in the future.

Kudos to you Billie for everything you have accomplished in your lifetime and the legacy you have left. You will never have to walk alone in your “Boulevard of Broken Dreams.” And let us not forget about their song “Holiday.” In the eyes of middle school me, Billie Armstrong was that guy that always seemed to be out of my reach. This was probably because he lived in California… and he’s 23 years older than me. Now excuse me as I relive my punk years and binge on Green Day for the next few hours.

About Julia Antonson

I’m majoring in Natural Resources and Environmental Science and minoring in Chemistry. When I am not exploring the great outdoors, you can find me watching The Office while eating an obscene amount of Thai food. If you have any music questions, I’m definitely not the right person to ask.

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