The Band Called Greenday

The 1950’s brought about the beginning of teen culture. The phrase, “teenager”, had only recently been invented but the word was already developing more weight and meaning. To be a teen encompassed the soul of rebellion. The formative years were a warp in the usual fast pace of life, a pause between childhood and adulthood. That pause was uncomfortable and foreign. It gave kids a chance to think and feel before being thrust into The Real World. That small break was enough for the seed of self-expression to slip through, and music is the ultimate form of self-expression. The birth of rock and roll, the constant threat of the cold war, the inescapable prison of segregation, and the chance to stop

“He [Pearson’s father] would freak out when he read the song titles to the cassettes that my friends and I would shoplift from the mall…He was certain that I’d become a Junkie if I listened to that kind of music. But with an alcoholic wife-beater father who didn’t give a shit about his son I was bound to avoid the cliched, nihilist aspects of punk culture” (Pearson 12).

Upon reading the article “The Future is Unwritten,” written by Kenneth J. Bindas, it was my understanding that there was a connection between the anger and angst in punk music and the economic difficulties of the 1970s. There are two main reasons for this idea. The first reason being the fact that there was a larger percentage of adolescents that had just graduated high school, but now found themselves without a job, without a visible future, with large amount of anger, angst, and finally with a whole lot of time on their hands. Thus, because many of the members of the punk movement “came from the working class they were scornful of the scant material rewards of welfare capitalism,” (Bindas, 70) meaning that they were upset with the fact that

I have chosen to write about one of my favorite alternative rock band, Red Hot Chili Peppers from Los Angeles, California. My decision was based upon two things; one being I like the band, while the other was to learn if some of their music is sending the wrong message to our young people. I personally would not consider myself music sappy; never have I really been given a chance to listen to music as I grew up, to find what I like. As of today, I don’t know who sings what song nor really know what the lyric’s mean. With today’s environment young people are given a chance to be inspired by different kinds of media; thus giving them the opportunity to actually find out what the artist is meaning behind the songs. After interviewing four participation;

Music is often considered “the universal language.” Throughout, history it has symbolized love, brought people together, and has been the cornerstone of many lives. In the 1950s, a new form of music entered American mass culture that drastically changed the culture of the United States (U.S.): rock music. In the U.S., it began as Rock ‘n’ Roll, a originally “black” music genre that was then taken and promulgated by white Americans. Post WWII, many Americans—especially teenagers—struggled with the newfound societal conformity and normalcy, and rock provided them a form of retaliation. From its beginning, Rock united the younger generation of Americans, stirring up a sense of community amongst teenagers and troubling many adults by their actions—heightening

The impact music had on teenagers was significant. Teenager’s developed a new style of music called Rock ‘n’ Roll, because the lyrics reflected and embraced their lives. High school sweethearts, fast-cars, and rebellion against authority resembled what teenagers craved the most. Parents disliked the message and influence behind the lyrics of Rock ‘n’ Roll, because they believed it caused juvenile delinquency. Parents hated the sexuality of the songs, the performers,

Throughout this paper I will be discussing the band Nirvana and their history has a band. I will discuss how they became so popular and why. Furthermore, I will discuss how this mass popularity relates to the impact they had on the development of youth culture at the time. I have chosen two songs to discuss and compare. These songs are “Come As You Are” and “Lithium”. Both were written by Nirvana and were hits on their second album “Nevermind”.

In order to prove that the Hip-Hop culture’s beliefs and goals have changed, I am mostly going to rely heavily on the culture’s music. Hip-Hop music has been the voice of the Hip-Hop culture since the beginning. It has been an outlet for those in the Hip-Hop culture to vent. To understand the changes in beliefs for the culture of Hip-Hop I must first distinguish what the original beliefs were. Then I must look at Hip-Hop music now to compare and contrast. This must be done using mostly first hand knowledge. This will give an actual inside look on the culture and eliminate preconception, lies or concealment.

Punk rock music has been used for decades to express dissatisfaction with society, government, or any idea common in mainstream media. Yet punk rock is not simply a tangent of the mainstream, it is a dynamic and fluid genre with many distinct songs. Don Letts, a mainstay in the London punk scene during the 70’s and 80’s, went as far to say that hip-hop was essentially “black” punk. While punk and hip-hop music are stylistically different, the fundamental tone of the two genres is the same. Even throughout the decades, hip-hop has sang the same issues as punk, including the plight of the lower class, police brutality, and gang violence.

Funk rock is a fusion genre that mixes elements of funk and rock. Many instruments may be incorporated into the music, but the overall sound is defined by a definitive bass or drum beat and electric guitars. 3 Another differences between Green Day and RHCP are the features of their songs and performance. In general, the introduction parts of Green Day’s songs are lyrical, and they change to the thumping beat at the middle part.

With the economic decline and availability of jobs with upward movement, a culture of youths formed in Britain that challenged the ideals and cultural norms of the generations that came before them. A consistent movement from traditional society through youth subcultures brings light through the eyes of the musicians that describe their generation’s feelings of homelessness in an era filled with unemployment, low wages, and violence. The insurgence of the counterculture movement, poor economic conditions, and the commercialization of previous Rock and Roll music in Britain directly led to the punk subculture because it allowed youths to speak up about their conditions and frustrations through an easily understood and accessible medium while maintaining a different stance than their predecessors.

Green Day considered itself to be punk. Infact, many people consider them to be one of the greatest punk rock bands of all time, along with Blink 182 and Sum 41. Founding members Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt grew up closely associated with the punk scene near Berkeley, and for the first 15 years of its existence the boys pumped out top-40 three-minute hits about masturbating, smoking marijuana, and being pissed off. However, in 2004, Green Day showed it had matured immensely and changed style significantly with its release of the concept album “American Idiot.” A concept album is an album that tells a story throughout. This

In 1971, Richard Nixon declared a war against drugs. Today, it still continues to be a huge failure, leading to mass incarceration in the U.S., corruption, violence and human rights abuses across the world. The DEA, or Drug Enforcement Administration, focuses on eliminating the supply of drugs and incarcerating drug traffickers. This strategy is inefficient because of supply and demand. If one attempts to eliminate the supply, then new ways will be found or new producers will produce due to demand. An example would be crystal meth. the U.S. government tried to stop crystal meth’s production by outlawing or regulating the sales of chemicals required to make it (“Controlled Substances Act”). In response, thousands of small-scale meth production labs popped up using unregulated chemicals. The U.S. then regulated those chemicals, which then only let the cartel, of whom have more experience and skill, to take over. With a less than 1% success rate, the DEA is still being funded around 30 billion dollars (Performance Budget). The reason most of the drugs in the U.S. are illegal are due to racist ties, this includes heroin (opium), marijuana, and cocaine. The U.S. should end the war on drugs and instead focus on the rehabilitation and discharge of drug abusers, users and dealers.

“It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead” (Robert K. Greenleaf).

September 8th 2006, the day that had a change in my life. The day I first came to America. Coming to America was one of the hardest things I ever had to do in my life. Knowing I 'm leaving my own country, my friends and relatives behind saddened me. Leaving my homeland, Vietnam, meant that I had to learn a completely new different language and make new friends.