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'Wake Me Up When September Ends': 10 Fun Ways To Commemorate Green Day's Hit

Posted 9/30/11 9:17 am EST by in green-day


By Uptin Saiidi

In the words of Green Day, “summer has come and past,” and tonight as midnight strikes we’ll be humming the melody of the band’s second highest U.S. selling single, “Wake Me Up When September Ends.” On the surface, we completely understand the mellow-sounding track; it’s that awkward month between summer break and apple picking when the weather is totally bipolar.

But like me, you might have mistaken its meaning. Because of the song’s release date, it’s most commonly thought to be about the events of 9/11, but band member Billie Joe Armstrong clarified the song was actually written as a memorial to his father, who died of cancer in September 1982.

Later, the song was dedicated to the deceased guitarist Johnny Ramone of the Ramones, who died in September 2004.

The song eventually because a tribute to victims of Hurricane Katrina and was performed live with U2 at the first game played after the hurricane in the Superdome in New Orleans.

In honor of today’s timely meaning of the song, we made a list of ten fun ways to commemorate: Read More...

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Billie Joe Armstrong's Son Follows In Grand Offspring Tradition With Emily's Army

Posted 5/25/11 3:08 pm EST by in Music


By Zachary Swickey

It’s hard to imagine what life would be like if your dad was the singer for one of the most successful punk band of all time, but that’s just a day in the life of Joey Armstrong, son of Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong. And somewhat fittingly, the 16-year-old drummer is now ready to follow in his father’s footsteps by forming a punk rock outfit with three of his chums.

Dubbed Emily’s Army — a name derived from two bandmates’ 15-year-old cousin Emily, who was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis — the group's rather sneeringly-titled debut album, Don’t Be a Dick, was produced by none other than Papa Armstrong himself and will be released through his own Adeline Records come June 14th.

"The record has a lot of youthful punk rock attitude. They’re raw," Billie Joe proudly affirmed to Spin, "It’s well-played, has great hooks and is catchy as hell.”

So, to celebrate Joey Armstrong's brand-new day job, we decided to take a look back at some other rock-star offspring who have decided to follow in their father's footsteps ... with, it should be noted, varying degrees of success.

Read More...

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MTV's Musical March Madness: Green Day Vs. Paramore For The Title!

Posted 4/4/11 8:27 am EST by in Music


It's MTV's second annual Musical March Madness! MTV News took the 64 biggest names in rock, split them up into four regions, assigned them seeds and puts them up against one another in a single-elimination series of match-ups in a winner-take-all contest. We're leaving it to you to decide an actual champ in this field of 64, so over the next few weeks, fan voting will determine who will emerge as this year's champion. It's all about the fans, and the artist with the most passionate fan base will score the awesome Musical March Madness trophy!

Well, it's all come down to this: After millions of votes (and nearly as many shattered dreams), thousands of comments, 62 matchups, five rounds and three weeks, we've reached the championship game of MTV's 2011 Musical March Madness tournament: Green Day vs. Paramore, for all the marbles. Both bands have survived tough challenges to get here, but only will lay claim to the MMM title. Who will it be? Only you, the fans, know for sure.

Voting in the 2011 MMM championship game will close on Monday, April 4 at midnight ET. Oh, and since we want to keep things suspenseful, voting results — and our champion — won't be revealed until Tuesday on MTVNews.com.

(3) Green Day vs. (5) Paramore
Our championship matchup pits third-seeded Green Day against #5 Paramore, a clash of two battle-tested bands (Green Day knocked off the likes of U2, Blink-182 and Panic! at the Disco in this year’s tourney, while Paramore survived showdowns against foes like No Doubt and Tokio Hotel), that also serves as the culmination of a year-long quest for redemption: both were upset in the opening round of last year’s MMM tournament, and have spent the past 12 months seething about that fact. For one of them, the long road back will end with the MMM title. And it will be your votes that decide our winner!

Voting in our championship match-up is now closed ... to see who won the 2011 MMM title, make sure to check out MTVNews.com Tuesday afternoon!

Watch our updated look at the MMM championship game now!

Check out the Musical March Madness bracket and be take a look at the hoops-centric photos of some of the tournament's biggest bands.

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MTV's Musical March Madness: Green Day Vs. Disturbed

Posted 4/1/11 7:45 am EST by in Music


It's MTV's second annual Musical March Madness! MTV News took the 64 biggest names in rock, split them up into four regions, assigned them seeds and puts them up against one another in a single-elimination series of match-ups in a winner-take-all contest. We're leaving it to you to decide an actual champ in this field of 64, so over the next few weeks, fan voting will determine who will emerge as this year's champion. It's all about the fans, and the artist with the most passionate fan base will score the awesome Musical March Madness trophy!

Now that was intense! The regional finals in MTV's Musical March Madness was as hard-hitting and cutthroat as it has ever been, and now only four bands remain standing. One of them will be crowned Musical March Madness champion, and each one makes a compelling case for that number one spot.

Voting for all Final Four match-ups will close on Sunday, April 3 at midnight. As always, you can follow all the voting here.

(3) Green Day vs. (9) Disturbed
In the Elite Eight, Green Day took an early lead on spry rivals Panic! at the Disco, and though the Panic boys closed the gap towards the end, Green Day tapped into their veteran instincts and finished off their opponents for a decisive victory in the West. Meanwhile, Disturbed went 12 rounds with defending champs Coheed and Cambria. There were over a dozen lead changes and a handful of late surges by both squads, but in the end, Disturbed managed to topple Coheed and Cambria by an extremely slim margin to deliver the 2010 winners their first ever Musical March Madness loss. With the Midwest in their pocket, can Disturbed continue their winning ways, or will Green Day's momentum carry them into the finals? Your votes decide it!

Watch Dick Bagwell and Vincent Twice unveil the Final Four!

Check out the Musical March Madness bracket and be take a look at the hoops-centric photos of some of the tournament's biggest bands.

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MTV's Musical March Madness: Green Day Vs. Panic! At The Disco

Posted 3/30/11 10:30 am EST by in Music


It's MTV's second annual Musical March Madness! MTV News took the 64 biggest names in rock, split them up into four regions, assigned them seeds and puts them up against one another in a single-elimination series of match-ups in a winner-take-all contest. We're leaving it to you to decide an actual champ in this field of 64, so over the next few weeks, fan voting will determine who will emerge as this year's champion. It's all about the fans, and the artist with the most passionate fan base will score the awesome Musical March Madness trophy!

With the Midwest regional final already in play, it's time to move on to the West. The two bands who are competing in the Elite Eight have both come through some devastating match-ups featuring a lot of late-game heroics and back-breaking runs. It should be a thrilling finish no matter who comes out on top.

Voting for all Elite Eight match-ups will close on Thursday, March 31 at midnight. As always, you can follow all the voting here.

(3) Green Day vs. (5) Panic! at the Disco
Green Day may have started the Musical March Madness tournament quietly, but they have been putting together a string of dominating performances as of late. They came back to defeat U2 in the second round and then fell behind early to Blink-182 before opening up a commanding lead at the finish. Their opponents are Panic! at the Disco, who went wire-to-wire with top-seeded 30 Seconds to Mars in the Sweet 16 and put together an incredible comeback to defeat them. With that kind of momentum, can they be stopped? Or will Green Day take their place in the Final Four? Vote and find out!

Watch the latest update on all the Elite Eight action!

Check out the Musical March Madness bracket and be take a look at the hoops-centric photos of some of the tournament's biggest bands.

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MTV's Musical March Madness: Blink-182 Vs. Green Day

Posted 3/28/11 12:00 pm EST by in Music


It's MTV's second annual Musical March Madness! MTV News took the 64 biggest names in rock, split them up into four regions, assigned them seeds and puts them up against one another in a single-elimination series of match-ups in a winner-take-all contest. We're leaving it to you to decide an actual champ in this field of 64, so over the next few weeks, fan voting will determine who will emerge as this year's champion. It's all about the fans, and the artist with the most passionate fan base will score the awesome Musical March Madness trophy!

The Sweet 16 has created some truly awesome head-to-head pairings, including the second one in the West region. Which one of these two titans will move on and which one will go home? It should be a slobberknocker, so be sure to check it out.

Voting for all Sweet 16 match-ups will close on Tuesday, March 29 at midnight. As always, you can follow all the voting here.

(2) Blink-182 vs. (3) Green Day
In what is possibly the biggest of all the Sweet 16 match-ups, Green Day take an incredible amount of momentum into their confrontation with Blink-182. Billie Joe Armstrong and the boys got past Adam Lambert and then engaged in a knock-down, drag-out battle with former collaborators U2 to get to this point. Meanwhile, Blink-182 topped All Time Low and the Red Hot Chili Peppers on their way to the Sweet 16, both of whom proved to be able adversaries. Which icons of California punk will find themselves in the Elite Eight? It's up to you!

Check out Dick Bagwell and Vincent Twice previewing the Sweet 16!

Check out the Musical March Madness bracket and be take a look at the hoops-centric photos of some of the tournament's biggest bands.

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MTV's Musical March Madness: Green Day Vs. U2

Posted 3/23/11 1:30 pm EST by in Music


It's MTV's second annual Musical March Madness! MTV News took the 64 biggest names in rock, split them up into four regions, assigned them seeds and puts them up against one another in a single-elimination series of match-ups in a winner-take-all contest. We're leaving it to you to decide an actual champ in this field of 64, so over the next few weeks, fan voting will determine who will emerge as this year's champion. It's all about the fans, and the artist with the most passionate fan base will score the awesome Musical March Madness trophy!

The second round is quickly becoming contentious, and there are a number of routs and upsets going down all over the place. Both bands in this particular match-up have shown they want to win, so this one should be no exception.

Voting for all second round match-ups will close on Sunday, March 27 at midnight. As always, you can follow all the voting here.

(3) Green Day vs. (6) U2
Adam Lambert had a surprising surge in 2010's Musical March Madness tournament, but this time around he couldn't build enough of a front to get out of the first round against Green Day. The Berkeley punk legends take on U2 in the second round, following the Irish quartet's victory over Ke$ha in the opening round. Which one of these former collaborators (on "The Saints Are Coming") will survive to play again? Vote and find out!

Watch the breakdown of the first round and a preview of round two!

Check out the Musical March Madness bracket and be take a look at the hoops-centric photos of some of the tournament's biggest bands.

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MTV's Musical March Madness: U2 Vs. Ke$ha, Green Day Vs. Adam Lambert

Posted 3/15/11 1:30 pm EST by in Music


It's MTV's second annual Musical March Madness! MTV News took the 64 biggest names in rock, split them up into four regions, assigned them seeds and puts them up against one another in a single-elimination series of match-ups in a winner-take-all contest. We're leaving it to you to decide an actual champ in this field of 64, so over the next few weeks, fan voting will determine who will emerge as this year's champion. It's all about the fans, and the artist with the most passionate fan base will score the awesome Musical March Madness trophy!

We're halfway through the West bracket in MTV's 2011 Musical March Madness tournament, with 30 Seconds to Mars, Panic! at the Disco, Pearl Jam and Florence and the Machine all making big noise. Who will be next to break away from the pack? There are two more match-ups below for your voting pleasure.

As always, first round voting continues through Sunday night (March 20), and you can catch up with any match-ups you might have missed here.

(6) U2 vs. (11) Ke$ha
In one of the most intriguing head-to-heads of the entire first round, the veteran Irish rock band takes on the upstart pop antagonist. U2 could have made a play for the top spot had it not been for their association with "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark," while Ke$ha has been steadily building success and credibility with her punchy songs, unique fashion sense and very real attitude. But only one can make it to the second round, which is why you need to vote!

(3) Green Day vs. (14) Adam Lambert
Lambert made a surprise splash in last year's tournament, playing the upset card for a few rounds before flaming out. He'll have another uphill battle this time around, as he has to take on Green Day, one of the biggest and most dominating rock bands on the planet. Green Day could have easily taken a number one seed with the success of "American Idiot" on Broadway and their blistering new live album Awesome As F--- about to drop. They'll have something to prove, but can they prove it against the feisty former "American Idol" star?

Watch Dick Bagwell and Vincent Twice break down this year's bracket!

Check out the Musical March Madness bracket and be take a look at the hoops-centric photos of some of the tournament's biggest bands.

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Green Day Smoke'Em For MTV News' #MusicMonday

Posted 3/14/11 1:30 pm EST by in Music


Really, you should be listening to music every day, but thanks to Twitter, Monday has become the best day of the week to discover new songs, show some love to the tune currently dominating your iPod playlist and quietly judge the listening habits of your closest friends. Yes, it's #MusicMonday, one of Twitter's most enduring trending topics. Hence "MTV News' #MusicMonday," a weekly look at the songs we are currently crushing on.

This week, Green Day do it live.

Like many bands, Green Day got their start playing shambling songs to mostly empty clubs in out of the way places. But unlike most bands, the group has used its 20 years of experience to evolve into one of the tightest, most engaging live bands on the planet. This week sees the release of their latest live project, an album and DVD combo that is appropriately titled Awesome As F---. The compilation brings together 17 of the band's biggest tracks recorded all around the world during their 21st Century Breakdown World Tour that kept them on the road for most of 2009 and 2010. The DVD is a full-length concert live from the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

Both on the album and in the video, Green Day show off their boundless energy, stellar execution and impeccable relationship with the crowd. There is a true energy exchange that goes on between the band and its audience, and there's a palpable buzz in the air throughout each song performed. To get you ready for Awesome As F--- (which hits store shelves next Tuesday, March 22), crank up the band's live version of "Cigarettes & Valentines," one of the few rescued remnants from the lost album of the same name.

What's your #MusicMonday jam? Let us know in the comments!

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Happy Birthday, Billie Joe Armstrong!

Posted 2/17/11 11:00 am EST by in Music


Rock and roll keeps a lot of stars eternally young. Even though you can recognize the lines on the faces of veterans like Mick Jagger, Bruce Springsteen, Robert Plant and Ozzy Osbourne, their passion for the music makes you forget how old they are (just look at Jagger's performance at last weekend's Grammy Awards or Osbourne's just-released music video for "Let It Die" for proof). So even though Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong turns 39 years old today (which is not especially old, of course), he still remains a spunky 20-year-old kid in the eyes of anybody who has ever cranked up American Idiot.

Armstrong grew up in Rodeo, California with his five older siblings. He got into music early, as his father was a jazz musician and his older brothers were all on top of the first wave of punk rock. At age 10, he met fellow Rodeo resident Mike Dirnt, and the pair eventually formed a band called Sweet Children, which found of Armstrong (who had dropped out of high school to pursue his music career) and Dirnt both playing guitar. The band became a three-piece and changed its name to Green Day in 1989, the same year they recorded the EPs 39/Smooth, 1,000 Hours and Slappy (which were eventually collected as 1,039 Smoothed Out Slappy Hours and released as a de facto debut album). Drummer Tré Cool joined the fray shortly after the EPs were recorded (replacing John Kiffmeyer, who left the band to go to college), and the core unit of Green Day was solidified.

The early recordings (including the debut album and 1992's Kerplunk) are formidable and raw, featuring the trio's hyperdrive playing and centered around Armstrong's signature voice, which managed to sound bratty, melancholy, triumphant, defiant and depressed all at once. It has remained a unique, versatile instrument, and it has served Armstrong well as his songwriting has matured (it's no wonder he has delivered such excellent performances in his own Broadway show "American Idiot"). In honor of Armstrong's big day, crank up "Wake Me Up When September Ends," an excellent example of what keeps Armstrong great — and eternally young.


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