Excerpt from MancavePlaybabes.com

If you have listened to music, been informed of pop culture, or been to every Tony award winning show on Broadway you are familiar with the band Green Day.  They are rock-pop-punk outfit that has had a lot of success despite their critics.  Most recently, the band has released three albums titled ‘UNO!’, ‘DOS!’, and ‘TRE!’  The initial response from critics has ranged from “meh?” to horrible.  Of course I disagree and believe the critics have missed the point (again), these three releases represent the best of Green Day to date.

Who is Green Day?  They are an American pop-punk band formed in 1987.  Members include (Billie Joe Armstrong (vocals, guitar), Mike Dirnt (bass), Tre Cool (drums), and Jason White (guitar), the latter, has become a full member since 2000.  After two independently released albums, their third, titled ‘Dookie’ became a giant success, selling over 10 million records.  Their follow-up albums ‘Insomniac’, ‘Nimrod’, and ‘Warning’ would not reach this level of success.  In 2004 the band’s rock opera, ‘American Idiot’, brought success (and a Broadway Show by the same name) back to the band.  Their eighth studio album, ‘21^st Century Breakdown’ would continue this success.  The band has won five Grammy Awards.

Early in their career, Green Day was labeled as juvenile and not to be taken seriously.  Then (after forcing the serious part) they were labeled as punk sell-outs, creating music for the masses vs. “the cause.”  When they went back to their roots and created more “rock” heavy tracks their popularity dipped, and they got blasted for changing their sound.  Finally, they reached both success with critics and fans with ‘American Idiot’ and ‘21^st Century Breakdown.’  The problem with pleasing everyone is that this creates impossible momentum to maintain.  Recently, the band once again went “out of the box” and released three albums, ‘Uno!’, ‘Dos!’, and ‘Tre.’  The new music is not political in nature (as their past two were) and is a grand return to their pop-punk roots.  Once again, they are at odds with their critics who don’t understand that this is a band making music for future generations and not only white males in their late thirties/early forties.

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David S. Grant is an author of several books, rock columnist, travel writer, and NBA blogger. Follow David on Twitter: .david_s_grant