The punk icon Billie Joe Armstrong fell out of love with: “He sounds old”
There has always been some contention amongst punk fans as to whether Green Day qualifies as true punk. Regardless of what some pedantic music fans might claim, Billie Joe Armstrong has helped steer the pop-punk trio through some of the most incredible heights the genre has ever seen, including many forays into rock history with albums like Dookie and American Idiot. For all of the inspiration Armstrong took from punk’s history, he considered one classic rocker entirely out of touch.
When looking back on Armstrong’s musical development, his musical taste was far more eclectic than any of his contemporaries. As opposed to limiting himself to strictly punk rock, Armstrong gravitated towards all kinds of music, hearing The Beatles for the first time at his house and going down the rabbit hole of hard rock when first learning to play guitar.
By the time he had reached adolescence, Armstrong was enthralled by the local punk scene in his native California, falling in love with the bands coming out of Gilman Street, like Crimpshrine and Sewer Trout. Although he liked the idea of forming his band, Armstrong’s sense of melody was a welcome change of pace from the rest of the rock scene.
As opposed to the atonal noise coming from a handful of bands, Armstrong’s knowledge of pop hooks became one of the band’s greatest strengths, even earning them a deal with major label Reprise Records. Once the band’s career exploded with the success of the album Dookie, though, one of the leading voices in punk rock wasn’t willing to accept them.
Compared to the other bands rebelling against the system, John Lydon wanted nothing to do with Green Day’s brand of punk rock. Considering his pedigree as the founder of Sex Pistols, Lydon felt that what Armstrong was doing was too commercial to be considered punk, comparing the bunch to silly, fat, rich kids trying to be rockstars.
While Armstrong was usually going to take the high road, he wasn’t willing to roll over and take any criticism from one of the genre’s kings. When talking to Alan Di Perna, Armstrong made it crystal clear that his love for Sex Pistols began and ended at the music, not wanting anything to do with what the modern version of Lydon was.
As Armstrong would later recall: “I love the Sex Pistols’ old songs. I think the lyrics are great. But now he sounds like my grandmother at times. He sounds old. And that’s the funny thing…he’s so predictable in his comments about us. I mean, come on…be a bit more novel”.
Armstrong also said that most of Lydon’s post-Pistols material wasn’t worth revisiting, either, adding, “On top of that, some of the stuff from PiL was complete shit, as far as I’m concerned”. Although Lydon and Armstrong may not have seen eye-to-eye, they came from completely different angles.
While Lydon may have been looking to upset the established order every time he stepped up to the microphone, Armstrong still understood the power of rock music, wanting to make songs that inspired people rather than assaulted them. Sex Pistols may have kicked the door down for punk, but Armstrong helped the genre touch people’s hearts worldwide.
