One could say that what is considered Punk-Pop today is not exactly what was considered Punk-Pop when Green Day burst onto the music scene in the early '90s. Artists within the Punk-Pop genre today (whether you agree or not) are those such as Sum 41, Simple Plan, Yellowcard, and so on. I listened to Yellowcard's album Ocean Avenue today in its entirety and have to say that they're on the good side of the scale for what they are. I must admit I found my toes tapping to their catchy tracks. My younger sisters love them and will not only be proud that I listened to their album, but also that we have a video for their track "Breathing" on our site; you can check it out here. It's been said that Green Day is one of the most influential Punk-Pop bands that helped to bring the genre to the forefront (to check out Green Day videos go here).

Below we go over "The Ps of Punk-Pop" to see if Green Day has changed with the times or if they have remained true to their roots. And, in keeping with the Punk-Pop-two-minute-song-length-average, we'll keep this short and sweet.

Used to be of the "I don't care" generation. Their latest album American Idiot gets political even within the title. More recently, the boys have announced that they are donating all 2005 royalties from the sale of their latest single "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" on iTunes to Red Cross tsunami relief (for more on this go here). Helping to make getting involved cool?

A+

It seems that more and more artists are getting involved with the world we live in, although, this is not unique to the Punk-Pop genre. Many bands, Punk-Pop or not, look up to Green Day and perhaps are following their example. Yellowcard, for instance, participated in Justice Through Music's DVD entitled Rock Your Rights, wherein artists discuss important issues facing our world today, such as war, drugs, the death penalty, and women's issues (to get more info go here).

A

Yes, they're pretty, and posters of Billie Joe cover many a teenage girl's bedroom wall, but are they pretty on purpose?

A

For the most part, if you're not a pretty face with snazzy clothes and perhaps a chain wallet, there is no need to apply. OK, that statement might be going a little too far, but you at least have to be able to do the "I don't care if I'm cool, but you think I'm cool and you know it" facial expression for your album cover, posters, and T-shirts.

B+

American Idiot allowed Green Day to reclaim their throne as number one on the charts. If you look back to just before Green Day hit the scene, you'd be hard pressed to find a Punk-Pop artist on the charts.

A

It's now common and expected to see artists within the Punk-Pop genre hit the top of the charts. Simple Plan's Still Not Getting Any... is still going strong, enjoying week 11 on the Billboard Top 200, coming in at number 34.

A-

Yes, American Idiot is better produced than say, their 1991 release 1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours, but the Green Day sound is still apparent and true.

A-

These days, the albums are way overproduced. That is true pretty much across the board for each genre, but it is a more noticeable change for genres related to Punk (even if you're of the opinion that Punk-Pop is as far away from "true" Punk as possible).

B

OK, we threw this one in partly because it's hard thinking of a lot of words that start with "P," and partly because it's an obvious one for Green Day. A friend of mine used to live in Billie Joe's neighborhood and would let me know each time he was seen out strolling with his kids. It's no secret that they've grown up and settled down, but they have still kept up their rock star personas, at least in their professional appearances.

A+

Most are relatively new to the scene and way too young to be at this stage in life. Maybe though, when they reach the ripe old age of 30, they'll keep rockin' on while still being responsible parents and not ending up in the tabloids.

B+

A+

A

A

A-

A+

A

They Prove Nice Guys Don't Always Finish Last

A

B+

A-

B

B+

B+

No Dookie Here