Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong explains why he still loathes the term 'pop-punk'

His hatred for the phrase hasn't waned

Billie Joe Armstrong still hates 'pop-punk'
Author: Scott ColothanPublished 27th Apr 2021
Last updated 27th Apr 2021

Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong says his hatred of the term ‘pop-punk’ hasn’t waned over the years.

Shortly before New Year in 2015, Billie Joe took to Twitter to tell his followers his sole mission for 2016 was to “destroy the phrase "pop-punk" forever.”

Explaining why, Billie Joe later told Kerrang!: "I've always hated the phrase 'pop-punk'. I think it's a contradiction in terms. Either you're punk, or you're not.

"(The tweet) was not directed at any of the band (described this way), it's just that it's too singular a term for my tastes."

Green Day

More than five years on from his remarks, Billie Joe has told Vulture |nofollow|newtab) that his loathing for the phrase remains and he “doesn’t regret anything” about his comments.

“I never really liked that term (pop punk), it turned into sort of a genre,” Billie Joe said. “I never thought of myself as a pop artist. I’ve always been left of center. To say you’re a pop-punker … it never sat well with me.

“I’m very proud that we came from a diverse scene. We were definitely the most melodic band playing at that time, but we’d also play with bands like Neurosis, Engage, Spitboy, Blatz, and Filth, and it was just all over the spectrum as far as punk rock. We played with Fuel, which sounded more like Fugazi.

“(Pop-punk is) this term that kind of just all of a sudden showed up when people wanted to put a label on things. I feel the same way about, like, ska-punk. It seemed like a silly way of trying to kind of create a genre or a sub-genre.”

Billie Joe Armstrong isn’t the only music icon to hate the label bestowed upon their band.

In a 2007 interview with student website The Maine Campus, My Chemical Romance’s Gerard Way lambasted the emo genre calling it “a pile of s---.”

He ranted: “Basically, it's never been accurate to describe us. Emo bands were being booked while we were touring with Christian metal bands because no one would book us on tours.

“I think emo is f---ing garbage, it's bull----. I think there's bands that unfortunately we get lumped in with that are considered emo and by default that starts to make us emo.

“All I can say is anyone actually listening to the records put the records next to each other and listen to them and there's actually no similarities. I think emo's a pile of s---.”

The real names of famous rock stars including Mike Dirnt and Tre Cool:

Edward Louis Severson III (Eddie Vedder)

William Bruce Rose (Axl Rose)

Farrokh Bulsara (Freddie Mercury)

Michael Peter Balzary (Flea)

Perry Bernstein (Perry Farrell)

Robert Deal (Mick Mars)

Frank Ferrano (Nikki Sixx)

Frank Edwin Wright III (Tré Cool)

Courtney Michelle Harrison (Courtney Love)

Georg Albert Ruthenberg (Pat Smear)

Chaim Klein Witz (Gene Simmons)

James Newell Osterberg, JR. (Iggy Pop)

Vincent Damon Furnier (Alice Cooper)

Joey Ramone (Jeffrey Ross Hyman)

Dee Dee Ramone (Douglas Glenn Colvin)

Saul Hudson (Slash)

Michael Ryan Pritchard (Mike Dirnt)

Ronald James Padavona (Ronnie James Dio)

Bree Joanna Alice Robinson (Brody Dalle)

Chad Robert Turton (Chad Kroeger)

Kim Bendix Petersen (King Diamond)

Glenn Allen Anzalone (Glenn Danzig)

James Owen Sullivan (The Rev)

Richard Allan Ream (Rikki Rockett)

Anthony Scott Flippen (Scott Stapp)

Brian Elwin Haner, Jr. (Synyster Gates)

Deborah Anne Dyer (Skin)

Nicholas Jones (Nicky Wire)

Andrew Fetterly Wilkes Krier (Andrew W.K.)

Zachary James Baker (Zacky Vengeance)

Amy Lynn Hartzler (Amy Lee)

Robert James Ritchie (Kid Rock)

William Perks (Bill Wyman)

Rolf Magnus Joakim Larsson (Joey Tempest)

Jeffrey Isbell (Izzy Stradlin)

Stanley Eisen (Paul Stanley)

Henry Garfield (Henry Rollins)

Colin Flooks (Cozy Powell)

Richard Harrison (Rick Parfitt)

Vincent Neil Wharton (Vince Neil)

Michael McKagan (Duff McKagan)

Ian Kilmister (Lemmy)

John Baldwin (John Paul Jones)

Joan Larkin (Joan Jett)

Peter Byford (Biff Byford)

Ray Burns (Captain Sensible)

Keith Palmer (Maxim Reality)

Peter Baker (Ginger Baker)

Darrell Abbott (Dimebag Darrell)

William Michael Albert Broad (Billy Idol)

Eric Patrick Clapp (Eric Clapton)

Susan Janet Ballion (Siouxsie Sioux)

David Robert Hayward Stenton Jones (David Bowie)

Richard Wayne Penniman (Little Richard)

John Simon Ritchie (Sid Vicious)

Paul Daniel Frehley (Ace Frehley)

Sebastian Bierk (Sebastian Bach)

Louis Firbank (Lou Reed)

John Graham Mellor (Joe Strummer)

Robert Bartleh Cummings (Rob Zombie)

Mark Feld (Marc Bolan)

David Howell Evans (The Edge)

Marvin Lee Aday (Meatloaf)

Steven Victor Tallarico (Steven Tyler)

John Michael Osbourne (Ozzy Osbourne)

John Francis Bongiovi (Jon Bon Jovi)

John Anthony Gillis (Jack White)

Paul David Hewson (Bono)

Dominic Richard Harrison (Yungblud)

Daniel Lloyd Davey (Dani Filth)


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