We all have varying tastes in the kind of music we like the most. Luckily, considering you're all here on a Green Day fan site, I can at least assume we all have good taste in some music, however many of us like Green Day for different reasons. Some people might have heard songs like Boulevard of Broken Dreams or Good Riddance and fell in love with them (check out this editorial on Green Day ballads), however, there are many of us who like the loud, fast Green Day giving us a solid fix of rock n roll. These are the songs that make me want to stand up and dance like a fucking idiot around my room. Here's my top 5 kick ass Green Day songs. To clarify, these aren't my top 5 "favorite" songs or most impressive, they're the top 5 that make me want to dance.


Starting off the list is Jaded from Insomniac. This song follows Brain Stew and I considered listing them together, however, I don't think Brain Stew is a "get up and dance" song. I think it could be the soundtrack in a movie where people are fucking shit up in an epic slow motion scene, but Jaded on the other hand is it's fast paced "let's start a mosh pit" brother.

Favorite lyric: "Always move forward. Going straight will get you nowhere". This song should also be near the top of the "what the fuck is Billie Joe saying" list. The lyrics are fantastic though, if a little hard to understand just listening, but you should learn them.


One of my favorite Green Day songs ever is East Jesus Nowhere off 21st Century Breakdown. When I first heard this I remember thinking "oh fuck yes. This is the stuff." If music were a physical drug I'd want this song in an IV bag pumping straight into my veins. Originally called "March of the Dogs" it was renamed shortly before the album came out (maybe because Sum 41 had a song named that already) and the new title came from the movie Juno, whose writer, Diablo Cody, is a Green Day fan.

Favorite lyric: "I threw my crutches in the river of shadow of doubt." As a recovering Catholic, the whole verse starting with "Oh bless me lord for I have sinned" really means a lot to me.

Favorite performance: Late Show with David Letterman.


Like Jaded, St. Jimmy is the pump-ass brother to a slower song, this time to "Are We The Waiting" off American Idiot. St. Jimmy can definitely stand on it's own though and it remains one of my favorites to hear live. The change-up at the end of the song to a little more rock n roll sound is a perfect ending. It adds a feeling of unison to cap it off, something to get everyone in the arena to clap and jump to after the free for all of the first 2 minutes. The last minute also forces me to pick up my air guitar every single time it comes on. As a matter of fact, writing this paragraph took me much longer than it should have as I had this song on repeat. That air guitar won't play itself.

Favorite lyric: "I am the son of a bitch and Edgar Allen Poe." I have a lot of respect for Poe, and a lot of respect for Billie's writing. Thinking of his abilities as a cross between his own personality and that of Edgar Allen Poe seems very fitting to me for some reason. I hope in 100 years schools use some of Green Day's lyrics as example of an impressive way with words. Maybe not Know Your Enemy or All By Myself though.

Favorite Performance: St. Jimmy Live from Bullet In a Bible


A more perfect "fuck you" song doesn't exist compared to Platypus (I Hate You) off Nimrod. It's not enough to say "I hate you," you have to add in "no one loves you and you know it." Ouch. This is the perfect song to play really loud in your room (or in the car, as I do) when you're pissed off at someone. Playing this song very loud as I drive around is some of the best therapy I've ever had. And it's not just the lyrics that get you going. The fast pace of the music starts right from the start and lasts the full 2 minutes and 21 seconds. Not to mention the glorious bridge of a swear-fest. I think it's a sort of rite of passage when a Green Day fan first learns to sing the bridge in a single breath without fucking up.

Favorite lyric: "Dickhead, Fuckface, cock smoking, mother fucking, asshole, dirty twat, waste of semen, I hope you die"

I think some anti-tobacco campaign should take this song and adjust the lyrics in the chorus to say "Cause I hate chew." Billie Joe's brilliant enunciation helps with that.


This is my favorite track off 21st Century Breakdown. Horseshoes and Handgrenades actually might be one of my all-time favorite songs by Green Day or any other band. According to my last.fm page, it's the most played Green Day song on my playlist as well. For me, this song defines "pump ass" (for those of you that listen to the podcast). The guitar has a beautifully strong sound right from the start, and the opening lyrics, "I'm not fucking around," are the perfect start to a kick ass song. Billie Joe's scream at the end of "want to annihilate this age old contradiction" 2 minutes into the song sounds so fucking good. The lyrics have an uncommon theme (for Green Day) of selfishness and arrogance. A lot of Billie Joe's writing shows some insecurity and apathy, but this song screams "fuck you. I'll destroy you because I can." If it didn't have so many curse words, I think this would be an amazing song for any sports team to come out to.

Favorite lyric: "Maybe you're the runner up, but the first one to lose the race." Talk about cynical! This seems like a more poetic way to say Ricky Bobby's line from the movie Talladega Nights "If you're not first, you're last"

So there you go. My top 5 kick ass songs. Green Day has a lot of very kick ass songs to motivate you, to make you want to jump around and knock over trash cans, so it was hard limiting it to only 5. But if you want to see some of my other favorites you can check out this Spotify playlist.

Thanks for reading! You can guys can follow me on Twitter to get more of my witty potty-mouth, @andresgda. Leave us a comment below with your top 5 kick ass songs.