Wake Me Up When September Ends

The title of the Green Day song is chillingly fitting right now as I seem to have startled awake and realized that September is thisclose to over. Where has this month gone? Seriously. Where has it gone? Is it coming back? No? Well, that’s rude… it didn’t even leave a note! I wish this was one of those times when I think it’s missing but I’ve really got it on the top of my head, like a pair of sunglasses. But I don’t think this is like that.

Anyway. One of the perks of living in the Bay Area — this, by the way, is me desperately trying to console myself after an amazing trip to New York which just made me want to move there all the more — is that we’ve got local punk rock and Berkeley Rep, an awesome theatre company. What happens when the two come together? American Idiot, a rock musical from the director of Spring Awakening that features music by my favorite East Bay boys, Green Day.

First, for those new to the phenomenon that is me: I’m a big Green Day fan, big pop-punk lover and a huge theatre nerd. So seeing American Idiot tonight was one part intellectual thrill, one part teenage squee-y dream come true for me. The show was awesome. It was a little thin on, er, plot — cue Beautiful Yet Pregnant Teenager, Suburban Kids/Big City and Ruined Love — but huge on thrashing-sweaty-moshy-rock-n’-roll. Best of all, there was almost no book, so it was 90 minutes of straight-up Green Day sung by incredibly talented performers.

This brings me to my point — I swear, I saw it around here somewhere, the bugger — and that’s this: Green Day is an incredible force of nature. Wait, wait, bear with me. I discovered them in middle school, when Dookie came out, and fell instantly in love. The funny thing is, that seems to be the consistent story. I can walk up to any 12 year-old, 17 year-old, 21 year-old or 25 year-old and tell them that I’ve loved Green Day since, like, middle school. And they’ll agree. Passionately. This band releases a monster CD every few years and captures an entirely new generation. How? They’re consistent.

Green Day has found a resonance, a groove, and they do it well. Sure, they’ve gotten more political with recent albums, but their themes are the same: boredom, anger, disillusionment, feeling powerless, being alone, going crazy. They’re great to listen to if you’re writing YA or upper MG, especially boy books. And they just go to show that once you find your voice and hit a stride with the themes you do well, you’ll capture readers over and over. Whether on stage at 924 Gilman Street or at Berkeley Rep, these songs all have Green Day’s unmistakable voice.

This phenomenon is something that writers can work toward, too. Once something connects to its audience, it will continue to roll and pick up generation after generation of readers, year in, year out. Don’t think I’m saying “Get boring, get complacent.” Do good work, come up with unique ideas, but put a certain stamp on it. This may not be interesting to everyone, but it works for the likes of John Green and Sarah Dessen, for example. Oh yeah, and Green Day.

Alright. That’s enough fangirl rambling for one night. I promise some real writing-and-publishing posts are coming up as soon as I get everything in order post-NYC.