Green Day (2009):
This semiotic/contextual analysis of Green Day reception strategies was never intended to be anything more than a bit of interesting personal popular music studies research. Written circa 2009, I think, I was fascinated at the time with both my daughter Steph's and my university students' variegated interests in the (then) popular US northern Californian pop punk bands. They all appeared to like, to a greater or a lesser extent, the music of Green Day and The Offspring. However, it was also fascinating to discover where they drew strict lines in the sand between what they felt were, or were not, authentic offerings from Green Day, and why. So, with a few unstructured interviews I proceeded to effectively 'map out' their different and/or similar paradigms of authenticity (at least as I saw/heard them) and comment contextually, structurally and semiotically, as deemed appropriate.
The whole process was actually a fascinating journey and it was very interesting to discover how and why receivers felt that they could no longer continue their Green Day allegiances unabated: whether it was something to do with the group's first wave of pop popularity, or the band's turning on their fans; the American Idiot album (which divided many), or the Foxboro Hot Tubs, etc.
As one might expect with popular music fandom being primarily an individual matter (not as collective as one might at first presume – one shared one's dissatisfaction as much as approval of the group!), there were myriad reasons why not to like them anymore! What such fascinating fandom delineations later made of the American Idiot musical, beggars’ belief …!
My good friend Professor Lauro Meller eventually published the resulting research on his website Brazilian Journal of Song Studies, volume two, http://www.rbec.ect.ufrn.br. With grateful thanks Lauro!!
Disclaimer:
This research is made available for public access and peer review, but Dr Mike Brocken retains full ownership of any and all intellectual property, media resources and text, and should be formally accredited for any references to, or use of, these materials.