Hey, it's Alan, and I just wanted to let you know that you can now listen to the ongoing history of new music early and ad-free on Amazon music, included with Prime. It's one thing to be young, loud, and snotty. Heck, it's almost expected, required. But it's another thing to be old, loud, and snotty. See, it's okay to be full of angst and bitterness when you're just starting out and you don't have any money. Because you have nothing to lose, you almost have to be really goofy and spend a lot of time acting like a jerk. But if you're lucky and your CDs and concert tickets start selling by the boatload, you won't be poor for long. That means you'll wake up one day, find yourself in your 30s with

six or seven figures in the bank, and realize that there's really nothing to be angry or bitter

about anymore. And when you try to be goofy, you act like a jerk like you used to, it just doesn't seem to,

you know, work. So in other words, you fail to evolve as you age. Your act gets old. You start

to look and sound phony. And as the British say, things go all terribly pear-shaped. This has been

the downfall of many a musician. It's like they all have this best before date stamped with their

foreheads. But there are exceptions and surprises. U-2 is probably the best example.

Elvis Costello is another good one.

R.E.M. have had their struggles of late, but they're still around.

But if you could rewind to the late 1980s and look in on a rehearsal and some dirty squat in Oakland, California,

chances are you would never, ever have bet on this group lasting more than 18 months, not in a million years.

I mean, seriously, what could you possibly expect from a high school dropout, the son of a heroin addict, and a 12-year-old wannabe rock star?

I mean, really?

But two decades and tens of millions of albums and a bunch

of Grammys and Juniors later, they're doing just fine. Welcome to the world of Green Day.

This is the ongoing history of new music podcast with Alan Crass. We were called Blood Rage,

and we used to play the on Broadway,

but I wasn't in the band then.

I was in a band called Isockery seat.

And then we were called Sweet Children.

Hold on, then there was a quarter.

We were called Sweet Children.

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