There are a lot of bands who claim to be punk and they only play the music, they have no clue what it’s all about. It’s a lifestyle. It’s not about popularity and all that crap.

Meaning of the quote

Billie Joe Armstrong, an American musician, explains that being punk is not just about playing certain music. It's a way of living your life, not just a style of music. Some bands act like they are punk, but they don't really understand what it means to be punk. Punk is not about becoming famous or popular - it's about staying true to yourself and not caring what other people think.

About Billie Joe Armstrong

Billie Joe Armstrong is an American musician and actor best known as the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter of the rock band Green Day. He has also been involved in various other musical projects and has acted in several films and TV series.

More about the author

More quotes from Billie Joe Armstrong

Making mistakes is a lot better than not doing anything.

Billie Joe Armstrong

American rock musician (born 1972)

Our passion is our strength.

Billie Joe Armstrong

American rock musician (born 1972)

I’m a father. It isn’t just my life any more. I don’t want my kid finding bottles in the house or seeing his father completely smashed.

Billie Joe Armstrong

American rock musician (born 1972)

If Britney would paint her ass green, I’m sure you could spot green asses all over LA as soon as the word was out.

Billie Joe Armstrong

American rock musician (born 1972)

I approach playing acoustic guitar more of as a percussive instrument. It’s fragile. I don’t have a lot of finesse when it comes to my guitar playing.

Billie Joe Armstrong

American rock musician (born 1972)

Punk will never be dead to me. It’s my life. I can never just drop this lifestyle. It embodies me.

Billie Joe Armstrong

American rock musician (born 1972)

Punk has always been about doing things your own way. What it represents for me is ultimate freedom and a sense of individuality.

Billie Joe Armstrong

American rock musician (born 1972)

People are so damned afraid that one day they might wake up and discover that they’ve grown old.

Billie Joe Armstrong

American rock musician (born 1972)

I’m very monogamous.

Billie Joe Armstrong

American rock musician (born 1972)

A punk concert isn’t fun without a pit.

Billie Joe Armstrong

American rock musician (born 1972)

School is practice for future life, practice makes perfect and nobodys perfect, so why practice?

Billie Joe Armstrong

American rock musician (born 1972)

I don’t want to live in an ivory tower, being the songwriter who just turns inward.

Billie Joe Armstrong

American rock musician (born 1972)

I don’t want to limit myself musically. It would be really limiting if we’d neglect something we really want to do, like explore other styles of music.

Billie Joe Armstrong

American rock musician (born 1972)

Music – that’s been my education. There’s not a day that goes by that I take it for granted.

Billie Joe Armstrong

American rock musician (born 1972)

If journalists ask you again and again about the same bands, you’ll end up saying you hate them just because you’re so fed up with being asked all those stupid questions.

Billie Joe Armstrong

American rock musician (born 1972)

I don’t like LA. The majority just seem to be so artificial. Look at how they worship everything they think is fashionable. Isn’t it sick?

Billie Joe Armstrong

American rock musician (born 1972)

If I look at my old lyrics, they seem to be full of rage, but empty. There was an emptiness in my life.

Billie Joe Armstrong

American rock musician (born 1972)

No one’s really happy anyway, it’s not human.

Billie Joe Armstrong

American rock musician (born 1972)

What annoys the hell out of me is the arrogance of some people. They don’t even listen to our music, they decided in advance that they don’t like it.

Billie Joe Armstrong

American rock musician (born 1972)

There are a lot of bands who claim to be punk and they only play the music, they have no clue what it’s all about. It’s a lifestyle. It’s not about popularity and all that crap.

Billie Joe Armstrong

American rock musician (born 1972)

We’re not a political band. We don’t want to tell people what to do or what to think. We just want to tell them to think.

Billie Joe Armstrong

American rock musician (born 1972)

We put everything we had into this record, just like we do with every other record that we make.

Billie Joe Armstrong

American rock musician (born 1972)

I hate celebrities. I really hate them.

Billie Joe Armstrong

American rock musician (born 1972)

I’d love to go to art school. I’d love to learn how to draw. I’d love to be fluent in Spanish. I’d like to be a brain surgeon.

Billie Joe Armstrong

American rock musician (born 1972)

I think it’s your own choice if you turn from an angry young man to a bitter, old bastard.

Billie Joe Armstrong

American rock musician (born 1972)

I never thought being obnoxious would get me where I am today.

Billie Joe Armstrong

American rock musician (born 1972)

Moshing and broken glass just don’t go together.

Billie Joe Armstrong

American rock musician (born 1972)

I sort of enjoy the fact that I’m misunderstood most of the time. That’s fine.

Billie Joe Armstrong

American rock musician (born 1972)

If you have children, you don’t want to have drugs and drinks in the house. It’s just not good.

Billie Joe Armstrong

American rock musician (born 1972)

What is going on in America is extreme. The youth cult, they worship youth so much it’s almost paranoid. And LA is the Mecca of it all; they’re taking it to the hilt.

Billie Joe Armstrong

American rock musician (born 1972)

The thing is, acoustic could be like a four-letter word to a lot of kids.

Billie Joe Armstrong

American rock musician (born 1972)

Punk is not just the sound, the music. Punk is a lifestyle.

Billie Joe Armstrong

American rock musician (born 1972)