Does Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon want you to toke up today? Probably not, though, if you'd had a few bong hits you could read that in to a press release declaring today "A Green Day for Green Day," in honor of tickets going on sale for the California punk trio's August 22 show at U.S. Airways Center.
The Mayor's words suggest he means "green" in that environmental way we're kinda sick of, but the term "Green Day" is slang that actually means either a day spent smoking marijuana or the first day you smoked marijuana. That makes today, yes, a day to smoke pot in honor of post-punk power pop. Or replace your traditional light bulbs with compact florescents. Whichever. We put in a call to the mayor's office this afternoon, asking for clarification, but haven't heard back.
Long-time fans may know Green Day was originally named Sweet Children until lead singer Billy Joe Armstrong smoked for the first time, wrote a song about it for the 39/Smooth EP and liked the song's name so much he switched the name of his band. That song's lyrics, sadly, do not mention the light rail or planting trees:
A small cloud has fallen
The white mist hits the ground
My lungs comfort me with joy
Vegging on one detail
The rest just crowds around
My eyes itch of burning red
Picture sounds
Of moving insects so surreal
Lay around
Looks like I found something new
