Saturday 9: Boulevard

Saturday 9: Boulevard of Broken Dreams (2004)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here. 

1) The "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" video begins with the gentlemen of Green Day dealing with car trouble. If your car overheated, what's the first thing you would do to remedy the situation?

A. Pull over. Call my husband. Raise the hood, watch the steam roll out. Wait until it cooled enough to open the cap. Pour water out of the water bottles I always have in the car with me into the radiator. Drive it to the closest repair place.

2) Thinking of cars, lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong has had his share of trouble behind the wheel and was busted for driving well beyond the speed limit. Was your last ticket for parking, or was it a moving violation?

A. My last (and only) ticket was in 1993, when I topped a hill to find a line of stopped vehicles where no vehicles had stopped before. I rear-ended the one at the end of the line. I took a driver's education course and the charge was dismissed.

3) Billie Joe says "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" was inspired by the Edward Hopper painting, "Nighthawks." Tell us about a piece of artwork that you enjoy. (Yes, the macaroni picture frame created for you by your nephew counts.)

A. I have a small painting of a cabin in the woods on my wall. It was painted by Jessie Stull Burton of Buchanan, which is a town in my county. The little cabin has been something I have imagined many times before I fall asleep. It is my safe place.

4) Let's go back to childhood. Was the home where you grew up located on a boulevard, an avenue, a street, a lane or a road?

A. For most of my childhood, I lived on a dirt road. Just down the road, a big old oak tree stood in the middle of the intersection of two roads. So we'd say, take a left by the oak tree in the middle of the road. Eventually they cut it down but for a long time I gave directions that way. Sometimes I still do - I say, where there used to be an oak tree in the middle of the road. People look at me funny. The road has been "improved" and paved over since I left.

5) This song won Green Day a Grammy for Record of the Year. What positive feedback have you received recently?

A. A friend who was with me when I hit a deer Tuesday night said I handled the car like a NASCAR driver, braking so that she didn't even realize what had happened until she heard the noise of the deer against the car. I suppose that is positive feedback. The car was undamaged and the deer, after looking a little stunned, ran off. So no harm done, I think.

6) Green Day uses their Facebook page to let more than 32 million fans know what the group is doing. What's the last thing you posted to social media?

A. I posted the front page of the Daily News that said "God Will Not Fix This" after the shooting in California, and my Facebook page lit up like I'd said Satan was coming to dinner and I was fixing him a pot roast. I don't understand why people were so offended (my more liberal-minded friends quickly came to my defense). The headline and accompanying story merely pointed out that offering "thoughts and prayers" does little to bring about solutions to issues created by humans. I am reminded of that joke where the guy is stranded on an island and he prays to God to save him. A tug boat comes by, a big ship comes by, and a cruiser stops, but he won't get on any of them. Then he asks God why he hadn't saved him yet, and God said, I sent you three ships, you dummy. You only had to get on board.

I am in favor of gun control. I think the words "well-regulated militia" means that we can regulate gun ownership just like we do vehicle ownership, but what do I know. I just read the words. But sitting around on the island watching the ships go by is not helping anyone.

7) In 2004, when this song was popular, Ken Jennings had a still unbeaten string of 74 wins on Jeopardy! What game show do you think you'd do well on?

A. Probably none of them. I would freeze up in front of the camera.

8) Also in 2004, Lance Armstrong was in the midst of his own Tour de France winning streak. Now we know he cheated. Tell us about a time you broke the rules.

A. I confess that I smoked pot in high school. I even inhaled. There go my chances of ever being president of the country, eh? (Are you surprised, anyone?)

9) 2004 is when Morgan Spurlock released Super Size Me, his documentary about eating nothing but McDonald's for a month. What's the last fast food restaurant you visited?

A. Does Cracker Barrel count as fast food? It's a sit-down meal complete with green beans and mashed 'taters if you want them. Anyway, that was the last place I ate out. I usually don't eat at places like McDonalds or Wendy's.

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