I've been playing rock and roll since I was 16 years old, and now I have a 16-year-old.

It's not only exciting to watch, but you can also speak a different language with each other. It's a music language that's unique, compared to what other parents do, especially in their professional lives. Not everybody can talk about being an accountant.

Thats what Green Day is-there are no rules.

Just seeing the things on TV and the things in front of you, the amount of information coming in, and the lack of information not coming in, how could you not help but write songs about it.

I thought everybody was in on the joke. But I was the joke.

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

The record [American Idiot ] felt special to us, when we recorded it, with all of the artwork and the concept behind it and it being a rock opera, but we didn't really know where it was going to go. It's like I always say, you just follow the music. Not only was American Idiot a special moment for us, but it also led to Ordinary World, too.