My Gen X Playlist: 21 Guns – Green Day

I met friends in downtown Los Angeles for dinner. As I was driving up Figueroa Street, I saw something that caught my eye and I couldn’t look away. There was an unfinished highrise covered in graffiti.

Graffiti spray painted by taggers on at least 27 stories of an unfinished skyscraper development in Los Angeles.

The unfinished towers have become a destination for graffiti artists and BASE jumping thrill-seekers eager to become part of the cultural zeitgeist that has unfolded on the street corner since late last month.

Residents and workers appear divided over whether to consider the taggers’ handiwork street art or an eyesore.

NBC-news

What a crazy circus we live in. As I drove up the street to the restaurant, all I could think of was, Only in LA. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not. It just is.

I couldn’t find any graffiti themed songs that I knew or liked. I did find a few bands that used graffiti as their album cover art. Green Day used a Banksy styled stencil on their 21st Century Breakdown album. I’ve always thought Banksy’s elusiveness was pretty cool. Two of his works that I really like are Flower Thrower and Girl with a Balloon. In 2018, after Girl with Balloon sold at auction for $1.4 million, Banksy threw in a little performance art.

Love is in the Bin is a 2018 art intervention by Banksy at Sotheby’s London. According to Sotheby’s, it is the first artwork in history to have been created live during an auction. His 2006 painting of Girl with Balloon unexpectedly self-destructed immediately after it was sold at auction. The damaged painting was later renamed Love is in the Bin.

Wikipedia

C’mon. You have to admit, that’s pretty cool.

Here’s 21 Guns from Green Day’s 21st Century Breakdown. Maybe not as cool as Banksy or a graffitied skyscraper, but still pretty good.

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For a complete playlist, please click here.

For the Spotify playlist, please click here.

Do you know what's worth fighting for
When it's not worth dying for?
Does it take your breath away
And you feel yourself suffocating
Does the pain weigh out the pride?
And you look for a place to hide
Did someone break your heart inside
You're in ruins

One, 21 Guns
Lay down your arms
Give up the fight
One, 21 Guns
Throw up your arms into the sky
You and I

When you're at the end of the road
And you lost all sense of control
And your thoughts have taken their toll
When your mind breaks the spirit of your soul
Your faith walks on broken glass
And the hangover doesn't pass
Nothing's ever built to last
You're in ruins

One, 21 Guns
Lay down your arms
Give up the fight
One, 21 Guns
Throw up your arms into the sky
You and I

Did you try to live on your own
When you burned down the house and home?
Did you stand too close to the fire
Like a liar looking for forgiveness from a stone?

When it's time to live and let die
And you can't get another try
Something inside this heart has died
You're in ruins

One, 21 Guns
Lay down your arms
Give up the fight
One, 21 Guns
Throw up your arms into the sky
One, 21 Guns
Lay down your arms
Give up the fight
One, 21 Guns
Throw up your arms into the sky

You and I