Last Updated on: 12th June 2015, 10:38 am
I realize that this story is kind of old, but it’s so great and I’ve heard so little about it that it just has to be mentioned. And if anybody knows about any new developments in this case, I’d love to hear about them. I love watching other people humiliate themselves.
Oregon Grocery Store Clerk Claims To Have Written Green Day’s American Idiot
McPike is representing himself in the matter and the only evidence he has submitted thus far is a copy of American Idiot and a claim that the words that Green Day vocalist Billie Joe Armstrong sings on the album don’t exactly match those printed in the liner notes. The former ski resort employee plans to continue researching copyright law and to resubmit his complaint with additional unspecified evidence.
McPike says he’s written songs since high school and, while he’s never performed publicly, he’s occasionally sung some of his compositions for friends. He believes that a buddy must have recorded him singing at home, and that a cassette of his work somehow got into Green Day’s hands.
Riiiiight.
But let’s play pretend for a minute and act like this guy isn’t either out of his mind or completely full of shit. If he wins his case, Green Day could be in real trouble. I hate to say it, but if he wrote that song, there’s no telling how much of their other work he might ultimately be responsible for. I love Green Day, but even I know that a lot of their stuff has a similar sound to it, and they could end up owing him a lot of money depending on how many of those tapes they lifted from his friends over the years.