At some point in life you have to be truly and utterly disappointed by your childhood idols and for me this moment came yesterday as I browsed through the magazines at my local W H Smith. Don’t get me wrong, I haven’t moshed my way through Dookie in years, but seeing my pre-teen heroes looking more like a Spandau Ballet cover band on the cover of this month’s Q Magazine still packs an emotional punch.

Q Magazine pretty much has the monopoly on shit ‘˜minimalist’ photo shoots designed to make its ‘˜mature’ readership feel more ‘˜alternative’ but there’s something about their use of Green Day that’s infinitely more heartbreaking than another U2 cover. For one thing, I never spent months of my youth listening to The Joshua Tree on repeat, a ritual I did devote to almost all of Green Day’s efforts (but not Warning of course, I was far too cool for that pop-influenced bullshit). Equally, thousands of U2, Oasis and Coldplay covers are par for the course over at Q HQ, where it seems there is no such thing as media saturation, but surely Green Day deserve a little better? No?

Anyway, my harsh moment of realisation had to happen at some point and I’m slowly coming around to the concept that Green Day might not have been the best punk band in the world, and American Idiot perhaps not the incisive political anthem I once thought it was. In the spirit of cleansing, I thought I’d look into a few more of my early-adolescent pin-ups and see what the fuck I was thinking about. I suggest you do the same.

Less than Jake
Back then, I couldn’t imagine anything much more alt cool than a ska pop punk group who sung about teenage angst and corporate greed, even if I had discovered them through the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4 soundtrack. Now I’m just in awe of the lead singer’s ridiculous hair (see Google Images).

Limp Bizkit
I was never hardcore enough for Korn or Papa Roach and usually when I went to Camden I gravitated towards the oversized Criminal Damage jeans and the occasional skate belt and away from the scary Heavy Metal hoodies. I did, however, have a Limp Bizkit t-shirt. And to be honest, I could probably wear that today and look pretty dope.

Limp Bizkit are one of those bands who are inexplicably well respected by their peers, despite obviously being a little bit shit. Hence the incredible cameo-heavy video for Break Stuff and the unfunny Ben Stiller skit at the beginning of Rollin’. Best of all, Fred Durst is now a movie director, making incredibly emotional indie films that are still a little bit shit.

Sum 41
I stand by this and I am not ashamed to say that I can recite every single word on All Killer, No Filler without pause. And I mean without pause.

WORDS CHARLIE LYNE

ALSO THIS WEEK: Re-watched Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle and realised it’s got a topless Malin Akerman in it. I bet she’s not remotely regretting that.