Madonna vs. Green Day: Whose ‘Holiday’ Song Is Better?
Madonna and Green Day are very different artists, but they both released hit singles called “Holiday.” One of these songs is timeless. The other is a lot of fun, but it feels more dated with each passing year. Here’s a look at why one “Holiday” is worth celebrating more than the other.
Madonna’s ‘Holiday’ and Green Day’s are both good but only 1 is timely
Some songs are great because they are complex or innovative, and others are great because they perfectly capture a simple mood. Madonna’s “Holiday” does just that. Everyone needs a holiday, and Madonna chipperly captures the joy of leaving your cares behind for a short while. The bass line is one of the best in Madonna’s entire career. “Holiday” wasn’t a massive hit like “Vogue” or “Like a Virgin,” but it’s universal.
Green Day’s “Holiday” is an edgy punk rock song that was a response to George W. Bush’s presidency. It channels the anger that many felt during that era into a stick of rock ‘n’ roll dynamite. It has one of the best riffs in the band’s catalog, and Billie Joe Armstrong’s voice drips with the cynicism of the time. It’s a classic that will always be remembered as one of the defining songs of 2000s rock.
Why Madonna’s song works better than Green Day’s
So which track is better? On one level, this is comparing apples to oranges. Sizing up a dance track against punk rock is, at the very least, odd. But one song is the clear winner.
Madonna’s “Holiday” is the sort of song that resonates no matter who is in the White House. As time goes on, the politics of Green Day’s American Idiot seem more and more dated. However, Madonna’s “Holiday” is as fresh as it was in 1983. No matter what your politics are or what language you speak, the bass line of “Holiday” can get you to dance.
How the Queen of Pop explained her ‘Holiday’
During a 2009 interview with Rolling Stone, Madonna connected “Holiday” to her longtime childhood and how it compelled her to become a dancer. “Motown was everywhere,” the Material Girl said. “Stevie Wonder and Diana Ross and The Jackson 5, that’s what I grew up on. But when I was in high school we moved to a suburb that was predominantly middle-class and white. There weren’t any more house parties, there wasn’t music blaring from the house next door.
“I felt estranged, and that’s when I created my own world,” she added. “That’s when I decided I’d be a professional dancer. I became more of an introvert, and I’d sneak out of the house and go to concerts. I was aware of the power of music at that point, not that I could articulate it to anyone.”
The “Like a Prayer” singer said the fact that she’s a dancer influences her music. “It always starts with the bass line and the beat,” she explained. “You build it from the ground up. Like on ‘Holiday,’ ‘Hung Up,’ ‘Music.’ I think it has to do with being a dancer, because it’s all about the bass line when you’re a dancer. You have to feel it in the center of your gravity.”
Madonna and Green Day are both excellent, but only one released a “Holiday” fan will be taking decades from now.
