Green Day made it into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility, the only member of the 2015 class to do so.
The punk pop band has sold more than 85 million records worldwide and seen more than half of their 13 studio albums reach Gold, Platinum or Diamond status. They are credited — for better or worse — with taking punk rock mainstream in the 90s. They also tried their hand at rock opera quite successfully, turning their opus American Idiot into a Tony-winning Broadway show.
Whether you prefer the band’s more ambitious albums, their more mainstream material, their rough, fun early work, or none of the above, it’s hard to deny the continued success and influence Green Day has had on rock music.
I find something to like in each of those categories — enough to populate a very short playlist — and I have no issue whatsoever with their inclusion in the Hall of Fame.
Here we go again, infatuation
Touches me just when I
Thought that it would end
Oh but then again it seems
Much more than that but
I’m not sure exactly what you’re thinking
[Pre-Chorus]
Well, I toss and turn all night
Thinking of your ways of affection
But to find that it’s not different at all
Well, I throw away my past mistakes
And contemplate my future
That’s when I say
What the hey
[Chorus]
Would it last forever?
You and I together, hand and hand
We run away (far away)
I’m in for nasty weather
But I’ll take whatever you can
Give that comes my way, yeah (far away)
[Verse]
Here we go again, infatuation
Touches me just when I
Thought that it would end
Oh, but then again it seems
Much more than that but
I’m not sure exactly what you’re thinking
[Pre-Chorus]
Well, I toss and turn all night
Thinking of your ways of affection
But to find that it’s not different at all
Well I throw away my past mistakes
And contemplate my future
That’s when I say
What the hey
[Chorus]
Would it last forever?
You and I together, hand and hand
We run away (far away)
I’m in for nasty weather
But I’ll take whatever you can
Give that comes my way, yeah (far away)
[Pre-Chorus]
Well, I toss and turn all night
Thinking of your ways of affection
But to find that it’s not different at all
Well, I throw away my past mistakes
And contemplate my future
That’s when I say
What the hey
[Chorus]
Would I last forever?
You and I together, hand and hand
We run away (far away)
I’m in for nasty weather
But I’ll take whatever you can
Give that comes my way, yeah (far away)
Far away
Meet Me In Montauk 
I think induction in the first year of eligibility is overreach for Green Day, likely brought about by the band being critics’ darling, particularly Rolling Stone’s Jann Wenner who has huge sway, but I agree that they should have eventually made the Rock Hall.