[caption=Green Day at the Reading Festival in 2001]061712_gdreadingfest.jpg[/caption]It happens every June, no matter how hard I try to avoid it. Inevitably my birthday rolls around and I begrudgingly turn another year older. And instead of celebrating that I somehow managed to survive another year (I may be a bit clumsy), I take a more pessimistic approach and reflect on my fleeting youth.

As I took my annual stroll down memory lane I realized something. This year is not a milestone birthday, but it is an anniversary of sorts. Ten years ago on my birthday I went to my first Green Day concert. It occurred to me how incredibly rare it is to carry an interest, especially in a band, all the way from your teen years through to adulthood. For over a decade now Green Day has been the soundtrack to my life. Of course there have been songs by other artists that have influenced me, by Green Day have by far played the biggest role in my life.

So in the spirit of reflection, here are the Green Day songs that have defined the last ten years of my life.

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