The classic punk-rock band Green Day is back with a new single, “Bang Bang.” The song touches a very sensitive topic as front man Billy Joe Armstrong sings from the perspective of a mass shooter. The audio starts with newscaster discussing mass shootings, and then fuels its way to a speedy chorus that sings “Bang Bang, give me fame.”
In a recent interview with the Rolling Stones magazine, Armstrong said the song explores “the culture of the mass shooting that happens in America mixed with narcissistic social media.” The singer assures he entered into a lone-wolf shooter’s head in a “freaky” and frightening experience.
Green Day posted Band Bang’s official video on its YouTube channel today, August 12. In a matter of hours, it got dozens of thousands of views and perfectly depicts what Billy Joe Armstrong said during the interview.
Billy Joe Armstrong joined a Michael Brown protest
He told the story of how it started. Two years ago, Billy Joe Armstrong was driving to Manhattan when he came across a group of protesters. They were outraged by a Missouri grand jury’s decision not to punish police officer Darren Wilson for the murder of Michael Brown.
The singer got out of the car and joined the screams against the establishment. The experience, says Green Day’s singer, influenced the title of the new album, “Revolution Radio.” No wonder it will be a collection of songs about pressing social issues of 2016 US.
However, it will not be strictly politic like American Idiot. There will be more personal songs like “Ordinary World,” the ballad that ends the album.
“Bang Bang” is the most incendiary song of the bunch. It is the first song that touches such a sensitive mainstream matter in a long time. In fact, Billboard charts are full of dancing, twerking hip-hop, and electronic songs.
How #MichaelBrown's death, two years ago, pushed #BlackLivesMatter into a movement https://t.co/vQrIc8wb1G (Getty) pic.twitter.com/z4ouLeN47g
— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) August 9, 2016
In the past, titles like Pearl Jam’s Jeremy (1991) and Korn’s Thoughtless (2002) reached Billboard charts, both talking about the relationship of mass shootings, bullying, and loneliness inside schools.
‘Revolution Radio’ is Green Day’s 12th studio album
Green Day will release “Revolution Radio” on October 7. It is the first record the group produces by itself. It’s the band’s first studio album since 2012’s “¡Tré! The eleventh studio album was part of the trilogy ¡Uno! ¡Dos! ¡Tres! (One-two-three in Spanish) Released late 2012.
The trilogy stockpiles a total of 33 songs for over 150 minutes of music. It kept the style predominant in Green Day’s most classical albums. Dookie, American Idiot, Nimrod, and Warning influences were all around.
The trilogy made its push into mainstream music when ¡Uno! Debuted as no. 2 in the Billboard charts, while ¡Dos! And ¡Tres! Started in the 9th position.
The first single of the trilogy was “Oh, love!” while the most known single may be “Troublemaker.”
Source: Rolling Stone
