“I think for a lot of bands, pop culture has overtaken substance, and for us, the best thing you can possibly do in response to that, is to make the best fucking record that you possibly can. You have to search the absolute demons of your soul to make a great record.” — Billie Joe Armstrong, Alternative Press cover story, Jan. 2009

I had to ruminate on the AP article a bit before posting about it. As always, hearing about the ideas that the boys of Green Day have been jostling with leaves me kind of breathless. And a bit frustrated too, because for me, the genius of Green Day is the music, and reading descriptions of what the songs sound like is a bit like having a tiresome intellectual conversation about sex without ever getting naked.

Ah, but even the ideas alone are pretty tantalizing. I’m really glad to hear that the hint we got form the one quote released a few days ago, that this album would be a no-holds-barred near-religious experience, is not only on target but fundamental to the theme of the album. Of course, it’s religion turned on its head. It’s the opposite of waiting for someone in authority to tell you what to think or how to feel, which is the church experience that Billie Joe and Tre describe in the article, where the minister told the congregants not to have opinions. Only you can find your way among your demons.

Green Day have always been about having strong feelings and expressing them forcefully, but letting their listeners come to their own conclusions. It’s a subtle dance, filled with contradictions — or “oxymorons” as Billie Joe is quoted as saying — that demands that the listener become an active participant in order to sort it all out.

Some fans have complained once again that Green Day is being preachy, or that the band should somehow remain neutral about the big issues of the world. But that would be dishonest. Treating all points of view as having equal merit is intellectually cowardly and, in the end, fundamentally wrong. When policies are enacted by governments, real people are affected in very profound ways, but too often it seems to be treated like a sport, in the same way that people choose to arbitrarily root for one sports team or another. But with sports there’s nothing actually lost or gained when one’s team loses or wins. With politics there are deep repercussions, that affect millions of lives.

The challenges of the day, both the broad global issues and the personal demons that keep us awake at night, are swirling all around us all the time. They’re begging to be grappled with. Not taking a stand would be tantamount to throwing in the towel. As Howard Zinn said, “You can’t be neutral on a moving train.” Green Day’s message is not as simple as, “Think what you want.” (Nor is it, certainly, “Think what we think.”) It’s more like, “Think hard, because it matters.”

I don’t think I agree with AP when they say that news of Green Day being back in the studio “drew surprisingly little buzz.” The news of Butch Vig producing the album and the short videos they released garnered quite a bit of attention. But Green Day, understandably, likes to hunker down and work. I knew they were in the studio as early as July, but I couldn’t say anything… Ah, but now it’s out: the boys are creating something new and tantalizing, and we can all collectively give in to the butterflies dancing in our stomachs.

P.S. I assume everyone’s internet search ability is in good order… As I said before, I’m not going to post the scans, but you can take a peek here if you’re still in the dark. Please buy the magazine when it comes out. A lot of work goes into putting together a major article.

Write a comment