During Green Day's performance at Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan SeacrestBillie Joe Armstrong changed the lyrics to “American Idiot” to declare that he was “not part of the MAGA agenda.” He must have been anticipating the backlash from right-wingers, who were quick to denounce the band for being “woke,” as if they were another band let loose. American idiot Two decades ago. In a tweet that reads like a Metacritic quote from a review of their new album, Elon Musk wrote: “Green Day goes from raging against the machine to raging against it.” (Overall score for Rescuers So high, in fact, that it represents a “return to form.”) I wonder if he would have a different reaction to a song like “Coma City” now that it’s released, since it mocks the bankruptcy of “space assholes.” Universe. This doesn't mean Green Day have stopped raging against the machine; If anything, they're just trying to prove that he (and they) haven't changed much. “We're the last rockers to make noise,” Armstrong sings on the title track.
Of course times Owns Change, Green Day makes sure to remind us all the time Rescuers. “Since Bowie died/It ain't the same” is a particularly cringe-worthy line from Strange Days is here to stay, as if they haven't released a record since 2016, which in fact they have. Their latest LP, Father of all mothers, was a charming, chaotic, and fundamentally uninventive record released at the beginning of 2020, before the pandemic, so who's going to blame the latest rockers for taking their time to comment on the state of things now, as Armstrong sings on the opening track, “It's Getting Serious.” This song has the word “American” in its title, so it's better to call it satire – although Armstrong actually seems too tired of seeing the same old bullshit to deal with it with even the slightest level of sarcasm: “The American dream is killing me.” He sings straight. Only this time, mass hysteria appears in the form of “TikTok and taxes,” or, to borrow an example from “Living in the 20s,” getting a robot and “fucking senseless.” OK.
Those who have gone out of their way to champion Green Day on New Year's will assume that they have always been the band to make this kind of political statement. But this ignores the reality of it, as highlighted by the anniversary of both Duki And American idiot – Two definitive records that defined very different eras of their career – before there was any pressure for them to be overtly political, they were a glorified youth pop punk band. Although critics have pointed out that Armstrong's penchant for social commentary tends to distract from his melodic sensibilities, the problem isn't that he can't express his anger, political or otherwise, in the form of a pop song. Rescuers He is, for better or worse, generally catchy and immediate – but when he struggles to balance those different aspects of the band: the melodrama, the stupid fun, the broad gestures and the laughter at novelty. This is because the new album aims to serve as a spiritual bridge between them Duki And American idiotEven with Rob Cavallo back at the helm, things mostly fall flat. There are songs that you don't mind hearing individually, but it's hard to listen to a record that tries to cross that line while sounding so polished and cohesive.
What hinders Rescuers Not a lack of energy – if you doubt the trio's musical verve as a group, just listen to the finale of “Coma City” – but a better sense of where to direct it. In the past, Armstrong may have found creative ways of saying that he felt stupid and lazy instead of “Maybe I'm stupid and lazy” (“Corvette Summer”), before generalizing it by saying that everyone Stupid (and oh, in case nostalgia hasn't hit you yet, it's contagious). But at least he still doesn't voice I'm bored being in this business, unlike other veteran businesses trying to turn industry fatigue and internal strife into a career. Maybe that's what he means when he sings about being “the last rocker to make a noise,” and that's definitely worth something. I'm less moved by the hype than by the sincerity of it all, which is what makes the phrase “Look, Mama, no brainer!” Disrespectful! Heartfelt songs like “Father to a Son” and “Goodbye Adeline” are particular hits. They're different songs – silly, intimate, grand – but they all sound straightforward and, as such, represent this moment in the band's life, a life that demands constant growth and survival. In those moments, Green Day make it seem more relatable and simpler than it is.
