Green Day reveal why they temporarily abandoned political songwriting
American pop-punk icons Green Day have explained why they temporarily abandoned their associative political songwriting and why they have now returned.
The ‘American Idiot’ masterminds have recently announced their 14th studio album, Saviours. The band has described the album as one that “bridges the gap” between Dookie and American Idiot.
The trio, comprised of Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tré Cool, have now revealed that the album will revisit their roots in political commentary.
Discussing the lead single, ‘The American Dream Is Killing Me’ as a particular highlight of this renaissance, frontman Armstrong revealed that it was originally written for their previous album, Father of all Motherfuckers. However, it was saved for a more politically charged collection.
“For ‘Father Of All…’ we didn’t want to go political because it was so obvious. It was such low-hanging fruit because we had just terrible politics and terrible division in the United States,” he told 102.1 The Edge. “But this time, we brought it out, and it felt like it was the perfect time for it.”
“We got away from the politics for a while [because] we didn’t want to be like another pundit on CNN, finger-pointing,” he added. “But political songs… It takes a lot of heart to do that.
“I think if you keep doing it for the sake of doing it, just because you’re angry, then you take the heart out of it. Then, it just becomes part of what everyone is complaining about. It takes those special, inspired moments to really have a moment like ‘The American Dream Is Killing Me’.”
Listen to ‘The American Dream Is Killing Me’ below. The lead single has since been followed by ‘Look Ma, No Brains!’. Saviours is slated for arrival on January 19th.
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