When the tickets for the June 1st show in London went on sale, I didn't think i would get the opportunity to go. I had no one to go with plus ticket prices were a little high. I felt so disappointed because I could see everyone's Facebook statuses saying things like 'OMG I'M GOING TO SEE GREEN DAY IN JUNE!' and I knew I couldn't write any such thing. I was ignoring adverts in magazines and any mention of it made me feel worse.
Yesterday though, that all changed. My friend Katie text me telling me that All Time Low and Kaiser Chiefs had been announced as the support acts for that show. DAMN! I was already missing out on ATL's UK tour and I knew i wanted to see Kaiser Chiefs again because they were awesome last time.
I got into my friend David's car ready to get to Uni and i discussed it with him. I told him that there was no way I wanted to miss out on this, the band are showing no signs as of yet of announcing any more UK dates and frankly I didn't wanna wait. So i decided that I was booking them and he was coming with me no matter what. I didn't even wait until I got to a computer I just did it through my iPhone!
The feeling I got when it had been confirmed was that of...well I can't even describe how i felt. I wanted to cry with happiness and jump for joy. I get to see a band that have been my inspiration for twelve years of my life...for a third time. New albums, new material, new tour.
I just know now that I am gonna be wishing the days away until June 1st arrives...which I don't wanna do because I have so much more to look forward to: Warped Tour, Frank Turner, American Idiot, Rancid, Olly Murs, two more GD albums and the rest of my final year of being a student. Until showtime arrives I will be grinning like a cat that got the cream!
Last night, two new songs from album number two of the trilogy: Dos, appeared on the web: Stray Heart and Lady Cobra. I think Stray Heart is going to be the first single to be released but I need to find an official source to back that up.
We have all heard Stray Heart before through the secret live shows that the band were playing at the start of last year, and fans thought that the song was going to appear on Tre, so it's great to get a full studio version. It was premiered on Radio 1 along with an interview with Mike.
(this is the cover for it, which i personally think is really cool...taken from greenday.com)
On hearing the song my first initial thought was 'this is very Foxboro-esque', it would make a great first single because it really puts the kind of sound out to the critics, kind of like a 'see what I mean?' approach - Uno didn't really use that approach with 'Oh Love' so it was a bit of a guessing game for the fans which, judging by all of the criticism surrounding the song, was not a positive step. I think it shows a lot of character which is great because it can hardly be described as boring!
The thing I love the most about the song is the bassline. It's freaking awesome! It makes the song really stand out from the others and it adds the 'garage-y' character that we all know and love. The vocals have a mixture of husk, lust and passion which is definitely reminiscent of Reverend Strychnine Twitch, which works really well.
All in all i think the song is great, it gives another fresh approach to the band's ever growing talent and it gives us all something to look forward to with Dos.
Here's the audio for people who missed it:
Lady Cobra is just something completely different altogether!
We got a clip of it during an interview on Radio 1 with Zane Lowe about a month or so ago but last night the full track was premiered exclusively on the Idiot Club.
It will lead onto a track called Nightlife and it features Lady Cobra from punk rap band Mystic Knights Of The Cobra. Overall I would say that this song delves a lot more into the garage sound. I'm generalising here of course because we are yet to hear anything else from the album, but you can hear a fresher sound from Green Day than we have had on any of their older albums, as well as the trademark punky pop feel that we love! It's a welcome change!
I think this is the song that gets me the most excited for Dos' release because it's like nothing i have heard from the band, yes it's got the FBHT similarity but i lot more polished. The vocals sound more clean cut and the drums are awesome!
34 days and counting until release day! Can't wait! This album is just going to be epic!
Well i suppose everyone has heard about what happened at the iHeart festival the other day. I feel that the writing of this article is probably redundant as it has been done to death by news sites and various other internet sources but it's relevant to what my blog is about: Green Day.
Billie Joe had a little bit of a breakdown on stage, because he was told that they only had one minute left to play.
Here it is:
Following this, an apology has been issued to Clear Channel and other people who were involved, and consequently he has ended up getting treatment for substance abuse and public appearances, shows and promo from the band have been put on hold until further notice.
This tweet came from his wife Adrienne:
@mnnesotagirl: "Sometimes we just need a moment to reset ourselves... Thanks for all the love & support #gdfamily"
Alanis Morrisette even performed a beautiful version of Basket Caseas a tribute to him, ending by saying "I love you Billie Joe":
The thing that has pissed me off about the way all this has been brought
out, is people saying that he is just doing it for publicity as it all
happened a few days before Uno was released... He obviously has a problem that he needs to sort out, and this is the first time that his problems have publicly surfaced. Why would he put his family and friends through all of this just to sell an album? Why would he do that to his fans who have been loyal to him all the way through his career? Why would his wife tweet about it? Surely she couldn't have been in on it? These are the things i would like to ask. He has been slagged off so much for it, and I really don't like it. Yes I admit that it was an overreaction to what i now understand was a misunderstanding, but the man is only human and he has been under a heck of a lot of pressure as of late as well as other things that may have happened. He was a ticking time bomb really.
The one thing I want is for people to let him be. He needs time to get better and when he is he will come back and rock the socks off of everyone! He is still my hero and i still admire him for everything that he has done.
So, now that Uno has been released, let the excitement for Dos commence. Earlier this week we heard a preview of what we presume is a song called Lazy Bones on Green Day Angry Birds. Boy, does it sound good?!
It's nothing like what i would have expected. When i heard Billie talking about the sound of the album being like a party sound, this is not the sound i would have imagined. It does have the 'Foxboro Hot Tubs meets Green Day' sound to it but it's...better! Lyrically, i think the songs that the band have come out with have been the best. There's no complicated story to them it's just stripped down and still kind of raw. Lazy Bones so far is my favourite lyrically:
"I'm too tired to be bored, i'm too bored to be tired and the silence is so deafening it's like picking at a sore. I'm too mental to go crazy, i'm too drunk to be pure and my mind is playing tricks on me and I can't sleep tonight"
Musically, they seem to get better all of the time. The fact that Jason is there playing with them makes all of the difference. I love the fact that the bass is a lot more clear because you can really appreciate how much of an amazing bass player Mike really is. The drums are awesome as per usual and Billie's vocals just sound...well...like heaven! (Yes, I went there!)
It's another reason for us to think that Dos is gonna be incredible. Roll on November 12th :)
Hi guys! It's been a while... So I have just come back from a three week long holiday in Portugal with my best friends, so i have been a bit out of the loop with what has been happening in the Green Day world but today is the day that we finally get a new album...so i have reviewed it just for you guys. By the way i apologise if it's rubbish, haven't done this in a long time so...here goes...
Their new album “Uno” is the first in a trilogy, with Dos and Tre to
follow in November and January. This sees the band embark on the biggest
project of their 25 year career
.
Uno, described as the warm up to the party, lives up to its
description. It has the pop punk feel of Dookie and Kerplunk but with a
new touch.
A lot of fans have been saying that the music has changed too much
and are quite disappointed with it but personally I find that hard to
believe. Yes they have changed their direction but it’s not drastically
different.There is still that distinct Green Day feel to the songs but
they are trying to keep their music fresh to maybe attract a different
kind of audience.
The last two albums were epic concept albums, whereas this is just a
stripped down simplistic sound, which is a welcome change. There seems
to be a lot more guitar in this music in terms of the solos, and it is
just so great. The rhythm section is a heck of a lot clearer on this
album, and the vocals are a lot clearer and stronger than they have been
for a while.
My favourite song on the album is track number 10 called Sweet 16.
It’s a heartfelt love song filled with memories and beautiful vocals. It
is the track that really stands out to me, it may not be the fastest
but it is the one that always gets stuck in my head.
Another strong song is their single Kill The DJ. This song is a bit
of a stand alone track, it’s sort of like the piggy in the middle to the
rest of the album but it’s one heck of a catchy song! It’s one of those
songs that you could be bopping away to without even realising you’re
doing it. It’s infectious!
There isn’t a song on this album that I really dislike, but i feel
that Oh Love is the weakest song. If this album was a preparation to a
party, surely you would want the last song to be upbeat…it doesn’t
really make any sense! It’s still a really good song and I am not by any
means saying i dislike it but i don’t think it really belongs with the
rest of the album.
If i were to give a rating out of 10 i would give it 10. It is my
favourite of their nine albums, and i feel so excited for what is still
to come!
Green Day fans everywhere were delighted on Monday night when Radio 1 premiered their brand new single Kill The DJ. Fans had already heard a snippet of it in the trailer for Uno, as well as it being played at the Echoplex a couple of weeks ago, however it was still quite different from what we were all expecting.
Kill The DJ is not as straight-forward as Oh Love. The concept of the song is not actually about wanting to kill a dj even though the lyrics state otherwise: 'the voices in my head are saying shoot that fucker down' - it is about wanting to put a stopper on the continual media that seems to rule the lives of this generation. Billie Joe Armstrong told mtv.com:"It's a metaphor for the information overload"
The sound is like nothing you would expect from Green Day, it doesn't have the usual power that their past music has, but it does have the same sort of attitude that we all know and love. It is essentially a dance song with a Green Day twist. It's smooth, suave and sexy with the added Armstrong growl that drives the female fans crazy. It has the Foxboro Hot Tubs rock and roll vibe that seems to suit the band down to the ground
Mike Dirnt (Bass) calls it their 'first time attacking a four-on-the-floor beat' comparing it to songs from Michael Jackson's Off The Wall album as well as the Blondie classic 'Heart Of Glass' and you can really hear it throughout the song. It is the most infectious song that the boys have ever released and you can't help but tap your feet!
Although I haven't really heard any of the other songs from Uno, I would say that we should all be prepared for more surprises because we are sure as hell gonna get them! I hope you are all ready, because i certainly am, in fact, the sooner September 24th gets here, the better!
Here's the explicit version for those who haven't heard it yet...enjoy!
It's been a while since i posted, and quite a bit has happened, nothing too major but newsworthy nonetheless. So here they are:
Firstly: On friday it was announced (and I mentioned it in my last post) that Billie Joe would be mentoring on The Voice. The only thing we know is that he will be on Christina Aguilera's team, which is a very interesting pairing...in an interview with the pair, they were asked if they would duet on the show and Billie said he would write something...that again should be interesting. You can watch this interview below.
After reading a lot of feedback about this i can see that there are quite a lot of people who think what he is doing is bad. He has been called a sellout and slated for it. Personally i think that what he is doing is great, he has never done anything like that before. The most punk rock thing to do is to do what you want and not care about what other people think about it and that's exactly what he is doing. I think he is gonna be one of the most brutally honest mentors they have ever had! Bring it on!
Secondly: The Idiot Club posted the cover to the new single, Kill The DJ:
It has a particular 'funky punk' feel to it, the skulls from the 21st Century Breakdown era have been used once again (cue breath of relief from Green Day fans -myself included- who have them as tattoos!)
The way this cover looks tells me that the song will be retro, like 90's style rock but with the trademark Green Day sound still peaking through. The single is rumoured to be released on 14th August but has not been officially confirmed as of yet.
Thirdly: Along with the Kill The DJ cover, the Idiot Club also posted new promo shots of the band, there were seven in total but I have chosen the best two of the bunch (below). You can find the others on the Green Day Authority website: www.greendayauthority.com and follow the 'photos' link.
Have to say, the boys are looking pretty good at the moment! Their styles have certainly changed from the 21st Century Breakdown era, they are looking less...for lack of a better word...formal! It suits them! I admit that i fangirled slightly at these pictures...moving on!
Fourthly (and quite importantly): Last Monday (30/4/12), www.altpress.com released a video premiere of Let Yourself Go, recorded from the Austin, Texas show last November - which was the first secret show in which they previewed their new material:
This track sounds a lot more like traditional Green Day than Oh Love, which will please most fans, it's aggressive, loud and utterly fantastic! It certainly shows the musical progression of the band as they approach the Uno Dos Tre era. Looking forward to the studio version! Bring it on! :)
Finally: Last night, the boys played a 'secret' show at the Echoplex in Los Angeles. Billie announced it on Twitter (i would tell you what it said but it seems he has deleted it for some reason...)
The tickets sold out in minutes, filling the 350 capacity venue. There were some rumours that they were going to play the whole trilogy back to back but they ended up playing two hours of old and new stuff, with songs such as Christie Road, Dominated Love Slave, Oh Love, Kill The DJ, Wild One and Nuclear Family.
For anyone who is curious to hear it, here is a video for Kill The DJ from said show:
I would love them to come play in Liverpool but somehow I don't think that will happen! They need to announce UK tour details soon!
So there it is, there is a lot still to look forward to in the not so distant future but until then...peace out! R&L <3
