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As a celebrity, he admits, “you worry about the vanity part of it.” He also got a colonoscopy. “I went into the hospital, and we’re trying to be discreet,” he says. “Nobody’s saying a word about anything, so I’m like, Cool, nobody knows who I am. They roll me in and give me the drugs and I’m out. I wake up and the doctor comes in and says, ‘Everything looks great — no issues.’” He laughs. “Then the nurse goes, ‘Just to let you know, we’re big fans, and we listened to Green Day the whole time we were in there.’” 😂

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2024-01-15/green-day-saviors-billie-joe-armstrong Some interesting new tidbits in here! BJ On Bobby Sox: But then in the next verse, I thought I should flip the script,” he says. “I’m kind of playing the character of the woman, but it also felt really liberating to sing, ‘Do you wanna be my boyfriend?’” adds Armstrong, who identifies as bisexual. “It became more of a queer singalong.” The Taco Bell ad - originally the brand wanted to use The American Dream is Killing Me: “I was like, Hmm, I don’t really think that’s the appropriate song for a seven-layer burrito,” Armstrong says. Was licensing “Look Ma, No Brains!” a tough call? Cool laughs. “We made a bet amongst ourselves that we could get Taco Bell to show the person eating a taco while Billie sings, ‘Sick boy, and I s— the bed,’” he says — which indeed the spot does. 😂 Sobriety: “There’s no party I haven’t seen,” Armstrong confirms. “So why do something where I wake up in a park the next day?” Cool turns to his bandmate, suddenly serious amid his usual barrage of jokes. “We’re both really proud of you,” he says.” 🥹 There’s so much in here, including BJ talking about he thinks he “fucked up as a father.”

Keep an eye out on Tuesday

Some really positive reviews from the web: https://blabbermouth.net/reviews/saviors 9/10 https://rockcellarmagazine.com/green-day-saviors-album-review-billie-joe-armstrong/ “its Best Album in Decades” https://riffmagazine.com/album-reviews/green-day-saviors/ 9/10

I'm actually glad the album hasn't leaked now, having these early listening party audios is good enough, it will make release day even more exciting to finally hear them properly

Agreed, not as good as the Armchair Expert episode but still solid nonetheless. I think this also shows just how many “y’knows” and “ums” must have been edited out of Armchair Expert because this episode sounded much more like Billie’s usual self 😂 Billie also sounded so proud talking about Jakob’s guitar playing. I’ve never listened to Ultra Q but I should give them a spin. You could tell Billie’s had some media training about what to say re: Joey. I feel like I need to start a playlist with all these bands/albums that Billie keeps mentioning, he truly is an encyclopedia 😵‍💫

I think it’s going to be a really special thing to hear not just a male singer, but a singer in one of the biggest rock bands, singing, “do you wanna be my boyfriend?” That’s going to mean a lot to a lot of people, and in the year 2024 it shouldn’t feel like a bold thing to do, but it does.

But then in the next verse, I thought I should flip the script,” he says. “I’m kind of playing the character of the woman, but it also felt really liberating to sing, ‘Do you wanna be my boyfriend?’” adds Armstrong, who identifies as bisexual. “It became more of a queer singalong.” We were having this discussion in the other thread about what he meant by singing girlfriend/boyfriend. I appreciate him talking about this so directly so we don’t need to speculate. I’m also glad it feels liberating to him. Living authentically is a good feeling 🥰

Kerrang review 4 out of 5 https://www.kerrang.com/album-review-green-day-saviors-billie-joe-armstrong-mike-dirnt-tre-cool-dookie-american-idiot-rob-cavallo

Agreed. I remember back in 2013 feeling like, “oh…this really big, bad thing happened stemming from addiction and he’s just gonna talk about it once and then move on?” He didn’t owe anyone his personal story then and he doesn’t now, but I was used to celebrities who had gotten sober going on to talk about how necessary and good of a change it was for them, and he just wasn’t giving that. It makes me extremely happy to hear how open and accountable he is about it now, and how he really seems to recognize sobriety is the best choice for him.

https://riffmagazine.com/album-reviews/green-day-saviors/ 9/10

Great interview! I am really happy with the quality of the interviews/podcasts they're doing for this promo

The colonoscopy story is so freaking funny. Great interview all around. Cool turns to his bandmate, suddenly serious amid his usual barrage of jokes. “We’re both really proud of you,” he says. *cries into coffee* This band is determined to make me emotionally unstable I swear. 😅

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wtf-with-marc-maron-podcast/id329875043?i=1000641679600

I can’t find the og comment but having listened to fancy sauce again and reading the lyrics - I really like the interpretation that it’s about rehab. The lyrics make a lot of sense and especially with Billie talking about struggling with being anonymous in AA

Happy album release week to all who celebrate x

Well said. I agree 100%. I have never understood people who will willingly diss a band they no longer like and make others feel bad about it. People have tried to make me feel bad about liking GD, Blink, and even a band like Bullet for my Valentine and I never understood why. I'm just trying to listen to music I enjoy. There's a lot out there I don't like including artists I used to love. Why put so much energy into hating it and spreading that hate online? Stating an opinion sure but don't put down others because they like something you don't.

I was like “Billie just say he plays drums and move on PLEASE.” 😂 Marc was probably like “huh that was weird.” He talked openly about everything else and then got cagey about if his other kid is a musician lol. He has always been open about it and you’re totally right, it did get brought up a bunch during RevRad where he was asked to reflect on iHeart and talk about Still Breathing. I’ve even seen interviews from when he was much younger where he admitted it was a problem. I guess I just feel a slight shift in how he talks about it now — like he sounds more confident or realistic about sobriety, or something, and overall just very positive about feeling healthier. But honestly, part of my reaction to him talking about it so openly is just happiness to the contrast of how he was talking during FOAM, more along the lines of, “eh, iHeart was cool and who’d my drinking really hurt anyway?” It’s really refreshing and hopeful to hear him back to a healthier mindset.

Just finished listening. Good on Billie's side, but I kept going, "let him talk!" when Marc kept interrupting him. Billie would be saying something about Saviors, and Marc would bring it back to Dookie, or Billie's childhood, stories we've heard a million times. And then ended the interview abruptly when Billie was in the middle of talking about Saviors' songs. I have to say, I feel Billie has always been open about his issues. He may have said in that one 2013 Rolling Stones article that that would be the only time he'd be talking about it, but he was asked a million times about it during RevRad, and always answered. And answered the couple of times he was asked during FOAM. I think he was always honest about how he felt at that time.

The way he describes how Rob Cavallo works with them with regards to his lyrics and breaking it down to make sure he says what he means to say, helping Billie to be his best, what a producer 🥰

It’s great how level headed and thoughtful he sounds these days

Totally agree with you. Again I was thinking who are you that you’re talking so much about you and what an odd intro to Billie, made it sound like he was supposed to be difficult! Love to hear him talk and laugh, again interesting about his family and he was an uncle at 8, that’s wild. Thought there would be more about Mike, Tre and Green Day but they clearly connected over music so that was interesting. He’s being so open about his alcoholism, sounds like he has finally, properly accepted it, I know this has been said before when discussing Dilemma and during the Armchair Podcast but hopefully it’s all positive. Again would have liked more about the writing process and songs but enjoyed it, I was pretty good. Want an interview with all three bouncing stuff off each other, they can be gold.

Ehhh I didn’t really love Marc as an interviewer actually. He didn’t seem like he did much research and didn’t always appear to be listening (how many times Billie repeat that Neil Young’s guitar is black lol). I also found it bizarre how he introduced the interview by saying “some people have a reputation with interviewing, but I did a few things in the beginning to ground him” or whatever. I interview people (not celebrities) for a living, and I’m always kinda subconsciously judging famous people by how nice they are to journalists and how easy they seem to interview. When Green Day was younger they were definitely a challenge to wrangle lol, but for many years Billie has come across as a pretty warm and thoughtful interviewee. But anyway, in terms of the actual convo, loved the talk about Billie’s family that felt like it covered some different ground from the Armchair Expert interview. One thing I found particularly interesting was Billie saying he’s always searching for more of his dad — he always comes across as interested in his family history, always sharing old photos on Insta and stuff and it makes sense that it stems from wanting to know more about his dad. Also really loved the talk about the studio recording process and working with producers, dealing with fame, as well as the stuff about Father to a Son.

"If any of your readers have pee-pee fetishes,” Cool offers, “Billie Joe is your man.” Well, duh?? Piss kink is his jam!

Kerrang is always going to give GD a favorable score so I don't trust them lol.

Dude the album kicks dicks you're going to love it!

A...trilogy?

What @Flynn wrote. I also read that CDs are more expensive in Japan, this is why they get exclusive bonus tracks on many CDs.

In Australia we say (or used to say) 'hitting the sauce' when talking about drinking or getting drunk or you tell someone to stop drinking by saying 'stay off the sauce tonight' I would see it as: stay off the expensive alcohol if you said 'stay off the fancy sauce tonight' So I see the title Fancy Sauce as possibly referencing expensive or high quality alcohol.

Weirdly enough , I think Suzie Chapstick is growing on me and might become my personal favourite from Saviors. Sorry Suzie, I've said bad things about you

You know what stuff like this PISSES ME OFF! They did that on purpose! They were give the album and all they had to do was play it from start to finish. Somebody there doesn't like Green Day so they felt they were sticking it to the fans by pulling that shit. What's stupid is your fragile ego is so bothered that you would rather crap on your consumers because you don't like a certain band or music. Frankly I would never shop there moving forward because at that point that's all you can really do. Straight middle finger to that store and i'm sorry that your experience was F#cked up!!

I thought it was the 1820s but it turns out Colorado wasn't even a thing back then, much less Murder Hornets. Haha

I haven’t been to a listening party and I’ll wait until Friday to hear the album but I’m really glad to read all the positive reactions in this forum. I feel like it’s gotten nearly impossible for Green Day to please fans and certain critics after the release of AI. Most of the albums that came out after AI received generally positive reviews. Even FOAM wasn’t completely hated by music journalists. Sure, it was polarizing, but despite some of the hate it got, it also received praise. Yet some people act as if the band hasn’t done anything good in the last 20 years and I just don’t agree with this assessment. I feel like the band has become a bit of a punching bag for music elitists and gatekeepers who hate them for reasons I can’t quite explain. Maybe it’s because they associate AI with teenage anxiety which is automatically uncool for some people? Or maybe it’s because they believe that middle-aged men shouldn’t make punk rock anymore? That’s obviously silly, but there seems to be this consensus among a certain group that post-AI Green Day just isn’t worth listening to anymore. Take 21CBD for example. That album won a Grammy and people still talk shit about it all the time. RevRad had some of the band’s best songs ever (Bang Bang, Forever Now) and yet it doesn’t necessarily have the best reputation. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that you’re not allowed to dislike the new album or criticize the band, I’m just really happy to see so many excited fans right now. Because ultimately, that’s the most important thing. It’s a great time to be a fan. Is this the band’s best album since 21CBD? I think it’s difficult to say. I remember a lot of fans saying similar things about RevRad when it came out so I guess we’ll have to wait and see. In general, I think it’s really difficult for any artist to meet people’s expectations after having a massive record like Dookie or AI. Many of us were teenagers when these records came out, meaning that some of the songs hit extra hard because this is a period of life where we are just super impressionable. Plus, these albums are 30 or 20 years old and we all had plenty of time to build an emotional connection with specific songs. You can’t do that with a record that just came out. That’s why I don’t believe that every band is automatically past their prime once they turn 40. But the fans get older and maybe we’re just not as easy to please as we were when we were 15.

people really think the band has no say in their songs being used in commercials via LA Times

I got this Japanese FOAM from eBay, it arrived this morning. Also, an European Stray Heart Promo CD is coming!!

It’s possible 1981 is just promo for Punk Bunny Coffee and that’s what the video is for. Shooting a commercial?

Forgot to say, I loved the comment from Norah Jones about his singing. I am so desperate to hear the full album again, properly in peace as my general impression is still that Billie sounded awesome. Surprised also to hear that he’s got more nervous about singing!

There's a new interview in Augsburger Allgemeine, I translated it with Google Translate for you https://www.augsburger-allgemeine.de/kultur/gesellschaft/interview-green-day-wir-muessen-uns-rettungsinseln-suchen-ansonsten-werden-wir-verrueckt-id68974976.html All three of you had Corona. Are you fit again? Billie Joe Armstrong: Yes, fortunately we are all healthy again. At best, a little groggy from last night, as we shot our video for the song “Dilemma” late into the night. But what has to be done, has to be done. In the said video you can be seen partying, and at the end you are lying on the floor, completely drunk, singing: “Welcome to my problems, this is not an invitation.” Armstrong: The song has a really serious core. It addresses the difficult topic of getting sober, being sober, and staying sober, which is a constant challenge for many of us, myself included. They had to seek treatment for alcoholism in 2012. Have you had your addiction under control since then? Armstrong: Yes. With a few ups and downs, but the general direction is right. “Dilemma” is actually a very personal song. At the same time, however, it broadens the view. So many people, in our environment and in general, struggle with addictions, but also with problems of a psychological and emotional nature. This struggle is often very painful for us as well as for our loved ones, but we cannot avoid it. It's all the better that you've made an album that's full of energy and, in a way, combines the best sides of Green Day on fifteen songs. Who do you want to save with “Saviors”? Tré Cool: Rock 'n' Roll, ourselves, and ideally the whole world (laughs). The title song “Saviors” was one of the first we wrote for the album. At the time, the pandemic was still raging, everyone was desperate and at the same time looking for something to lift themselves up from. Mike Dirnt: It was no different for us, and fortunately we had and have the music, the punk rock and finally this album born out of chaos. In a world of uncertainty and in the midst of a sea of madness that seems deeper than ever, we must look for small, safe life rafts. Otherwise we'll go crazy. Do you also support each other? Armstrong: Absolutely. We cling to ourselves and we hold on to each other. The band has actually always been something like our lifeboat over the years. The three of us are very, very close friends. Yes, more than that. We are like a family. Your song “The American Dream Is Killing Me” paints a picture of a torn society. In the video you appear as zombies. Can you only take the world with humor? Armstrong: Horror films have always been great at taking reality to the extreme. Especially here in the USA, fear, hatred and unforgiveness are rampant. There is no real middle path anymore, or if there is, no one seems interested in taking it. Anger and weapons are everywhere. We live in a dangerous country that hardly allows any real discussions and arguments, fueled of course by social media. Which you view very critically? Armstrong: Yes, because it often doesn't help to impulsively and unreflectively spread content in these media, which is often wrong and also has a divisive effect. I see myself as responsible here. There's a big difference between being a songwriter who puts a lot of thought into every single line he writes. Or if I just put out everything that comes to mind on Twitter. Thanks to the Internet, each of us has the potential to bring something politically stupid into the world. Is the song also a warning about another term in office for Donald Trump? Armstrong: Indirectly, definitely. We originally wrote “The American Dream Is Killing Me” for our previous album. Trump was in power at the time, and we didn't want to release it because another anti-Trump song seemed like low-hanging fruit. So it's just too obvious. It would also be too easy for yourself to just bash Donald Trump and ignore the much deeper grievances in our country. Nevertheless, Trump is of course a real threat. Populism has no useful answers to the challenges of our time. 2024 will not only be an important year for world politics, but also for you as a band. Not only your marriage, but also your breakthrough album “Dookie” are celebrating their thirtieth anniversary. Is it a coincidence that these two events happened in the same year? Armstrong: 1994 was damn intense and also impulsive. Crazy when I think about it today. I was already married to my wife Adrienne at 22 and became a father at 23. And suddenly we were no longer playing in front of our small, loyal following, but in front of a really large audience that no longer just consisted of typical punk fans. We had to grow very quickly and get used to everything. We were young, we were crazy. Suddenly we had this success and quickly agreed that we wanted to continue making music for the rest of our lives. For me, Green Day and my wife are the linchpins of my adulthood. With the song “Fancy Sauce” it becomes clear that you must have really liked the Beatles too. Armstrong: Absolutely. The Beatles have always been a prominent influence for us. They lived the dream that we later lived, they paved the way for us. I love all these British rockers anyway, The Who, The Animals, The Kinks, I'm also really into glam rock. The Sweet are just awesome and I could listen to David Bowie all day. Didn't you also record the new album mainly in London? Armstrong: We did. We were with our producer Rob Cavallo at RAK Studios, right by Regent's Park, where we often went for walks. We just wanted to get out of our usual surroundings in Oakland and see something new. I think it was worth it. Once we ran into Paul McCartney in the basement of a music store and said hello. Just the other day we were driving in a taxi and it turned out that our taxi driver was Malcolm McLaren's brother. This really only happens to you in London. The acoustic, soft “Father To A Son” clearly stands out among the uptempo numbers. Armstrong: I dedicated the song to my two sons, who are now 28 and 25 years old. I wrote “Wake Me Up When September Ends” about my father twenty years ago. I was ten when he died. Then I became a father myself at an early age and simply didn't know what I was doing, what was expected of me. I did my best and was always there as these babies became boys, these boys became young men. Age seems to have little effect on you. Armstrong: Oh, no? Can't you see them, all those wrinkles? You're right, aging is good for us. Sure, I color my hair, but I've been coloring my hair since I was fifteen. That's just punk rock. I was always into fashion, and my hairstyle was a bit of a statement for me. I wouldn't even know if I'm actually gray because I've always dyed it (laughs). They are now all 51 years old. Can you believe that when you compare yourself to friends your own age who don't play in rock bands? Dirnt: (laughs) We just made a very good life decision. Rock 'n' Roll is an art form that invites restlessness. You are always in motion, in your head as well as on stage. Our band is a natural fitness program. Armstrong: Interestingly, many of my punk rock friends from back in the day now work as teachers. Some also as activists. In general, most of them took honorable jobs. As a politically active poet, are you also an activist? Armstrong: Well, I don't know if that's too much of an honor. I've always been against war, all of us in the band are against war, but is that activism or just common sense? For me, an activist is someone more like a close friend of mine. He founded a refuge for chimpanzees who had to live as laboratory animals for years and can now feel real earth under their feet for the first time. I cry tears of joy when I see these animals jumping around between the trees and how happy they look.

I really like the interviews they have done recentley. I admire Billie Joe for being so open and vulnerable about addiction and fatherhood. And when Tré said they were proud of him. 🥹 I have read two interviews so far were they talk about Father of all and covid. If it makes them feel better oh well. They don't have an old mind set and I love that. Even though they have to get colonoscopies now. If you get one were I live you don't get anesthesia, just pain killers, if that would have been the case he could have been listening to Green Day too.

Kerrang says One Eyed Bastard is the final single 😞 I thought we were just getting STARTED. .. Well, time to open up Album 15 speculation.. Saviors is over.

Well it wasn’t as fun as the other podcast he recently did but it was a cool listen!

Usually the biggest difference in sound quality comes in the mastering stage, but more weight should help around the margins.

Can we all stop discussing the album until I've heard it? In return I'll bake you all some delicious bread

Alot of artists do this including bands like the beatles especially John lennon child of nature was an early version of what would become jealous guy from imagine modern bands like weezer rivers always has multiple sets of lyrics for his songs and reuses them later on for other albums

Only one - two at a stretch - songs are worth rescuing from that album... So it would basically be Saviors plus Graffitia.

They shoud keep graffitia for this album with this production, and don't use that great song in that horrible experiment

God, I would LOVE if they went on Colbert again! I've been waiting for that to happen again! Last time we got that was for Rev Rad. Also, I'm glad they're playing Kimmel and not Fallon. Jimmy Fallon is kind of an asshole.

Weakest track maybe. But it was the perfect choice for a lead single. Can't deny that

god strange days are here to stay is such an amazing song, it's such a trilogy sounding song (dont like comparing other albums usually) but it's executed so perfectly. If this was the teaser 10 song then I can definitely see how this is interesting in the same way Letterbomb is interesting.

Same! So excited promo week is here. The more shows they're on, the better