Billie Joe Armstrong on new Morrissey Album

[Beerjeezus]

On 6/1/2019 at 10:24 AM, Joe. said:

Why couldn’t he have just collaborated with Johnny Marr instead? 

That wouldn't be edgy enough

[Joe.]

1 minute ago, Beerjeezus said:

That wouldn't be edgy enough

Johnny regularly “spills tea” and says “wig” on twitter I’ll have you know he’s cutting edge.

 

 

[The Bellie]

On 5/31/2019 at 11:19 PM, Beerjeezus said:

As I was reminded of this... I hope Billie's going to stay out of politics on the next album. I can accept he's okay with Morrissey, but I'm not interested in any preaching from him.

You don't want some cringy political ranting? I admit I wouldn't mind  I mean, as long as he preserves his mental health while doing it, and that he stays smiling hopefully as much as he was during RevRad.

[Rumpelstiltskin2000]

Article here from CMU about Billie's collaboration with Morrisey:

https://completemusicupdate.com/article/green-days-billie-joe-armstrong-says-he-really-did-not-have-a-clue-about-morrissey-controversy/?fbclid=IwAR0Q-h61KILKjhanI_GLePv8ICPkrp2RvfdOvSRlxlYmuNJjb4srnG0Ygus

Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong says he “really did not have a clue” about Morrissey controversy

Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong has pleaded ignorance in the wake of the controversy – or at least confusion – around his recent duet with Morrissey.

Armstrong – along with several other American and Canadian musicians, including Ed Droste of Grizzly Bear and Broken Social Scene’s Ariel Engle – appeared on Morrissey’s 2019 covers album ‘California Son’.

Back in the UK, there was some confusion as to why these musicians had agreed to work with the former Smiths frontman at a time when he was a particularly controversial figure, thanks to – among other things – his support for a far right political organisation.

In general, it seems that the best explanation is that when you have a fringe politics controversy, it doesn’t travel, even when Morrissey is involved – despite his best badge-wearing efforts.

“I wasn’t aware [of the controversy] until the song came out”, Armstrong tells The Guardian. “We do the song, and he was very lovely, and then the song comes out and a lot of Brits were like: what the hell are you doing? I really did not have a clue”.

His comments echo those of Ariel Engle, who also spoke about his Morrisey duet with The Guardian last year, saying: “It’s a very weak argument to claim ignorance, but it is my argument. It’s not an excuse but it happens to be the truth. The inflammatory things he says are not my politics. I think he’s completely out of line. I grew up around multiculturalism and I am the product of multiculturalism and immigration. I feel like I’ve been had, but it’s my fault”.

Morrissey’s got another album coming out soon. Next month, in fact. I’m never sure if people want me to tell them that or not.

_____

There's an NME article here too (I think this has been posted in random news but thought I'd add it to the thread):

https://www.nme.com/news/music/green-days-billie-joe-armstrong-responds-to-criticism-after-morrissey-collab-2607590

Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong responds to criticism after Morrissey collab: “I did not have a clue”

"A lot of Brits were like: 'what the hell are you doing?'"

Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong has responded to the criticism he previously faced after working with Morrissey.

The Green Day frontman teamed up with the Smiths icon in 2019 on a cover of The Fifth Dimension’s ‘Wedding Bell Blues’, which appeared on Morrissey’s covers album, ‘California Son‘.

At the time, Armstrong faced criticism from fans for teaming up with the singer– who has previously denied accusations of racism after voicing his support for the controversial far-right group For Britain.

While Armstrong previously described the collaboration as “an honour”, he has now denied having any knowledge of Morrissey’s controversial views.

“I wasn’t aware until the song came out,” Armstrong told The Guardian.

“We do the song, and he was very lovely, and then the song comes out and a lot of Brits were like: what the hell are you doing? I really did not have a clue …”

He added: “Hey, we’ve all got our Ted Nugents, right?” – a reference to the US rocker and gun enthusiast who was previously investigated by the Secret Service for comments about Barack Obama.

Grizzly Bear’s Ed Droste, Broken Social Scene’s Ariel Engle, and The Regrettes’ Lydia Knight also appeared on the record, but Engle was the only to speak out at the time of its release.

She said she had been ignorant of Morrissey’s opinions and only learned of his political leanings when a friend challenged her about working with him via email.

“It’s a very weak argument to claim ignorance but it is my argument,” she told the Guardian. “It’s not an excuse but it happens to be the truth.”

Last week, Green Day returned with their thirteenth studio album ‘Father of All Motherfuckers‘. Morrissey will release his thirteenth solo album, ‘I Am Not A Dog On A Chain‘, in March.

Kerrang article here too:

https://www.kerrang.com/the-news/billie-joe-armstrong-on-controversial-morrissey-collab-i-really-did-not-have-a-clue/

BILLIE JOE ARMSTRONG ON CONTROVERSIAL MORRISSEY COLLAB: “I REALLY DID NOT HAVE A CLUE…”

Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong has responded to the criticism he faced after collaborating with Morrissey last year.

Following last year’s collaboration with Morrissey, Billie Joe Armstrong has responded to the criticism he faced online after working with The Smiths frontman on his guest spot-filled album California Son.

Green Day fans in the UK collectively raised their eyebrows when the frontman guested on the track Wedding Bell Blues (and then later called it “an honour” working with Moz), given that Morrissey has previously shown support for far-right, anti-Islam political group For Britain, as well as being accused of racism on numerous occasions. Taking Billie Joe’s progressive and more left-leaning politics into consideration, it certainly seemed like a surprising move from Green Day’s leader – but, as he tells The Guardian, he seemingly had no idea about Morrissey’s views.

“I wasn’t aware until the song came out,” Billie Joe admits. “We do the song, and he was very lovely, and then the song comes out and a lot of Brits were like, ‘What the hell are you doing?’ I really did not have a clue…”

At the time of California Son’s release, the only collaborator on the album to speak up about Morrissey’s questionable politics was Broken Social Scene vocalist Ariel Engle, who was in a similar position to Billie Joe. “It’s a very weak argument to claim ignorance,” she told The Guardian, “but it is my argument. It’s not an excuse but it happens to be the truth.”

In other Green Day news, the band released their new record Father Of All… last Friday, and are on course for their fourth UK Number One album.

In last week’s issue of Kerrang!, we asked Billie Joe about the album title – and if we should be calling it Father Of All… or its full, uncensored title: Father Of All Motherfuckers.

“For the adults, it’s called Father Of All Motherfuckers, and then for the kids and for the censorship, it’s Father Of All…” he laughed. “It’s always been Father Of All…, pretty much. I did the artwork and I scribbled ‘Father Of All Motherfuckers’ on the American Idiot album cover. Someone said, ‘You’re never going to be able to get ‘Motherfuckers’ on there,’ and I go, ‘Well, just make everybody happy and just put a fucking unicorn on it!’ And then I drew a unicorn and put it over it. So it’s kind of funny, because the unicorn has become this icon.”

[The Grohl]

It's kind of funny that Billie had no clue because Morrisseys mouth is so big it reaches across the Atlantic.