"Oh Yeah!" Single

[Beerjeezus]

Despite what I said, Oh Yeah really sold me on the album, because it shows that it'll be diverse and hopefully the rest is good too... I mean, FOAM is a FBHT song and it's weirdly lo-fi and even though a lot of people complain about it, I think the falsetto is awesome and then Oh Yeah is this slow synthy tune and it's on the same album. That's awesome and very exciting. At first listen I thought FRA was ok, but then it dawned on me I heard the same claps in a Mc Donalds' home delivery ad and since then I've avoided the song but MAYBE I can get past that too 

[Sanity Loan]

2 minutes ago, Beerjeezus said:

Oh Yeah really sold me on the album, because it shows that it'll be diverse and hopefully the rest is good too...

This right here.

[Red]

5 hours ago, Sheenius said:

This guy didn't add more guitar he just played the song as is. It's just that the guitar is way back in the mix. The chorus is an F#5 and Billie's vocal is the lead based off a phrygian dominant. 

When I'm producing I typically work with songwriters to explain there's two approaches. There's the wall of sound approach where there's a lot of things happening and then there's what's not being played approach. GD typically has a wall of sound but this song is the latter. Sometimes mixing the two makes something fun too. 

The focal point here is not the F#5 it's the lead Billie is performing with his vocals. This is a vocal performance song. What isn't being played is not being played to allow his vocals to be the forefront of the mix. He's a great singer but that's often packaged with large guitar sounds and drums. He hardly ever gets vocal isolation in a song.  

In this particular case I just find the latter option boring. Vocal performance song, yeah I get it kinda but the problem for me is that even if you consider the pre-chorus as a vocal performance it's literally just the same notes 4 times in a row and they didn't even switch up the last part of it to save it from making it sound repetitive (Like GD managed to do with BOBD). I truly believe there could be a lot more you could do with the pre-chorus to make it more interesting. I'd consider FOAM more of a vocal performance song because it does a much better job at showcasing interesting vocal performances, even I am personally not a fan of them.
So all you are left with besides that is an electronic sounding note through the entire thing, cool so that must mean it's building up to something good right? Well, we will see what happens with the chorus.

The chorus (Oh yeah) is literally just a copy and paste of the original song but without the stuff that made it good.
Yeah I get that it's a sample, but I find samples really boring unless you are going to do something creative with them, like for example Fall Out Boy's use of "Tom's Diner" by Suzanne Vega in their song Centuries. I believe a "My Sharona" style of guitar lick here (kind of like the one at the very very end) could have really helped the song.
Oh! I guess there is that annoying The Network style backup vocal thing but it's so processed that I still can't figure out what it says. They added a tiny bit of keyboard in the last chorus which is appreciated, but there's just not enough here musically in my opinion.
So the chorus falls flat melodically... okay so what now?

That leaves us with the verse, which for me is the most exciting part of the song. Let's break that down. You have the last part of the Too Dumb To Die verse as the vocals, and you have you have a slower version of practically the same riff from the song that precedes this on the album "Fire, Ready, Aim". That's basically it. Melodically it's the best part of the song for me, but it's just another repetitive section which is a compilation of more of what we have already heard. I'll add that Mikes bass does help liven it up a little. So what does that leave us with in terms of music.

Nothing.

No bridge. No solo. Both could have also done wonders for the song in my opinion.

I guess this song was made to appeal more to people who care more about lyrics and don't care so much about melody, so musically it's just boring to me. It's probably part of the point of the song to be honest, to be boring like people staring at their phones in real life, but coming from a band that I have always considered my favorite because of the melodies they are able to come up with, this is pretty flat out disappointing to me.

[Beerjeezus]

Honestly, Billie has been recycling his older songs and using bits of other people's music in his writing a lot recently. It's kind of become his thing 

[Red]

2 minutes ago, Beerjeezus said:

Honestly, Billie has been recycling his older songs and using bits of other people's music in his writing a lot recently. It's kind of become his thing 

But he's always managed to make the rest of the song different enough to stand as it's own thing. I remember this being notable in 21cb and people were complaining about it, but the other 95% of those songs that had familiar parts were fresh.

The only "fresh" part of this song in my opinion is the pre-chorus, which to me is so painfully boring for the reasons I stated above.

[Flashback]

1 minute ago, Beerjeezus said:

Honestly, Billie has been recycling his older songs and using bits of other people's music in his writing a lot recently. It's kind of become his thing 

Sooner or later he will start using talk boxes like Daft Punk 😂

[TimmyChunks]

Well, you couldn’t have brought him to a better tour. That may have been the best one- they’re always an amazing live band, but in my humble opinion that’s when they were at their live peak. Kudos- that’s awesome! What a great memory that must be. 

21 hours ago, Sheenius said:

When GD makes songs for your kids instead of you. GD is gonna be terrible dad rock!!!!

I was first to call alternative radio hit!!! 

Ha, and I’m proud of them for it. I don’t love it yet, but I love do love the fact that they’re crossing generations or at least making the effort. These guys have never lacked for ambition and I applaud them for it. 

[That Dude]

Oh Yeah is not slow, guys.  Slower than the other songs, but not slow.  

It's also the best song Green Day have ever done.

[TimmyChunks]

I just read up on Gary Glitter, the guy Joan Jett covered back in ‘84 (way before all his nasty stuff became public). It’s really bad and twisted. Maybe I’m late to the game, but I’m not feeling great about his song being sampled here; I mean, just reading his bio makes my skin crawl. And I get that The sample is of a Joan cover, but she covered him many years before this became public. But the bad stuff he was doing was definitely taking place when he created this- some of those charges are why he is currently in prison. Shudder. 
 

I know this is why proceeds are being donated, but gross. Maybe that’s part of the artistic reason to cover an make us all aware of type of issue...I hope so. But I hate having my favorite band and one of their songs ties to this disgustingness. It’s pretty gross when you start reading into it, trust me. 

[Red]

1 hour ago, That Dude said:

Oh Yeah is not slow, guys.  Slower than the other songs, but not slow. 

It might not technically be "slow" but it makes me feel like falling asleep by feeling like the slowest and most boring single they have ever released.

1 hour ago, That Dude said:

It's also the best song Green Day have ever done

Dear God, please tell me you aren't serious. There is no way their "best song" would divide their entire fan base as much as this one has.

8 minutes ago, TimmyChunks said:

I just read up on Gary Glitter, the guy Joan Jett covered back in ‘84 (way before all his nasty stuff became public). It’s really bad and twisted. Maybe I’m late to the game, but I’m not feeling great about his song being sampled here; I mean, just reading his bio makes my skin crawl. And I get that The sample is of a Joan cover, but she covered him many years before this became public.

This is a complicated situation, but I do hope that one day we can just listen to music and appreciate it as music without having to worry about the people or issues behind it, however I do think Green Day did a great thing by donating the royalties.

If there's one thing to come out of all of this that everyone can hopefully agree on it's that there are going to be a lot of less fortunate people being helped because of this song.

[UNICORN VOMIT]

1 minute ago, TimmyChunks said:

. Maybe that’s part of the artistic reason to cover an make us all aware of type of issue...I hope so. 

I still think you are giving them more credit then they deserve.

[TimmyChunks]

1 minute ago, UNICORN VOMIT said:

I still think you are giving them more credit then they deserve.

You’re probably right. I’m just hoping that’s not the case. I didn’t realize how disturbing Gary Glitter was (I knew he was a bad guy, but didn’t know exactly how bad). Covering any of his stuff- even if a “re-cover”- seems pretty appalling to me. 

[pacejunkie punk]

Billie made it clear it was the Joan Jett song he wanted to sample.  He said he always thought it would make a great sample in a song and wanted to do it, it was the only reason.  Yeah the creep wrote it, but he no longer gets royalties from it. Donating the royalties Green Day earns is the right thing to do and they’re doing that.

[Eric]

RisingRedWolf is like GDC's worst user next to Platypus2000. Most negative Dookie American idiot Purists ever

[Doggins]

3 minutes ago, Eric said:

RisingRedWolf is like GDC's worst user next to Platypus2000. Most negative Dookie American idiot Purists ever

Everyones entitled to their own opinion.. you can still be a fanboi and not love everything GD release

[Eric]

1 minute ago, Doggins said:

Everyones entitled to their own opinion.. you can still be a fanboi and not love everything GD release

Obviously, it's just we get it they dislike the song, the amount of negativity is what I am talking about, They are also questioning people who like it, so I can call out who i want  nice for your feedback doggins

[TimmyChunks]

17 minutes ago, pacejunkie punk said:

Billie made it clear it was the Joan Jett song he wanted to sample.  He said he always thought it would make a great sample in a song and wanted to do it, it was the only reason.  Yeah the creep wrote it, but he no longer gets royalties from it. Donating the royalties Green Day earns is the right thing to do and they’re doing that.

Thanks Pacie, I know you’ve been here for a long time and it’s great to see you again. I appreciate the perspective. I’m just struggling since while I was vaguely familiar with the fact that Glitter was a creep, I didn’t realize how bad he was until I looked up his detailed bio tonight. It’s bad. 
 

So, I’ll digest this for a bit. I totally trust and respect Green Day in their judgement, and it’s noble they’re donating proceeds here, but i thought this was worth calling out on the forum. Perhaps this is what they were going for- awareness. Because now I’m very aware of how horrible Glitter was, maybe I buried it in my mind but hadn’t been actively aware of how terrible some people can be. And I get that it’s a Joan cover- she’s an absolute legend- but she did cover this decades before Glitter’s disgusting behavior was discovered. But it was going on well before she made this cover- he’s currently in jail for some of these crimes in the late  ‘70s. 
 

Sorry to be a downer on this thread everyone, but I was seriously grossed out when I read about his background. 

[pacejunkie punk]

3 minutes ago, TimmyChunks said:

Thanks Pacie, I know you’ve been here for a long time and it’s great to see you again. I appreciate the perspective. I’m just struggling since while I was vaguely familiar with the fact that Glitter was a creep, I didn’t realize how bad he was until I looked up his detailed bio tonight. It’s bad. 
 

So, I’ll digest this for a bit. I totally trust and respect Green Day in their judgement, and it’s noble they’re donating proceeds here, but i thought this was worth calling out on the forum. Perhaps this is what they were going for- awareness. Because now I’m very aware of how horrible Glitter was, maybe I buried it in my mind but hadn’t been actively aware of how terrible some people can be. And I get that it’s a Joan cover- she’s an absolute legend- but she did cover this decades before Glitter’s disgusting behavior was discovered. But it was going on well before she made this cover- he’s currently in jail for some of these crimes in the late  ‘70s. 
 

Sorry to be a downer on this thread everyone, but I was seriously grossed out when I read about his background. 

Any decent human being would be so congratulations on being one 👍

Seems Billie has been faced with a lot of ethical questions when it comes to covers, samples and collabs over the years. Sometimes people agree with his choices, sometimes not, but it seems he always considers the music first and then deals with the fallout later. 

[TimmyChunks]

Just now, pacejunkie punk said:

Any decent human being would be so congratulations on being one 👍

Seems Billie has been faced with a lot of ethical questions when it comes to covers, samples and collabs over the years. Sometimes people agree with his choices, sometimes not, but it seems he always considers the music first and then deals with the fallout later. 

Agreed, I know exactly what you’re alluding to. Well put.  Like I mentioned, in Green Day I trust- they are truly good people (which is why I’m kinda thrown by the Glitter thing but they’ve clearly had months to think/ consider it through while I’m reacting real time)- and thanks for the perspective.  And like I mentioned- great to see you here! I’ve been away from the forum for a while but very glad to see you!

[Red]

35 minutes ago, Eric said:

RisingRedWolf is like GDC's worst user next to Platypus2000. Most negative Dookie American idiot Purists ever

If that's how people perceive me than I have clearly failed at trying to be the human being that I want to be.
Nice to see more proof that it's seen everywhere where I try to find some sense of belonging to.

I am sorry for disliking a song that you like, but I am sure you dislike songs that I like too. I am my own person with my own opinion, but if people really want me to shut up that badly I will. I am used to that kind of thing believe me.

I have probably contributed all I can to this particular topic anyway.

[TimmyChunks]

8 minutes ago, RisingRedWolf said:

If that's how people perceive me than I have clearly failed at trying to be the human being that I want to be.
Nice to see more proof that it's seen everywhere where I try to find some sense of belonging to.

I am sorry for disliking a song that you like, but I am sure you dislike songs that I like too. I am my own person with my own opinion, but if people really want me to shut up that badly I will. I am used to that kind of thing believe me.

I have probably contributed all I can to this particular topic anyway.

Here’s one fanboy who is totally on board with you or anyone expressing your opinion whether we agree or not.  We’re all presumably here because we enjoy Green Day so much that we go out of our way to take the time to register, read, and post. And that in itself means that are voluntarily part of a small and passionate group brought together for the right reasons. Please keep sharing your thoughts, some people might not agree with them but that doesn’t mean they’re not valuable. 

[Lenny]

24 minutes ago, TimmyChunks said:

Thanks Pacie, I know you’ve been here for a long time and it’s great to see you again. I appreciate the perspective. I’m just struggling since while I was vaguely familiar with the fact that Glitter was a creep, I didn’t realize how bad he was until I looked up his detailed bio tonight. It’s bad. 

I'm curious what was it exactly? If it's too graphic or disturbing and don't wanna share I totally get that. 

I've just been curious about it. From my understanding it was a crime that was of a sexual nature if I'm not mistaken. 

[TimmyChunks]

1 minute ago, Sheenius said:

I'm curious what was it exactly? If it's too graphic or disturbing and don't wanna share I totally get that. 

I've just been curious about it. From my understanding it was a crime that was of a sexual nature if I'm not mistaken. 

It ie disturbing, so use your own judgement please, but yes, it is crimes against minors.  If you Wikipedia Gary Glitter’s bio you’ll have the synopsis. Other news reports  contain more graphic detail.  

[Lenny]

10 minutes ago, RisingRedWolf said:

If that's how people perceive me than I have clearly failed at trying to be the human being that I want to be.
Nice to see more proof that it's seen everywhere where I try to find some sense of belonging to.

I am sorry for disliking a song that you like, but I am sure you dislike songs that I like too. I am my own person with my own opinion, but if people really want me to shut up that badly I will. I am used to that kind of thing believe me.

I have probably contributed all I can to this particular topic anyway.

I'm on the other side of the fence when it comes to this song but I didn't feel like you were being what they're saying you are. You just may strongly dislike this song which is your opinion. It is an entirely different track for the band so mixed response from the fan base is completely normal. I perceived it as you strongly disagree with something under the umbrella of something you're passionate about. 

I think earlier on we both discussed our different views of the song and our convo kinda took us to the point where I was ok with a vocal performance being the lead of the song and you were looking for something with larger instrumental presence. I didn't feel like you were crossing any lines or being condescending or being a purist in anyway. 

 

 

1 minute ago, TimmyChunks said:

It ie disturbing, so use your own judgement please, but yes, it is crimes against minors.  If you Wikipedia Gary Glitter’s bio you’ll have the synopsis. Other news reports  contain more graphic detail.  

Ok thanks for clarifying. I don't think I want to know any more than that. I'm good with that summary. 

[pacejunkie punk]

19 minutes ago, TimmyChunks said:

Agreed, I know exactly what you’re alluding to. Well put.  Like I mentioned, in Green Day I trust- they are truly good people (which is why I’m kinda thrown by the Glitter thing but they’ve clearly had months to think/ consider it through while I’m reacting real time)- and thanks for the perspective.  And like I mentioned- great to see you here! I’ve been away from the forum for a while but very glad to see you!

Same, thanks very much and welcome back 🙂