"Oh Yeah!" Single

[Beyza]

32 minutes ago, CherryBombs&Gasoline said:

It's weird that the songs on this chart are actually considered alternative. I mean Halsey and Lewis Capaldi? Not judging their music, but I'm finding it more and more difficult to draw the line between alternative and other genres. Feels like they label everything that isn't clearly rap or Taylor Swift 'alternative'. They're the only rock band there though, so I guess 14 isn't too bad. 

Well, they also consider Twenty One Pilots as ‘Rock’ rather than ‘Alternative’ in charts like that so not really surprising to me lol 

[MaxGD]

9 hours ago, That Dude said:

I hope Billie does an entire song in Bane-voice.

That would be amazing. 

YES!

[Lenny]

8 hours ago, Thatsername said:

Don't worry, I think you have made your point perfectly clear and I totally feel you. OY won me over somehow .

Same. The lyrics and video point out an issue of how self absorbed everybody has become but not in the right way. At times you need to put your needs ahead of the needs of others for your personal well being and survival. It seems like people aren't focused on being selfish in a healthy way. They're toxic based off the moments they've chosen. 

I also think as a musician I can relate to their choice to take such a risk. I was in punk bands in the 2000's. The best band I was ever in was somewhat of an Op Ivy situation. I felt really lost for a couple years after that but wrote a whole different group of songs before I was able to create a focused plan to make 2 solo albums released a couple months apart. 

The first album was where I found my sound. Mixing all my different influences with that experience I had from my venture into punk rock. A lot of bands in the punk world throw in a Ska song strategically in the tracklist to create some diversity and contrast which I found to be too easy and natural for me. I challenged myself to fill that spot in the tracklist with a late 80's style hip hop song. There's a triggered synth linked to my drum beat which I actually performed (no drum machine bs) and a really cool bass part. For the first time ever no guitar. 

I got to share the song with some people at the studio and their initial reaction was a lot of fun for me. They didn't expect A) That i'd make a song with no guitar and B) That I'd actually execute something so far out of my own personal experience and style that well.

That's a song where if somebody didn't understand or appreciate what I do they may still enjoy that song cause it's the complete opposite of what I am inclined to do as a songwriter. 

[cav9mm]

Anybody have an idea how this song has been received by the mainstream music media or non Green Day fans ?

 

Edit :

Not good it seems. 

https://rateyourmusic.com/release/single/green-day/oh-yeah/

[21st_century_gloria]

On 1/17/2020 at 5:07 PM, Billie Joe's Eyelids said:

I like how the song has segments that flow with the idea of lost hope and escape. Billie has said its about becoming hopeless with all the shit that’s going on right now, but people are choosing to ignore it and escape in technology. The first verse is despairing, then the “Everyone’s a star” refrain is referring to the technology escape, and the “Oh yeah” one to the kind of mindlessness of it. Then repeat. That’s how I see it anyway. 

Since everybody is a star, there should be more heroes, right? Ain't it funny how we're running out of hope in humanity? If you get really rich you should be happy. You get a lot of money but there's something missing, it's artificial and you're not really that happy...

im surprised that there are so many people who think BJA cannot write good lyrics 

[Lenny]

56 minutes ago, cav9mm said:

Anybody have an idea how this song has been received by the mainstream music media or non Green Day fans ?

 

Edit :

Not good it seems. 

https://rateyourmusic.com/release/single/green-day/oh-yeah/

That's based off user scores. Seems like most of the people who commented there could be GDCers 

[21st_century_gloria]

15 hours 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. 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. 

I kinda feel like GD pushing Joan Jett's role in covering the song (as opposed to Gary Glitter as the writer, even calling Glitter out as an "asshole") as well as donating the royalties to RAINN, even having a female director, etc, makes it more of a middle finger to Glitter himself, if you will? Making sure he doesn't get any positive attention. 

[pacejunkie punk]

4 minutes ago, 21st_century_gloria said:

Since everybody is a star, there should be more heroes, right? Ain't it funny how we're running out of hope in humanity? If you get really rich you should be happy. You get a lot of money but there's something missing, it's artificial and you're not really that happy...

im surprised that there are so many people who think BJA cannot write good lyrics 

And I like how he draws the parallels to himself (“the shooting star of a lowered expectation”) because as a celebrity he’s known for years that money doesn’t equal happiness and contentment, but now that “everybody is a star” we’re all learning that lesson.

[Lenny]

3 minutes ago, 21st_century_gloria said:

 

im surprised that there are so many people who think BJA cannot write good lyrics 

I don't think it's that. With albums like Insomniac, American Idiot and 21cb he's basically dug himself into a hole he'll never be able to climb out of. 

His approach is different and was also different on Rev Rad as well. I think the lyrics are a lot more open ended than previous GD albums which means people have to think and work for the meaning rather than get it shoved down their throats for them. 

Sadly, this is the era we live in. Everything written is taken in verbatim or as the person wants to interpret it. You have no ideas how many times I've said something or sent a text message that has some meaning that's between the lines. Flies over everyone's heads or completely misunderstood. 

[Beerjeezus]

"Shooting star of a lowered expectation" always makes me chuckle because Green Day sure made us lower our expectations 

[21st_century_gloria]

1 minute ago, Sheenius said:

I don't think it's that. With albums like Insomniac, American Idiot and 21cb he's basically dug himself into a hole he'll never be able to climb out of. 

His approach is different and was also different on Rev Rad as well. I think the lyrics are a lot more open ended than previous GD albums which means people have to think and work for the meaning rather than get it shoved down their throats for them. 

Sadly, this is the era we live in. Everything written is taken in verbatim or as the person wants to interpret it. You have no ideas how many times I've said something or sent a text message that has some meaning that's between the lines. Flies over everyone's heads or completely misunderstood. 

Idk, i don't really think there's such a huge deal or cause for controversy when it comes to interpreting music in one's own way. BJA has said himself that the beauty of music is that anyone can take away anything from it. 

I do agree that a lot of people seem to not be able to read between the lines, though. That goes for anything, not just GD songs or music in general.

7 minutes ago, pacejunkie punk said:

And I like how he draws the parallels to himself (“the shooting star of a lowered expectation”) because as a celebrity he’s known for years that money doesn’t equal happiness and contentment, but now that “everybody is a star” we’re all learning that lesson.

"Ive got blood on my hands in my pockets" also seemed like an interesting line because it could refer to the toxicity of what people type on social media from their phones (which are in their pockets) but it could also refer to 'guilt by association' --- people who keep their hands in their pockets metaphorically as opposed to someone who would 'get their hands dirty' by doing something/taking action.

Also wondering about the "Looking out for the jingoes and heathens" line. Considering BJA's sociopolitical views, of course he'd want to call out jingoism. But BJA is one of the last people I could see accusing someone of being a heathen. 😂 I wonder what he was going for with the utilization of that particular word.

[Lenny]

24 minutes ago, 21st_century_gloria said:

Idk, i don't really think there's such a huge deal or cause for controversy when it comes to interpreting music in one's own way. BJA has said himself that the beauty of music is that anyone can take away anything from it. 

I do agree that a lot of people seem to not be able to read between the lines, though. That goes for anything, not just GD songs or music in general.

 

but what I'm saying is Billie's intention is to be open-ended. However, that means people need to use their brains to be able to get something out of it. Just reading it with your eyes and being like "yeah I don't get what he's saying" isn't going to help a person understand it. With previous GD albums there was still some open ended stuff but there were more bold statements. There was stylistic differences as well in the lyrics. Less chaos and mystery in what Billie was communicating. 

I've worked with people on large scales. I'm talking thousands of different people on a weekly basis. You would be surprised how many people set the bar for themselves so low and expect to be spoon fed by everyone else. It can be hidden behind a combative attitude for those with a sense of pride. Others will communicate that they believe they're "aren't so swift" and can't do anything on their own. I hate to break it to you Lazy Leonard but the reason why you aren't so swift is cause you're setting the bar so low and yet somehow still limbo-ing under it! 

I spent years studying Neil Peart's lyrics. He has the art of taking a concept the size of a novel and being able to put it into verses and choruses. Many times his words were simple and candid but somehow out of that simplicity there was overtones of something more complex. The sad part is he's probably the most misunderstood and misinterpreted lyricist of all time thanks to limbo-ers. 

 

Twitter character limits took away self-expression.

[21st_century_gloria]

6 minutes ago, Sheenius said:

 You would be surprised how many people set the bar for themselves so low

I dont think I'd be surprised lmao bc i hate myself and im stupid and I know cant do anything right/useful... but at the same time I still try to overanalyze evrything from GD songs to like, marvel movies and stuff  

I do agree though that people don't seem to want to make the effort to find a complex meaning in anything. 👍

[Beyza]

4 minutes ago, Sheenius said:

With previous GD albums there was still some open ended stuff but there were more bold statements.

Yes, I agree like American Idiot has one of the most bold and straightforward lyrics I've ever read, it's like screaming at you but I think those ones are a lot calmer and addressing things in a more mystic way, could even seen sophisticated in some way. There are some bands have that sophisticated touch in their lyrics I don't think GD exactly one of them but I got that feeling with these singles.

[Lenny]

13 minutes ago, 21st_century_gloria said:

I dont think I'd be surprised lmao bc i hate myself and im stupid and I know cant do anything right/useful... 

 

I know it's a bit personal and off topic but I'd like to share this with you. The power of autosuggestion is overlooked. If you tell yourself that this is the case you've trained your brain to make decisions that fit into this belief. We're all gonna have mistakes and stupid moments but these should be steps that define our future successes not define a perpetual failure. 

When I was in high school I got into music so hard that my grades dropped by like 30-40%. Luckily, before that I was averaging 90% so I still passed. The school and the teachers were ready to just write me off but they were frustrated cause I was always smart enough to just execute enough that they couldn't fail me. However, I got past my phase and matured a little bit later. Mostly from finally failing Math. Twice. I couldn't afford to waste my time at summer school the first time around. 

It was humiliating for me to sit in a class of kids a grade below me that literally just wrote me off like I was some retard. I didn't care what they thought of me, they had plans for university and I had plans to play music whether or not I was a high school graduate. Over the course of the year I started considering some fallback options and well... failing Math wasn't a part of the road there. I hit summer school that year but had to take the class above the one I failed twice. The teacher didn't speak English and didn't even follow the curriculum. The final exam was not even based on what we actually learned in the month. I passed it though with the highest mark in the entire class and on the exam. 

The power of autosuggestion was giving me the fallback that it was always the teacher's fault. While I never ever had a good math teacher during that series of failures it was with the worst teacher that I finally achieved success. I was no longer telling myself that I can't pass without a good teacher. I was telling myself that regardless of the teacher I will pass. It wasn't an "I'll show them" moment it was an "I'll show myself". Now in my career I'm a go to for math based information and calculations. Funny how things work out. 

 

 

 

[Albelint]

I feel like new fans and younger people in general are going to like this way more than the old school fans. 

Obviously it's a matter of taste but this really feels way too commercial and not enough rock 'n roll for Green Day. In my opinion they've always been really good at maintain a certain balance, their albums are quite different from each other and pretty unique in some cases but you can always say they're rock 'n roll records at their core.  

This song feels out of place especially if you consider the material Billie and the guys have put out lately. The Longshot felt more Green Day than this, the same goes for the single Back to the USA. 

Nothing wrong with them doing and experimenting something different, but i'm not really digging the new material for the most part. The trilogy was kinda meh overall but there is a good 12 songs pop punk-punk rock album hidden in there. For example i genuinely believe X-Kid to be one of the greatest Green Day songs and i don't see these new singles as songs that will last, they're catchy but not as meaningful after all. 

[Beerjeezus]

This might be totally random, but I'd say OY isn't that out of place following Longshot... I could imagine Body Bag with similar synths

[DookieLukie]

The chorus is easily the best part. The song is growing on me after I liked it first listen and then lost interest. The lyrics are kind of clunky and have elementary rhymes, but the lyrics to the chorus are clever. "Everybody is a star" (commentary on social media and how it makes people think they have the spotlight on them), "got my money and I'm feelin' kind of low" (commentary that money/fame doesn't buy happiness), "Everybody got a star" (cool lyric referencing the Hollywood star, fame, but also how kids nowadays always get a "star" or "trophy"), "Kinda funny how we're running out of hope" (despite everyone getting attention or getting undeserved praise stars or trophies, people are more depressed than ever, which is actually a statistical trend).

[jengd]

Except it’s “everybody got a scar” so that could mean visible or invisible scars in an age of heightened awareness of mental health issues, or a SCAR is an assault rifle.  Typical Billie, could be both, I love it when he does this.   Someone else pointed that out earlier on, not my original thought! 

[DookieLukie]

1 minute ago, jengd said:

Except it’s “everybody got a scar” so that could mean visible or invisible scars in an age of heightened awareness of mental health issues, or a SCAR is an assault rifle.  Typical Billie, could be both, I love it when he does this.   Someone else pointed that out earlier on, not my original thought! 

Oh shoot you're right. That makes it feel more generic to me.

[Christian's Inferno!]

Is it just me that thinks the chorus is probably the weakest part of the song? I just expect more energy or something from a chorus. Like the verses sound pretty cool and I just feel like the chorus is just really underwhelming. A stronger chorus really would've gotten me more excited about the song. The Oh Yeah part also doesn't annoy me like it does other people

18 hours ago, Eric said:

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

I'm surprised by but appreciate the fact that you don't think I'm the worst user here because I certainly think you're the worst 😆

[DookieLukie]

"Oh Yeah!" currently has the worst YouTube like/dislike ratio of all the FOAM songs.

Father of All...: 20.6 likes per dislike

FRA: 25 likes per dislike

Oh Yeah!: 19.7 likes per dislike

[Sanity Loan]

3 hours ago, jengd said:

Except it’s “everybody got a scar” so that could mean visible or invisible scars in an age of heightened awareness of mental health issues, or a SCAR is an assault rifle.  Typical Billie, could be both, I love it when he does this.   Someone else pointed that out earlier on, not my original thought! 

I’m taking this line to mean that despite the glamor and perfection that a lot of social media stars portray their lives to have, they all have their issues.

2 hours ago, DookieLukie said:

"Oh Yeah!" currently has the worst YouTube like/dislike ratio of all the FOAM songs.

Father of All...: 20.6 likes per dislike

FRA: 25 likes per dislike

Oh Yeah!: 19.7 likes per dislike

20.6 vs 19.7 is close enough to consider it a tie. Saying “worst”, while true, isn’t something to look into.

I do find it funny that FRA has a commanding lead in that stat.

[DookieLukie]

1 hour ago, Matt. said:

 

20.6 vs 19.7 is close enough to consider it a tie. Saying “worst”, while true, isn’t something to look into.

I do find it funny that FRA has a commanding lead in that stat.

True. I wasn't trying to portray it as a "commanding lead." FRA probably satisfies the casual fans who say "Yeah that sounds like Green Day."

[The Grohl]

On 1/19/2020 at 5:50 AM, CherryBombs&Gasoline said:

I was thinking about the whole Gary Glitter thing, too, and it's kind of complicated. However, for me, there's a difference between an artist and his work. Don't get me wrong, there's absolutely no justification for what this guy did. Not at all. I didn't know him before but I looked up his story and it's absolutely disgusting. 

But where do we draw the line when it comes to these things? Can I still watch movies produced by Harvey Weinstein? Movies featuring Kevin Spacey? Can I listen to Michael Jackson? I think as soon as a piece of art is out there, it doesn't belong to the artist anymore, it belongs to everyone. I hate what this guy did, but that's him as a person, not his music. It would be a different story if he made money with this song, but he doesn't, so he doesn't benefit from the sample at all. That's why I think it's ok. 

Yeah, this is tough. I think it's different for everyone. For me, it's case by case. Certain artists I can still listen to and others I just can't. I could never listen to Gary Glitter or Lostprophets without thinking about those terrible acts that they committed. But others can enjoy it and that's okay. Usually with most music, I don't have trouble listening to it because I don't necessarily have to look at the person behind the song. I can listen to it through my headphones and enjoy. And I don't even have to support them financially. With actors and Youtubers, that's another story. I'm constantly looking at them and for me, it brings up their actions and I can no longer enjoy their content. I dunno, it's definitely one of those tricky things.