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Working Class Hero


Fuzz

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I agree. I hope it doesn't get too reverential. Even though Lennon is an icon, of course, I hope it's not a tribute but something fresh and simple that captures the point of the song.

I loved Lennon's vocals at the end of the song when I first heard it, but even that seems almost a little too much after several listens. He's left a huge mark, and so have the song's lyrics and music: he doesn't need to be enshrined.

I wasn't talking in terms of it being too reverential, more in terms of Bayer doing too much to something that's simple and profound at the same time - this band performing this song.

As regards John's vocal at the end, I don't see it as enshrining him; I think it's Billie Joe going 'this is a great song - I didn't write it, this man did, this man is due the applause'. So we have not just John's words, but his voice - a voice that fucking needs to be heard so much right now. There's also the fact that this is such a deeply personal song, and even though it has so much resonance for Green Day, this was the product of another man's life. That last line is where the song goes from being a semi-general comment on the state of the working class, to a personal one from John's unique pov - that can't be Billie Joe's, whatever similarities there may seem to be between them. So maybe this is also where they part company, in the sense that they don't see their lives in exactly the same way - the bitterness of John's 'follow me' versus the defiance of Billie Joe's 'we're not the ones meant to follow'.

You say John's left a huge mark, and I think of it as an imprint on the consciousness of the world, but that imprint was fading, and from what Yoko has said, part of the reason she gave permission for his songs to be used was that she wanted to take John's message and his spirit to another generation. How many kids thought this was a Green Day song? It's funny, but at the same time kind of scarey!

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i heard it on Q radio today!! :woot:

me tooo jaja you a re a bitch

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I heard it on our alternative radio station last night! :D

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I wasn't talking in terms of it being too reverential, more in terms of Bayer doing too much to something that's simple and profound at the same time - this band performing this song.

As regards John's vocal at the end, I don't see it as enshrining him; I think it's Billie Joe going 'this is a great song - I didn't write it, this man did, this man is due the applause'. So we have not just John's words, but his voice - a voice that fucking needs to be heard so much right now. There's also the fact that this is such a deeply personal song, and even though it has so much resonance for Green Day, this was the product of another man's life. That last line is where the song goes from being a semi-general comment on the state of the working class, to a personal one from John's unique pov - that can't be Billie Joe's, whatever similarities there may seem to be between them. So maybe this is also where they part company, in the sense that they don't see their lives in exactly the same way - the bitterness of John's 'follow me' versus the defiance of Billie Joe's 'we're not the ones meant to follow'.

You say John's left a huge mark, and I think of it as an imprint on the consciousness of the world, but that imprint was fading, and from what Yoko has said, part of the reason she gave permission for his songs to be used was that she wanted to take John's message and his spirit to another generation. How many kids thought this was a Green Day song? It's funny, but at the same time kind of scarey!

I think it's pretty scary that so many people seem to be mystified about the meaning of the song, which is pretty much in-your-face; even though it allows for nuance of interpretation the basic message of disgust with injustice, alienation, and class difference is very much front and center.

Green Day have always been masters at blending bitterness with defieance and even silly giddiness, but I do think people tend to take what they want from Green Day and feel free to ignore the rest. So they seem to be a highly misunderstood band, but I don't think they mind. They seem to be happy to offer up everything they have and let people sort it out as they choose to. (If it was me, I think that being misconstrued to the extent that they seem to be would drive me nuts! :lol: )

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i am sorry for not reading back all 38 pages, but do we know when the video is to be released?

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No - they filmed last week,but I don´t know how long they need to finish it - since the song is out already one would think they hurry up - I wish :)

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Kerrang magazine says the song is coming out on iTunes here on June 12 and has an official release date of June 25th....it didn't say whether that was the album or a single, or what. So they'll probably put the video out a bit sooner to the release of the album

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do you mean the album or video is coming out june 12? cause the song already is out and the video is not.

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The song - as far as i know it's still not out here (in the UK) and that's when it's supposedly coming out on iTunes

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looking on the kerrang website, its the album thats coming out in June, not the single. although they do have the date on there as the 11th.

Hot on the heels of their Hurricane Katrina charity single 'The Saints Are Coming' with U2, Green Day have decided to put their own twist on John Lennon's classic 'Working Class Hero' to benefit an Amnesty International campaign to end the Darfur genocide.

The song will feature on the charity compilation 'Instant Karma', which will be released on June 11.

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has it been released as a single in the UK? i thought it had because of people i know from here said so, but i dont live there so i have no idea.

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I cant find it anywhere. I think only itunes in the US have it so far and Amnesty which is where I got it from. I dont think it will be released as an actual physical single to be honest, as to do that will possibly take more money away from the actual fund raising efforts. could be wrong on that though.

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Guest stjimmyflake

has it been released as a single in the UK? i thought it had because of people i know from here said so, but i dont live there so i have no idea.

no, not here. not even on itunes, hmv, virgin... or anywhere

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I doubt it will be. I just searched for some of the other singles on the amnesty site and none of them are available as anything other than a download. if you want an actual version of this or any of the other songs, you will either have to burn a downloaded copy of it yourself, or buy the album when it comes out.

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Did any of the other singles have videos, as well? I don't know, it just seems like a lot to do for a download only single ... and if it was, wouldn't they have done the video, then released it to iTunes? It all seems backwards to me, lol

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I dont know how many of those songs already on there are going to be on the actual album. apart from the REM one. I think maybe that the green day one is being used as the main first push at actually publicising the album itself. hence them doing a video. well publicising the album and the actually situation in Dafur of course.

dont have a clue why it has been done in this order. not a clue. maybe its down to the bands plus sams schedule or something. who knows. hopefully the video will be released in the next couple of weeks and maybe then we`ll get some more info on the actual album itself.

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I really do hope that this isnt a sign of things to come from green day.

lame :down:

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I really do hope that this isnt a sign of things to come from green day.

lame :down:

lame to help a good cause or lame because you dont like the song? jw.

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we love fat billie, no reason not to love fat tre too.

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we love fat billie, no reason not to love fat tre too.

Right on, sister! :thumbsup:

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