.Holly Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 So has anyone tried to breakdown the "meaning" of this song? *coughcough*Michael*coughcough* (Did I miss any good analysis?) Billie did say in an interview that he "doesn't know what the fuck Nuclear Family is about," and I kind of get the same vague social commentary vibe out of it that I got from Kill the DJ, even though Billie was more assertive in saying that Kill the DJ has real meaning behind it, they're both kind of the same in their lyrically unclear message. If anything I think Nuclear Family is a bit easier to tackle simply because it's less metaphorical. The chorus seems pretty straightforward: death of the nuclear family (the end of social norms, social structures, everything we 'hold dear' in traditional society), sent to hell by capitalism or communism (Chinese company conspiracy) or whatever corrupt governments/economic systems, and the singer is OK with all of that as long as he can make fun of it and observe it and in some way, join in the destruction ("as long as it comes in hi-fidelity for me too"). Overall, I think the song has a very REM "It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine" message. But for GD it's "Like a nuclear bomb and it won't be long till I detonate." And they're having fun, so bring on the apocalypse. thanks, I always enjoy reading your opinions, I find them insightful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bastard of 1967 Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 So has anyone tried to breakdown the "meaning" of this song? *coughcough*Michael*coughcough* (Did I miss any good analysis?) Billie did say in an interview that he "doesn't know what the fuck Nuclear Family is about," and I kind of get the same vague social commentary vibe out of it that I got from Kill the DJ, even though Billie was more assertive in saying that Kill the DJ has real meaning behind it, they're both kind of the same in their lyrically unclear message. If anything I think Nuclear Family is a bit easier to tackle simply because it's less metaphorical. The chorus seems pretty straightforward: death of the nuclear family (the end of social norms, social structures, everything we 'hold dear' in traditional society), sent to hell by capitalism or communism (Chinese company conspiracy) or whatever corrupt governments/economic systems, and the singer is OK with all of that as long as he can make fun of it and observe it and in some way, join in the destruction ("as long as it comes in hi-fidelity for me too"). Overall, I think the song has a very REM "It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine" message. But for GD it's "Like a nuclear bomb and it won't be long till I detonate." And they're having fun, so bring on the apocalypse. Nah, just haven't had a chance to post much about the lyrics yet. I do think they're more developed, much less sparse, than we've seen from the other three iUno! song/single releases to date. As the lead-off track for not just the album but the trilogy as a whole, my gap-filling has to look at Nuclear Family's relationship to Oh Love and to the trilogy's overall midlife crisis turned tragic romance "before-during-after" theme....or at least to what's been revealed to us of it so far. So, that being said, here are the conclusions I draw from Nuclear Family's lyrics that I think relate to other elements we've been made aware of up to this point:The first verse introduces the basic storyline for the whole trilogy and foreshadows the turn for the worse that the story will take. "Gonna ride the world like a merry-go-round/Like a ferris wheel that keeps breaking down/Drinking angel's piss, gonna crash and burn/I just want some action so gimme my turn." Angel Piss is a drink that's basically whisky and schnapps, so we know that some descent into a party life, alcohol and drugs, getting wasted, is around the corner -- and the hell with the consequences. "I just want some action so gimme my turn" -- with "my turn" implying that our narrator fucking earned or somehow deserves it at this point in his life.I think you're on target with what the chorus is getting at, with one caveat -- I don't think you gave quite enough credit to the narrator's urge to cross over to the dark side: "It's looking like another bad comedy, just so long as it comes in high-fidelity for me too" -- observation and ridicule are only a minimal part of the equation in my opinion. The narrator isn't looking at the party life as a sociology thesis. He may start out as an observer, but he feels like he's missing out on the dangerous-fun side of what he's observing and eventually decides to fully immerse himself in that action -- and once he's there, he'll feast on the very things that he initially complains are causing the destruction of all the social norms he thought he held dear (and in this, I sense a thematic call-ahead to 99 Revolutions). It's quite fun, exciting, thrilling when you think about it, consequences be damned. It's fear-of-missing-something taken to an extreme. Your "we're having fun, so the hell with everyone and everything else, let's bring on the apocalypse!" conclusion I think is right on.We'll keep revisiting these same themes from different angles in Kill the DJ (where the narrator rails against the party culture) and, I expect, in Nightlife -- he's taken aim at the DJ, the purveyors of all the glitz and distraction, but misses and falls into a place where "the angel of death is my nightlife". These themes are also echoed again in the self-deprecating Let Yourself Go ("I'm always fucking with my head and I've gotta let it go") and most importantly, in Oh Love, where at the very end of iUno! the narrator admits that he's been holding himself back from the thrills of life out of caution, out of fear maybe....and declares, right before the party that will be iDos!, that "tonight, my heart's on the loose." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sara_gd Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 I don't really know. I don't listen to radio and I had never heard any Green Day song apart from people having AI on the phone and Poprocks and Coke in my book. So I have no idea at all. Wikipedia has no data either. I don't listen to the radio either but I have a friend who does and she told me that she heard it a good few times on the radio. I looooooooooove this song, my studio version favourite so far (and I liked Let yourself go a lot!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hero_Of_The_Hour Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 Actually i interpreted this song rather differently than Heather...i think for the most part it is pretty straight forward about the death of the nuclear family (the chinese reference may be to the fact that China enforced the one child policy thing that many said was leading to the destruction of the nuclear family in China?) but it sounds as though the end of the traditional nuclear family is welcomed rather than a bad thing. The line "Its written like another bad comedy just as long as it comes with high fidelity for me too" i felt was referring to the idea of the stereotypical ideal nuclear family. Traditionallly the notion of the nuclear family in society has been used by conservative groups and tradionalists (republicans etc) to argue against LGBT movements etc gaining marriage and adoptive rights as it would destroy the traditional norms of society. The nuclear family idea also discriminates against single parents, young unmarried parents etc etc. I would find it very weird if Billie/Green Day would write a song that mourns the percieved destruction caused by modern societal change (gays/bisexuals/unmarried couples etc having children etc etc) on the nuclear family (mom & dad & 2.4 kids). I think this song is a celebration of it. It is a celebration of change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BringMoreKnives Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 Really awesome song, but Let Yourself Go still remains my favorite. this song is totally awesome, no doubt! but i swear first time i heard it, i cud hear billie say "i just want some action so gimme Mike Dirnt" haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DannyDirnt Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 ok... who cares. The people whose native language isn't English and may get confused. this song is totally awesome, no doubt! but i swear first time i heard it, i cud hear billie say "i just want some action so gimme Mike Dirnt" haha That's gonna be my new single Nuclear Family is definitely growing on me. This song just gets better with every listen. I'm gonna read the lyrics Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bastard of 1967 Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 this song is totally awesome, no doubt! but i swear first time i heard it, i cud hear billie say "i just want some action so gimme Mike Dirnt" haha I did a double-take when I first misheard "Gotta move my feet, it's coming in for the kill" as "Gotta move my penis coming in for the kill". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cris. Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 why is Jason included in music videos when he's not a member of the band? They should just include him officially or something... and if they don't want to include him as a member then he shouldn't appear in videos and just stick to playing Live. 1. The video shows Green Day rehearsing, and as far as I know Jason is a fixture in Green Day's live shows, has been for several years now and will probably continue to big so. So having Jason in their rehearsales makes a lot of sense, therefore having him in the video adds an extra genuineness to the video, gives you the feeling that you're really watching an authentic Green Day rehearsal. 2. Jason and the guys seem to have a good chemestry, to get along well, so I think Jason seems content with his position (or lack of it) in the band. I think if he was expecting more of it he'd probably demand it and would rather leave and move own to his own projects if his expectations weren't fulfilled. So if it is safe to assume that he's probably not bothered by his situation in regards to Green Day, then why should you (or us) be bothered by it. 3. Ultimately, why does it even matter if he's officialy a GD member or not, or if he's in their videos or not? Personally I think that I'd be rather happy being in Jason's situation: he gets to play great music, with a great band, tour around the world, and he probably makes good money too, but without having the press stalking him, or having to sit through hours and hours of journalists interviewing him and asking the same questions over and over again. That's having the best of two worlds if you ask me. /Slightly off-topic mode off/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bastard of 1967 Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 1. The video shows Green Day rehearsing, and as far as I know Jason is a fixture in Green Day's live shows, has been for several years now and will probably continue to big so. So having Jason in their rehearsales makes a lot of sense, therefore having him in the video adds an extra genuineness to the video, gives you the feeling that you're really watching an authentic Green Day rehearsal. Especially when he actually did rehearse with the band and recorded the second guitar track for most if not all of the songs on all three albums. It's not like this video is making up something that didn't really happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DannyDirnt Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 And I don't know why but I don't think I would like Jason to be in the photoshoots. I don't know, it just would be so weird Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bastard of 1967 Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 And I don't know why but I don't think I would like Jason to be in the photoshoots. I don't know, it just would be so weird Not really weird, just different. At any rate Jason still seems to be keeping a low profile when it comes to the band's publicity and promotion activities -- I think I've only seen one magazine photo so far that has all four of the guys in it. My guess is that he's still either the officially unofficial fourth member of the trio that is Green Day even though he's actually credited equally with the rest of the guys on the single inserts ( !!) or they're easing him into a larger or more formal role slowly. His taking over BJ's screamed vocal part for Let Yourself Go at the VMA's really gave him a whole new level of exposure even though he's always been there in the background for the last decade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather. Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 The narrator isn't looking at the party life as a sociology thesis. Guilty as charged (I'm a social studies teacher ) Thanks for making me realize what a perfect opener this song is, both musically AND in content! It really does foreshadow everything we already know will come, and maybe even a lot we don't know about yet. (Wonder if that Chinese conspiracy will make its way back into our lives? ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DannyDirnt Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 Not really weird, just different. At any rate Jason still seems to be keeping a low profile when it comes to the band's publicity and promotion activities -- I think I've only seen one magazine photo so far that has all four of the guys in it. My guess is that he's still either the officially unofficial fourth member of the trio that is Green Day even though he's actually credited equally with the rest of the guys on the single inserts ( !!) or they're easing him into a larger or more formal role slowly. His taking over BJ's screamed vocal part for Let Yourself Go at the VMA's really gave him a whole new level of exposure even though he's always been there in the background for the last decade. I thought Jason only screams there because Billie was still a bit sick. And more than weird, I'd probably feel Jason doesn't fit. THey are all so crazy and Jason is so normal! Or maybe he'd appear in interviews and photoshoots and we'd discover he's also crazy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 why is Jason included in music videos when he's not a member of the band? Because he's credited in the album book as part of the band, therefore he's part of the band and is included in music videos. Well, it's not gramatically correct. You're seriously gonna be that guy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DannyDirnt Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 You're seriously gonna be that guy? No really. You know, some people like to know that. If I make some mistake and someone notices I like being corrected so I don't do it again. So when I see big mistakes like that one I tell it just in case. But only big ones. I imagine a no native guy reading 'isn't suck' and thinking that's correct. Sorry, I only thought there were people who cared. I'm a laguage geek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cris. Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 So has anyone tried to breakdown the "meaning" of this song? *coughcough*Michael*coughcough* (Did I miss any good analysis?) Billie did say in an interview that he "doesn't know what the fuck Nuclear Family is about," and I kind of get the same vague social commentary vibe out of it that I got from Kill the DJ, even though Billie was more assertive in saying that Kill the DJ has real meaning behind it, they're both kind of the same in their lyrically unclear message. If anything I think Nuclear Family is a bit easier to tackle simply because it's less metaphorical. The chorus seems pretty straightforward: death of the nuclear family (the end of social norms, social structures, everything we 'hold dear' in traditional society), sent to hell by capitalism or communism (Chinese company conspiracy) or whatever corrupt governments/economic systems, and the singer is OK with all of that as long as he can make fun of it and observe it and in some way, join in the destruction ("as long as it comes in hi-fidelity for me too"). Overall, I think the song has a very REM "It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine" message. But for GD it's "Like a nuclear bomb and it won't be long till I detonate." And they're having fun, so bring on the apocalypse. "And they're having fun, so bring on the apocalypse" - Couldn't have said it better myself. I think that really is ultimately what the song is about. I completelly agree with your analysis, except I feel like they've been observer up until this point, but no more. They've been observing the death of the nuclear family, traditional society coming down hill, and "it's looking like another bad comedy", but "as long as it comes in hi-fidelity for him too" he doesn't mind, because he's now ready to join in into this decline, ready to "ride the word like a merry-go-around", he knows it might not be good for him ("Drinking angel's piss, gonna crash and burn"), but he feels like he deserves to finally join into the fun, "I just want some action so gimme my turn". So yes, he's been observing up until now, but now he stops being an observer and joins the fun. this song is totally awesome, no doubt! but i swear first time i heard it, i cud hear billie say "i just want some action so gimme Mike Dirnt" haha Hahaahaha. I actually heard the same thing on my first listen, so I inmmediatelly googled the lyrics You're seriously gonna be that guy? I think he might be trying to go for the Grammer Nazi award a little too late... or some other award Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DannyDirnt Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 I think he might be trying to go for the Grammer Nazi award a little too late... or some other award No really. I thought that maybe he really didn't know and would like to know. Because I would. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SynthwaveTrooper Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 bacl on topic... this song is so far the best one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cris. Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 bacl on topic... this song is so far the best one. Yes, I agree. From the three songs I've heard so far this one is, without doubt, the best one, in my opinion at least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WalkingContradictionPL Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 Yes, I agree. From the three songs I've heard so far this one is, without doubt, the best one, in my opinion at least. Three? Did you forget about one or you didn't listen to one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cris. Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 Three? Did you forget about one or you didn't listen to one? Oh Love, Kill the DJ nad Nuclear Family. Well, I gave it one quick glance with very low volume at Let Yourself Go as performed on the VMA's. I'm stayig away from anything that is not a full lenght, studio version. Is there a 4th one of these that I haven't listened to yet? Everything's happening so fast that I might have easily missed something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheJedi Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 Oh Love, Kill the DJ nad Nuclear Family. Well, I gave it one quick glance with very low volume at Let Yourself Go as performed on the VMA's. I'm stayig away from anything that is not a full lenght, studio version. Is there a 4th one of these that I haven't listened to yet? Everything's happening so fast that I might have easily missed something. Let Yourself Go is released as a single. you can buy the studio version on iTunes and it's on youtube too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
showbiz Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 The chorus. Just sayin'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather. Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 Actually i interpreted this song rather differently than Heather...i think for the most part it is pretty straight forward about the death of the nuclear family (the chinese reference may be to the fact that China enforced the one child policy thing that many said was leading to the destruction of the nuclear family in China?) but it sounds as though the end of the traditional nuclear family is welcomed rather than a bad thing. The line "Its written like another bad comedy just as long as it comes with high fidelity for me too" i felt was referring to the idea of the stereotypical ideal nuclear family. Traditionallly the notion of the nuclear family in society has been used by conservative groups and tradionalists (republicans etc) to argue against LGBT movements etc gaining marriage and adoptive rights as it would destroy the traditional norms of society. The nuclear family idea also discriminates against single parents, young unmarried parents etc etc. I would find it very weird if Billie/Green Day would write a song that mourns the percieved destruction caused by modern societal change (gays/bisexuals/unmarried couples etc having children etc etc) on the nuclear family (mom & dad & 2.4 kids). I think this song is a celebration of it. It is a celebration of change. I totally agree and very well said. I hadn't really decided whether they thought the death of the nuclear family was a good or a bad thing, just that it was a new and scary but maybe exciting development for the world and they're saying bring it on, good or bad. Because obviously I'm a liberal and have no problem with "non-traditional families," but I wouldn't say the nuclear family has no value (and I don't think the band would either, considering 2 of them are married with 2.5 kids and that's a good thing too). It's just a really open-minded, open-ended song, pretty pumped up for change and terrified of its detractors and controllers (like the Chinese government), but at the same time aware that maybe there *are* dangers and consequences to saying tradition be damned ("gonna crash and burn"). They're proponents of change, fuck yeah, but they're also rightfully cautious. And if the nuclear bomb that's going to detonate is about the destruction of the nuclear family, they're definitely pretty excited about that, but I also sense some of that conscious "this could get out of control fast..." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cris. Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 Let Yourself Go is released as a single. you can buy the studio version on iTunes and it's on youtube too See? I had totally missed this, I guess partly because I can't buy stuff from iTunes and so I don't pay much attention to the "X is now available on iTunes" type of news.And also because I feel we've been getting a new video/song every other day. Thanks for informing me though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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