02 - Bang Bang

[Misterglasshalfempty]

It has grown on me these past few days, but I still feel like it's just a less catchy version of st. Jimmy. Will be interesting to see if it can be a hit among the casual listeners as well, and not just the rock fans. 

[Doggins]

Maybe this album will be the closest we'll get to another Insomniac... Fingers crossed!

[iScottie]

I'm trying my best to like "Daddy's little psycho and mommy's little soldier" as I applaud the message behind the words.

I just can't do it, though. I feel like that line ruins the excellent aggressive pacing of the song.

[SmoothedOut]

On 8/12/2016 at 7:07 PM, J a c said:

Ok, a personal comment on the lyrics, sorry if it's too long but I have these thoughts I need to share them. I understand why you'll skip this, don't worry  .   
So, I honestly believe this is one of the best Billie's work so far, and I'll try to explain why. I think the best Green Day's tracks, from a lyrics point of view, are those that are capable to create a connection with world and the time where they're born, and I believe every Green Day album has at least some of these songs. From the 90's records, immersed in that decade, apparently idyllic, light hearted but still drowned by contradictions and rage, passing by Warning and that pre-9/11 intake of conscience. And arriving to the 00's albums, with the mass hysteria, the fear, the homologation, with people understanding that the dream sold during the previous twenty years was mostly an unfulfilled and unfulfillable promise. In my opinion even the Trilogy somehow follows this path, and not thanks to the only political track, but indeed for the desire of escape from reality, the desire of something that is gone and will never come back, and that eventually brings you down, which I think surrounds the three records.

I really agree with what J a c is saying here too. The state of the world can be seen in one Facebook Newsfeed.. Beautiful things, ugly things, peace, violence, cats, dogs, people, animals... all in one. It does not make sense. Has the world always been this way? It feels like context is now completely disregarded. Years ago, it was TV that was criticized for this kind of mess but at least back then we could always turn it off if we wanted to. Now we've got social media where everyone can have their say on anything to a listening audience. But how much of it is real and relatable? How can we continue posting pictures of our dogs alongside tragic news of bombings and violence? I find that there are less and less people I can talk with about this. I understand that Green Day does not give any answers to our questions, but now at least, their mere acknowledgement of this confusion makes me feel less alone in the world. I am confused!

I totally get your timeline too. The Trilogy was an attempt to return to the simple days... then Billie's breakdown at iHeart Radio happened. Since then, indie music and beach pop has taken over, supposedly continuing the battle for raw rock n' roll music. I'm just glad Green Day is coming back. They've always had the biggest messages to say.

5 minutes ago, Semi-automatic lonely boy said:

yup, i wrote about that here  http://www.greendaycommunity.org/topic/99588-bang-bang-is-here/?page=30#comment-5983355

 

[XxXxXxXxX]

18 minutes ago, iScottie said:

I'm trying my best to like "Daddy's little psycho and mommy's little soldier" as I applaud the message behind the words.

I just can't do it, though. I feel like that line ruins the excellent aggressive pacing of the song.

I agree. I think if they started the chorus with "I wanna be a celebrity martyr." Continued with the rest and then replaced that last part (daddy's little psycho and mommy's little soldier) with something else this song would have had a lot more potential. But it's whatever. Still a great song with good meaning behind it.

 

Lyrically I think it's great, but it leave a ton of room for people to misinterpret the lyrics. If people aren't currious enough to actually figure out what it means.

[JardyOfSuburbia]

16 hours ago, thatdude03 said:

iHeart forgives Billie Joe and lets them on again.    Billie walks out, says "I'm and clean and sober right now.  and F(woo) this place anyway.    Smashes his guitar and walks out.   Green Day put on the show of a lifetime down the street in some dive bar.    

But since Green Day have demoted Jason White now, Jason White comes out and gives iHeart a good old fashion rock show.   

BANG BANG

 

Ha! Poor Jason.

[Chin for a Day]

11 hours ago, gerardsangel4977 said:

 

 

I liked the first post because I agree with you about Billie's abilties as a frontman and a vocalist, much less as a guitarist and songwriter. But I disagree with you vehemently on everything else. Obviously, Billie is a more versatile singer than the other guys, and replacing him permanently as the vocalist for the group would be unthinkable, but I don't see the problem with having Mike, Tre, and/or Jason sing the occasional song or parts of songs, as they have in the past. Shit, Freddie Mercury is one of the best rock vocalists  and frontmen of all time, and even he didn't sing lead on ALL of Queen's songs. Yet i don't see anyone claiming that Brian, John, and Roger's songs were "wastes of time". That's just freakin' ludicrous. Not to mention insulting. And if Mr. Bulsara can afford to yield the floor to his bandmates, Mr. Armstrong (who is nowhere near in the same league) most certainly can too.

And as for your assertion that American Idiot could've been written without Mike: that is just patently false. Without Mike, there is no Green Day, period. Much less any particular album. 

First, I clearly stated that I was talking about my opinion and NO ONE's opinion is ever ludicrous.  I find it insulting that you would think someones opinion is ludicrous.  I don't have to agree with you but I would never tell you your opinion is ludicrous.  I also said that I think Mike and Jason are great back ground vocalists, so that would mean that I like to hear them sing parts of the song. And whatever another band does is not indicative of what another band should do.  There are plenty of bands that had more than one singer.  The Beatles had three.  Why?  Because all three of them could sing.  IT IS MY HUMBLE OPINION, that Mike and Jason do not have good voices.  I do not find it pleasant to hear them sing lead.  Therefore, here it is again, IT IS MY OPINION that a lead song by Mike or Jason is a waste because I do not feel they are good lead singers.  I will repeat this again, MY HUMBLE OPINION.   FYI, I hold the same opinion for Queen.  Freddie Mercury was the best front man of all time and I think the songs he did not sing were a waste.  

I never once said that American Idiot could not have been written without Mike, please re-read my post.  What I said was that you cannot make the claim that American Idiot would not have happened if it were not for Mike.  I do know that the Nobody likes you part that Mike came up with was the start of Homecoming, but you cannot say that if Mike didn't come up with that part AI would not have occurred.   It may have gotten the ball running, but I think there was alot going on then and AI would have happened regardless.  And it is undeniable fact that Mike came up with that part and Tre came up with his part but Billie did come up with the rest.  

I never once said that Mike was not a part of Green Day, you saying that is patently false.

If you ever want to have an adult conversation about differences of opinion, which everyone is allowed to have, I suggest that you re-read the post to make sure you understand it and don't insult the person you are trying to have a conversation with.    

[Dakke]

19 hours ago, Jane Lannister said:

I listened to it again now...the vocals just aren't it. Definitely better than the Trilogy but inferior to 21CB. (judging using my cheap earphones - I still couldn't listen to it on anything better.) Just imagine this with AI vocals...

I agree with the vocals being a little disappointing. They are the weakest aspect of this song. For some reason I have the same feeling about some Insomniac songs with solid instrumentals.

[Chin for a Day]

5 minutes ago, Dakke said:

I agree with the vocals being a little disappointing. They are the weakest aspect of this song. For some reason I have the same feeling about some Insomniac songs with solid instrumentals.

I don't agree with the vocals on Bang Bang, I think they fit the song perfectly.  I think the emotion conveys the thought process of a mass shooter perfectly.  I guess we will have to hear the other tracks to determine if there are too much filters.

However, I absolutely agree with your comment about Insomniac.  That is one of the reasons I am not a huge fan of Insomniac, the vocals are probably Billie's worst. 

[Second favourite son]

5 minutes ago, JJ1964 said:

I guess we will have to hear the other tracks to determine if there are too much filters.

Absolutely.  I agree that the vocals on Bang Bang work well.  There's noticeable filter use, but the loud, fast paced song means that it's not overpoweringly noticeable.  It'll be interesting to see what they do with vocal filters on the rest of the album.  While I like what they've done with Bang Bang, I wouldn't want an identical filter on an acoustic guitar ballad, for example.

[Steven Seagull]

To me it sounds like that instrumentals are trying to be dark but the vocals are tying to make the song happy. That part "I wanna be a celebrity...". I don't know maybe they did that on purpose. The song gets the best on that "World war zero" part, minus that arabic music before it. It should be more angry maybe with a chorus like Stuart And The Ave (the song even has "You're mommy's little nightmare" line in it ).

[spark in the night]

1 hour ago, iScottie said:

I'm trying my best to like "Daddy's little psycho and mommy's little soldier" as I applaud the message behind the words.

I just can't do it, though. I feel like that line ruins the excellent aggressive pacing of the song.

It's not my favorite line either. I even think the two could be switched... Daddy's little soldier and mommy's little psycho.... But, it does tie in the reference of the parents involvement/lack thereof of these psycho kids... Remember the Newtown school shooting. His mom had a stash of guns which he used to kill her and I believe his dad was sort of out of the family picture? It feels strange to recall these past events....eeesh 

[AmyxLongview]

8 hours ago, Alan86 said:

I think that's the point of the song. It should not be something you relate to, it should shock you. I also think the lyrics can be seen as sarcastic and a dig at the media. The media are making celebrities out of mass shooters.

All it takes to gain celebrity status now is a mass shooting. The media will swarm all over it and the picture of the mass shooter will be everywhere, tv, Twitter, Facebook Instagram etc. The mass shooter is the man of the moment, "the hero of the hour". Without the mass shooter these 24hr news stations have nothing to report. He/she is the hero for the media. There is little to no difference these days between being famous or being infamous.

I agree except for when you said the shooters are the heroes for the media. I don't think news reporters take joy in terrorist attacks happening just because it gives them something to report on. I think the "hero of the hour" part refers to the shooter seeing himself as a hero and being regarded as a hero among other terrorists that share his ideology.

[spark in the night]

12 hours ago, gerardsangel4977 said:

yeah, I don't really think it sounds like Insomniac either, but if trying to make a comparison to older Green Day, it definitely shares more in common with that than it does with Dookie, which doesn't have anything approaching this heavy on it.

Maybe Nimrod? Though Nimrod has some soft points... No I think a mixture of AI and 21CB fits... Although it could just be its own new sound too  I personally don't care to dissect every note and drum beat but I guess I'm not that interested in the mechanics behind it more so the finished product overall. Carry on. 

11 hours ago, tdlyon said:

This needs to be the opening song on the tour. I can just picture the radio part as the lights are off, and Mike and Tre and Jason start playing the intro, and when it kicks in Billie runs out with a mic and sings the song without his guitar on (which he usually does for songs this fast). Could be a big explosion and stuff too

For authenticity sake, they should light a real boom box on fire at every show

 

Which leads me to another thought...I don't feel like the album art is really relevant these days... Boom boxes, radios... I mean does anyone here even have or use a Walkman still? I don't even listen to the radio in my car, though I know people still use it... It just seems out of place to be revolution radio. Thoughts?

[Second favourite son]

34 minutes ago, spark in the night said:

Which leads me to another thought...I don't feel like the album art is really relevant these days... Boom boxes, radios... I mean does anyone here even have or use a Walkman still? I don't even listen to the radio in my car, though I know people still use it... It just seems out of place to be revolution radio. Thoughts?

I used my old Walkman when my iPod was stolen and I had to save up for a new one.  And I think a lot of people do listen to the radio.

But really, I think that they're trying to play on the almost 'retro' feel of radio.  To a lot of people, radio seems old-school and more authentic than Spotify or YouTube or iPods or whatever.  It's similar to the resurgence of vinyl.  The radio model on the cover isn't some fancy DAB internet super HD radio, it's a very old-school style, which reinforces this idea.

[spark in the night]

1 minute ago, Second favourite son said:

I used my old Walkman when my iPod was stolen and I had to save up for a new one.  And I think a lot of people do listen to the radio.

But really, I think that they're trying to play on the almost 'retro' feel of radio.  To a lot of people, radio seems old-school and more authentic than Spotify or YouTube or iPods or whatever.  It's similar to the resurgence of vinyl.  The radio model on the cover isn't some fancy DAB internet super HD radio, it's a very old-school style, which reinforces this idea.

Thanks for your input! And of course when you said vinyl, I was like oh duh, I play vinyls hellooo hahaha. I get what you're saying and that makes sense. I guess I feel a sort of disconnect between that concept and the concept of Bang Bang which touches on social media/technology -but- it's 1/12 songs on this record so I can't judge it too much  

[Harry Potter.]

if you like the guitar in this song definitely check out the Offspring if you haven't yet. good band on the heavier side of punk rock/pop punk with guitars oft times very reminiscent of the ones featured in bang bang.

[falconsroach7]

3 hours ago, iScottie said:

I'm trying my best to like "Daddy's little psycho and mommy's little soldier" as I applaud the message behind the words.

I just can't do it, though. I feel like that line ruins the excellent aggressive pacing of the song.

Just curious, what about that particular lyric throws off the song for you?

[JOE THE X-KID]

BANG BANGs bridge section is now my favourite bridge section by green day 

[Hero_Of_The_Hour]

Amazing how many people are complaining about the lyrics. The trilogy lyrics were actually dire yet I didn't see as many people complaining about them. The best thing about this song IS the lyrics though I guess a lot of the sarcasm and references are going over some peoples heads. I think the lyrics are bold and make a fantastic statement. Some of their best ever. 

In my opinion this is one of the best singles they've ever released. 

[Chin for a Day]

Just now, Hero_Of_The_Hour said:

Amazing how many people are complaining about the lyrics. The trilogy lyrics were actually dire yet I didn't see as many people complaining about them. The best thing about this song IS the lyrics though I guess a lot of the sarcasm and references are going over some peoples heads. I think the lyrics are bold and make a fantastic statement. Some of their best ever. 

In my opinion this is one of the best singles they've ever released. 

I agree.  I think the lyrics are some of the best Billie has ever written.  It is just an outstanding song overall.    

[Clayish]

The opening bassline and drums are way too low in the mix.

[Mato]

^^ You do realise that was intentional, to give the song that ¡Bang! start effect and kick you in the face

[Libertine Angel]

2 minutes ago, Clayish said:

The opening bassline and drums are way too low in the mix.

The bass is too low in the mix throughout, I think.

[Clayish]

2 minutes ago, Mato said:

¡Bang!