03 - Revolution Radio

[Hermione]

10 minutes ago, CrimsonArk said:

It's like I said before, I feel like Billie excels more at writing songs that deal with his personal life-experiences than he does writing political ones. His writing, politically wise, is usually never fresh nor nuanced. 

Compare X-Kid's lyrics to 99 Revolutions.

Or JoS to American Idiot.

Or Last of The American Girls to American Eulogy/21 Guns. 

The former tend to feel more earnest and genuine, like he fully understands what he's talking about. He expresses himself better and tends to use more colorful, varied language. 

It could be true that his personal writing is often more detailed and comes to him more easily, but maybe that's just because he isn't highly educated and the most politically informed person in the world? To me it seems like he does care very much about political/social issues and keeps himself reasonably informed about them at least as much as the average person (or more likely more), but he hasn't dedicated his life to being an activist and doesn't necessarily have the specialist knowledge to make highly specific and nuanced political comments. Instead of just saying nothing he says what he can say from his perspective, which like most people's is a bit more confused and broad than that of someone with very extensive political knowledge.

He might be less informed about politics than personal issues but I think his political writing is still genuine, worthwhile and relatable. If he was pretending to be some kind of expert who's going to tell everyone what needs to be done it would be one thing but he doesn't, he just sees what's going on like anyone else and expresses his feelings about it. How well he does it is of course a matter of opinion but it definitely comes across as genuine to me.

 

[ZSebs]

3 minutes ago, Hermione said:

It could be true that his personal writing is often more detailed and comes to him more easily, but maybe that's just because he isn't highly educated and the most politically informed person in the world? To me it seems like he does care very much about political/social issues and keeps himself reasonably informed about them at least as much as the average person (or more likely more), but he hasn't dedicated his life to being an activist and doesn't necessarily have the specialist knowledge to make highly specific and nuanced political comments. Instead of just saying nothing he says what he can say from his perspective, which like most people's is a bit more confused and broad than that of someone with very extensive political knowledge.

He might be less informed about politics than personal issues but I think his political writing is still genuine, worthwhile and relatable. If he was pretending to be some kind of expert who's going to tell everyone what needs to be done it would be one thing but he doesn't, he just sees what's going on like anyone else and expresses his feelings about it. How well he does it is of course a matter of opinion but it definitely comes across as genuine to me.

 

I think the reason why his political songs have been so popular is because the way he sees everything happening in the political world is the same as most people, as you said. He is like anyone else who is witnessing everything that is happening in the political world, and that is why I personally love the political songs he writes just as much as the personal songs

[Steven Seagull]

16 minutes ago, ZSebs said:

I think the reason why his political songs have been so popular is because the way he sees everything happening in the political world is the same as most people, as you said. He is like anyone else who is witnessing everything that is happening in the political world, and that is why I personally love the political songs he writes just as much as the personal songs

Most people want to get rid of illegalls in murica. Will he write a song about that too?

Maybe Another brick in the wall cover?

[Stefano Bras]

4 hours ago, Libertine Angel said:

Honestly I didn't get that message at all though, nor did I really get it as their own feelings or perspective, it's just such a bland, cliché revolution call there's no hallmarks of...well, anything really.

Bang Bang makes sense and leaves the listener with no doubts about exactly what it's about, this is just "woo...revolution...yeah..." with no real focus.

I think the song is supposed to be about revolting against something but it doesn't want to be specific about it or tell you a clear idea like Bang Bang. The song let's you, the listener, decide what this "revolution" is about and basically sets the tone for the album's theme.

I think you're just analyzing it too much and trying to see it all from Billie Joe's perspective and how it doesn't "feel" passionate enough, whilst he has clearly said that on this matters (political songs) he likes to write about someone else's perspective (the listener) rather than his.

1 hour ago, CrimsonArk said:

But are you invested enough where you can say with utmost certainty that this song perfectly encapsulates the BLM  movement? Because it feels like saying such a thing is a pretty gross generalization. There's nothing in the song that actually delves into the group's plight or their reasoning for why they do what they do. 

You can guess the song is partially about BLM since Billie Joe has talked so much about it on the latest interviews talking about Revolution Radio (album)'s meaning.

[That Dude]

1 hour ago, CrimsonArk said:

But are you invested enough where you can say with utmost certainty that this song perfectly encapsulates the BLM  movement? Because it feels like saying such a thing is a pretty gross generalization. There's nothing in the song that actually delves into the group's plight or their reasoning for why they do what they do. 

Maybe Green Day will directly address the issue elsewhere on the album.  Maybe not.  

[Thatsername]

1 hour ago, CrimsonArk said:

To put my feelings better into perspective, the song, to me, feels like a millionaire looking out of his window at a protest going on outside and thinking "I'm rooting for you guys", rather than actively being in the crowd, participating in the thick of it. 

It doesn't feel like a rally that's one for The People. It feels like a rally for the people who are passive aggressive to the issues at large. The kind who like to say they dont like the way the world is, but never actually do anything to change it.

I don't see why this is wrong at all. To me, political music always has some kind of a journalistic approach (maybe because I work in the media business myself, so I'm biased ;p): The writer is the observer of the events and points out that things go wrong, but he doesn't run with the crowd. That's what writers basically do, they observe and write about it without being part of it. Of course they can come up with a solution, but that's not a necessity. Plus, as some other people here have pointed out, the world we live in today is so crazy and fucked up and difficult that there IS no easy solution you can put into a song like: That's how it's supposed to be done. For me, Revolution Radio perfectly transports the confusion of our modern world.

[zeldachick14]

At first i thought it was just okay. But i made the mistake of listening to it before i went to bed. I had trouble sleeping cause it was playing in my head all night. Not a lot of songs can do that for me. It's so damn catchy. 

[Libertine Angel]

1 hour ago, J a c said:

 About the too much "clean and poppy" music, compared to the theme... Punk Rock has always used "softer sounds" in order to relate with complex political issues. Just think about Rock the casbah.

The studio version of Rock The Casbah, sure, but Combat Rock as a whole isn't really a punk record if you're just looking at the sound. It's much more punk live:

 

4 minutes ago, Stefano Bras said:

I think the song is supposed to be about revolting against something but it doesn't want to be specific or tell you a clear idea like Bang Bang, the song let's you, the listener, decided what this "revolution" is about and basically sets the tone for the album theme.

I think you're just analyzing it too much and trying to see it all from Billie Joe's perspective and how it doesn't "feel" passionate enough, whilst he has clearly said that on this matters (political songs) he likes to write about someone else's perspective (the listener) rather than his.

You can guess the song is partially about BLM since Billie Joe has talk so much about it on the latest interviews talking about Revolution Radio (album)'s meaning.

It just sounds half-hearted though, if you're going to say "let's stand up and change things" you should at least have an idea of what you want to change instead of some vague general platitudes. I'm definitely not analysing too much because there's very little to really analyse, lyrically it's a lot of talk without actually saying anything. I don't know what you mean by trying to see it from his perspective because I'm definitely seeing it from mine, and from my perspective it's an attempt at stirring up revolution with no real aim to it. A revolution needs bite, this just hasn't got any.

[stories and songs]

Agree with @MMwhatsername. Billie is socially aware and stays informed, but he's not really part of the movement. It would honestly feel wrong of him to try to speak for a group that he's not involved with. By leaving it more general and observational, it's easier for everyone to connect to. He seems to have an excellent handle on Black Lives Matter, and is smart enough to know that he needs to listen to what's being said, rather than trying to speak for other people. The way he approached it is absolutely fine. 

What I love about his writing is that he writes in a way that's easy to understand, for the most part. He loves his metaphors and his writing is very sharp, but he crafts songs in a way that connect with people because he doesn't go over the top trying to make himself sound like someone he's not. He writes from a very honest place, and it shows. 

A fantastically written political song (I think) is Black Honey by Thrice, which talks about oil. It's entirely a metaphor and is really intelligent, but it's not in a style that Billie would ever write in, I don't think. Sometimes I think that's what people are looking for with his lyrics, but it's simply not the way he writes. He's a truly gifted lyricist, but his writing is unique. Sometimes I think fans want something different from him, but how he writes makes his songs special.

[HAPPY ZOMBIE UNICORN]

10 minutes ago, Libertine Angel said:

The studio version of Rock The Casbah, sure, but Combat Rock as a whole isn't really a punk record if you're just looking at the sound. It's much more punk live:

It's not a classic-punk record, but it's hard to argue that it isn't a punk rock record. Then I think it's quiete fair to say that every punk rock song sounds more "hard" live, I think it will be the same for RR. 

[Libertine Angel]

1 minute ago, J a c said:

It's not a classic-punk record, but it's hard to argue that it isn't a punk rock record. Then I think it's quiete fair to say that every punk rock song sounds more "hard" live, I think it will be the same for RR. 

It's a punk record because it's the Clash and it's politically motivated, but if you go purely by sound it's not. Know Your Rights is ska punk, Should I Stay Or Should I Go is punk enough, but nothing else sounds punk at all, except maybe Car Jamming to an extent. And my point is that Rock the Casbah sounds completely different live, everything sounds somewhat different but that's totally changed.

[CrimsonArk]

26 minutes ago, thatdude03 said:

Maybe Green Day will directly address the issue elsewhere on the album.  Maybe not.  

Possibly, but I'm referring to this track in particular. 

[Clayish]

After a handful of spins, the song is decent at best. Sounds like a better version of 99 Revolutions.

[Stefano Bras]

21 minutes ago, Libertine Angel said:

It just sounds half-hearted though, if you're going to say "let's stand up and change things" you should at least have an idea of what you want to change instead of some vague general platitudes. I'm definitely not analysing too much because there's very little to really analyse, lyrically it's a lot of talk without actually saying anything. I don't know what you mean by trying to see it from his perspective because I'm definitely seeing it from mine, and from my perspective it's an attempt at stirring up revolution with no real aim to it. A revolution needs bite, this just hasn't got any.

I think is tacit the idea of what he wants to change is the fuck up things that are happening in the world: Police brutallity, mass murders, war, oppression, corrupt politics and governments, sensationalist media etc...

[CrimsonArk]

27 minutes ago, MMwhatsername said:

I don't see why this is wrong at all. To me, political music always has some kind of a journalistic approach (maybe because I work in the media business myself, so I'm biased ;p): The writer is the observer of the events and points out that things go wrong, but he doesn't run with the crowd. That's what writers basically do, they observe and write about it without being part of it. Of course they can come up with a solution, but that's not a necessity. Plus, as some other people here have pointed out, the world we live in today is so crazy and fucked up and difficult that there IS no easy solution you can put into a song like: That's how it's supposed to be done. For me, Revolution Radio perfectly transports the confusion of our modern world.

I'm not asking for a solution, I'm asking for a fresh perspective.

I don't want what essentially amounts to bullet points being hocked up inanely in my face, there's no emotional resonance in that. There's no personality, there's nothing unique or creative. Hell, there's nothing that even approaches being clever in the song.

The lyrics read like a bunch of cliche "revolt" slogans stitched together, shit that has already been done before ad naseum. 

[Libertine Angel]

Just now, Stefano Bras said:

I think is tacit the idea of what he wants to change is the fuck up things that are happening in the world: Police brutallity, mass murders, war, oppression, corrupt politics and governments, sensationalist media etc...

None of that is even suggested in the lyrics though, that's what makes it generic, if you're going to say "we should all stand up and revolt but you fill in the blanks as to why" it just comes across as writing a revolution song for the sake of it instead of doing it for any particular reason, and political punk without drive is always going to fall flat.

[Eric]

3 minutes ago, CrimsonArk said:

I'm not asking for a solution, I'm asking for a fresh perspective.

I don't want what essentially amounts to bullet points being hocked up inanely in my face, there's no emotional resonance in that. There's no personality, there's nothing unique or creative. Hell, there's nothing that even approaches being clever in the song.

The lyrics read like a bunch of cliche "revolt" slogans stitched together, shit that has already been done before ad naseum. 

Damn... I never spent the amount of time you have hating something. crazy!

[CrimsonArk]

9 minutes ago, Clayish said:

After a handful of spins, the song is decent at best. Sounds like a better version of 99 Revolutions.

Honestly, I don't know about you, but to me personally the songs released so far haven't been as dramatic of an improvement over the trilogy as I was hoping. I mean they're better, but not by a massive margin. 

[Eric]

Some Green Day fans will never ever be happy!  

[CrimsonArk]

1 minute ago, Eric said:

Some Green Day fans will never ever be happy!  

I'll be happy when they release something I can legitimately call great. Maybe this song was that to you, but to me personally I found it to be fairly mediocre. 

[Clayish]

4 minutes ago, CrimsonArk said:

Honestly, I don't know about you, but to me personally the songs released so far haven't been as dramatic of an improvement over the trilogy as I was hoping. I mean they're better, but not by a massive margin. 

Bang Bang is cool, this one is okay.

I still have hope for the new record.

[Eric]

2 minutes ago, CrimsonArk said:

I'll be happy when they release something I can legitimately call great. Maybe this song was that to you, but to me personally I found it to be fairly mediocre. 

Sucks to be you, the song is great  :/

 

 

[Hermione]

2 minutes ago, Eric said:

Some Green Day fans will never ever be happy!  

It's not like it's just mindless whinging though, people are giving constructive opinions on the song. I like it when there's positive and negative to debate, means you can discuss a lot more about the song than if everyone just said they liked it.

[CrimsonArk]

5 minutes ago, Clayish said:

Bang Bang is cool, this one is okay.

I still have hope for the new record.

Yeah, I'm still looking forward to it, but neither of the songs released thus far feel like they measure up to the band's best.

Neither are Green Day classics I feel.

[Libertine Angel]

10 minutes ago, CrimsonArk said:

Honestly, I don't know about you, but to me personally the songs released so far haven't been as dramatic of an improvement over the trilogy as I was hoping. I mean they're better, but not by a massive margin. 

I think Bang Bang is genuinely fantastic, that's one of the reasons I'm so underwhelmed with this, the former was a raw, uncompromising angry punk song and now we've got another unimaginative cliché of revolution.