07 - Still Breathing

[GenXIdiot]

I think Still Breathing is one of the best Green Day songs ever, it's up there with Whatsername for me.

[RedundantIdiot]

I can't believe people are saying its too 'poppy', have they not heard of Good Riddance?! As @Scattered Wreck said above they don't tie themselves to one genre, and why should they? If Green Day have the talent to do a particular genre then they should do it. Which is what they do. They've never followed a rule book before... so why follow a rule book now?

 

 

[DeJennsitized]

The post about Still Breathing on Facebook has 51.3k reactions, which is more than the post about the Bang Bang music video (32k) and almost as many as the RevRad photo album (57k) which is posted every time they add photos to it. I wanted to compare it to the other two songs but they've deleted the posts of course 

[ZSebs]

2 hours ago, jengd said:

Having listened to it dozens of times now, I think, given how heavy the subject matter is, at least for fans who know what the band has gone through  in the last four years, if it was musically heavy it would have been too much.  I think the lighter poppy feel suits it well and let's be honest, there have always been really strong melodies in their repertoire, hardly the first time they've been called too poppy after all!

What I like too is that by having it be lighter, to me, it is a song that is giving hope. If it were too musically heavy, it would just be a sad song talking about struggles, but this song is about overcoming those struggles, and the lighter feel reassures the listener of that message

[Libertine Angel]

I haven't read the rest of this thread so I don't know how unpopular this'll be but I really don't like Still Breathing, to me it sounds like knockoff Alkaline Trio and honestly near the end I was starting to consider just stopping it and giving up.

[Libertine Angel]

1 hour ago, Whatsername_123 said:

I can't believe people are saying its too 'poppy', have they not heard of Good Riddance?! As @Scattered Wreck said above they don't tie themselves to one genre, and why should they? If Green Day have the talent to do a particular genre then they should do it. Which is what they do. They've never followed a rule book before... so why follow a rule book now?

Good Riddance isn't poppy at all, when was the last time you heard a picked acoustic song with an orchestra described as pop? I think Still Breathing is too pop because it has no bite to it, it sounds watered down and that "finding my way away" could've been sung by any more mainstream person who's far less interesting. I know it's a personal song that's less angry, but that doesn't mean it can't still have some real energy to it - listen to this, Jake Burns wrote it about getting through depression and it's on SLF's 2014 album and I think it's a perfect example of how an older punk band can do songs of personal struggle:

 

[Fuzz]

12 minutes ago, Jake69 said:

I cannot get over how amazing Billie Joe's vocals are on this song. Probably his best performance  vocally. Just incredible.

While this is good, I still think Brutal Love showcases some really great vocals.

[Colin]

This song is awesome. Really on top form with the vocals is Billie. Can see it being a solid hit for them, if that is what what they are after. 

[zeebodaclown]

1 hour ago, Libertine Angel said:

...and that "finding my way away" could've been sung by any more mainstream person who's far less interesting.

this is almost a contradiction to me as to what makes this song great IMO.  

mainstream person(s) ARE far less interesting and can't emote this message the way Billie has here...so in essence, it couldn't have been sung by a current mainstream artist.  

what personal struggles, or even life experiences, would a twenty one pilots or a guy like drake have gone through to make these lyrics believable?  I mean, I guess drake is a bad example because he was involved in that school shooting and ended up crippled...so kudos to him for fighting his way back from that

[Libertine Angel]

1 minute ago, zeebodaclown said:

this is almost a contradiction to me as to what makes this song great IMO.  

mainstream person(s) ARE far less interesting and can't emote this message the way Billie has here...so in essence, it couldn't have been sung by a current mainstream artist.  

what personal struggles, or even life experiences, would a twenty one pilots or a guy like drake have gone through to make these lyrics believable?  I mean, I guess drake is a bad example because he was involved in that school shooting and ended up crippled...so kudos to him for fighting his way back from that

I don't think Billie has got any better take on it here than anyone else though, that's the thing, it doesn't strike me as poignant at all because has no marks of any of the things that make Billie special, it's just bland and derivative.

[UNICORN VOMIT]

55 minutes ago, Libertine Angel said:

I don't think Billie has got any better take on it here than anyone else though, that's the thing, it doesn't strike me as poignant at all because has no marks of any of the things that make Billie special, it's just bland and derivative.

Come on jimmy - ya gotta have some feels now #stillbreathing😋

[DeJennsitized]

18 minutes ago, Jake69 said:

 

Well fuck 

[Libertine Angel]

2 minutes ago, Tinkle said:

Come on jimmy - ya gotta have some feels now #stillbreathing😋

I get what Billie's saying, of course, it just doesn't have any real edge to it, it feels like it's had all the feeling polished out of it.

[UNICORN VOMIT]

2 minutes ago, Libertine Angel said:

I get what Billie's saying, of course, it just doesn't have any real edge to it, it feels like it's had all the feeling polished out of it.

I get what ya saying & I'm first to say you can't like everything a band releases.

[UNICORN VOMIT]

Just now, Jake69 said:

This song was release exactly 4 years after the band announced Billie was going to rehab. Just wow!

Yeah it makes you feel different as a fan knowing that - it's totally not a song you would expect - I mean I wouldn't have one poppy song on my playlist but it's like a little present for us.  He should be really proud to sing this to us. You may not agree with the style of song but it's the way he wanted to tell the story & I can't wait to hear it live. RELEASE the Aussie dates.  

[amberwhite]

Holy Moses, the first live performance of this is going to be epic. I'm almost glad I won't be going to any of the club dates-- I think my heart would explode. I need a few months to get desensitized  before I hear it live.

[Beerjeezus]

I was so sure I won't get too sappy over this, but mom and I were just talking about how cool is it that they're still around and we're seeing them (it really means a lot to me haha) and I was on my phone and noticed the photo. At first I thought a fan posted it but than I read the description. And idk, good timing.

OH God, they are fucking with our feelings soo much now and I'm happy about it. 

[emenius]

14 hours ago, Whatsername_123 said:

I can't believe people are saying its too 'poppy', have they not heard of Good Riddance?! As @Scattered Wreck said above they don't tie themselves to one genre, and why should they? If Green Day have the talent to do a particular genre then they should do it. Which is what they do. They've never followed a rule book before... so why follow a rule book now?

 

 

I've never considered Good Riddance to be poppy just because it was an acoustic track- if anything it was an alternative folk song, really simple and well executed. I don't actually remember there being too much of a backlash or surprise when it was released- sure it was very different for GD at that time, but a lot of alternative bands were releasing acoustic songs and the general consensus was that it was a pretty great track.

I actually think Revolution Radio is pretty poppy too, like a lot of great Green Day tracks, but just less cliched and predictable than Still Breathing.

[matteo263]

The song has really grown on me...i think I feel that I connect to this song the most from what's been released!! The contrast between verses and chorus is beautiful and when listening to it right after Bang Bang and RevRad it's in context and doesn't feel poppy!! (Let alone in it's place on the album!!). 

 

I hope this gets pushed as a proper single! 

[DeJennsitized]

The more I listen to the song the more it sounds like Green Day, if that makes any sense. It sounded really strange to me the first time I heard it but now I feel it totally fits into their catalogue. The chorus is just classic Green Day. 

[Chin for a Day]

Just now, Jenn. said:

The more I listen to the song the more it sounds like Green Day, if that makes any sense. It sounded really strange to me the first time I heard it but now I feel it totally fits into their catalogue. The chorus is just classic Green Day. 

I actually never thought it didn't sound like Green DAy.  

[DeJennsitized]

Just now, Scattered Wreck said:

I actually never thought it didn't sound like Green DAy.  

I mean in terms of it sounding like nothing they've done before, which has been said a few times. After a few listens I don't think it's that different. 

[Chin for a Day]

3 minutes ago, Jenn. said:

I mean in terms of it sounding like nothing they've done before, which has been said a few times. After a few listens I don't think it's that different. 

Agreed.  

[stories and songs]

12 minutes ago, Jenn. said:

The more I listen to the song the more it sounds like Green Day, if that makes any sense. It sounded really strange to me the first time I heard it but now I feel it totally fits into their catalogue. The chorus is just classic Green Day. 

Thought the exact same today. 

[Second favourite son]

Can't believe I got my free download only 1 day late - nice recovery Warner Music Store!

I'm still really loving the song, it hasn't been long enough to properly decide but I think it's my favourite from the album so far.  While it has a very clear personal meaning to Billie, like all great songs I'm able to draw personal meaning from it too.  His take may be about luck, second chances and how much he's been through and how he values his life now (idk if this is the general opinion on the meaning, but it's my first thoughts), but personally the song puts life into perspective for me.  I'm often not happy with how my life is going, feel like the whole world is against me, that I'll never achieve what I want, that I'm failing at every hurdle I come to.  But I'm still breathing.  None of the shit really matters, in the grand scheme of things.  I'm alive, and able to live my life the way I choose.  There are so many people out there who have it worse than me, yet I'm unhappy even with the vast amount that I do have.  It's about focussing on the positives.  Maybe that's a dumb meaning to take from a song that's clearly very personal to Billie, but it's how I feel, and it makes the song doubly moving for me.