Back in September, before the release of Revolution Radio, I walked into a small venue in New Jersey expecting to see an excellent rock show.
What I got was a lot more.
When I went to the merch table to buy a tour shirt to commemorate the event (I mean, when was I ever going to see Green Day in a club again?), I was distracted by another one of the band's shirts which read "No Racism, No Sexism, No Homophobia." I bought that one instead.
It was at that moment that I rediscovered what a gem this band really is. Not only are Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tre Cool excellent musicians who have helped to shape the modern punk and pop-punk genres, but they are also great advocates.
Last night at the American Music Awards, Green Day took a moment during their performance of "Bang! Bang!" to send a very political message. They began a chant of "No Trump! No KKK! No fascist USA!" reminding everyone that they have a message, and they will be heard.
Of course, I've known this since American Idiot came out back in 2004. But I was only 12 years old, and I hadn't had my feminist awakening yet. I just liked the anger of the music on the record and the theatricality of it all. As I grew up, I saw what the band was talking about on that album.
And now I see it more than ever.
American Idiot was a direct response to the Bush administration, specifically its war in Iraq. It also spoke to the struggles of those who were not lucky enough to be born with privilege and those who were labeled "other." Mostly though, it was about disenfranchised youth and how we were growing into a world we didn't agree with. We were all the Jesus of Suburbia, noticing that everyone was "full of shit, born and raised by hypocrites."
We, like most other generations, have fundamentally different beliefs than those held by our parents. Speaking broadly, we are more liberal and ready to accept those who are different than us. And we are constantly questioning the establishment. We "beg to dream and differ from the hollow lies."
We never wanted to be that stereotypical "American Idiot." We would not be controlled by the thoughts of others who sought to oppress us. We will not stand idly by as others are discriminated against, whether it be the Muslim community, Syrian refugees, the LGBTQ+ community or any other marginalized group of people.
One of the repeated lyrics/themes of this album, which begs us to oppose tyranny and discrimination, is "rage and love." This is especially poignant now, when we have a president-elect who may not stand for all Americans.
We can be angry. We should be angry. And we should be full of rage because of the love we have for our fellow Americans and world citizens.
We can use that rage and love in a productive manner, and we must do exactly that to get everyone through the next four (or eight) years without stepping backward.
Green Day's next album, 2009's 21st Century Breakdown, was also politically charged. There are songs that perfectly expressed my post-election feelings, some of which were shared by frontman Billie Joe Armstrong.
The lyrics he used in an Instagram caption, "Dream America, dream. I can't even sleep from the light's early dawn. Oh, scream America, scream. Believe what you see from heroes and cons," hit a chord for me, too.
But the one that really got me was from the second part of a song called "American Eulogy." (Talk about a perfect title.) It begins with a cry of "Hysteria! Mass hysteria!" and crescendos with the following (sung by bassist Mike Dirnt):
"Where the value of your mind is not held in contempt I can hear the sound of a beating heart That bleeds beyond a system that's falling apart With money to burn on a minimum wage I don't give a shit about the modern age I don't wanna live in the modern world!"
I truly did not want to live in the "modern world" if it meant electing someone who spouts racist and sexist vitriol, and who I and others consider a sexual predator.
Considering the fact that the National Suicide Hotline was too busy to handle the volume of calls after the election, I probably was not alone in that sentiment.
While these two Green Day albums are still relevant now, they have aged a bit. That's why it's critical to note that the band's first release in four years, Revolution Radio, is just as effective.
For example, "Bang! Bang!" -- the song that made waves last night -- is about the mass shooting epidemic we have in this country and which exists nowhere else.
The album as a whole is refreshing and incites a spirit of rebellion that those who have been involved in any of the recent protests against our president-elect would respect. But one song feels especially relevant.
"Troubles Times" is hard to ignore. Just take a glance at the opening lyrics:
"What good is love and peace on earth? When it's exclusive? Where's the truth in the written word? If no one reads it A new day dawning Comes without warning So don't blink twice
We live in troubled times"
I'm not sure it gets more accurate than that.
Green Day has spoken out about Trump in the past. When I saw them play, Armstrong paused in the middle of a song to ask the audience, "What do we think of New York's finest, Donald Trump?" After the crowd booed, he added, "No racism. There's no racism, or white supremacy, here." It's fair to assume that he said this, or something similar, on other nights of the tour.
But last night's AMA performance was the largest platform they've had since the election. They did not waste it. In fact, they proved something to more than just their normal fanbase.
Millions of Americans are startled by and anxious about the coming Trump presidency. And we can now be sure that Green Day will continue to provide a soundtrack to our resistance of racism, sexism, homophobia, Islamophobia, xenophobia and all other forms of oppression. The band will fuel our desires to oppose this tyranny and stand up for our rights and the rights of others.
That's why, to me, Green Day isn't just relevant, but also necessary.
