Having famously made the transition from bong-smoking brats to politically charged stadium rockers with the release of the wonderful ‘American Idiot’, Billi Joe and co. seem to think that it’s now their duty to lead the revolution until the end of time.
At least a third of the songs are piano ballads, marred by Billie Joe Armstrong’s favourite topics; conspiracy, burning things, fighting and propaganda. And if the sales of this album are anything to go by, it’s clear that Green Day are far from done. The latest victim of their hostilities is retail chain Wal Mart. Green Day have refused to censor their new record for America's largest retail chain, opting not to have '21st Century Breakdown' stocked by Wal-Mart. Speaking about the request, singer, Billie Joe Armstrong, was suitably indignant.
“They want artists to censor their records in order to be carried in there. We just said no. We've never done it before. You feel like you're in 1953 or something. What does that say to a young kid who's trying to speak his mind making a record for the first time? It's like a game that you have to play. You have to refuse to play it."
Wal-Mart has a long-standing policy of not selling albums with Parental Advisory stickers. In the past that's meant artists have had to re-record and edit releases to get rid of adult themes and swearing. While the process is a logistical (and costly) nightmare, the chain's massive network meant acts had to release family friendly versions of their album if they wanted access to consumers in mid-west dust bowls. The internet seems to have changed that, with anyone now able to download their favourite artists from Wi-Fi hotspots.
The success of Green Day's new album suggests Wal-Mart no longer has the stranglehold on the music industry it once did. The band's new album debuted at number one on the US charts and sold over 200,000 copies in its first week – without being stocked in the retail chain.
Check out the new single ‘Know Your Enemy’' here!
Copyright : MTV Australia
