Greenday's Crapfest On Christians No Longer Sells Records
Throughout 2004-2005, whenever the rock band Greenday played before sold-out arenas, lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong would kick off the concert by raising his fist in the air and shouting, “This is a big F--- You to George Bush!” The crowds erupted.
Anyone who watched those concerts, bought their album American Idiot, or paid any attention to their interviews on the net or in magazines, quickly realized they were delivering a not-so-thinly veiled F--- You! to Bible-believing Christians as well.
Christianity + George Bush + anti-war sentiment = the perfect enemy.
And since rock music, especially punk rock music, is driven by listeners sharing a common enemy, sales soared as American Idiot achieved a five time platinum status in the United States alone.
Greenday’s tactic paid off. By doing what popular leaders in the past have done (tying Christianity to negative public sentiment), Greenday turned out to be a modern-day version of the Roman Emperor Nero. The more Greenday made fun of American Christians, the more acclaim they received and money they made.
That was 2005.
What a difference four years can make.
Greenday’s most recent album, 21st Century Breakdown, has been on the Billboard 200 for nine weeks, and has sold a respectable 517,153 albums. But the album hovers at #16 this week on the Billboard 200 behind such groundbreaking and luminary artists as Lady Gaga, Kings of Leon, Hannah Montana (the movie soundtrack), Wilco, All Time Low, and the ever popular and sure to be remembered for years to come “Now 31 Various Artists” soundtrack.
Why the lack-luster response to their most recent album?
For one, it blows. The most played song on the whole album, Know Your Enemy, is nothing more than a redundant three-cord riff third-grade wanna-be guitarists will be sure to master on Guitar Hero for years to come.
Mostly, however, 21st century Breakdown has turned out to be such a dud because they’ve tried to repeat the same trite anti-Christian formula to drive sales. Bertrand Russell, (God bless his atheistic soul), would have loved tunes such as East Jesus Nowhere, Before the Lobotomy, and American Eulogy. And he would have definitely gotten a kick out of Billie Joe bringing concert-goers to the stage and slapping them on the head, mocking nutty Christian televangelists. (Toronto Sun, 07-17-09).
Why has the formula stopped working? The same reason viewers are turning off John Stewart’s Daily Show right and left – the enemy no longer exists. Public perception is starting to change. Christians, as most people are beginning to realize, aren't the mindless pawns for the Republican party they were painted out to be.
Across the country people are starting to realize that if you got rid of the Christians, this place would be in a world of hurt. Christianity, once a much despised ideology, may not be as ridiculous and baseless as some have made it out to be. The people I'm talking to...smart...driven...successful leaders in their fields...are looking for more...and finding it in the cross.
So my advice to Armstrong and the rest of the band is this – pick another enemy before you run out of cash.
-- Leave a comment below, or stop and say “hello” on Twitter or Facebook.
Comments (19)
Diane Stortz on Jul 20, 2009 11:15am
Interesting then that so many popular Christian writers are bent on continually bashing the church. What do you think is driving that?
Jon Goddard on Jul 20, 2009 11:36am
Well put! Rip 'em a new one, Brian Jones! lol
Steve Thurston on Jul 20, 2009 12:36pm
I love Green Day's music ;-) but sometimes love blinds us to the truth. I think bands like this one make it fashionable to criticize, bash, laugh at & at times even discriminate against Christianity... & it's sad. I think it all comes down to moral absolutes, where today's generation is no better than the previous generation... the only difference is that back then it was all about Elvis, the king of rock... now it's all about Michael, the king of pop... when it should be all about the King of Kings.
I think the hypocrisy within the church has made us a nice target. Time to start showing some 'real' love instead of judging people for their moral failures.
Also, there are too many believers, including myself, that are just to busy or don't care enough about these kinds of issues & we just blow them off and ignore them. As Christians, we tend to always blame others, we're right, they're wrong. Maybe it's time to stop persuading others & start showing people through how we live.
Here's something to think about... are you willing to live for Christ? Are you willing to stand for your beliefs?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1pfSS54go0
Sherri Courtney on Jul 20, 2009 12:56pm
Christians are largely to blame for the moral relativism that prevails in American society today, and this has resulted in "accepting or ignoring" the popular culture that discriminates against Christianity. (Ie. Green Day) Until we stop compartmentalizing our faith to consist of "Sunday only" Christian living, the militant left will continue to speak for us, and against us, through music, politics, athletics, work, etc...
Steve Thurston on Jul 20, 2009 2:42pm
Sorry, I went on a tangent and lost my train of thought... I wanted to mention that on this album Billie (vocalist) just continues to whine and cry about how the church has sold out this generation. As you mentioned Brian, it worked to hype their previous album but after a while, people get sick of the whining and crying from the lyric pulpit of bands such as GD.
Billie sings, "Your faith walks on broken glass," talking about Christian hypocrisy... maybe he's right, maybe he's not... but ultimately it is about American public's ever-growing acceptance of mediocrity and ever-shortening attention spans. This new album continues where American Idiot left off... propaganda for the masses with no real meat... just chicken bones! Ummm, now I'm getting hungry.
Keith on Jul 20, 2009 5:00pm
I've never heard of Greenday before, but you're write up makes sense. I've learned one thing too, as Christians live out their faith in loving action, the world can say nothing. Blessings on you Brian. Keith Ham
J.C. on Jul 20, 2009 6:35pm
I've been listening to Green Day since 94, they are the reason i started playing guitar and drums. I think their drop in sales has more to do with piracy than anything else, but I cant say I blame Billie Joe for many of the things he has said. Christianity is judged too much by its followers instead of its leader. We are the only Jesus that some people will see and our actions can be very detrimental if we are not keeping this in mind.
Brian Jones on Jul 20, 2009 6:46pm
I can't help but wonder if the last commenter was the REAL "J.C." Man its hard to argue with Jesus Chist when he leaves a blog comment.
PLEASE on Jul 20, 2009 8:10pm
so many statements there, I 'd think they were written by a 12 year old.
people like you are the ones who made me forget everything about religions.
I don't know, if I was christian and very secure about my religious beliefs I wouldn't write something like this, I would never let "little punk rockers" like Green Day ruin my life full of joy and fear for the omnipresent one, and I would not care enough for money to check how much a rock album has sold.
that's my $0.2, but you should really think about that.
Brian Jones on Jul 20, 2009 8:48pm
I guess posting a link to my blog post on the Greenday message board was worth it.
EL on Jul 21, 2009 1:25am
Someone thinks his $.02 is worth $.20. That's funny. And, it's too bad because that was the one chance he had of getting something right in that post.
Doug Kelley on Jul 21, 2009 3:36pm
green who?
BryonM on Jul 22, 2009 6:01am
Thoughtful post, Brian. Nice to see you blogging again.
McGov1258 on Jul 22, 2009 2:01pm
I bought the Green Day CD recently, and saw the Spectrum show last night. I think the CD is very good but the show was off the charts! I agree that the "anti-Fake Christian" theme is worn thin for Green Day, but a failure they are not. I have attended 100's of rock concerts over the years (mostly classic rock) and I can tell you these guys put on one of the best shows ever! I'll try to get my youtube video up soon.
LuluParis on Jul 23, 2009 2:05pm
several years ago I attended a service a ccv which in my opinion seemed to paint a disrespectful picture of Roman Catholics. I considered this Christian bashing, it made me uncomfortable. Can't we embrace others who also love Christ but perhaps choose a different way to practice? We all need to look at ourselves and how we may contribute to this!
N.A. on Jul 24, 2009 5:57pm
I agree with a lot of the above ideas that the drop in record sales has little to do with them talking down on Christian living, and has more to do with piracy, the changing non-material music industry, and the fact that they won't censor their album to sell in stores like Wal-Mart. Lots has changed since "American Idiot", including iTunes becoming the biggest outlet in music and bands selling music independent from labels, and, well you know, the recession.
Also, I saw them play last week to a packed arena, regardless of the fact that some of the people invited on stage admitted to being unemployed.
Otherwise, I think it's the Christians are do the majority of the judging in this matter. A close look into Green Day's lyrics shows acceptance for all, a statement that the church can't back to people like homosexuals and kids who can't find acceptance, even in places as 'welcoming' as a church - most of which spend a lot of time telling you how bad you've been and how you need to change.
In fact, I view Green Day more as just the other end of the spectrum from Christianity, and when saying that I in no way mean Satanism. I cite the fact that Bille Joe doesn't allow his children to listen to religious music, which is the exact opposite of my old Christian neighbors who weren't aloud to listen to the radio for fear of sinning.
And I'm not too sure if you're theory that Green Day becoming this century's Emperor Nero is either fair or correct. How about the fact that many consider Atheism as the fastest growing demographic in the United States? It is actually changing the electorate for Presidential candidates, campaign-wise. The idea that Green Day invigorates Christians seems almost ludicrous to me, as I haven't seen many statistics that are citing enormous growth in the church - at least in regard to the sale of a compact disc containing 14 songs.
Now, I'm not saying that I'm against the church, but I've got to tell you that the message Green Day puts out there, one of true non-judgment and acceptance, seems a lot more welcoming than the church. In fact, even posting the response, I feel the dread of receiving the tidal wave of judgment that will surely find it’s way to me, and am fighting the urge to use a pen name – which I may just do; but I haven’t decided yet.
And, as a last note on the musical integrity of the latest album, yes, Know Your Enemy contains only a few chords, but what about the fact that just about every Christian worship songs have that or fewer? Plus, songs like “21 Century Breakdown” and even “East Jesus Nowhere” contain much more complexity and a large amount of ambition – which may be the reason why the album is receiving almost universal praise from critics worldwide.
Brian Jones on Jul 26, 2009 6:52am
N.A.,
Thanks for that well-written post. You gave me a lot to chew on.
Brian
Lorayne on Jul 29, 2009 11:41am
I'd lke to respond to one comment from N.A.
I belong to and work at a church that accepts homosexuals and kids that don't fit in as well as those refugees from foreign lands that are dropped off by a system that gives them next to no money, an apartment and not much else. We make huge efforts to connect the hurting, the lonely and those on the fringe. We take great pains to consider the things we do from lots of viewpoints. We can accept someone and love them and still disagree with their viewpoint or lifestyle. One's lifestyle does not mean you are not welcome at our church or that you cannot worship the God of the universe. I personally have a big mouth but I try to get all the facts and not judge. I have clear opinions about what I believe the Bible says to be right and wrong. It is also my belief that those issues not be rammed down another's throat. It is our job to introduce the truth and allow the Spirit to work on someone's heart. I cannot change another.
Just my two cents ...
Kyle on Aug 3, 2009 11:12am
This may be the first time I've seen a pastor say "It blows".
I LOL'd.
Anyway, in response to N.A., I don't quite get how a band who gets on stage and says "F___ you george bush" is advocating acceptance or non-judgmentalness.
Just like much of the media, "acceptance" seems to be a really big buzz word that means the progression of popular thought separate from religion.
"Sure you can think or say what you want, but you'd better not say or think _____ way because we'll bash the hell out of you."
Mmkay. Bit of a logical fallacy there.