Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong: “It’s fucking cool that someone calls me a bisexual icon”

Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong has opened up about why he re-wrote what he described as the “embarrassingly bad” original lyrics to their hit song, ‘Basket Case’.Speaking on the Song Exploder podcast, Armstrong spoke in detail about how the track came together and shared music from his initial four track demo with the original lyrics, which you can listen to below.“I had this melody in my head for a while, and I wanted to have this sort of grand song about a love story,” Armstrong recalled. “I think it was around 1993, early ’93, when the song was first written.”“I thought the song could have this intro that would be like a ballad that would blast into the full band coming in, making it like a rocker.

Miles Davis tattoo she inked a few years ago.The high-profile tattoo artist and musician faced accusations of copyright infringement back in 2021, when she was sued by photographer Jeffrey Sedlik after tattooing a portrait of the iconic jazz artist, Miles Davis.According to the lawsuit, Sedlik claimed that the portrait inked by Von D in 2017 constituted a copyright infringement of an image he took of the musician back in 1989 – taken as part of a cover story for JAZZIZ magazine.Now, nearly three years after the suit was first raised, Von D has won the case and has been cleared of any allegations of infringement. This came as a jury ruled that a tattoo reproduction of the photo did not violate copyright.“This case should never have been brought [forward],” Kat Von D’s lawyer told The New York Times on Friday (January 26).

Billy Joel has announced that he will be performing at the Grammy Awards, marking his first time playing the ceremony in 22 years.The ‘Piano Man’ singer will be joining the likes of Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa, Olivia Rodrigo, Travis Scott, Burna Boy, and Luke Combs as 2024 Grammy performers. This year’s ceremony is due to take place at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California on Sunday, February 4.

Thania Garcia Billy Joel has been added to the lineup of performers for the 66th annual Grammy Awards, the Recording Academy announced on Wednesday. Joel, who made his Grammy stage debut in 1988 when he sang “New York State Of Mind,” will return as a performer for the ceremony on Feb. 4, joining a lineup that includes Burna Boy, Luke Combs, Travis Scott, Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa and Olivia Rodrigo.

Green Day have reflected on the “bummer” of their pre-‘American Idiot’ album ‘Cigarettes & Valentines’ being stolen more than 20 years ago, while also noting that it was a “blessing” in disguise.The unreleased record was written and recorded in 2003, but the master tapes were stolen when it was close to being finished.Instead of being the follow-up to 2000’s ‘Warning’, they released their seminal ‘American Idiot’ in 2004.“They were just gone,” said Tré Cool of the ‘Cigarettes And Valentines’ recordings in a new interview with Audacy, “so somebody probably stole them – maybe didn’t know what was on them”.“I’ve never heard that ever happening to anybody,” added frontman Billie Joe Armstrong. “It was a bummer, for sure.

Green Day are currently outselling the rest of the UK albums chart’s top 10 combined with ‘Saviors’.The pop-punk trio released their 14th studio record last Friday (January 19), with NME praising it as “their best work since ‘American Idiot'” in a four-star review.According to the Official Charts‘ latest update, Billie Joe Armstrong and co. are on course to earn their fifth UK Number One album during the next chart rundown this Friday (January 26).‘Saviors’ is outselling the rest of the top 10 combined at the midweek point.Green Day are followed in the top five by Neck Deep‘s self-titled album (Number Two), Saxon’s ‘Hell, Fire And Damnation’ (Number Three), Noah Kahan‘s ‘Stick Season’ (Number Four) and The Weeknd‘s ‘The Highlights’ (Number Five).Should the group clinch victory, ‘Saviors’ will follow ‘American Idiot’ (2004), ’21st Century Breakdown’ (2009), ‘Revolution Radio’ (2016) and ‘Father Of All Motherfuckers’ (2020) in reaching Number One in the UK.This week’s Official Chart is due to be announced live on BBC Radio 1 from 4pm GMT on Friday.Green Day are set to embark on their 2024 ‘Saviors world tour in May.

Billy Joel announced today that he’ll release his first single in 17 years: “Turn The Lights Back On,” a piano-based ballad judging by the brief snippet included in Joel’s Instagram post, will hit streaming platforms on February 1.

Madison Square Garden residency, telling the crowd, “I have good news. I have bad news. I’ll give you the bad news first.

Billy Joel has announced ‘Turn The Lights Back On’, his first solo song since 2007 and second since 1993.‘Turn The Lights Back On’ is set for release on February 1 via Columbia. It will be available on all streaming platforms as well as a limited-edition 7” vinyl.

Green Day‘s Billie Joe Armstrong has described Metallica‘s Lars Ulrich as an “unorthodox” but “great” drummer.The frontman, who last week released new Green Day album ‘Saviors‘, defended the Metallica drummer from the hate that is often directed towards his playing abilities.“Lars has a really unorthodox way of playing,” Armstrong said during a recent interview with The Howard Stern Show.“I think he’s a really creative drummer. I think as far as the metal drummers of his genre, even up until now, people that were influenced by Metallica, I think there is something very studious about the way other people play.”He continued: “But I think that the way that him and James Hetfield play together is so just in lock step.

Dolly Parton has celebrated her birthday by dropping a deluxe edition of her recent rock covers album ‘Rockstar’, featuring new versions of tracks by Eurythmics and Billy Joel.Parton has taken on the former’s ‘Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)’ and the latter’s ‘The Entertainer’ for the expanded version of the album, which was originally released in November. Other bonus tracks include Parton’s versions of Pat Benatar’s ‘Hit Me With Your Best Shot’, Eddie Money’s ‘Two Tickets to Paradise’ and Simon & Garfunkel’s ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’.The deluxe edition also features a new original song, ‘Mama Never Said’, and a live version of ‘Rockin’ It’, as well as the Sylvester Stallone-featuring ‘Stay Out of My Bedroom’ from the soundtrack of 1984 film Rhinestone.“It’s my Birthday so I’m going to give you a present!” Parton wrote on X/Twitter.

Green Day have criticised the notion of finding new music “via algorithms”, such as on TikTok, as “lazy”.The legendary rock trio have said in a new interview that they think listeners can miss out on a broader spectrum of new music if they’re reliant on social media to discover emerging artists.“Social media is great for kids but if you’re finding your music via algorithms then that’s just lazy,” bassist Mike Dirnt told The Sun. “I like to organically find new things. All I can say is just clear your search history to find new [stuff].”“I was told that ‘Brain Stew’ was a sudden popular thing on TikTok with a lot of hip-hop kids dancing to it.

“Dookie,” clearly you’re not taking yourselves too seriously.But here we are — 30 years after Green Day released its blockbuster breakthrough on Feb. 1, 1994 — and the Cali trio of singer-guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist Mike Dirnt and drummer Tré Cool is still punking us.But three decades after the group’s major-label debut “Dookie” — featuring the now-classic rock hits “Longview,” “Basket Case” and, biggest of all, “When I Come Around” — wrestled rock from grunge’s grasp in the mid-’90s, Green Day is still, against the odds, very much “around.”And when they performed “Basket Case” near the end of their SiriusXM concert — airing Saturday at 9 p.m.

Green Day have gave recent single ‘One-Eyed Bastard’ its live debut at their intimate album launch gig in New York City last night (Thursday January 18) – in a show that was also heavy on material from their classic albums ‘Dookie’ and ‘American Idiot’. Check out footage and the setlist below.The pop-punk veterans took the stage at Irving Plaza – a 1,500-capacity venue located in the heart of the city – to celebrate the release of their 14th album ‘Saviors‘ as part of Sirius XM’s Small Stage Series.After the band confirmed this week that they would be playing ‘Dookie’ and ‘American Idiot’ in their entirety while on their upcoming 2024 ‘Saviors’ tour, the trio gave a taste of what to expect with a set that was heavy on songs from the two LPs as well as their new record.Kicking off with ‘American Idiot’, the band went on to play ‘Look Ma, No Brains!‘ and ‘The American Dream Is Killing Me‘ from their new album before playing ‘One-Eyed Bastard’ live for the first time.Green Day One Eyed Bastard Live Debut Tiny Club Show Irving Plaza NYC 01/18/24 #greenday #greendaylive #livemusic #concert #90s #music #billiejoearmstrong #nyc #ny #newyorkcity ♬ original sound – Chris A post shared by GreenDayInc (@greendayinc)A post shared by GreenDayInc (@greendayinc)A post shared by GreenDayInc (@greendayinc)A post shared by GreenDayInc (@greendayinc)The band also took the time to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to their touring guitarist Kevin Preston and Jason Freese who plays keys.

Green Day‘s Billie Joe Armstrong has told the story of meeting Eddie Van Halen, who “started crying” when they met backstage.In a new interview with Howard Stern on Wednesday (January 17), Stern noted Armstrong’s love for Van Halen, as they were his first-ever concert. “When I saw Van Halen in ’84, I was 12, and they were my favourite band, and I cried,” Armstrong began. “It’s like his guitar playing came from a different place.

Green Day put the rock back in Rockefeller Center when it teamed up with NBC’s “Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon to serenade straphangers at the 47-50th Street station in Midtown Manhattan around 8 p.m.The pop-punk band and the talk show host launched into a platform performance that included their tunes “Basket Case” and “American Idiot” as well as the Kiss hit “Rock and Roll All Nite.”Fallon and band members Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tré Cool emerged disguised, sporting phony beards and performing a cover of Bad Company’s “I Feel Like Making Love.”But the fakeout didn’t last long, as Fallon ripped off his disguise and introduced the band, which is set to release its 14th studio album, entitled “Saviors,” on Friday.Throngs of commuters and fans who’d caught wind of the secret show ahead of time crowded the makeshift stage as the band launched into their famous tunes — many of them jumping up and down, singing every word and taking cellphone footage.The action was caught and shared to X by Post editor Mark Lungariello as he was leaving the newsroom.Some days commuting are more interesting than others.

Kurt Cobain-inspired opera based on the film Last Days will have its US premiere next month.The opera, based on Gus Van Sant’s 2005 film loosely inspired by the late Nirvana musician, had its debut at the Royal Opera House’s Linbury Theatre in London in 2022.It’s now set to arrive in the US with a premiere at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles on February 6. Tickets are available to purchase here.A description for opera, directed by Van Sant and produced by HBO Films, says that the performance “plunges into the torment that created a modern myth”.The opera follows a successful musician called Blake, who escapes a rehab facility before taking his own life.A synopsis continues: “The safety of his house is soon disrupted by a slew of unwelcome guests—an insistent delivery worker, a pair of Mormons on a mission, a chorus of scrounging friends, and the ominous figure of the property’s groundskeeper.“Matters are made worse by the never-ending phone calls from his Manager and presence of a Private Investigator and Superfan stalking nearby.

Billie Joe Armstrong has revealed that he almost gave a Green Day fan favourite track to 5 Seconds Of Summer.Armstrong spoke to People magazine about Green Day’s biggest hits throughout their career ahead of the release of upcoming album, ‘Saviors’. When the interview approached their 2016 full-length ‘Revolution Radio’, Armstrong spoke about ‘Still Breathing’, which he admitted was a song originally written for Australian pop rock band 5 Seconds Of Summer.“There’s a band called 5 Seconds of Summer who wanted me to write a song for them,” he stated.

Green Day have responded to claims that they are “anti-American” saying: “If we didn’t care about this country, we wouldn’t say anything.”On New Year’s Eve, the band – comprised of frontman Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist Mike Dirnt and drummer Tré Cool – played a set as part of Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve – hosted by Ryan Seacrest.The gig then hit headlines when Armstrong, altered the ‘American Idiot’ lyric “I’m not a part of a redneck agenda” to hit out at Donald Trump, singing: “I’m not a part of the MAGA agenda”. Many including Elon Musk then criticised the gesture, with the X/Twitter boss saying: “Green Day goes from raging against the machine to milquetoastedly raging for it.”Since the band’s controversial performance, many have claimed that they are “anti-American”.

Green Day have confirmed that they will be playing ‘Dookie’ and ‘American Idiot’ in their entirety during their 2024 ‘Saviors‘ world tour.The band took to their official Twitter account to announce that at each night of their forthcoming ‘Saviours’ tour, they will be playing their 1994 and 2004 LPs in full as well as other old and new tracks.“BIG news! Each night of The Saviors Tour we’re playing both Dookie AND American Idiot in full AND a bunch of your other favorites new and old all summer long all fueled by @MonsterEnergy.