"Bang Bang" is the second track off of Revolution Radio. For other uses please see Bang Bang. The song starts off with sound clips from the media discussing shooters with a touch of an Insomniac era bass line which eventually leads to:

[quote]Bang bang give me fame
Shoot me up to entertain
I am a semi-automatic lonely boy
You're dead, I'm well fed
Give me death or give me head
Broadcasting from my room
And playing with my toys[/quote]

The song has a catchy chorus, that sounds a little like of "East Jesus Nowhere", and a solid drum solo which are great elements to have in a single (in my opinion). Here's what Billie Joe had to say about the song in a Rolling Stone interview

It's about the culture of mass shooting that happens in America mixed with narcissistic social media. There's this sort of rage happening, but it's also now being filmed and we all have ourselves under surveillance. To me, that is so twisted. To get into the brain of someone like that was freaky. It freaked me out. After I wrote it, all I wanted to do was get that out of my brain because it just freaked me out.


Check out one of their more notable performance of the song from last year's American Music Awards.



We asked our staff what their thoughts were on the song:

Andres
I was so excited when we finally got to hear this song. Fast. Great sound. Catchy music. It's everything I wanted in a Green Day song. I loved that the lyrics had some depth to them with the meaning. It really was a perfect single to debut Revolution Radio. Everyone was buzzing the day we finally heard it. I think it's my favorite debut single they've release since Warning.


Jack
Bang Bang" is Green Day's way of showing that they can still write acidic, fierce (and, most importantly, meaningful) punk songs about edgy topics. Billie Joe's "I am a semiautomatic lonely boy" lyric is a haunting one, and sets a tone on par with some of his most epic past works.


Matt
[quote]Bang Bang" marks a return to the gnarly, in-your-face, "pump ass" Green Day that caused a lot of people to latch on to the band in the first place, including myself. It's that type of song that needs to be released as the lead single for every Green Day album (something they desperately needed help with prior to RevRad).

I remember listening to it the morning it premiered and thinking "holy shit, here we go." I was blown away by the production value and the total change of pace during the breakdown. Kudos to Chris Dugan, Andrew Scheps, and Eric Boulanger for the incredible engineering work to make it sound so good.

Unfortunately, "Bang Bang," along with "Revolution Radio," feel out of place on the album. Both are big, energetic songs that nothing else matches. What happened Billie Joe and co.? I could listen to an entire album of songs like this.

Overall, a fantastic start to the RevRad era and is fun as hell to hear and sing along to live.[/quote]

What are your thoughts on the song? How well did it serve as the first single? Leave us your thoughts below!

If you're looking for more information on the song, check out its song page. This song has a lyric video, music video, and behind the scenes of the music video. Looking to discuss the song a little deeper? Check out the song topic on GDC.

Previous "Year of #RevRad" posts:
Part 1: "Somewhere Now"
Never, ever sleep on the B-sides. ...unless there aren't any to sleep on. For the first time in Green Day's quarter-century-long career, the band hasn't released even a single B-side from their latest album, Revolution Radio (other than ... read story
Billboard has updated their music charts to account for the past week of radio airplay and online streaming. Let's check in on how the Revolution Radio singles and the album itself are performing. The latest single, "Still Breathing", ... read story
Billie Joe has teamed up with Familia Skateshop to sell this awesome skateboard deck with a drawing of Billie Joe's "Blue" guitar. a killer collaboration i did with my bro in law @nesserfamilia #blueguitar #blueskateboard @ ... read story
The day is finally here: Green Day's North American #RevRadTour is starting today. The band is starting out in Phoenix, AZ where they'll be playing with Against Me at the Talking Stick Resort Arena. If you take pictures, please send them ... read story
The latest issue of Rock Sound Magazine features an illustrated poster of Green Day. I really dig the artwork. If you wondered what Green Day would look like as illustrations, this is it. Get the poster in this month's mag! https://t ... read story
While we wait for an official music video for "Revolution Radio", we're curious to see what song you guys would like to see an official music video for. Answer the poll question below. [poll=9671060] Check out the released music ... read story
Billboard has updated their music charts today to account for the past week of radio airplay and online streaming. Let's check in on how the Revolution Radio singles and the album itself are performing. The latest single, "Still ... read story
Green Day is moving their concert this summer in Sweden to the Scandinavium on June 21st. Tickets went on sale yesterday. Fans who pre-ordered will be getting an email confirming the move and information about getting tickets re-issued by ... read story
Facebook Page "Vocals Only" featured Green Day's 21 Guns with Billie Joe's vocals isolated. Check out the video below ... read story
Green Day fan and YouTuber Mason Dayot has had some pretty great Green Day covers recently and we think you guys should check them out. Holiday (with a nice Say Goodbye medley) [youtube=kMteVcg4wBE] Forever Now [youtube= ... read story
From everyone here at the GDA team, we want to wish Billie Joe a big happy 45th birthday ... read story
Ultimate Guitar.com has been running a series of "Complete Guides" to individual songs and they've featured Green Day's "Holiday" off American Idiot for their 3rd feature. The feature talks about the song's chart history (#1 Mainstream Rock ... read story
Green Day fan 'awkiscool' is selling their entire Green Day collection on eBay. There's about 24 hours left on most items, so check them out today. Here are a few of the items below, go check out all the listings. [url=http://www. ... read story
Green Day has announced another show in the United Kingdom during their summer tour, this one taking place at the Sheffield Arena on July 3rd. Rancid will be the opening band. Tickets go on sale this Friday, February 17th on Gigs And ... read story
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