Billie Joe in Rolling Stone: My Life in 15 Songs
By MariaGloria /Jan. 29, 2020 / Comments
Rolling Stone have published a new interview with Billie Joe. He shares his life in 15 Green Day songs, including some he hasn't talked about before like Fell For You.
[quote]I always wanted ¡Uno!, ¡Dos! and ¡Tre! to be our power-pop Exile on Main Street, and I understand it sounds a bit stiff and the production isn’t great. I love those songs, but a lot of it feels half-baked. It was a weird time. I sort of had my own private nervous breakdown. Well, it wasn’t really private. I think it was just a lot of exhaustion. There’s, like, 36 songs on that album. It’s insane. But when I revisit it, “Fell for You” is what stands out. I was listening to a lot of power-pop music. I always say that power pop is the greatest music on Earth that no one likes, whether it’s something like Cheap Trick or [another band]. That was like, “Let’s just write a gooey bubblegum song about dreams and love and crushes and all the stuff that kind of keeps us alive.”
Those things never really stop as you get older. You always come across people that you want to spend time with, but you have to be realistic about it. When you’re a kid, it’s OK to be more impulsive. When you grow up, it can cause a lot of wreckage in your life, so it’s best to maybe write a song about it.[/quote]
- on Fell For You
- on Love is for Losers
Read the full interview on the Rolling Stone website and discuss with other fans on Green Day Community!
Thanks to Rumpelstiltskin2000 on GDC for reporting this.
[quote]I always wanted ¡Uno!, ¡Dos! and ¡Tre! to be our power-pop Exile on Main Street, and I understand it sounds a bit stiff and the production isn’t great. I love those songs, but a lot of it feels half-baked. It was a weird time. I sort of had my own private nervous breakdown. Well, it wasn’t really private. I think it was just a lot of exhaustion. There’s, like, 36 songs on that album. It’s insane. But when I revisit it, “Fell for You” is what stands out. I was listening to a lot of power-pop music. I always say that power pop is the greatest music on Earth that no one likes, whether it’s something like Cheap Trick or [another band]. That was like, “Let’s just write a gooey bubblegum song about dreams and love and crushes and all the stuff that kind of keeps us alive.”
Those things never really stop as you get older. You always come across people that you want to spend time with, but you have to be realistic about it. When you’re a kid, it’s OK to be more impulsive. When you grow up, it can cause a lot of wreckage in your life, so it’s best to maybe write a song about it.[/quote]
- on Fell For You
I recorded an album as the Longshot, which was kind of an extension of ¡Uno!, ¡Dos! and ¡Tre!, except where I produce it myself and not overthink it. I recorded all the instruments myself, and just started putting stuff out on SoundCloud and releasing little clips on Instagram. It taught me how to have fun with making records again, and how cool it can be, you know? It was this concept that ended up turning into a real band. I was dipping into music that’s way more rock & roll and more like, I would say, mid-career Replacements, or this band I love called the Exploding Hearts. I was also thinking of the Ronettes and early Beach Boys. I remember when I came up with the riff in that song, and I love the first line, “I’m riding shotgun in a car that’s broken down.” It’s just like, you’re going absolutely nowhere. It’s sort of like the anti-Valentine’s Day song. I think I got back to something that felt more self-deprecating and dumb, and when I’m dumb, I’m at my best.
- on Love is for Losers
Read the full interview on the Rolling Stone website and discuss with other fans on Green Day Community!
Thanks to Rumpelstiltskin2000 on GDC for reporting this.
