Who knew that Green Day’s performance on the recently concluded American Music Awards would end up being so political?
Well, maybe you did! Performing arts has always been used as a platform for personal expression and beliefs. With the result of the recently concluded presidential election that has left many progressives and moderates alike scratching their heads, it is no surprise that one of the most politically-outspoken rock bands in the world would share their thoughts in song.
Green Day took the American Music Awards stage last Sunday to perform “Bang Bang,” the lead single to their latest album Revolution Radio. Mid-performance, they broke to the chant of “No Trump. No KKK. No Fascist USA.”
The chant is a variation to the 1982 song called “Born To Die” by M.D.C., which was inspired by a clash with Nazis in Austin, Texas. The original line was “No War. No KKK. No Fascist USA.” Green Day has performed with M.D.C. in the past, which is probably why they decided to use the chant.
This is also not the first time Green Day had used a performance to criticize Trump. Earlier this month at the MTV European Music Awards, lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong altered the lyrics to their hit song “American Idiot.” He sang, “Can you hear the sounds of hysteria? The subliminal Trump America.”
During the election campaign, he even compared Trump to Hitler, saying, “He just said, ‘You have no options and I’m the only one, and I’m going to take care of it myself.’ I mean, that’s f—ing Hitler, man!” He then added, “I wish I were over-exaggerating. And sometimes maybe I do over-exaggerate with Bush. But with Trump, I just can’t wait till he’s gone.”
Well, Billie Joe, a lot of people all over the world are also waiting for that day.