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This page: Songwriting: Methods & Results;
“I don't have to prove myself by playing 100 miles an hour and screaming at the top of my lungs.”
Songwriting: Methods & Results
Is this album your best work from a songwriting standpoint?
Yeah, I think so. But I'm sort of biased [laughs]. It's hard to say. A lot of people have different opinions of what they like as far as Green Day. But I tend to go with anything that's new just because it's like having a new baby.
Can you see growth in your songwriting when you compare this album to the older material?
I'd have to say yes, Bob [laughs]. I think so. I'm really proud of the new record. I think we've gone in areas that we haven't gone before, and it's very inspiring.
Who are your favorite songwriters?
More recent stuff, I like this guy Jesse Michaels. I listen to the Clash a lot -- Mick Jones and Joe Strummer were a great team together. Tom Waits I listen to a lot; I think Rain Dogs was written so well. Tom Petty, Pete Townshend.
Do you think of yourself as a music historian?
I definitely wanted to go with my influences, because, yeah, I'm a fan of music. I've been into music for years. Even before I was into punk rock or whatever. But, yeah, we definitely wanted our influences to come out in a way that isn't necessarily being derivative but incorporates it into our own thing. Also, we wanted to do something to where no one can actually pinpoint what is the Green Day sound. We've got a lot of musical background, all three of us, whether it's '50s rock 'n' roll, '60s pop, punk rock, or whatever. We definitely tried to make all those elements come out, especially on this record. We went for broke, really.
You can hear that kind of diversity on Warning. It has elements of everything from the Kinks to the Clash.
Yeah, we were definitely shooting for the moon. I really wanted to try to explore different rhythms. The cool thing is we've been around long enough that we've gone through different eras. This time we've gone into a new realm of music for us. Right now, it's nice just to have different rhythms and the songs seem really focused. We were like, "Okay, if we're gonna do this, we're gonna do this right. I don't want to be half-assed about it at all." And we definitely do have a lot of different musical tastes. I think that came out on this record.
What's the first single?
It's going to be a song called "Minority."
Are you guys involved in choosing the first single?
That's such a marketing thing and I don't really know. … I thought maybe [the song] "Warning" was going to be the first single. [Click here for an excerpt from "Warning" (MP3 580k)] But to tell you the truth, I really don't know. It was kind of a crapshoot. But it's a good problem to have: "God, what song is going to be the first single?" But "Minority" is one of my favorite songs on the record so it should be cool.
Has having two kids and a wife affected the issues and themes in your lyrics?
I think it has a lot to do with it. I can't really be too specific about it. It's difficult to think about. But it's like you change so much: From when you're 15 to 18, that's a world of difference; from when you're 18-21 it's even a bigger difference; 21-25, 25-28 … It's like those years, your different experiences and the walls that you build up around you, and also your sensitive side and your mean streaks, they have a tendency to change. For me, I think this record was turning anger into something more positive -- turning fear into something that's more empowering. I guess I'm getting into my sensitive side -- and some sense of vulnerability, which I think can be so explosive and so huge, it's so important, so vital when it comes to music. Because there's people who go up and have tattoos and wear tight pants and sing stupid songs all the time; it doesn't mean that has anything to do with who they are really. For my experience, watching other people and my heroes, the fact that they were being themselves and putting themselves out on a limb makes them that much more special and more important than that.
Sometimes the simplest things can be the most profound.
Yeah, you know the song "The Ballad of John and Yoko?" A song like that is a simple nice little pop song, but the things that he's saying in the song are so powerful and so harsh, and he got so much flak for it, where it's like …punk rock, for me, I don't have to go up and prove myself by playing 100 miles an hour and screaming at the top of my lungs. I can convey the same amount of emotion or get my point across the same way in writing a simple song and having lyrics, which I try to do, I don't know if I do or not -- that's my insecure side, but I try to connect in some sort of way.
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