Bang Bang (Green Day song)

Background and composition

Billie Joe Armstrong started testing and recording material in Otis, the studio he built in Oakland, California, in 2014. The first song which he composed turned out to be "Bang Bang", self-described as "the most aggressive single we've ever had". It is written from the point of view of a mass shooter. According to Armstrong, the song is about "the culture of mass shooting that happens in America mixed with narcissistic social media." Armstrong continued with "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."

The song is described by critics as reminiscent of Green Day's early punk rock days of 39/Smooth (1990), Kerplunk! (1992), and Dookie (1994), as well as hints of their album 21st Century Breakdown (2009). "Bang Bang" is considered to be a combination of the "’90s Green Day sound and the 2000s Green Day lyrics". The song was described to reflect a state of confusion in today's world while trying to figure out one's position amongst the chaos; something noted by Armstrong to also be "a big theme through all of Green Day's history", about "feeling lost".

Release

"Bang Bang" was released on August 11, 2016 via digital download as the lead single from their upcoming studio album, Revolution Radio. The band also released the official lyric video for the single on August 12, which received over two million views by August 17. The lyric video was noted to be inspired from the recent incidents of mass shootings in the country. On August 28, the band announced on its website that the single will be released on CD to be sold exclusively at Best Buy in the U.S. only. and will include a live version of "Letterbomb" as the b-side. A music video was released for the song on September 13, 2016.

Music video

The music video for "Bang Bang" was released on September 13, 2016, and was directed by Rancid frontman Tim Armstrong. The video, inspired by the rise in gun violence in the U.S., depicts a trio of criminals robbing a bank whilst wearing masks of the members of Green Day in the first half. These scenes are intercut with footage of the band performing amidst a wild house party. During the second verse, the criminals flee the bank and remove their masks, revealing themselves as two girls and a guy, before driving off in a Jeep Wrangler. The criminals arrive at the house party where Green Day is playing. During the bridge and final chorus, the three bank robbers make their way through the crowd and approach the band, before tossing money from the robbery into the air as the video fades out. The blonde girl of the three criminals (who disguises herself as bassist Mike Dirnt) is portrayed by Ukrainian actress Ivanna Sakhno.

Critical reception

"Bang Bang" received positive critical reception upon release from critics. Cai Trefor from Gigwise praised the band by saying that "The song is Green Day at their punky best. It’s far more in line with the intensity of stuff on Dookie than the ballads on American Idiot.". Thomas Smith at NME observed "Musically, it's classic Green Day; limited power chords used to furious effect, a maelstrom of abrasive punk rock that's aided by Mike Dirnt's rumbling bass and Tré Cool's on-point drumming. On this evidence, Green Day have found a way to stay relevant." Joseph R. Atilano, for Inquirer.net, concurred and said that the song "does not sound 'glossy', 'too clean cut around the edges' nor overly polished." He added that it "sounds aesthetically right", especially for those who "want to hear the 'Green Day of old' once more."

William Sutton at PopMatters stated that while "Bang Bang" "is a good track and much better than most of their output since the release of American Idiot in 2004, the track struggles with the feeling that this is a band in their fourth decade and we have heard it all before and often heard it done better. Nonetheless it is a welcome return from the band and provides positive signs ahead of the release of Revolution Radio in October."

Chart performance

"Bang Bang" debuted at number 17 on the US Mainstream Rock chart, which is their second highest debut, behind "Oh Love" (2012) at number 13. The song reached number one on the chart three weeks after its release. The song is tied with "The Day That Never Comes" (2008) by Metallica as the second-fastest song to reach the top of the chart, behind Foo Fighters' "Something from Nothing" (2014) which took two weeks. The song became Green Day's fastest leap to the number one position on the US Mainstream Rock chart, breaking the previous record of "Know Your Enemy" (2009) of five weeks.

The song debuted at number 16, and peaked at number one on the US Alternative Songs chart, making them tied with Foo Fighters for amount of number ones with a number of 10 and marking Green Day's 24th top 20 entry and the fifth highest debut. It is the band's 31st entry in the US Alternative Songs chart, tying them with Foo Fighters and Red Hot Chili Peppers for the third spot as the most charted artist in the history of the charts, behind Pearl Jam and U2 with 38 and 41 entries respectively.

The song debuted at number 23 on the US Rock Airplay chart and peaked at number one.

The song also debuted at number one on the UK Rock Chart, number 2 on the New Zealand Heatseekers, and number 9 on the Flemish Ultratip chart in Belgium.

Track listing

All lyrics written by Billie Joe Armstrong; all music composed by Green Day (Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, and Tré Cool).