Green Day singer Billie Joe Armstrong discussed his ‘experimentation’ with methamphetamine around the time he was recording “Brain Stew” in a new Rolling Stone interview. Green Day revealed a surprising drug secret last week.
“This song is such a dark horse. I had just gotten some recording equipment, and I came up with the riff when I was experimenting with it for the first time: ‘Oh, this is cool. It almost sounds like a harder Beatles song, like While My Guitar Gently Weeps.’ The song is about methamphetamine, not being able to sleep, and staying up all night. It was something that was creeping into our punk scene at the time, and I definitely did my experimenting with it. It’s just such an evil drug.”
He also discussed moving out in Green Day’s early days, and using the band’s paychecks to buy marijuana, “Being in a band, you got paid a couple hundred bucks here and there — so it was easy to pay for rent, eat Top Ramen, and buy weed.
It was an eye-opening experience. Suddenly, I was on my own, smack out in one of the gnarliest neighborhoods in Oakland. You look around and you see cracked streets and broken homes and ghetto neighborhoods, and you’re in the middle of it. You’re scared, thinking, ‘How do I get out of here?’ Then suddenly it starts to feel like home. There is a sort of empathy that you have for your surroundings when you’re around junkies and homelessness and gang warfare.”
A crazy Green Day and Metallica demand was just revealed. Green Day are set to release their new album Father Of All… in February. Ackerman_19 defended their last album Revolution Radio on Reddit, “What an underrated gem. This album is a masterpiece in my eyes which I know many will disagree with that. This album felt like a return to form for them following the mess of that trilogy and it feels like a victory lap.
They all sound so goddamn good and new, it’s such a moving and special album. I really wish I could go back to that time in my life when it released, as it was the first time I was truly anticipating a Green Day release and I couldn’t have been happier on that first listen.”
BooStew responded, “I loved it as well, but I’m probably not as musically discerning as others are. I just know that the intention of the songs, the hooks, the impact, the vibe all connected for me. Still Breathing gets me screaming at the top of my lungs and I feel its message like an old tattoo on my skin. For me there’s not a false moment on RevRad, and the band seems like they’re loving every moment of the middle of their lives even when confronting darkness.”
You can read the full Billie Joe Armstrong interview at Rolling Stone.
