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ARCHIVE - 12/15/06:
November Report
Remember, Remember, the 5th of November
Is there anything sweeter than the smell of activism in the autumn?
If Green Day in November had a theme, it would probably be "the fine line between punks and hippies." It's funny, because it seems like to be a punk, some people think you have to sign a solemn vow that says "I hate hippies. Fuck hippies." But the fact is, when you get right down to it, hippies are just non-violent punks, and even that equation is more often than not blurry.
Generally, hippies and punks have the same politics, the same DIY ethic, the same anti-mainstream approach to life. Sure, these are all generalizations, but sometimes you have to make generalizations to make a point. More importantly, wtf does this have to do with Green Day?
Make Every Day a Green Day
Well, the big Green Day news this month is that they finally got that NRDC + Green Day website going. If you haven't seen it yet, check it out here: http://www.greendaynrdc.com. If you're on the Idiot Club mailing list, you will have received Billie Joe's little manifesto about the project earlier this month. If not, check it out:
Dear Green Day fan,
I grew up in an oil refinery town. When I was four years old, I saw giant oil refineries spitting pollution into the sky, and that pollution was going into my lungs. It was the first time I felt the terrible effects of America's dependence on oil.
America's oil habit has put us in serious trouble. While oil companies are collecting bigger profits than any companies in history, we're suffering from global warming and watching more and more of our public lands get destroyed by oil drilling. Last year, we sent more than a hundred billion dollars in oil money to undemocratic countries in the Middle East.
We've all got to do our part to stop America's oil addiction. That's why Mike, Tre, and I have joined forces with NRDC (the Natural Resources Defense Council) and launched a new website, http://www.greendaynrdc.com .
We're supporting NRDC's Move America Beyond Oil campaign, which can radically reduce our dependence on oil. If you haven't already, click here (http://www.nrdconline.org/campaign/greenday_beyondoil) to watch our new video and tell President Bush to Move America Beyond Oil.
A lot of people feel overwhelmed by our government. But a democracy is supposed to be a government run by the people: we elect politicians to office, so we have control over the people who are making decisions for us. It's okay and very rebellious to speak up and take responsibility for our environment, to take care of the air that we breathe and the water that we drink.
Click here (http://www.nrdconline.org/campaign/greenday_beyondoil) to check out our new video and write to the President, and don't forget to visit out our new site at http://www.greendaynrdc.com.
Sincerely,
Billie Joe Armstrong
http://www.greendaynrdc.com
If you're more of a visual type, you can watch the video where the whole band talks about the project here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f72029iNJhY. The video is called "Move America Beyond Oil," and it does a pretty good job of making its point: We have to stop using oil. Using less oil will stave off the apocalypse.
Environmental Apolcalypse
America can't move beyond oil because corporate interests and the federal government are so closely intertwined. In fact, the American government is held hostage by oil companies. That's why they're in Iraq, and that's why we can't stop burning fossils fuels, even though it's poisoning the environment.
Ah, the environment. The ultimate rallying cry of the hippie, a.k.a. tree hugger. But Billie Joe wants to make the point, through the NRDC website, the worrying about the environment, and trying to do something to help it, is not cheesy hippie crap, it's almost the ultimate form of rebellion in our society.
The apocalypse, children, will not be about politics or world war, it will be environmental. In fact, we are in the midst of an environmental apocalypse as we speak, and oil-dependent governments like the one in America are running towards it with open arms.
What is that oily substance? Why it's democracy, son!
"Are they fucking suicidal?" you might ask. But in fact, the opposite is true. The American government knows what anyone with half a brain knows. There are too many people in the world; global ecosystems are buckling under the pressure; as we hit a bottleneck in which the resource demands of the population exceeds the planet's ability to produce these resources, a lot of people are going to die.
Not everybody. Just a lot of people.
Who will die: poor people, people in third world countries with minimal access to resources like food and water and oil, people in massively overpopulated areas.
Who won't die: rich people, people from rich countries, if the American government has anything to say about it: people in America. But that's great, right? You don't want to die. Unfortunately, you only get to live at the expense of a bunch of poor people. Which is why the U.S. is trying to take control of the world's oil supply via a series of skirmish wars gradually spreading throughout the Middle East. It's also why the government can't stop supporting the U.S. oil companies through the continued use of things like cars and through the suppression of technology like alternative fuel sources.
Irony moment: The U.S. government has to destroy the environment in order to save itself from the ravages of total environmental destruction.
Basically, with the new NRDC project, Green Day is saying: fuck that! A - Let's try to minimize our use of resources, even if it is too late, and B - Let's fucking help each other here. Seriously.
Go check out the new website to see what you can do.
Okay, so go Green Day! You're actually using your fame and fortune to help people. That kicks fucking ass. BUT! Isn't it interesting how you can also use philanthropic work to increase your fame and fortune?
Wear Adeline Street, Not Army Fatigues
Various plucked, shaved, and dyed eyebrows were raised this month due to a photo shoot Billie Joe and Adrienne did for Punk Rock Confidential magazine. The shoot was to promote the Adeline Street clothing line. You can see the semi-saucy cover photo here: http://www.punkrockcon.com/.
The controversy all started when a photo from the shoot was leaked to greenday.net (you can still check it out on the front page). It shows Billie and Adrienne in bed with the message "make love, not war," in the background.
On the surface, this may seem like another classic hippie moment for our Green Day frontman. Not only is he making his own clothes now, but the picture is an obvious nod to the famous John Lennon and Yoko Ono bed-in. However, upon closer inspection, a lot of people are saying, "What the fuck is this? Billie Joe is using his position as an anti-war activist to sell fucking clothes? How commercial and corporate could you be?"
It does look bad for Billie. However, just remember, he probably didn't have a lot of control over the shoot, and he probably didn't mean it to look so…damning. But hey, when you're a superstar, you've got to watch out for that kind of shit. Anyway, most people are probably just saying "woah, hot picture," and not thinking about it anymore deeply than that.
Think Deeply and Be Prepared!
Anyway, this month in Green Day history has definitely given us something to think about in terms of the fine line between punk and hippie and corporate shill. Ah, what a highly evolved culture we live in. It will be interesting to see which species of cultural animal survives the apocalypse. Most likely it will be the conspiracy nut, those guys that already have compounds build in the middle of the bush somewhere and are completely self-sufficient.
But don't fret, we still have at least one Christmas left to enjoy before the world ends, so make the most of it. Reprise, Green Day's label, is re-releasing 1039 Smooth and Kerplunk on December 19th, so write Santa for your very own copies. Then, when you are living in a tin shack somewhere in the Rocky Mountains, growing your own parsnips and sewing clothes out of old flour sacks, you can warm up the old solar-powered cd player and crank some classic Green Day.
Enjoy!
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