In order to sell the new album “21st Century Breakdown” by Green Day, retail giant Wal-Mart requested that the band censor themselves by editing their album to remove specific content and language (they will not sell any CD’s with a parental advisory sticker). Of course the band refused, with lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong saying “We just said no. We’ve never done it before. You feel like you’re in 1953 or something.”
via Colin Fahrion on Twitter
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{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
I may just have to buy a Green Day CD for this reason.
@johnmc, just not that one.
whyz everybody bitchin? juss DON’T SHOP THERE. capitalism has its upsides. vote with your dollars. you may go now.
Here’s a simple way to protest this kind of censorship. Go to Walmart and load your basket with goods that will equal a nice sale for them. After the cashier checks the items through and asks for your payment, ask him or her if they have the newest Green Day CD. They will probably not know if the store carries it or not. The next step is to ask for the manager. Ask him or her the same question. They will probably be aware of the situation and tell you “No, we are not carrying it” to which you reply “then I’m not doing business with you”. You then walk out of the store leaving the unpaid goods sitting on the counter.
Guess there’s no chance of them selling Marilyn Manson’s new album :/
@Rick: Yeah, that’ll show em! The employee who has to replace all the items you were pretending to buy doesn’t give a damn about your statement. Nor does the manager. Nor will the head offices because they’ll never hear of this one time prank.
The question that’s in my head is why does Green Day and their fans even care if Walmart is stocking their CDs? Oh right, their rebellion and punkness is only an image and the real reason for their ‘art’ is money.
/drunken rant
i’m with bot on this one. green day’s about as anti-status quo as they are anti-money.
they just refuse to stock with wal-mart so they can boost their sales in the “teenage idiot who will buy anything with graffiti and cuss words on it that promotes revolution like something you get if you own an iPhone” demographic.
green day’s rich as fuck, not to mention completely devoid of artistic integrity. this “rebel” thing is marketable bullshit. if they really cared about musician’s rights, they’d stop mutilating themselves and try an iota to create anything remotely listenable.
I’ve liked some of Green Day since they first came out. I dig their music, and I understand why they use the language they do; however, I’m not 25 anymore. I have kids I care about. I have kids who dig good music. My daughter is begging me to play some American Idiot. She heard the opening riffs and was all about it until I shut it down. Mind fuck America is not what I want my 8 year old daughter to hear, thank you. I am looking hard for some a kid-friendly American Idiot release. So it’s not just about artistic integrity. It’s about what rational parents want their kids to listen to. You want a crappy song, go play Until September Ends for your daughter. She loves it, but I know it’s pure crap. Give me a toned down American Idiot and i will let her rock out!