Have Green Day gone disco?
The have always made an effort to reinvent their sound every few years, with varying degrees of success. But, their latest single — the aptly titled “Kill the DJ” — may be their biggest stylistic departure yet.
A steady four-on-the-floor beat and angular post-punk guitars anchor this ditty about planning the cold-blooded murder of a poor ol’ disc jockey (even with corporate terrestrial radio largely becoming a thing of the past, it seems like people still want to hang the DJ). There’s certainly some “Sandanista!”-era Clash inspiration in there, but whereas the Clash were experimenting with then-new sounds from allover the music world, Green Day seems to be simply mining the past, and it ends up sounding more like an all-male take on The Ting Tings.
Hear the song here:
It’s another stylistic left turn for the Bay Area punk-poppers, and even with the incessant dance beat and clean guitars, it’s still recognizably Green Day, mostly due to singer Billie Joe Armstrong’s patented nasal whine. But just who is this version of Green Day for? Have they jumped on the dance-rock revival bandwagon a decade or so too late? Will longtime fans more used to their punkier tunes be turned off? Will Katy Perry fans give it a listen? It will be interesting to see how fans respond.
“Kill the DJ” was one of the new songs the trio unveiled at a secret show at L.A.’s small venue The Echoplex to 600 or so hardcore fans. They’re releasing three full-length albums over the next few months, with “Uno!” arriving first on September 25. “Duo!” and “Tre!” will follow.
What do you think of “Kill the DJ”? Give it a grade at the top and sound off in the comments section.