In a new Rolling Stone feature, the publication paired similarly named musicians Billie Eilish and Green Day leader Billie Joe Armstrong for a cross-generational conversation. In one portion of their chat, the two discussed how hard it can be early in a musician’s career, and of his early-20s, Armstrong admitted, “Later on, I was kind of like, ‘Did I enjoy myself enough? Was that fun?’ Because the feeling of when you first get popular as a musician, that never happens twice. After that, you have to keep creating new stuff to keep things interesting in your life.”
Eilish asked if he enjoyed it, and Armstrong responded, “Not all the time. I was sort of lost at sea. There’s extreme highs, and you’re playing to a new audience really excited to hear you.” Eilish goes on to say that she used to have similar feelings, and for a while, she wasn’t sure that she even enjoyed music:
“There was a period where I was like, ‘Do I even enjoy music?’ It just felt like so much touring. And I don’t mean the shows. The shows are always my favorite part. But it was just traveling and being alone all the time, on a cold bus in Europe, horrible food, and when you come back, everyone’s kind of moved on from you. This last tour I went on was the first I’ve ever enjoyed. I feel like I have this amazing thing that now I actually see.”
Elsewhere in the conversation, Eilish reveals she didn’t think people would embrace “Bury A Friend” because it’s about death, saying, “I’ve been surprised people like my music. Because there’s such a world of liking nothing, music that’s not really doing anything. I remember having this conversation with my mom about ‘Bury A Friend.’ We were like, ‘Nobody’s gonna give a f*ck, because the lyrics are ‘I want to end me.” And I really, honestly did not think anyone would care. That’s why this whole ride has been so weird.”
Read the full conversation between the Billies here.
