Fans have picked up on similarities between the intro to Green Day‘s new single ‘One-Eyed Bastard’ and Pink‘s 2008 hit ‘So What’.
READ MORE: The Big Read – Green Day: “We live our lives as if we have nothing”
The opening riff of the Oakland rockers’ new song, which is taken from their forthcoming album ‘Saviors’, has been perceived to use a similar sequence of notes to the intro of ‘So What’.
‘So What’ in itself attracted comparisons to Deep Purple’s 1970 song ‘Black Night’ when it was first released.
However, Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong has revealed that his idea from the riff actually came from a totally different place.
“’One Eyed Bastard’ started off as just a riff that I had – a shuffle, almost like a Black Sabbath kind of riff. Lyrically, I was just reflecting on bad times in life,” Armstrong explained in a press release.
“That’s the thing about nostalgia, sometimes you think, ‘That was an awful time’,” he added. “Everybody’s got that ugly place in their life where they have to deal with ugly thoughts – it could be like revenge or whatever. Thankfully, I have an outlet in songwriting.”
Despite this, numerous fans have commented on the similarity online. “that new green day song sounds so much like so what by pink at the beginning which is utterly distracting,” one person wrote on X/Twitter.
the beginning of green day’s new single sounded like ‘so what’ by pink and I genuinely thought it was for a moment
— mud/art (@chokjnghazard_) January 5, 2024
Anyone else think the riff from Green Day’s new song sounds like Pink’s ‘so what’? #GreenDay pic.twitter.com/2Zil8Lrq11
— Charlotte Rose (@himynameisCharl) January 5, 2024
that new green day song sounds so much like so what by pink at the beginning which is utterly distracting.
— Vee⁷ ✜ (@onandonand0n) January 5, 2024
Green Day first began teasing new music with fans back in October, when they surprised the crowd at an intimate club show in Las Vegas by playing the then-unreleased lead single, ‘The American Dream Is Killing Me’. This was followed shortly after, when they performed ‘Look Ma, No Brains!’ live during the second of their two headline shows at While We Were Young Festival.
Back in November, the band shared the full tracklist for the forthcoming ‘Saviors’ – due out January 19. Other song titles on the ‘Father Of All Motherfuckers’ follow-up include ‘1981’, ‘Suzie Chapstick’ and ‘Living In The ’20s’. You can pre-order the album here.
During a recent interview, the group explained that ‘Saviors’ “bridges the gap” between fan-favourite records ‘American Idiot’ and ‘Dookie’. They also described the project as “the best of” their career.
As well as releasing the new LP later this month, Green Day will be embarking on a huge world tour in support of the album, while also celebrating 30 years of 1994’s ‘Dookie’ and 20 years of 2004’s ‘American Idiot’. The stint includes a massive show at Wembley Stadium in London. Find any remaining tickets for the UK and Ireland dates here.
In other Green Day news, over the festive period the band made headlines for their controversial performance at Dick Clarke’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve. This came after they took a shot at former United States president Donald Trump by altering the ‘American Idiot’ lyric “I’m not a part of a redneck agenda” to become “I’m not a part of the MAGA agenda”.
Following the swap, Elon Musk criticised the gesture, writing: “Green Day goes from raging against the machine to milquetoastedly raging for it.”
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