Three weeks ago, Green Day released its newest attempt to mature its sound, Revolution Radio. Without question, the album faltered in many ways, but it still managed to pound out enough of its classic American angst to garner a spot on the list of most-listened-to albums of October 2016, according to Billboard 100. On the heels of this commercial success, Green Day has released its newest Revolution Radio music video, a lyric video for the song “Say Goodbye.”
In much the same way that Revolution Radio rode the status quo to completion, so did this latest Green Day music video. Nearly everything about the “Say Goodbye” music video is absorbed by its own “Green Day-ness,” a term recently coined by those who are somewhat disappointed in the recent phoning-in of the outsider frame of mind the band became famous for.
Truly, nothing here is objectively bad. The art style, drawn mostly in black and white with harsh lines and images, is well done. And credit must be given where credit is due—certain shots, such as a bullet tearing through the palm of a hand as it envelops another hand in prayer, are poignant. The musical mastery is as solid as ever, but this is no surprise given that “Say Goodbye” was one of the strongest pieces on Revolution Radio.
The entirety of the video, however, still feels lazy. It’s easy to see why the music (and the video) has achieved commercial success. Even with the latest music video release, Green Day still has not pressed itself into exploring new sounds or ideas. This week’s “Say Goodbye” music video is classic Green Day—whether that’s for better or for worse is difficult to say.
Featured Image By Reprise Records
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