Song of the Day 1/2: Green Day, “The American Dream Is Killing Me”

Punk-pop veterans and Rock Hall of Famers Green Day waded into America’s politico-cultural wars on New Year’s Eve when frontman Billie Joe Armstrong altered a line of the band’s signature song, “American Idiot,” by proclaiming, “I’m not part of the MAGA agenda.”

MAGAts reacted predictably, but they shouldn’t have been surprised. The song was written in 2004 about George W. Bush’s invasion of Iraq, and the line it replaced is “I’m not part of a redneck agenda,” which is pretty much a dated way of saying the same thing. They’ve spoken out against Trump before, but not on a nationwide TV broadcast, so they’ll probably have to beef up security for a while.

Green Day’s latest release, this single from the forthcoming “Saviors” album, might have given aggrieved conservatives another clue. The video has a zombie theme – it dropped in October – so maybe they thought the undead represented agents of the Antifa-BLM-Trans Alliance. Armstrong’s cry of discontent might lack sophistication, but it’s good to know it’s aimed at the right people.