There’s a new interview with Antonino D’Ambrosio, the author of the books Let Fury Have the Hour, about Joe Strummer of The Clash (which I read a few years ago), and A Heartbeat and a Guitar, about Johnny Cash, two artists known for their passionate commitment to political issues in their music.

When asked if there are artists today who are carrying on the tradition of Joe Strummer and Johnny Cash, he says:

“There are scores of artists that say something, but they’re just not at level where they’re affecting the wider culture the way that Johnny Cash or Joe Strummer did. Green Day is at that level, and American Idiot is a powerful statement. I would say certainly Green Day is there, but they’re an exception.”

Wow. Seeing Green Day compared to Strummer and Cash almost gave me goose bumps. And seeing them get credit as being in a class of their own, by someone whose own interests are deeply grounded in the power of art and music to affect social consciousness, is gratifying as well.

D’Ambrosio sees all artistic output as political in some way, because whether an artist directly addresses broader issues or skirts around them, he or she cannot avoid making some kind of statement. Avoiding political issues is not necessarily non-political, in his view, because built into the silence is a tacit acceptance and support of the status quo.

I tend to agree. I think telling the truth is political in itself, because it’s liberating to both artist and audience. Even Green Day’s early songs about girls and loneliness are liberating, because they’re so painfully honest. The way that Green Day has gone about making music has always been very down-to-earth, and the stories they tell are about the things people care about and that affect their lives, whether privately or publicly. (A lot of other music that’s out there, on the other hand, that’s about making money, gaining fame, or looking at women as objects, is political too, but in a negative sense, not because it’s liberating but because it’s oppressive.)

I’m not sure if the public is terribly receptive to the political and liberatory potential of popular music these days, but D’Ambrosio is hopeful, and I want to close with his encouraging words:

I’m always ultimately hopeful and optimistic because there are always going to be artists out there who respond to the moment. They’re going to produce work that becomes the next chapter in the progressive movement of humanity. I think ultimately, in a way, music is that. The very idea of making music is a rebellious act.

~Green Day refused to censor their album so that Walmart would be willing to sell it. Billie Joe: “We just said no. You feel like you’re in 1953 or something.”

With politics and the elections at the forefront of public debate, several articles have come out in recent days on political music. I thought these two, that include thoughts on Green Day’s American Idiot, were especially good.

The Star points out how much the climate has changed in recent years for music with a political message. When American Idiot came out, it was a controversial, touchy time for political music. Just a year earlier, the Dixie Chicks had been publicly scorned for making an offhand remark about Bush, and “there was almost a conspiracy of silence amongst musicians against speaking out about the shoddy state of American politics.“

Though I disagree that Green Day was “a totally unlikely source,” since they have always been aware of political issues and outspoken about them in songs like “Minority,” they did indeed prove to be “the most prescient early harbinger of the shifting tide of U.S. public opinion” with the release of AI. And certainly “it paved the way for much of the populist anti-government sentiment that flared up later.”

But the best thought of all from the article is that “if George W. has little to brag about after eight years in office, at least he can take credit for inspiring Green Day to record a rock opera.”

The Hurst Review has a beautifully written item on American Idiot in a piece about the 10 great protest albums of the 21st century. He writes, in part: “American Idiot was one of the first and most successful albums to rail against the divisive politics and misappropriation of religious and patriotic zeal that characterized the better part of the Bush years. It sheer anger masks how complex and artful the album really is.”

~Green Day sent out a message about Tuesday’s election to their email list. It’s a little different than the one posted earlier on their website. It reads: “A Message From Green Day about this Tuesday: This Tuesday we will elect the next President of the United States. The result will have great consequences for the nation. This election offers a choice is between two men with dramatically different visions of the future. We have strong feelings about this choice. But we feel even more strongly that all Americans, regardless of political preference, have a stake in the outcome and should vote in this critical election. This is likely to be a close election. Your vote matters. Please use it and make a difference.”

With the elections right around the corner, it’s worth reminding ourselves that politics is about much more than voting.

Given the public statements he’s made in support of Barack Obama, and his presence at some of the candidate’s fundraisers, Billie Joe has been listed among Obama’s endorsers. And there’s no doubt he supports Obama. But if you read his own words, Billie Joe’s take on politics isn’t about throwing support behind a candidate and then praying and hoping that he or she will somehow fix things, it’s a much broader philosophy that encompasses caring about the world that we, and others acting outside our control, and often against our wishes, have collectively created. And it includes each of us becoming active and inspired to make it a better place.

What Billie Joe said about Obama in June was: “I don’t want it to turn into a cult of personality. He’s not Magic Man. The great thing would be if he could lead by example and inspire people to get their own shit together.”

Getting our own shit together is not about blindly following a leader, but about understanding the broader issues that shape the world and figuring out our own take on them and what we can do. One of my favorite political quotes from Billie Joe — and they don’t come often; he’s pretty cagey about coming out with overt, specific political statements — is this one: “If you’re going to stop terrorism, you don’t attack countries. You keep them from going into poverty and famine and you relieve them of debt. You don’t look at yourself as the greatest country in the world, but the greatest asset to the world. That’s how you build a stronger country here and stronger allies, instead of people that have no respect for Western culture.” In a very succinct and subtle way, he comes right to the point: helping nations instead of attacking them — or saddling them with crushing debt, which is another, quieter type of attack — builds respect and solidarity, and helps all of us become stronger and safer. This is the crisp, lucid analysis of someone who has a tight grasp on the issues, and it’s what makes me wonder when people say Billie Joe doesn’t understand politics.

What he has said time and again is that to him it’s a personal thing. His political views are dictated by his conscience and by the world he would like to see for his kids. In 2000, he said he voted his conscience and pulled the lever for Ralph Nader: “I voted for Nader this time. I was sort of torn between that and the lesser of two evils argument. I don’t know, I got there and I was going to vote for Gore, and as soon as I got inside the booth, I couldn’t do it, so.”

I think this time, Obama may represent more to him than just the lesser of two evils. “After his acceptance speech,” Billie Joe said, “I have to admit, it took me an hour to get the lump out of my throat. Obama inspires people, and this country needs inspiration. People are jaded, pissed off and embarrassed.”

Billie Joe says he got his early political education from punk rock: “I talked to Aaron Cometbus about this once, and he was of the opinion that not only can people work out their aggressions through punk rock, but they can become really educated on top of that. Going to Gilman, and seeing how militant the politics were about racism and sexism, that was the first time I’d thought about some of that stuff.” [This quote and the quote about Nader are from a really great 2001 interview by Larry Livermore.]

The political aspects of punk rock are too big an issue to go into here. They’re always present, in my opinion, but the message can get diluted when it comes to very-popular bands, like Green Day. Fans tend to perceive the music as being about their own personal liberation: doing what you want, not accepting falsehoods or unjust authority in your own life. But the logical extension to that is refusing to accept that anyone else should be put upon or lied to either. Punks have always believed that we’re all in it together. This quote by Marc Bayard from the introduction to the book The Philosophy of Punk sums it up nicely: “With all of the records, books, films, and other punk stuff out there we sometimes forget that our movement is a leap of faith. A belief that life matters, so don’t fuck it up, and if someone else is fucking it up, do something about it. It’s these intangibles that bind punks together who have never met or spoken. It’s these beliefs that are expressed in our music and our culture.”

Whether you share those beliefs or not, look for your inspiration in whatever is meaningful to you, and take action.

~Green Day+NRDC’s MySpace posted a reminder of their photo contest — take a photo of yourself doing something to help the environment and send it in by Sep. 15 to win cool prizes — and they are also asking fans to take action to protect wildlife by urging the Bush administration to drop their plan to weaken the Endangered Species Act.

~Green Day + NRDC is having a photo contest. Submit a photo of yourself doing something to protect the environment, and the one chosen as the favorite will win a photo autographed by Green Day, plus there are a bunch of other prizes. Read all about it on their MySpace.

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It seems that Billie Joe was at an event for Barack Obama’s campaign in Newport Beach on July 13, where this photo was taken. The caption is sweet. It says: “Mom and Pop Nguyen’s favorite album is Dookie.” Rock on Mr. and Mrs. Nguyen!

Edit: I just saw this is also on GDC, posted by eagle-eye arohex.

~Update: The article is now online.
In the latest Rolling Stone, Billie Joe is quoted in a piece called, In Their Own Words: Artists Speak Out For Obama. “The night Barack Obama clinched the Democratic nomination for president, Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong found himself experiencing an unfamiliar emotion: hope. ‘After his acceptance speech, I have to admit it, it took me an hour to get the lump out of my throat,’ says Armstrong, whose band’s American Idiot was the defining protest album of the Bush years. ‘Obama inspires people, and this country needs inspiration. People are jaded, pissed off and embarrassed.’” He also said: “I don’t want it to turn into a cult of personality. He’s not the Magic Man. The great thing would be if he could lead by example and inspire people to get their own shit together.” [ Via GDC ]

This was sent to fans who have signed up for Green Day’s campaign with the NRDC:

“Last week, Adrienne and I went to the premiere of “The 11th Hour,” Leonardo DiCaprio’s new documentary film. The movie is really great. You should check it out (it opens in New York and Los Angeles on Friday the 17th, and in other cities later this month).

“Billie Joe Armstrong
Green Day + NRDC”