Green Day front man Billie Joe Armstrong recently interviewed with Rolling Stone, and the questions turned political. For those who -- somehow -- don't know, Green Day released an album called American Idiot in 2004. You may have heard this album when it was being played on radio, on TV, online, in grocery stores, at bowling alleys, at your grandma's house, at the DMV, or in some cases, when it was being streamed directly into your brain. The album was extremely anti-George Bush, prompting this question/answer exchange:

Do you think selling nearly 6 million copies of that album might have an effect on the 2008 election? A kid who bought it at fifteen will be voting age next year.


I hope so. I made it to give people a reason to think for themselves. It was supposed to be a catalyst. Maybe that's one reason why it's difficult for me to write about politics now. A lot of things on that record are still relevant. What needs to happen is a complete change, a person coming from the outside with a new perspective on all the fucked-up problems we have.

 

RS also asked Billie Joe what kind of future he expected for his children, and Armstrong responded that the Iraq War had to end before any major improvements could take place. He added that the lack of a draft is why kids didn't "give a shit" and would "rather watch videos on YouTube."

 

Umm, nice try, but I looked up Iraq War on YouTube and found this video that had 473,257 views. Don't hate our generation just because we know how to have our cake and eat it too. Of course, the video only had 6 comments, so maybe Armstrong has a point, although personally I think it just needed a better background song or a piano-playing cat.

 

On a political note, do you realize that, if things happen a certain way, there could be 28-year olds in 2016 who have never seen a President not named Bush or Clinton? I don't really care, I just think that's interesting. When asked who he supports in the 2008 race, Armstrong said he's leaning toward Barack Obama right now, but that it's still too early for him to make a decision. That's the thing about these elections; they start out with a bunch of people, you get attached to one, and then your candidate loses the primary and disappears from your life forever. It's kind of like dating George Clooney. That's right, Clooney, I know your game, and if you don't call my sister back then I will never buy a hybrid car.