Band changes lyric to "subliminal mind-Trump America" during politically charged performance
Green Day. Photo: Courtesy of the artist.
Green Day unleashed a venomous, Trump-tinged version of their politically charged 2004 single “American Idiot” during a performance Sunday night at the 2016 MTV Europe Music Awards. “Can you hear the sound of hysteria?” Billie Joe Armstrong asked the crowd, changing a lyric from “subliminal mind-fuck America” to “subliminal mind-Trump America.”
The band accelerated through the punk anthem, as Armstrong urged the audience to “make some fucking noise” and cranked out a snarling, dissonant guitar solo.
Green Day also received the Global Icon Award at the ceremony in Rotterdam, Netherlands, with Armstrong seizing the opportunity to highlight America’s rampant tension and paranoia in the wake of the upcoming presidential election.
“It’s really nice to be in Europe right now. It’s especially nice to be in Holland,” he said. “But most of all, it’s nice to be out of America just for a second because of this horrendous election that’s going on right now. Our entire country … is out to have one big collective heart attack.”
In October, Green Day released the urgent Revolution Radio, their first LP in four years. The band will kick off a 24-date, North American arena tour in March, with dates running through early April.
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