Bang Bang

"Bang Bang" is a song by American punk rock band Green Day. The song was released on August 11, 2016 as the lead single from their twelfth studio album, Revolution Radio (2016). It is the band's first release since "Xmas Time of the Year" (2015); the single was released four years after their 2012 album trilogy, ¡Uno! ¡Dos! ¡Tré!. Upon release, the song received critical acclaim and peaked at No. 1 on the US Mainstream Rock chart, along with charting on various international charts.

Background and composition

"Bang Bang" is written from the point of view of a mass shooter. According to lead vocalist Billie Joe Armstrong, the song is about "the culture of mass shooting that happens in America mixed with narcissistic social media." Armstrong continued with "There's this sort of rage happening, but it's also now being filmed and we all have ourselves under surveillance. To me, that is so twisted."

The song is described by critics as reminiscent of Green Day's early punk rock days of 39/Smooth (1990), Kerplunk! (1992), and Dookie (1994), as well as hints of their album 21st Century Breakdown (2009).

Release
"Bang Bang" was released on August 11, 2016 via digital download as the lead single from their upcoming studio album, Revolution Radio. The band also released the official lyric video for the single on August 12, which received over two million views by August 17. The lyric video was noted to be inspired from the recent incidents of mass shootings in the country. On August 28, the band announced on its website that the single will be released on CD to be sold exclusively at Best Buy in the U.S. only. and will include a live version of "Letterbomb" as the b-side. A music video was released for the song on September 13, 2016.

Music video

The music video for Bang Bang was released on September 13, 2016, and was directed by Tim Armstrong.

The first half of the video depicts a trio of criminals robbing a bank whilst wearing masks of the members of Green Day. These scenes are intercut with footage of the band performing amidst a wild house party. During the second verse, the criminals flee the bank and remove their masks, revealing themselves as two girls and a guy, before driving off in a Jeep. The criminals arrive at the house party where Green Day is playing. During the bridge and final chorus, the three bank robbers make their way through the crowd and approach the band, before tossing money from the robbery into the air as the video fades out. It is the first music video since "Know Your Enemy", where Jason White is not seen performing with the band, since his reversion back to being a touring guitarist.