Green Day, Music, and Corporate America

Digby has a typically eloquent post up about A) how good the new Green Day album is, B) how admirable it is that Green Day continues to be one of the few popular liberal musical groups that actually put their politics in their songs and C) ties all this into the sad state of the recording industry, namely that Warner Bros. used the popularity of 21st Century Breakdown to sell bonds that sold like hotcakes. Actually, she pulls mainly from this post, that contain the following great quotes:

U.S. Treasury bonds, for the same time span, are offering a modest 3.4% return while the Warner Music bonds are offering a juicy 9.5% annually. Some people never learn but unless Green Day puts out an album like 21st Century Breakdown every year between now and 2016, my guess is that the suckers who bought the bonds-- or, more likely, the poor saps they get unloaded on-- will wish they had stuck with the Treasuries... or invested their retirement funds in autographed Green Day memorabilia.

And this, on the sorry state of selling physical CDs (if anyone actually buys them anymore):

The American record industry allowed itself to be bamboozled into giving WalMart and similar operations a near monopoly over their music. It was a catastrophe for them and their artists, especially emerging artists who now have no place to sell their CDs. But it should be no problem for a superstar act like Green Day, right? Well, no. Green Day won't self-censor their songs, which WalMart demands of artists, even platinum-selling ones.

Thank god all those WalMart shoppers are protected from Billy Joe's evil shits and fucks.

Read to the end of Digby's post to read her optimistic take on what's fueling the liberal political resurgence and how you can help.