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Bobby Sox

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"Bobby Sox"
Single by Green Day
from the album Saviors
ReleasedJanuary 19, 2024 (2024-01-19)
Recorded2023
StudioRAK Studios, London
Genre
Length3:45
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Green Day singles chronology
"One Eyed Bastard"
(2024) 		"Bobby Sox"
(2024)
Music video
"Bobby Sox" on YouTube

"Bobby Sox" is a song by the American rock band Green Day from their fourteenth studio album, Saviors (2024). Released as the album's fifth single, the song was originally written by Billie Joe Armstrong as a love song to his wife, but its lyrics evolved to instead reflect his bisexuality. "Bobby Sox" has received a generally positive reception from music critics, who praised its catchiness and declared it a "bisexual anthem". An accompanying music video for the song, directed by Brendan Walker and Ryan Baxley, was released on January 19, 2024. The song is included in the setlist of The Saviors Tour, the ongoing concert tour in support of Saviors.

Background and release

[edit]

Saviors, the band's fourteenth studio album, was conceived when Billie Joe Armstrong reconnected with producer Rob Cavallo, who had previously worked with the band on their albums Dookie (1994) and American Idiot (2004). The band subsequently went to RAK Studios in London to make the album, after learning that Liam Gallagher had recorded his 2022 studio album C'mon You Know there.[1] Armstrong originally wrote "Bobby Sox" as a love song to his wife featuring the line "Do you wanna be my girlfriend?", but decided to switch "girlfriend" with "boyfriend" between verses to reflect his bisexuality.[2][3]

"Bobby Sox" was first announced as the third song on Saviors on November 20, 2023, and was released alongside the album on January 19, 2024.[4] The same day, the song was released as the fifth single on Saviors, alongside its music video.[2] "Bobby Sox" later soundtracked the short skate film "Monsters & Saviors" released on August 14, 2024, alongside "Longview" and "American Idiot".[5] The song was also released to modern rock radio on September 17, 2024.[6]

Composition and lyrics

[edit]
"Bobby Sox"
A 22.5-second sample of "Bobby Sox", featuring the end of the first chorus and the beginning of the second verse. Armstrong switches from singing "girlfriend" to "boyfriend" between the segments, reflecting his bisexuality.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

"Bobby Sox" is a "fuzzed-out"[2] pop-punk[7] and power pop song,[8] with Armstrong calling it "the '90s song that we never wrote". Jon Pareles of The New York Times called the song an "outright homage to Pixies",[9] while various critics drew stylistic comparisons between "Bobby Sox" and songs by Weezer.[a] The song begins with a quiet verse, before building up to a "big, thunderous hard rock chorus".[9][14] During the chorus, Armstrong's sings with a "half-screaming" vocal delivery which has been compared to that of Chester Bennington,[15] while the backing vocals sing a "sugary" falsetto riff.[8][16]

Lyrically, "Bobby Sox" is a love song where Armstrong "sings to prospective partners".[2] According to Armstrong, the lyric "Do you want to be my girlfriend?" stemmed from a "sweet nothing" which he frequently tells his wife; however, between the first and second verse, Armstrong instead sings "Do you want to be my boyfriend?" both to "play the character of the woman" within the song, and to reflect his bisexuality.[17]

Critical reception

[edit]

"Bobby Sox" received generally positive reviews from music critics, with Kelly Scanlon of Far Out concluding that the song "enjoys the romantic ambience of its own words while speaking to people from all walks of life".[18] Both Chris Conaton of PopMatters and Andrew Sacher of BrooklynVegan praised the song's catchiness; Conaton further praised Armstrong's "surprisingly intense" vocal performance,[8] while Sacher commented that the song's queer-affirming lyrics were "an even bigger blow to the ‘MAGA agenda'" than some of the band's previous, more directly-political songs.[16] Both Stephen Daw of Billboard and Jason Brow of Us Weekly declared the song a "bisexual anthem",[19][20] while Leah Thomas of Cosmopolitan compared "Bobby Sox" to the television series Heartstopper and called it one of the best love songs of 2024.[21] Bria McNeal included "Bobby Sox" in her list of the 15 Best Summer Songs of 2024.[22]

Music video

[edit]

Background and concept

[edit]

The music video for "Bobby Sox" was directed by Brendan Walker and Ryan Baxley, who have also directed the music videos of the previous singles off Saviors. Baxley explained how the music video for "Bobby Sox" is the last in a cycle starting from that of "The American Dream is Killing Me", which was entirely in black-and-white. The subsequent music videos for "Look Ma, No Brains!" and "Dilemma" then began to incorporate flashes of pink and full color shots, despite primarily being in black-and-white, before the music video of "Bobby Sox" ended this progression by being shot in full color.[23]

Armstrong noted that the music video for "Bobby Sox" was recorded at an actual backyard party, with the band playing a short set before recording began. He commented that the music video was intended to reflect the desire for people to reconnect following the isolation of COVID-19 lockdowns, and called it one of his favorite videos because it "just felt very real".[24] Baxley further explained how the music video represented the band's love of music and their fans.[23] The music video was released on January 19, 2024, on the band's YouTube channel.[2]

Synopsis

[edit]

The music video features Green Day playing the song in a backyard during a "daylight rager". The video includes interspersed shots, some seemingly recorded on "shaky camcorder footage", of crowd members kissing, receiving tattoos, and singing along with the band.[2][25] The video contains various punk musicians making cameos, including Anaiah Muhammad of Zulu, Lucia and Mila De La Garza of the Linda Lindas, and Violet Mayugba of Destroy Boys. Towards the end of the video, there is a "rapid-fire montage of kisses", including a shot of Tré Cool and Mike Dirnt simultaneously kissing Armstrong's cheeks.[25]

Live performances

[edit]

Green Day debuted "Bobby Sox", alongside other songs from "Saviors", at their January 18, 2024 show at Irving Plaza as part of the Small Stages Series by Sirius XM.[26] On April 2, 2024, the band played the song during the iHeartRadio Music Awards, alongside "Basket Case"; Armstrong wore a hot pink suit while Dirnt and Cool were dressed in black.[7] The following day, the band played "Bobby Sox" at the Fillmore during a charity concert for the United Nations Right Here, Right Now Global Climate Alliance.[27]

"Bobby Sox" is included in the setlist of The Saviors Tour, the ongoing concert tour in support of Saviors that began on May 30, 2024.[28] On July 26, 2024, Green Day played the song at Rumsey Playfield in Central Park Mall as part of Good Morning America's Summer Concert Series.[29] The band later played "Bobby Sox" on September 16, 2024, with a recording of the song being broadcast on Jimmy Kimmel Live! that night.[30]

Credits and personnel

[edit]

Credits are adapted from iTunes.[31]

Green Day

Production

Charts

[edit]
Chart performance for "Bobby Sox"
Chart (2024) Peak
position
New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ)[32] 18
UK Rock & Metal (OCC)[33] 23
US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)[34] 48
US Rock Airplay (Billboard)[35] 6

Release history

[edit]
Release history for "Bobby Sox"
Region Date Format(s) Label Ref.
United States September 17, 2024 Modern rock radio
[6]

Notes

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  1. ^ Attributed to Andrew Sacher of BrooklynVegan,[10] Emma Swann of DIY,[11] Mark Beaumont of Louder Sound,[12] and Tatiana Tenreyro of Spin.[13]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Carter, Emily (January 16, 2024). "Green Day: "We're not going anywhere… and we're just getting better!"". Kerrang!. Retrieved July 27, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Daw, Stephen (January 19, 2024). "Green Day Throws a '90s House Party in New Video for Queer-Affirming Song 'Bobby Sox'". Billboard. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  3. ^ Wood, Mikael (January 15, 2024). "Sobriety, colonoscopies and fighting the MAGA agenda: Green Day on making a racket in 2024". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  4. ^ Carter, Emily (November 20, 2023). "Green Day officially reveal new album Saviors' 15-song tracklist". Kerrang!. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  5. ^ Carter, Emily (August 14, 2024). "Watch Green Day's new Monsters & Saviors skate film". Kerrang!. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  6. ^ a b "A Recap of Radio Add Recaps". Hits. September 17, 2024. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  7. ^ a b Bell, Sadie (April 1, 2024). "Green Day Receives Landmark Award and Performs Riotous, Punk-Rock Medley at the 2024 iHeartRadio Music Awards". People. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  8. ^ a b c Conaton, Chris (January 30, 2014). "Back-to-Basics 'Saviors' Is Green Day's Strongest LP in Years". PopMatters. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  9. ^ a b Pareles, Jon (January 22, 2024). "Green Day Gets Loud Again". The New York Times. Retrieved September 9, 2024.
  10. ^ Sacher, Andrew (January 19, 2024). "Green Day share video for queer anthem "Bobby Sox" ft. Zulu's Anaiah front-flipping off a roof". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  11. ^ Swann, Emma (January 19, 2024). "Green Day - Saviors". DIY. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  12. ^ Beaumont, Mark (January 19, 2024). "Green Day: Saviors album review". Louder Sound. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  13. ^ Tenreyro, Tatiana (January 19, 2024). "Green Day Launch 'Saviors' In Style At New York Club Show". Spin. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  14. ^ Shipley, Al (January 17, 2024). "Every Green Day Album, Ranked". Spin (magazine). Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  15. ^ Walters, Madison (January 19, 2024). "Album Review: Green Day – Saviors". New Noise Magazine. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  16. ^ a b Sacher, Andrew (February 1, 2024). "'In Defense of the Genre': Best Punk & Emo Songs of January". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  17. ^ Wood, Mikael (January 15, 2024). "Sobriety, colonoscopies and fighting the MAGA agenda: Green Day on making a racket in 2024". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  18. ^ Scanlon, Kelly (January 18, 2024). "Green Day – 'Saviors' album review: authentic post-punk anthems for a broken world". Far Out. Retrieved September 21, 2024.
  19. ^ Daw, Stephen (January 19, 2024). "Queer Jams of the Week: New Music from Aurora, Green Day, Adrianne Lenker & More". Billboard. Retrieved September 21, 2024.
  20. ^ Brow, Jason (January 17, 2024). "Green Day's 'Saviors' Review: The American Idiots Don't Burn Out on Their Best Album in Years". Us Weekly. Retrieved September 23, 2024.
  21. ^ Thomas, Leah (August 5, 2024). "The Best Love Songs of 2024". Cosmopolitan. Retrieved September 21, 2024.
  22. ^ McNeal, Bria (July 23, 2024). "The 15 Best Summer Songs of 2024". Esquire. Retrieved September 21, 2024.
  23. ^ a b Čížek, Ondřej (March 20, 2024). "The American Dream Is Killing Me. Interview with Director Ryan Baxley". Wired CZ. Archived from the original on August 5, 2024. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  24. ^ Bender, David (June 12, 2024). "American Original: Billie Joe Armstrong". Hits. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  25. ^ a b Factora, James (January 19, 2024). "In the Video for "Bobby Sox," Green Day Plays a Delightfully Queer House Party". Them. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  26. ^ Shanfeld, Ethan (January 19, 2024). "Green Day Previews New Album 'Saviors' at Intimate, Hit-Filled Irving Plaza Show". Variety. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
  27. ^ Ruskin, Zack (April 3, 2024). "Green Day riles up S.F. crowd for a cause". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
  28. ^ Ruggieri, Melissa (July 30, 2024). "Green Day setlist: All the Saviors Tour songs". USA Today. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
  29. ^ Carter, Emily (July 29, 2024). "Watch Green Day perform at Good Morning America's Summer Concert Series". Kerrang!. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
  30. ^ Carter, Emily (September 17, 2024). "Watch Green Day perform on Jimmy Kimmel Live". Kerrang!. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
  31. ^ "Bobby Sox — Song by Green Day — Apple Music". Retrieved September 17, 2024.
  32. ^ "NZ Hot Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. January 29, 2024. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  33. ^ "Official Rock & Metal Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
  34. ^ "Green Day Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
  35. ^ "Green Day Chart History (Rock Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
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