Green Day's new song '99 Revolutions' makes 'The Campaign' cut

Green Day

A new song from Green Day's forthcoming album trilogy project, "99 Revolutions," can be heard not on the radio, but at the end of a fresh film. "The Campaign" runs the track over its end credits, providing an even bigger dose of political and economic commentary than the Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis-starring satire already does.

The up-tempo track has plenty more punk than recently released Green Day single "Oh Love." In addition, it's a rallying cry for the Occupy movement, contrasting the 99-percenters to the top 1%. Hence the name.

Previously, in an interview with Rolling Stone, Green Day had said there would be a couple of songs dealing with recent economic frustrations and political movement-making. This, knowing full well that their bank accounts may not fully align them with the 99 percent.

"We wanted to be part of it in some way," frontman Billie Joe Armstrong said of the Occupy Oakland protests over the last year. "I thought it was about working people and where we come from. But Oakland got really complicated when the anarchists started coming in. I'm not into that — smashing the windows in a small business.

"I feel like a 99, but technically I'm a 1. You know, ['99 Revolutions'] was an easy song to write. I know that's where I come from — the 99 — even though I can afford for my kids to go to a good college."

According to the band's cover story in a July Billboard, "99 Revolutions" will be on their third set in the trilogy, the appropriately titled "¡Tré!" That album is out on January 15.

As for the song -- considering it "goes wide" when "The Campaign" hits theaters on Aug. 10 -- there's no word yet from label representatives as of press time if the band is planning an official digital release of the song in tandem with the movie. We will keep you posted.

Katie Hasty
Managing Editor

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After five years as a columnist and editor at Billboard, Katie Hasty joined HitFix in 2009 for music and film reporting out of New York. The Midwest native has worked as a writer, music promoter and in A&R since 1999 and performs with her band Numbers And Letters.