Green Day find themselves trapped in a tangled web of screens in the video for their new song, “Oh Yeah!” from their upcoming album, Father of All…, out February 7th via Reprise/Warner Records.
Directed by Malia James, the clip opens with drummer Tré Cool introducing a low-budget YouTube tutorial on how to play “Oh Yeah!” which, it turns out, is being watched by a man in his car who accidentally hits frontman Billie Joe Armstrong while pulling into a grocery store parking lot.
Rather than check in on Armstrong, the fan immediately starts recording a video, setting off a chain-reaction of virality; people watching people do tons of oddball stuff (Green Day bassist Mike Dirnt, for instance, appears as a blasé security guard too busy staring at his phone to do his job).
The “Oh Yeah!” video complements the synth-tinged stomper, which finds Armstrong grappling with celebrity at a time of great turmoil: “Everybody is a star,” he sings, “Got my money and I’m feeling kinda low/Everybody got a scar/Ain’t it funny how we’re running out of hope?”
In the YouTube description for “Oh Yeah!” Green Day noted that their track samples Joan Jett’s cover of “Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)” from her debut, Bad Reputation. The song was originally written by Gary Glitter, the arena rocker and convicted sex offender, so Green Day has promised to donate all royalties from “Oh Yeah!” to the International Justice Mission and the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network.
“Oh Yeah!” follows the previously released Father of All… title track, which arrived last September. Green Day will embark on a massive summer tour with Fall Out Boy and Weezer this summer, with the North American leg launching July 17th in Seattle.