Revolution Radio...Overhyped and Underdelivered

[LaughingClock]

On 12/19/2017 at 5:36 AM, emmericanidiot said:

As a long time green day fan also I think the attitude of a lot of fans (not necessarily on here) kind of stinks this time round. What ever happened to albums/music being subjective? If you don’t like it then cool but constantly going on about revrad’s promotion or non promotion or it being overhyped or under delivering is really tiring. Success depends on how you view it 👍🏼

As someone that’s a) a promoter/producer and b) been around here since 2009, I can tell you that EVERY album on GDC since TCB has been broken down so incorrectly about their promotion and how they did it or not enough blah blah blah.

Mike, Tre and Billie are three of the hardest working mother fuckers on the circuit and THEY PROMOTED the fuck out of RevRad. They played everything they could to promote it. They did a huge world tour and it was a massive success leading to their fastest ever #1 charter. Had 4 charting songs, and in MANY countries. They went to Brazil and destroyed South America.

Some of you guys need to learn what school you’re in because some people make comments that are off base beyond words.

This is not directed at whomever I quoted. This is just fact in general. The only album that didn’t get promotion was the Trill. The AI era people think they just promoted it better. No, it was just a massive hit and it was ubiquitous.

If you would have been old enough for the Dookie years when MTV was a thing I’m sure you guys thought they had promoted that real well too but they completely fucked up on Nimrod, never mind that although it wasn’t a critical or sales success it was one of and some say their best.

It all depends but let’s all be real here.

I like to use the Beastie Boys sophomore offering of Paul’s Boutique as an example. Critically and a sales bomb but considered retrospectively as one of the greatest albums in history.

[LaughingClock]

On 12/20/2017 at 8:55 AM, Hermione said:

Rev Rad was like the least hyped album of GD's career. Certainly of this century anyway.

Also it was never promoted as being like American Idiot by the band or in their advertising. Writers linking it to AI because of the singles or subject matter or critics listening to the album and saying it's like AI in some way isn't the same thing as the band promoting it as that. They did quite the opposite. 

Edit: *** Herms, this was written as a post to the forum but I directed it at you. I just realized you said “least hyped” which you mighty have just meant, expections (not promotion) in which case the whole post is not to you but I ain’t erasing all this shit. 😂 

The least hyped album of GD’s career? I’ll just give you that you’re leaving Trill off the list because that was not promoted due to, well we know the reasons.

What do you define as promotion? Wayyyyy back in the long long ago (like 10 years or less ago), just touring was considered promotion.

Did they not tour enough?

Interviews are a form of promotion?

What major music magazine were they not on the cover of?

 

I could sit here and do this all day with multiple mags both print and online for each and remember it’s not just a pic but a flight and an interview (all while touring also known as promoting). Now while most money is made by ticket sales these days, it used to be the other way around. Touring is still promotion but the promotion is to sell more tickets, not as much an emphasis on the album sales which for a band like Green Day ain’t nothing but it’s not like Dookie or AI and considering this day and age, it sold a lot and again, it had the fast charting #1 ever in Bang Bang and that was because people loved it! I am always amazed that people aren’t more amazed by that fact. From Smooth -> RevRad, Bang Bang got to #1 on the alternative rock charts and the hot 100 faster than ANY SONG song (including AI and Dookie). 

The promotion is sort of an inbred thing. The better it does, the more they can promote it.

I Heart Radio - The first time I saw a stage version of the RevRad tour that wasn’t a one off play or something. Do you think they WANTED to do that special for iHeart? Hell no. News for you, they didn’t want to do the 2012 iHeart and before Billie’s 20th century breakdown.

The mini tour in small venues. It’s for two reasons: Generate buzz for the upcoming tour which it did to amazing effect. On the heels of Bang Bang, the small shows sold out in seconds and minutes which management uses to gauge what venues and how much they can play.

For Trill, Fox Pamona took 3 days to sell out about 2200 people. With Bang Bang kicking ass, the long wait and the hype, The Palladium which was the first real show of the tour sold out  nearly 4000 the moment it was available and it was an amazing show! 

More promotion (I’m only talking America and last October now).  Fallon, Corden, Meyer, Kimmel, and of course Colbert where they got the “Gawds favorite band” phrase from and sooo many other shows (GMA for example). Not to mention all the charity shit that many of you don’t even know about, some do. They don’t wave their flag every time they do good. I’m not  even mentioning VMAs and that for the FIRST time since AI, they played a couple stadiums in the states which is something that only the legends of legends can do that in the states.

How about the world tour that Billie and the boys rocked the fuck out for a year? That shit is hard on everyone. That is promotion!

I mean what else when you guys say things like they should have promoted it more, I’m just curious what you guys think they should be doing better?

By all metrics, the album, tour, promotion and tour execution was near flawless and was in the top 5 touring bands of the whole fucking year!

Is absolute perfection the only thing that’s okay?  Because this album was close, objectively. Subjectively, you can not like the album but if you use norms for comparison, they promoted as much or more than any band.

There are so many more things that I can post and I am sorry to single you out Herms and you know I love ya and I’m not saying “you’re wrong, booo!”. I am just trying to give you the real.

Its sort of hard for me. I’m not a forum guy. I used to come here to help promote on GDC and other social media aspects but I’ve come to love this place and especially you but when you say “the worst promoted (actually you said ‘hyped’ album this century”, that means it was promoted worse than Trill, TCB, AI and while on the surface, other than Trill (TCB and AI) might feel like it was more “promoted”, no AI was more successful and they could have rode that wave into the sunset and it was the album that got th me in the HOF so early and on ballot one but TCB was massively successful just not by comparison and Trill was a tough time for the whole band really. (I’m aware that maybe you just meant hyped in it’s true sense. You tell me). I actually do agree with that. I wasn’t expecting what we got with RevRad which I call my favorite GD album on some days).

Inspiration through tragedy. We wouldn’t have had AI if (pick your conspiracy theory if the Valentine’s incident didn’t happen) or RevRad wouldn’t have happened if Billie didn’t kick.

So I spent a lot of words to just try and let you guys step back and really think about it.

I know there are a lot of music lovers here who want a career in the rapidly changing music industry both in music and administratively and it’s a great career.

So I’m sorry but when I see hyperbole like that, I can’t say nothing because it’s hard to watch people that you truly care about fucking bust their old asses for you and then hear that “worst promoted (again coming back to fix you said ‘hyped’ this century” and I don’t care if some beat writer or blogger wrote that.

It’s incorrect and when something can be infinite, sure it could be more but I’d rather have one less single and maybe one less leg of the tour if it means another album and tour in the near future.

Finally, do you guys remeber when Billie flew from Japan by himself to play the Tony’s during TCB tour and then flew back to play the next day and had only sleep on the plane. That shit ain’t easy and when you can’t pop an adderall anymore to help get through the show, it’s all the harder. For sure, now we don’t get the 3+ hour shows but those were always drug fueled. 

This tour was amazing, same setlist and all and the promotion was not only not bad, it was quite good and it certainly wasn’t the worst of the century.

/off soapbox

 

[Hermione]

Well I'm talking more about before it was released/when it was first released. Yeah they promoted it. I just remember other albums being promoted even more, and talked about in the press and hyped up before their release more. It was released in a (relatively - I stress the word) low key way without massive expectations heaped on it. It's no kind of criticism of the band, I just dispute that the album was overhyped by them in some way.

(and I also dispute that it was underdelivered - it's a great album and they performed an amazing tour to go with it)

[LaughingClock]

1 hour ago, Hermione said:

Well I'm talking more about before it was released/when it was first released. Yeah they promoted it. I just remember other albums being promoted even more, and talked about in the press and hyped up before their release more. It was released in a (relatively - I stress the word) low key way without massive expectations heaped on it. It's no kind of criticism of the band, I just dispute that the album was overhyped by them in some way.

(and I also dispute that it was underdelivered - it's a great album and they performed an amazing tour to go with it)

There is a singular reason it was less hyped than and the answer is AI, TCB and Uno, Dos, Tre. (Ok, 3 reasons).

AI was a massive success to put mildly and somehow they didn’t meet but relatively surprised critics and fans by following it with the stellar TCB and then there was the critically panned Trilogy which was also not a fan favorite.

Hype faded and started again as soon as Bang Bang was released.

As with pretty much most things in life, hype is created by the thing before it and the Trilogy (outside of us FANatics) did not lead to a lot of hype for Revolution Radio 

Their next album will have some more hype behind it because of the relative success of RevRad.

It’s pretty simple.

If I may continue to beat this dead horse with an analogy:

You have a bowl of soup in front of you and take a spoon full. Yummmmmyyy! How delicious was that? You would be much more “hyped” for the second bite no?

Same things with fans, radio, magazines, etc.  

Couple Billie getting clean with the relative universal panning of The Trilogy (which frankly would have been one really great album if it were 10-13 songs and toured properly) and you could see why the hype for RevRad would be less then on most other albums but certainly this wasn’t their first.

Throughout the late 90s and before AI, there was frankly never much hype before a new GD release outside of major fans.

The hype around Nimrod was MASSIVE (maybe even more so then AI) because there was more media in your face with MTV and personally it was that album that solidified me a a lifer fan but yes, I agree, there was absolutely less hype (perhaps even this century as you said) but with cause.

In the end, I suppose I agree but it’s just sort of obvious to me. Luke warm album equals luke warm hype for the next.

All that said, and I fully realize I’m just older than most of the users here so aside from working not only in the music world but specifically in production and promotion, this is an area where I know a thing or two and this was far from their least hyped album.

They were pretty much relegated to state fairs and shit in the late 90s. Then AI brought them back to Dookie status but during those albums that didn’t do so well, they were making some songs that were mega hits that will always live on.

They have done something that even the likes of Bowie haven’t done and that is keep sustained hits pumping for multiple decades. I’m not sure if everyone appreciates how hard that is to do. Most bands have their hey day and then stick around. When was the last Paul McCartney charter? Like 20 years ago but for the one he just did with West last year (ugh) but my point is,  what Green Day are doing in their musical careers is almost unprecedented and because of their multigenerational support, they will not fade. I promise you that Green Day will he still on oldies stations when you’re 80 and I’m not even good worm food anymore.

[Hermione]

Yeah I know a lot of the reasons why it wasn't overhyped and I'm not complaining that it wasn't overhyped. Just simply stating that it wasn't in response to the OP who claims it was  

[jengd]

I think we, as Green Day fans, are going to have a problem now with how low profile rock music is and I think that's what partly makes people feel Revrad was less "hyped".  I would far rather say promoted, I always think of hype as being when things which are lame are talked up to be super amazing, and they aren't.  By my definition, I think Green Day don't need to be "hyped".

I also think that if you have been around long enough, it felt like Dookie came out of nowhere and then AI did pretty much the same.  Nobody outside the Green Day fandom was really aware of Warning and so not excited about AI being released.  Then, because it is such an amazing album, it totally became part of the culture, it seemed to go on and on and get bigger and bigger, blimey you could buy Green Day stuff everywhere.  So what I'm saying is that both Dookie and AI were incredibly successful, to an extent that would be really unusual for a band and for it to happen TWICE to the one band, well I can't think there are many examples, sure my more learned friends on here can supply more info!  (I'm not talking the amorphous blob music of Taylor Swift/Ed Sheeran here).  The problem then is that everything which doesn't attain those dizzy heights, feels like a let down which is where I totally agree @LaughingClock and I do wonder sometimes, just what the fans here are hoping/looking for or will be happy with.  Nobody loves to see them attaining huge success more than me!  I thought Revrad was great and I loved to see them in so many magazines, and even on UK TV, my goodness one of our news channels even got the boys in just after the US election result to speak and a lot of people said to me how impressed they with them on there.  It's a while now since I read the OP but I don't remember agreeing with it much!

[LaughingClock]

^^^Love that girl! Right on!

[Gwen Stacy]

On 2/26/2018 at 2:41 PM, LaughingClock said:

When was the last Paul McCartney charter? Like 20 years ago but for the one he just did with West last year (ugh)

I agree with the vast majority of what you said but the pedant in me just can't pass this one by! His last studio album "New" did reach number 3 on both the US and UK charts in 2013 

[Miko]

If you say that they didn't promote trilogy at all, that is horseshit. Yup, ¡Dos! and ¡Tré! didn't got barely any promotion (maybe ¡Tré! had something because of Twilight, can't remember) but they sure did promote ¡Uno! so effin much. Live perfomances (GMA, Talent show, festivals, MTV, cancelled talk show perfomances etc), interviews (both radio and magazines), music videos (Nuclear Family, Stay the Night, Oh Love, Live video of Let Yourself Go, Kill the DJ) and all the other hype (YT-videos of making the records, tweets, pictures, ¡Cuatro!, secret shows even though you could argue that they didn't certainly promote ¡Uno! with these shows) all are against the claim that they didn't promote trilogy. They overbooked themselves to the point where Billie Joe almost killed himself and band almost breaking up because of it.

 

Sorry, i'm just tired of seeing this ''they didn't promote trilogy at all'' when ¡Uno! certainly got a lot of promotion.

 

EDIT: Added ''Kill the DJ'' in music videos. Dunno how I forgot that song lul.

[Christian's Inferno!]

53 minutes ago, MiksuSH said:

If you say that they didn't promote trilogy at all, that is horseshit. Yup, ¡Dos! and ¡Tré! didn't got barely any promotion (maybe ¡Tré! had something because of Twilight, can't remember) but they sure did promote ¡Uno! so effin much. Live perfomances (GMA, Talent show, festivals, MTV, cancelled talk show perfomances etc), interviews (both radio and magazines), music videos (Nuclear Family, Stay the Night, Oh Love, Live video of Let Yourself Go, Kill the DJ) and all the other hype (YT-videos of making the records, tweets, pictures, ¡Cuatro!, secret shows even though you could argue that they didn't certainly promote ¡Uno! with these shows) all are against the claim that they didn't promote trilogy. They overbooked themselves to the point where Billie Joe almost killed himself and band almost breaking up because of it.

 

Sorry, i'm just tired of seeing this ''they didn't promote trilogy at all'' when ¡Uno! certainly got a lot of promotion.

 

EDIT: Added ''Kill the DJ'' in music videos. Dunno how I forgot that song lul.

Did anyone even say that on this thread??

[BilIie Joe Armstrong]

They promoted the trilogy to death. I still cringe whenever I remember the angry birds game and that reality show, the voice or whatever it was lol 

[_Mace_]

Just found this thread. Well, my opinion is that it was hyped some, but not overly so. I found out in an actual print newspaper. To me, it was a mediocre album overall; there were songs I to this day love, and 2 or 3 I can't believe were released. I wouldn't at all say it was overhyped or underdelivered. It was good, and recognized as such.

[TimmyChunks]

On 2/26/2018 at 6:14 PM, LaughingClock said:

Edit: *** Herms, this was written as a post to the forum but I directed it at you. I just realized you said “least hyped” which you mighty have just meant, expections (not promotion) in which case the whole post is not to you but I ain’t erasing all this shit. 😂 

The least hyped album of GD’s career? I’ll just give you that you’re leaving Trill off the list because that was not promoted due to, well we know the reasons.

What do you define as promotion? Wayyyyy back in the long long ago (like 10 years or less ago), just touring was considered promotion.

Did they not tour enough?

Interviews are a form of promotion?

What major music magazine were they not on the cover of?

I could sit here and do this all day with multiple mags both print and online for each and remember it’s not just a pic but a flight and an interview (all while touring also known as promoting). Now while most money is made by ticket sales these days, it used to be the other way around. Touring is still promotion but the promotion is to sell more tickets, not as much an emphasis on the album sales which for a band like Green Day ain’t nothing but it’s not like Dookie or AI and considering this day and age, it sold a lot and again, it had the fast charting #1 ever in Bang Bang and that was because people loved it! I am always amazed that people aren’t more amazed by that fact. From Smooth -> RevRad, Bang Bang got to #1 on the alternative rock charts and the hot 100 faster than ANY SONG song (including AI and Dookie). 

The promotion is sort of an inbred thing. The better it does, the more they can promote it.

I Heart Radio - The first time I saw a stage version of the RevRad tour that wasn’t a one off play or something. Do you think they WANTED to do that special for iHeart? Hell no. News for you, they didn’t want to do the 2012 iHeart and before Billie’s 20th century breakdown.

The mini tour in small venues. It’s for two reasons: Generate buzz for the upcoming tour which it did to amazing effect. On the heels of Bang Bang, the small shows sold out in seconds and minutes which management uses to gauge what venues and how much they can play.

For Trill, Fox Pamona took 3 days to sell out about 2200 people. With Bang Bang kicking ass, the long wait and the hype, The Palladium which was the first real show of the tour sold out  nearly 4000 the moment it was available and it was an amazing show! 

More promotion (I’m only talking America and last October now).  Fallon, Corden, Meyer, Kimmel, and of course Colbert where they got the “Gawds favorite band” phrase from and sooo many other shows (GMA for example). Not to mention all the charity shit that many of you don’t even know about, some do. They don’t wave their flag every time they do good. I’m not  even mentioning VMAs and that for the FIRST time since AI, they played a couple stadiums in the states which is something that only the legends of legends can do that in the states.

How about the world tour that Billie and the boys rocked the fuck out for a year? That shit is hard on everyone. That is promotion!

I mean what else when you guys say things like they should have promoted it more, I’m just curious what you guys think they should be doing better?

By all metrics, the album, tour, promotion and tour execution was near flawless and was in the top 5 touring bands of the whole fucking year!

Is absolute perfection the only thing that’s okay?  Because this album was close, objectively. Subjectively, you can not like the album but if you use norms for comparison, they promoted as much or more than any band.

There are so many more things that I can post and I am sorry to single you out Herms and you know I love ya and I’m not saying “you’re wrong, booo!”. I am just trying to give you the real.

Its sort of hard for me. I’m not a forum guy. I used to come here to help promote on GDC and other social media aspects but I’ve come to love this place and especially you but when you say “the worst promoted (actually you said ‘hyped’ album this century”, that means it was promoted worse than Trill, TCB, AI and while on the surface, other than Trill (TCB and AI) might feel like it was more “promoted”, no AI was more successful and they could have rode that wave into the sunset and it was the album that got th me in the HOF so early and on ballot one but TCB was massively successful just not by comparison and Trill was a tough time for the whole band really. (I’m aware that maybe you just meant hyped in it’s true sense. You tell me). I actually do agree with that. I wasn’t expecting what we got with RevRad which I call my favorite GD album on some days).

Inspiration through tragedy. We wouldn’t have had AI if (pick your conspiracy theory if the Valentine’s incident didn’t happen) or RevRad wouldn’t have happened if Billie didn’t kick.

So I spent a lot of words to just try and let you guys step back and really think about it.

I know there are a lot of music lovers here who want a career in the rapidly changing music industry both in music and administratively and it’s a great career.

So I’m sorry but when I see hyperbole like that, I can’t say nothing because it’s hard to watch people that you truly care about fucking bust their old asses for you and then hear that “worst promoted (again coming back to fix you said ‘hyped’ this century” and I don’t care if some beat writer or blogger wrote that.

It’s incorrect and when something can be infinite, sure it could be more but I’d rather have one less single and maybe one less leg of the tour if it means another album and tour in the near future.

Finally, do you guys remeber when Billie flew from Japan by himself to play the Tony’s during TCB tour and then flew back to play the next day and had only sleep on the plane. That shit ain’t easy and when you can’t pop an adderall anymore to help get through the show, it’s all the harder. For sure, now we don’t get the 3+ hour shows but those were always drug fueled. 

This tour was amazing, same setlist and all and the promotion was not only not bad, it was quite good and it certainly wasn’t the worst of the century.

/off soapbox

 

You know your stuff. This is 100% true and I can't like your post enough. I've been lucky enough to see the "machine" at work and you nailed it. Completely. They bust their asses when it comes to promotion, it doesn't always work perfectly but as far as rock bands go they do it as well as anyone. If they ever land short of (unrealistically high) expectations it's not for lack of effort. At their age, do they really need nights of no sleep and club tours/ promo stops? No. But they do it anyway.

Sometimes I think that people hold the fact that they make it look "easy" (i.e. they consistently play great and bring 110% every night) against them. Because what they do is not easy. At all. They just work that hard and are that good. And I'm not just speaking about the band either- the crew, management, everyone is "all-in" during the promo cycle.

There's not a lot of sleep taking place, and everyone is pulling in the same direction. The band is remarkable and they've surrounded themselves with great people. It's astonishing they've been able to do it as long as they have.

[Biddymc]

Wow, laughingclock, I literally just heard the mic drop.  Fantastic.

[Clayish]

Album wasn't overhyped, but it was mediocre at best.

[TimmyChunks]

On ‎3‎/‎6‎/‎2018 at 8:37 PM, Clayish said:

Album wasn't overhyped, but it was mediocre at best.

Don't take this the wrong way- I'm honestly not being confrontational- but what would've been a "great" album to you? I'm genuinely curious. I've loved it every day since the release and I'm also someone who has loved everything from Insomniac forward immediately as well (and I caught Dookie about a couple months after the release date- that's when I started into this band if it matters). The whole progression/ evolution of their sound  and songwriting has been enormously satisfying to me, and RevRad has been one of my favorites. Were you looking for something more along the lines of their earlier sound? Or something altogether different? To me, it's hard to criticize this one- this album encapsulated everything I was looking for personally.

[Maddie86]

I just listened to RevRad the other night for the first time in a while and I finally realized how much I like it. Even the songs I don't like as much are still catchy and I find myself singing along. I like a lot of the trilogy and 21st, but I think this is my favorite album since AI. I like the semi-raw production too, but I do think it could have been mixed a little better. The band did a great job capturing their energy though, and I wouldn't mind at all if they recorded another album like this, but for some reason I have a hunch that they're going to change it up next time.

[Joe.]

On 08/03/2018 at 4:11 AM, TimmyChunks said:

Don't take this the wrong way- I'm honestly not being confrontational- but what would've been a "great" album to you? I'm genuinely curious. I've loved it every day since the release and I'm also someone who has loved everything from Insomniac forward immediately as well (and I caught Dookie about a couple months after the release date- that's when I started into this band if it matters). The whole progression/ evolution of their sound  and songwriting has been enormously satisfying to me, and RevRad has been one of my favorites. Were you looking for something more along the lines of their earlier sound? Or something altogether different? To me, it's hard to criticize this one- this album encapsulated everything I was looking for personally.

I can't speak for them but for me RevRad just didn't take enough artistic 'risks' for me - to my ears this was something from their comfort zone, that coupled with poor mixing left me disappointed.

Dont get me wrong there are some good songs on here, I personally just feel like as a band they've got more to offer 

[aydge89]

It was a good album. From any other band it would probably be a career highlight. But it was just a little safe after AI, 21st and the trilogy.

Certainly wouldn't say overhyped though. 21st probably had the most hype of any Green Day record, coming after AI.

[Joe.]

2 hours ago, aydge89 said:

It was a good album. From any other band it would probably be a career highlight. But it was just a little safe after AI, 21st and the trilogy.

Certainly wouldn't say overhyped though. 21st probably had the most hype of any Green Day record, coming after AI.

How many "big" bands would have RevRad as a career highlight? There were a few flaws on this album that really let it down, as I've already mentioned, which mean the "good" tracks aren't anything more than that.