Green Day's new album is banned from Wal-Mart

[Xray]

Green Day battled with Wal-Mart this week, when the retail behemoth refused to sell the punk-pop trio's latest album, 21st Century Breakdown. Wal-Mart wanted the album edited for language and content, but Green Day refused to offer the chain a "clean version" for sale, so Wal-Mart opted not to stock it at all.

"Wal-Mart's become the biggest retail outlet in the country, but they won't carry our record because they wanted us to censor it," frontman Billie Joe Armstrong griped to the press. "They want artists to censor their records in order to be carried in there. We just said no. We've never done it before. You feel like you're in 1953 or something."

Billie Joe continued: "If you think about bands that are struggling or smaller than Green Day...to think that to get your record out in places like that, but they won't carry it because of the content and you have to censor yourself. I mean, what does that say to a young kid who's trying to speak his mind making a record for the first time? It's like a game that you have to play. You have to refuse to play it." Added bassist Mike Dirnt, more succinctly but just as effectively: "As the biggest record store in the America, [Wal-Mart] should probably have an obligation to sell people the correct art."

However, 21st Century Breakdown still managed to debut at number one this week without Wal-Mart's help, so all this "scandal" did was probably generate more PR for the album. Sounds like a 21st century success story to us.

[scenesfroma]

It is funny that a band like Green Day is being banned from wal-mart, definately not a band I would consider hostile or not all offensive, not good, but not offensive either,

[tan man]

Green Day suck!

[Xray]

It was an OK album, not great, definitely better than American Idiot (thankfully), but not better then Warning or anything before.

[Roaddog31]

Stupid WalMart. As money hungry as they are I am suprised they are doing this. So let me get this straight. They sell Beer, Guns, and T-shirts that say "Are we reelated? Cause if not lets have some fun!" but can't sell a GreenDay album without it being censored? Good call Wally World

[hippie pieces]

Green Day is awesome. American Idiot was their best album Warning was by far their worst.

Walmart is ridiculous for not stocking their album.

[C-i]

This came up a while ago on Ultimate-Guitar and it was brought up:

Why do they require music to be censored when they stock uncut versions of movies that contain a lot of violence, swearing, sex scenes. Being "family friendly", would they not want to pick and choose there as well?

It's just a joke.

[beavis6769]

i don't personally like green day, but i do like the fact that they fought for their rights as an artist to not have their music censored

[ynius]

If that what Wal-Mart wants to do then it is their choice. They prefer to sell cleaned up versions of different things. I once bought a Bruce Lee movie which had about a 10 second scene that showed minor nudity, but they had removed it from the movie. So if they don't think it will hurt their business then they can do it. It's not like the album will be hard to find at many other places as well as online.