Anthems is very proudly political at a time when many artists still shy away from writing about what’s going on in the news.
I’ve done the introspective thing, and it feels good, but at the same time I think it’s important to remind each other that there are 100,000 people that are over there trying to mop up the mess in Iraq. Does anyone care? Does anyone remember? You know, 22-year-old kids are getting killed over there. People are losing their arms and legs – I’ve met them at Walter Reed. I was at a base in Kuwait for three days while we did Operation MySpace, and I met thousands of soldiers who were amazing people.
You know, I wrote a politically charged record, but there’s only two songs that are really in-your-face politically. The rest of the record is about my trouble with my own demons. I’ve been responsible for inspiring at least a handful of people into changing their lives [in terms of] alcohol and drugs. And just knowing that they can reach out to me on MySpace and ask me how I got sober and then me saying, “Well, this is how I did it,” is, right there, worth the price of admission for all the efforts I’ve made. I let my guard down and I talked about my alcoholism so openly – whether it’s interviews, whether it’s on my own record. The fact that I did that and inspired a handful of people in the world who are walking around that have said to me “It’s because of your sobriety that I’m here today” – that just makes me feel so proud that I could offer up something to my fellow man and save some lives and get these people on a good track.
That seems to tie in to what you were saying earlier that rock music can be more than just a way to celebrate excess.
I just believe there are a lot of people out there who want to be inspired. They want to make a difference with their life. Really, in the last 10 years it’s been amazing for me to sit back and watch the retarded banter of certain rock ‘n’ roll [jerks]. When Public Enemy came out, they tore it up – they were saying s**t.
It’s sad we don’t have more bands like them in hip-hop.
Just like punk. These so-called punk bands that get out there and try to have a fast, heavy sound, and they get out there and talk about bulls**t. Green Day pulled it around with American Idiot, but originally they were doing goofy stuff. It’s like Bono, man – even in “Beautiful Day,” he’s saying stuff. When you say “Anthems is heavy,” and you promote it as a political album, people are like, “No! Put the warm blanket over me! I don’t want to think!” When I introduce “Soldiers of Misfortune” – I say, “This song is dedicated to all the people in Iraq; this is a pro-troop, antiwar song” – there’s almost this [annoyed, whiny voice] “Aw, man!” Not at my shows, but at some festivals [that happens]. But there’s also so many people who come up to me and tell me, “Thanks, I have a brother in Iraq. Thank you so much.”
At the end of the album, there is a sense of hope that maybe things can still be turned around.
If you listen to a record from start to finish, I believe you should be taken on a journey sonically. I’m the kind of guy who cranks my stereo, and I listen to a record from start to finish, and nothing interrupts. It’s like a movie. Knowing that most people that buy this record will want to be taken somewhere, I wanted them to have a sense of calming after this jarring experience. When you get to song 15 on the average heavy metal record, you’re just bludgeoned – it’s like a blunt instrument. [sarcastic] “Oh god, you’re screaming again, thank you.” I’m not that type of guy – I want my records to be like [U2's] The Unforgettable Fire. You put that record on, and by the time you get to “MLK,” you’re like “Thanks.”
It was important to end with that bit of optimism?
Listen, I do real well. I’m blessed. I have a beautiful wife and a baby and a safe place to live. I’m comfortable, my life is good – and it’s time to give back to the world that’s been so beautiful to me. People pay money to see me sing and play the guitar. When we leave the stage, there’s a moment where I take the guitar off and I just listen to the applause. Some nights, it’s more applause than others, but think of all the people in the world who don’t get to have that experience. So to make a political record, I think it’s ballsy. John Lennon went “I’m huge – I’m going to start really saying something. It’s not just gonna be ‘She loves you/yeah yeah yeah.’” It’s not just gonna be that – it can’t be. It’s not from my soul. I have to talk about the things that are important to me. If people in the audience can identify with that and be inspired, then I’ve done my job.
It’s funny that rock has gotten away from the idea of speaking out.
I remember being a tiny, little kid and Elvis Presley had a song about the ghetto. And I asked my mother, “What does he mean by the ghetto?” And she said, “Well, that’s where poor people live. It’s tough in the ghetto, it’s hard.” I was 5 or 6. And then later I heard someone refer to “an anti-Vietnam War song.” And I thought, “Yeah, because war is bad, right? They wrote a song because they don’t think the war is good. Wow.” That was one of my earliest memories about music – it’s not all about rainbows.
