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Green Day Preview “21st Century Breakdown” Single “Know Your Enemy”

4/6/09, 11:30 am EST

Photo: Shearer/WireImage

Green Day have posted a 30-second sneak peek of “Know Your Enemy,” the first single off 21st Century Breakdown, on their official Website. The LP, due out May 15th, is the band’s follow-up to their Grammy-winning, soon-to-be-musical, American Idiot. As Rock Daily noted in our first listen to Breakdown, ” ‘Know Your Enemy’ is a straight-ahead rock song with a chanty ‘oh-way-oh-way’ refrain. Opening powerfully like an AC/DC track, Tre Cool drums furiously as Armstrong sings ‘Silence is the enemy so give me revolution.’ ”

Even if the preview amounts to Armstrong repeating “Know Your Enemy” ad infinitum, the song still has the makings of a classic Green Day single. However, if you want more than the 30-second glimpse the Green Day site is currently teasing, you might want to watch tonight’s NCAA championship game between the University of North Carolina Tar Heels and the Michigan State Spartans, as the game’s “opening tease” will feature a whole 90 seconds of “Know Your Enemy.” The song’s video will debut April 24th on Viacom’s galaxy of stations like MTV, MTV 2, VH1, Palladia, the N and their respective Websites.

The cover art for the “Know Your Enemy” single is also up for viewing over at Green Day’s official site. “American Idiot marked a really high bar for us,” Armstrong recently told Rolling Stone. “It’s easy to go, ‘OK, we can just write a collection of songs.’ But there was something about trying to keep going for it.’” For much more on 21st Century Breakdown and a ton of upcoming records, check out our Spring Music Preview:

• Spring Music Preview: Inside 45 of the Year’s Biggest Albums

Daniel Kreps

More General, Rock News

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Comments

YOo | 4/6/2009, 11:56 am EST

Tar Heels is two words. Just so ya know.

green day sucks | 4/6/2009, 12:43 pm EST

for a second there I thought this was a cover of RATM’s Know Your Enemy…I was about to be pissed off.

Anonymous | 4/6/2009, 1:21 pm EST

green day are very fantastic

Brian | 4/6/2009, 1:42 pm EST

Shocked that you guys aren’t already referring to it as “the 5-star worthy 21st Century Breakdown.”

christine | 4/6/2009, 3:30 pm EST

OMG, i can’t wait till 21st century breakdown i’ve been waiting for you guys to come out with your next CD after american idiot……OR FoxBoro HotTubs CD which was you guys….haha… your guys are amazing!!!!!:D eacpecially Billie Joe Armstrong…..He is awsomely amazing!!…haha:D

Whatsername | 4/6/2009, 7:04 pm EST

WooooW

I love the preview

Whatsername | 4/6/2009, 7:04 pm EST

WooooW

I love the preview

Bob | 4/6/2009, 7:15 pm EST

The album’s title track is up on Youtube right now, sounds great!

Danisprinkle | 4/6/2009, 11:49 pm EST

These guys are taking the right road. I mean…they really rock everything!

The Intl | 4/7/2009, 2:08 am EST

I bet their Know Your Enemy is at least as bad as Manic Street Preachers’ Know Your Enemy.

iLly | 4/7/2009, 5:03 am EST

Had to listen to the preview twice before it had an impact on me. Good thing is it had an impact on me. Will surely buy the single when it becomes available and, depending on the rest of the song, I will buy the album when it drops.

sandra | 4/7/2009, 7:01 am EST

It was amazing and I cannot wait for the album!

Timo | 4/7/2009, 9:45 am EST

Green Day has been recycling the same three chords for the last 15 years. They suck.

Timo | 4/7/2009, 9:49 am EST

Same three chords for the last 15 years. They’re so punk rock in their BMWs.

no1gdfan | 4/7/2009, 11:10 am EST

dudes, this song is great!!!! I don’t know why some others say this sucks because, allthough they still use 3-chord songs they rock.
anyway, if you still think they suck, well, try writting a better song with better lyrics, lets see if you can as***le!!!!!

DJ Papi | 4/7/2009, 1:04 pm EST

Two chords, three, four or 100 chords it doesnt matter you Rock& Roll nerds! This song is going to rock at every one of my events. I can guarantee you guys “Know your Enemy” is going to be one of Green Days Hits eva! Even non Rock fans cant help but to move to the pounding sound of the drums!

Steve | 4/7/2009, 1:52 pm EST

Not so great I hope they cover their first two albums when they tour cause this sounds terrible

StrummerJones | 4/7/2009, 4:23 pm EST

You want them to play songs from 39/Smooth and Kerplunk!?

To each his own, I guess.

jennifer toronto | 4/7/2009, 5:03 pm EST

Oh wow love the song green day rocks! they are an amazing band i soooo tired of lady gaga ( GAG ME WITH A SPOON)annoying!!! poker face sucks just like her
Miley cirus sucks who are these people? bring back green day, now thats music.

Adam | 4/7/2009, 7:27 pm EST

If you were a multi-millionare, you would be at LEAST driving a BMW, if not a Ferrari or similar.

galaxie | 4/8/2009, 2:40 pm EST

why is it that the same people who complain about 3 chord songs, do so about songs with more than 3 chords? because they cannot play instruments and don’t really know what a chord is.

GDayFan | 4/8/2009, 2:49 pm EST

I’m disappointed so far in what I’ve heard from the album i.e. “Know Your Enemy” and “21st Century Breakdown”, but then “American Idiot” was the worst song on American Idiot and that was a top album!

GDFan | 4/8/2009, 3:13 pm EST

This is so f****** amazing

rinukaos | 4/8/2009, 3:33 pm EST

i quite like the preview of song
my inner voice says it doesnt big hit as AI
but i still love the song

tickets | 4/8/2009, 10:46 pm EST

Yea i tried to listen to your song, i got to tell ya its sounding pretty awfull. I wish bands like greenday would stop infecting the music world with there lame bullshit. There is absolutly nothing about know your enemy that is exiting or innovative at all. They put out the same crap year after year. Even Greenday thinks there stuff is sub-par because they named there album Dookie.

Disapearing Boy | 4/9/2009, 2:28 am EST

I’d pay double if they did a whole pre-dookie concert… these early albums were very underrated and only held back by poor $200 a session 5 hour studio recording.

Billie Joe is a song writting master… simple but always effective… he blends pop hooks with alternative punk energy better then any other band of current times

a | 4/9/2009, 9:10 am EST

The radio station bigFM is one of the first ones to play the new single “know your enemy” thursday (April, 16th, 2009) at 12 o`clock german time. Specially for this they turned their whole studio into green!
Listen to it via http://www.big-fm.de!

i cant wait | 4/11/2009, 3:04 pm EST

I thought green day wasnt going to make any more albums but now i am EXTREMELY EXCITED, do u no ur enemy sounds awesome

RandomRocker | 4/16/2009, 8:59 pm EST

In my opinion The new alblum will be great BUT it will never live up to American Idiot It is the best album Green Day Ever Conceived

Realist | 4/27/2009, 6:29 am EST

I kinda think Green Day is screwing with us. I mean the rest of the song sounds EXACTLY like the 30 second preview, so the whole anticipation will likely produce confused faces. The song is terrible, the lyrics are powerfull but the entire song is made up of one melody, rhythm, and a cliche bridge.

Green Day sounds very gay | 5/13/2009, 5:21 pm EST

this song is repetitive
this song is repetitive
this song is repetitive….

whatever, you know?
who cares about the enemy?
so what nexts dude, we overthrow the government? seriously, the political theme wears thing after the millionth time…
terrible song by an overrated band,
much like U2

gooch butter | 5/13/2009, 5:25 pm EST

this song is way lame…
this is propaganda to sell albums….

eva espinosa | 5/15/2009, 9:02 pm EST