Billie Joe Armstrong teams up with The Bangles' Susanna Hoffs for a power-pop reimagining of "Manic Monday," in the latest installment of his quarantine series, April 6.
In the latest episode of "No Fun Mondays" available on the Green Day YouTube channel, Billie Joe plays his electric guitar and sings The Bangles' 1986 hit. He is mostly seated in what appeared to be his living room, with his dog peacefully sleeping behind him. On the other hand, Susanna Hoffs also plays her electric guitar and provides backing vocals. The Bangles' lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist rocks and bounces in what is her studio.
Their collaboration resulted in a power-pop version of the upbeat song originally written by Prince under the pseudonym Christopher. Rolling Stone described the latest cover as "replacing the original's twinkling synths and clean strums with palm-muted crunch."
The music video showed both Armstrong and Hoffs performing in a split-screen with a sepia overlay reminiscent of the music video of the original song. During the song's bridge, Billie Joe stands in a three-way split screen, with his sleeping dog taking a small screen.
While it is anyone's guess what Monday did, Armstrong and Hoffs' version of "Manic Monday" is a refreshing addition to the Green Day lead's "No Fun Mondays" series. It follows his covers of Johnny Thunders' "You Can't Put Your Arms Around a Memory" and his unofficial debut cover of "I Think We're Alone Now," originally by Tommy James and the Shondells. The 48-year-old punk rock icon explained in his Instagram account that he would be releasing a cover song every week "until we're let back out into the world."
Also yesterday, Billie Joe Performed his cover of "I Think We're Alone Now" on the April 6 episode of "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon." Aside from his new quarantine cover series, Armstrong also performed the Green Day hit "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" on the "iHeart Living Room Concert for America," hosted by Elton John last March 29.
Billie Joe Armstrong is also slated to perform for the upcoming "One World: Together at Home" fundraising event hosted by the World Health Organization and Global Citizen, with the event to be curated by Lady Gaga.
While Armstrong performed and worked with a lot of musical acts, he is best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist for Green Day. He is also credited for penning most of the band's hits, including "21 Guns," "Jesus of Suburbia," "American Idiot," and "The Boulevard of Broken Dreams." Being credited as one of the bands to generate mainstream interest in punk rock, Green Day was among the inductees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2015 ceremony, which was the first year of the band's eligibility for the honor.
On the other hand, Susanna Hoffs played rhythm guitars, provided lead vocals, and co-founded The Bangles in 1981. The pop-rock band was best known for the 80s hit songs "Manic Monday," "Walk Like an Egyptian," and "Eternal Flame." At the turn of the millennium in 2000, The Bangles were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame.
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