Green Day Vs. Wal-Mart

05/21/09 12:16pm

by Kate Harper (CHARTattack)

Green Day have a beef with Wal-Mart.

When the California punk trio tried to get the biggest retail outlet in the U.S. to stock the recently released 21st Century Breakdown, Wal-Mart asked them to edit the album so it could stock a "clean" version.

The record contains swear words and what the retail chain called adult references. Green Day refused to alter it, so Wal-Mart said it wouldn't stock the album.

"There's nothing dirty about our record," singer/guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong told The Associated 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."

Wal-Mart asks artists for clean versions of discs if it deems the original too "explicit," since it has a policy of not selling any CD that carries a parental advisory sticker. If an artist doesn't want the chain to stock a clean version of the CD, it isn't sold at Wal-Mart.

"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," drummer Tre Cool told AP. "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."

Regardless of Wal-Mart's snub, 21st Century Breakdown sold 215,000 copies since its release last Friday and debuted at #1 on the U.S. album sales chart this week. It debuted at #1 in Canada after selling 30,000 copies over three days and also took the top chart spot in the U.K., New Zealand, Japan and France.

Green Day will play these dates in support of 21st Century Breakdown:

May 22 New York, NY @ Rumsey Playfield (Good Morning America)
June 4 Los Angeles, CA @ The Music Box at Henry Fonda Theatre
July 3 Seattle, WA @ Key Arena w/The Bravery
July 4 Vancouver, BC @ General Motors Place w/The Bravery
July 6 Edmonton, AB @ Rexall Place w/The Bravery
July 7 Saskatoon, SK @ Credit Union Centre w/The Bravery
July 9 Winnipeg, MB @ MTS Centre w/The Bravery
July 10 Fargo, ND @ Fargo Dome w/The Bravery
July 11 Minneapolis, MN @ Target Center w/The Bravery
July 13 Chicago, IL @ United Center w/The Bravery
July 14 Auburn Hills, MI @ Palace Of Auburn Hills w/The Bravery
July 16 Hamilton, ON @ Copps Coliseum w/The Bravery
July 17 Ottawa, ON @ Scotiabank Place w/The Bravery
July 18 Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre w/The Bravery
July 20 Boston, MA @ TD Bank Center w/The Bravery
July 21 Philadelphia, PA @ Wachovia Spectrum w/The Bravery
July 22 Pittsburgh, PA @ Mellon Arena
July 24 Hartford, CT @ XL Center w/The Bravery
July 25 Albany, NY @ Times Union Center w/The Bravery
July 27-28 New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden w/Kaiser Chiefs
July 29 Washington, DC @ Verizon Wireless Center w/Kaiser Chiefs
July 31 Nashville, TN @ Somet Center w/Kaiser Chiefs
Aug. 1 Atlanta, GA @ Gwinnet Center w/Kaiser Chiefs
Aug. 3 Tampa, FL @ St. Pete Times Forum w/Kaiser Chiefs
Aug. 4 Miami, FL @ American Airlines Arena w/Kaiser Chiefs
Aug. 5 Orlando, FL @ Amway Arena w/Kaiser Chiefs
Aug. 7 New Orleans, LA @ New Orleans Arena w/Kaiser Chiefs
Aug. 8 Houston, TX @ Toyota Center w/Franz Ferdinand
Aug. 9 San Antonio, TX @ AT&T Center w/Franz Ferdinand
Aug. 11 St. Louis, MO @ Scottrade Center w/Franz Ferdinand
Aug. 12 Kansas City, MO @ Sprint Center w/Franz Ferdinand
Aug. 13 Omaha, NE @ Quest Center w/Franz Ferdinand
Aug. 15 Denver, CO @ Pepsi Center w/Franz Ferdinand
Aug. 16 Salt Lake City, UT @ Energy Sol Arena w/Franz Ferdinand
Aug. 18 San Jose, CA @ HP Pavilion w/Franz Ferdinand
Aug. 20 San Diego, CA @ Cox Arena w/Franz Ferdinand
Aug. 21 Las Vegas, NV @ Mandalay Bay Events Center w/Franz Ferdinand
Aug. 22 Phoenix, AZ @ US Air Arena w/Franz Ferdinand
Aug. 24 Sacramento, CA @ ARCO Arena w/Franz Ferdinand
Aug. 25 Los Angeles, CA @ Forum w/Franz Ferdinand
Sept. 28 Lisbon, Portugal @ Atlantico Pavilion
Sept. 29 Madrid, Spain @ Palacio De Deportes De La Comunidad De Madrid
Oct. 1 Barcelona, Spain @ Palau Sant Jordi
Oct. 2 Toulouse, France @ Le Zenith
Oct. 4 Paris, France @ Le Bercy
Oct. 5 Cologne, Germany @ Cologne Arena
Oct. 7 Berlin, Germany @ O2 World Arena
Oct. 8 Hamburg, Germany @ Color Line Arena
Oct. 9 Copenhagen, Denmark @ Forum
Oct. 11 Stockholm, Sweden @ The Globe
Oct. 12 Oslo, Norway @ Spectrum
Oct. 16 Rotterdam, Netherlands @ Ahoy
Oct. 17 Antwerp, Belgium @ Sportpalais
Oct. 19 Glasgow, Scotland @ Scottish Exhibition And Conference Centre
Oct. 20 Belfast, Northern Ireland @ Odyssey Arena
Oct. 21 Dublin, Ireland @ O2 Arena
Oct. 23-24 London, England @ O2 Anena
Oct. 26 Sheffield, England @ Sheffield Arena
Oct. 27-28 Birmingham, England @ LG Arena
Oct. 30-31 Manchester, England @ Manchester Evening News Arena
Nov. 1 London, England @ Wembley Arena
Nov. 3 Munich, Germany @ Olympiahalle
Nov. 6 Vienna, Austria @ Stadhalle
Nov. 8 Zurich, Switzerland @ Hallenstadion
Nov. 10 Milan, Italy @ Datchforum
Nov. 11 Bologna, Italy @ Futur Show
Nov. 12 Turin, Italy @ Palaolimpico