Billie Joe Armstrong ‎– No Fun Mondays LP

Billie Joe Armstrong ‎– No Fun Mondays

Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong will release his No Fun Mondays cover series in a 14-song collection. No Fun Mondays sees Armstrong put his signature melodic-punk spin on the songs that have formed the soundtrack to his life, including classics by John Lennon, Billy Bragg and Johnny Thunders.

The "No Fun Mondays" series launched in March on Green Day's YouTube channel. Like many musicians, Armstrong expected to be on the road for much of this year, touring in support of Green Day's chart-topping February album "Father of All"... However, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced him to put those plans on hold, Armstrong began a different kind of work. "While we were all in quarantine, I thought about the things that are most important in my life: Family, friends and, of course, music," he says. "I think if we have to spend this time in isolation, at least we can be alone together.

Kicking off with his perfectly on-trend cover of Tommy James and the Shondells' golden oldie, "I Think We're Alone Now," Armstrong treated fans to a new, self-recorded cover song every Monday, accompanied by a DIY video. Aside from paying his respects to his punk rock forebears (The Avengers' "Corpus Christi," Dead Boy Stiv Bators' "Not That Way Anymore") and working class heroes (John Lennon's "Gimme Some Truth," Billy Bragg's "A New England"), Armstrong also indulged his love of sugary pop through reverent versions of The Bangles' "Manic Monday" and the Beatlesque theme from Tom Hanks' movie That Thing You Do! The latter was performed in honor of songwriter Adam Schlesinger, who passed away in April from complications of COVID-19.

While the inspiration for the project was at times solemn, these songs are meant to uplift. Though recorded at home, No Fun Mondays is as amped up as Green Day's arena-ready anthems, a masterclass in punky power pop from a true connoisseur of the form.