Redundant (song) explained

"Redundant" is a single by Green Day and the fourth track from their album Nimrod. The song failed to match the impressive chart positions of its predecessors, despite an ambitious music video for MTV.

This is one of few Green Day songs in which vocalist/guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong uses an effects pedal.

Track list

Promo:

1. Redundant

CD 1:

1. Redundant (Richard Dodd Medium Wide Mix) - 3:16
2. The Grouch (Live) - 3:23
3. Paper Lanterns (Live) - 4:56

CD 2:

1. Redundant (Richard Dodd Medium Wide Mix) - 3:16
2. Reject (Live) - 2:05
3. She (Live) - 2:26

AU Single:

1. Redundant (Richard Dodd Medium Wide Mix)
2. The Grouch (Live)
3. Paper Lanterns (Live)
4. Reject (Live)
5. She (Live) - 2:26

Redundant / Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) AU Single:

1. Redundant (LP Version)
2. Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) (LP Version)

7":
Side A.

• Redundant (Richard Dodd Medium Wide Mix)

Side B.

• The Grouch (Live)
  • (live tracks recorded November 14, 1997 at the Electric Factory, Philadelphia)

Meaning

Before the Nimrod sessions, Billie Joe Armstrong's marriage had become troubled, with the singer arguing with his wife Adrienne Armstrong constantly. Influenced by this conflict, Armstrong reflected on the relationship from two standpoints; the first being his passion for his wife, the second being the pattern the relationship fell into. The phrase "I love you" had lost its effectiveness and seemed to be said merely out of routine.

Chart positions

Year	Chart	Position
1998	Australian Singles Chart	21
1998	US Modern Rock Tracks	16
1998	UK Singles Chart	27
1998	Australian Singles Chart	502

1. (double A-side with Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life).

2. (separate single version).

Music video

The music video for "Redundant", directed by Mark Kohr, is an homage to Zbigniew Rybczyński's short film Tango. It features the three band members performing the song in the middle of a home. The camera angle remains static for the whole duration of the video.

In the background several people repeat various mundane tasks for the duration of the video:

• A newspaper is thrown from offscreen.
• A woman stretches her arms and yawns, and then collects the paper and leaves.
• Someone takes a painting off of a wall and replaces it with a new one, then someone else comes in and replaces that painting with the one that's just been replaced.
• A young girl walks from the left side of the screen, places a box on the coffee table next to the couch, and then climbs out of a window.
• A man in a green suit jacket walks around, picks up the box from the coffee table and leaves.
• A man in a cowboy hat walks around.
• A woman in a bright red dress (Dita Von Teese) removes her dress and then walks away in nothing but her bra and underwear.
• A balding man comes in, puts on a pair of trousers, then leaves.
• A woman with a large pot and a plant walks around.
• A man and a girl walk towards a couch and begin making out.
• A man is vacuuming.
• A young girl in a skirt comes in through a window, looks around, and leaves.

The activity peaks near the middle of the video and declines near the end. Tré and Mike leave, but Billie Joe takes the newspaper before the woman can reach it, causing her to scream, and in some aspect, breaking the "routine".