2020 Good Charlotte-min
[Photo by Ville Juurikkala]

See Good Charlotte grapple with today’s world in “Last December”

Good Charlotte are officially back with their first new piece of music in two years. The quartet has unveiled a sobering new video for “Last December” which documents the current state of the United States amid the coronavirus pandemic.

We last heard new music from Good Charlotte when they debuted their latest full-length album Generation Rx. The LP includes the hits “Self Help” and “Prayers” which they performed at a 2018 NFL halftime show. After touring around the world in support of the new album, Good Charlotte—Benji and Joel Madden, Billy Martin, Paul Thomas and Dean Butterworth—branched out and found themselves working on other projects over the past two years.

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In 2019, Good Charlotte teamed up with Vic Mensa‘s punk project 93PUNX for the song “it’s a bad dream.” That same year, Benji collaborated with Sleeping With Sirens on “Never Enough,” off of their latest album How It Feels To Be Lost.

2020 has also brought a few new Good Charlotte collabs to listeners. The band worked together with Goody Grace and Yung Pinch on “Hanging With The Ghosts.” As well, Martin is featured on the new boyband track “Death Note.”

Along with some new collabs, 2020 has been a big year for Good Charlotte in another way. This year marks the 20th anniversary of their iconic debut self-titled album. The 2000 LP brought us some decade-defining classics including “Little Things,” “The Motivation Proclamation” and “Seasons.”

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Due to the pandemic, Good Charlotte weren’t able to celebrate the legendary album’s anniversary quite as they wanted to. So, they decide now would be the best time to share new music with their fans. Good Charlotte have unveiled their powerful new single “Last December” through their MDDN label.

Benji shares that this new single is a result of the band wanting to celebrate their debut album’s anniversary with their fans. Ultimately, they hope “Last December” will lift a few spirits during the holiday season.

“2020 being the 20th anniversary of our self-titled debut album really made us feel like we wanted to release something for those fans who’ve gone on this journey with us,” Madden says. “The holidays can be a rough time of year. Thinking of the ones we’ve lost and longing for moments that have passed us by is definitely a part of the joy and melancholy. This song for us speaks to both sides of those holiday feelings and we hope it brings some solace to anyone who needs it.”

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For the single’s video, Good Charlotte decided to document the ongoing turmoil in the United States amid the coronavirus pandemic. The sobering video includes footage of closed venues, boarded-up shop fronts and long lines at local health clinics.

Along with the difficult footage of what’s going on in the country, Good Charlotte have included some visuals of hope. Footage of Christmas lights and holiday decorations can be seen throughout the “Last December” video, offering glimmers of hope and normalcy amidst everyday life scenes that are anything but.

The “Last December” video is available to stream here and below along with the track’s lyrics.

Good Charlotte “Last December” lyrics

His friends all come to the funeral underdressed
They stuck around for an hour or so and then they left 
But I couldn’t take it personal, I laughed
I was dwelling on how time just goes so fast

And if I never do it better than the way I did before
I can live with that, it’s whatever, I wouldn’t trade it for the world

That’s just the life I guess, and it’s never what you expect
Everything’s okay and then we die, but it couldn’t be better
That’s just the life you get, and nobody gives a shit
Every time it hits me I still cry, but it couldn’t be better

In the end and after it all, there was nothing in general
You were my best friend, I was sad ‘cause I knew that you didn’t know
All the words we didn’t say, all the time that slipped away 
I wanna live inside those moments every day

And if we never do it better, than the way we did before
I could live with that, it’s whatever. I wouldn’t trade us for the world

That’s just the life I guess, and it’s never what you expect 
Everything’s okay and then we die, but it couldn’t be better 
That’s just the life you get, and nobody gives a shit
Every time it hits me I still cry, but it couldn’t be better

Things we didn’t say, mistakes that we both made, none of that stays with me to this day.
The one thing I remember, last year in December, you said “it’s just a dress rehearsal anyway”

If that’s just the life we get and nobody gives a shit
Everything’s okay and then we die
That’s just the life I get, I guess I could live with it,
I still can’t find the words to say goodbye

What are your reactions to Good Charlotte’s “Last December” video? Let us know in the comments below.