Green Day "American Idiot"


American Idiot came out around the time that I was really starting to take notice of music. Back then, my father was still very strict on what I could and could not listen to. And being that Green Day was a (relatively) heavy band with the odd use of strong language in their lyrics, they were an iffy band. Their music blew my mind, I loved it, but at the same time, I felt guilty because I knew in my heart that it was not the kind of thing I was supposed to be listening to. A couple years later I disowned Green Day. I was sick of their music, their style, their lyrics, their makeup, everything about them.

I decided to revisit this album this month just for kicks, and I am pleased to announce that I enjoy it now just as much as I did back when I was ten years old. It is a catchy, confident, poppy, triumphant, and sort of creative take on the faux-punk sound that bands like Sum 41, Blink 182, and Green Day themselves made popular. But unlike all of the similar music that came before and after it, American Idiot was truly special.

For 2004, American Idiot was a pretty culturally significant album both musically and lyrically. The sound was very typical of the big mall punk bands at the time: poppy, extremely catchy, mildly profane, and full of studio polish. Lyrically it is politically charged while still tame enough to appeal to the typical radio listener. And of course, everyone knows that it tells a rather pointless story of a modern-day junkie named Jesus.

The songs, as arena rock anthems for the twenty-first century are surprisingly excellent. There is not a bad song on the album, and many standouts for sure. Jesus Of Suburbia in particular is a nine minute epic that acts almost like a journal for the album's protagonist. It has five movements throughout that all boast distinct pop hooks. Even more interesting is the fact that some other notable hooks from other popular songs seem to have been... borrowed. City Of The Damned sounds eerily similar to a certain Bryan Adams chorus while the second segment of Dearly Beloved has me thinking "Ring Of Fire". And of course, who can forget the anthemic Holiday, or the power ballad Wake Me Up When September Ends? The pop quality per dollar is absolutely fantastic.

American Idiot remains one of the most talked about and popular albums of the decade, and I would go so far as to say it is one of the greatest. Fans of more obscure/abrasive/artistic music will dismiss it as radio garbage, punk fans will continue to call Green Day sellouts, and the kids who have moved on to 3OH!3 and LMFAO probably don't even remember all of the words to the title track. But none of that matters, because American Idiot has made it's mark, and like it or not, it is one of the defining albums of the decade.

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Masterpiece