"American Idiot" by Green Day
I'm sure many people are about to chew me out because I'm talking about American Idiot. Why do people go all crazy about that CD, anyways? I mean, if you say American Idiot is your favorite Green Day CD, it seems that many people will automatically call you a Green Day "poser" and go about their business. I will be honest; American Idiot is my favorite CD, but it's not my first GD CD. Besides, if it were my first, shouldn't Green Day fans be happy that more people are listening to them?
Anyways, I'd like to talk some about the album. Some Green Day fans don't even know that the album tells a story. The story told in the album is actually why it's my favorite CD. I love the whole love plot Green Day so cleverly wrote. Here is a guide for the meaning of each song on American Idiot (don't worry; I've done my research):
American Idiot: This song is basically an introduction to the story. It tells about America's poor political situation and how the people of America are, for the most part, faggots and rednecks.
Jesus of Suburbia: This 5-part song introduces one of the main characters of the story: Jesus. Jesus lives in a suburb called Jingletown right here in the USA with his careless mom and her boyfriend, Brad. We learn that Jesus has experimented with drugs and alcohol. Longing for an escape from the boring, normal life he leads, he ventures out on his own, which takes us up to Holiday.
Holiday: Jesus starts to appreciate his new life in "The City" and feels free from the political injustices back in Jingletown.
Boulevard of Broken Dreams: Later on, Jesus starts to feel alone in The City even though it is seemingly a better life than the one he lead in Jingletown.
Are We the Waiting: This is when Jesus transforms into his alter-ego known as St. Jimmy. As described in the previous song, he has become partially crazy which is why he adopts the new name and lifestyle.
St. Jimmy: This song describes St. Jimmy, Jesus's alter-ego. He is a rebellious and charismatic teenager that is also a criminal who is on dope. He finally makes new friends that are referred to as the Underbelly (his posse).
Give Me Novacaine: Jimmy is now starting to feel depressed even though he has new friends and a new life, so he turns to drugs once again.
She's a Rebel: Jesus meets Whatsername: a girl who is truly insubordinate and rebellious, unlike him. He is fascinated with her and falls in love with her.
Extraordinary Girl: Jimmy and Whatsername begin dating. The song shows how deeply Jimmy loved Whatsername and how amazed he was by her.
Letterbomb: As Whatsername watches Jimmy break down and constantly fight with Jesus about who he wanted to be, she finally gets fed up with him and writes him a break-up letter. She tells him flat out that he isn't the Jesus of Suburbia, and that St. Jimmy is just a figment of his father's rage and his mother's love, and that he needs to be who he truly is instead of posing to be someone else.
Wake Me Up When September Ends: This song is the only one that veers away from the overall plot of the album. The song describes Billie Joe's pain for losing his father to cancer when he was only 10 years old. It is said that this song is also describing how Jimmy/Jesus is alone once more.
Homecoming: Jesus finally decides that his dual life is ruining him, so he symbolically 'kills' St. Jimmy. He returns back to his normal, regular, boring life. He gets arrested on East 12th Street (Billie Joe Armstrong actually had to fill out paperwork at this location in Oakland, California in 2003 for his DUI charges). He finally returns back home to Jingletown.
Whatsername: He reminiscences about the times he had with Whatsername and thinks about how his life would be if he had stayed with her.
This CD is very powerful and is most cleverly written by Green Day. The lyrics, vocals, and music are all amazing and are enjoyed by fans everywhere.
Anyways, I'd like to talk some about the album. Some Green Day fans don't even know that the album tells a story. The story told in the album is actually why it's my favorite CD. I love the whole love plot Green Day so cleverly wrote. Here is a guide for the meaning of each song on American Idiot (don't worry; I've done my research):
American Idiot: This song is basically an introduction to the story. It tells about America's poor political situation and how the people of America are, for the most part, faggots and rednecks.
Jesus of Suburbia: This 5-part song introduces one of the main characters of the story: Jesus. Jesus lives in a suburb called Jingletown right here in the USA with his careless mom and her boyfriend, Brad. We learn that Jesus has experimented with drugs and alcohol. Longing for an escape from the boring, normal life he leads, he ventures out on his own, which takes us up to Holiday.
Holiday: Jesus starts to appreciate his new life in "The City" and feels free from the political injustices back in Jingletown.
Boulevard of Broken Dreams: Later on, Jesus starts to feel alone in The City even though it is seemingly a better life than the one he lead in Jingletown.
Are We the Waiting: This is when Jesus transforms into his alter-ego known as St. Jimmy. As described in the previous song, he has become partially crazy which is why he adopts the new name and lifestyle.
St. Jimmy: This song describes St. Jimmy, Jesus's alter-ego. He is a rebellious and charismatic teenager that is also a criminal who is on dope. He finally makes new friends that are referred to as the Underbelly (his posse).
Give Me Novacaine: Jimmy is now starting to feel depressed even though he has new friends and a new life, so he turns to drugs once again.
She's a Rebel: Jesus meets Whatsername: a girl who is truly insubordinate and rebellious, unlike him. He is fascinated with her and falls in love with her.
Extraordinary Girl: Jimmy and Whatsername begin dating. The song shows how deeply Jimmy loved Whatsername and how amazed he was by her.
Letterbomb: As Whatsername watches Jimmy break down and constantly fight with Jesus about who he wanted to be, she finally gets fed up with him and writes him a break-up letter. She tells him flat out that he isn't the Jesus of Suburbia, and that St. Jimmy is just a figment of his father's rage and his mother's love, and that he needs to be who he truly is instead of posing to be someone else.
Wake Me Up When September Ends: This song is the only one that veers away from the overall plot of the album. The song describes Billie Joe's pain for losing his father to cancer when he was only 10 years old. It is said that this song is also describing how Jimmy/Jesus is alone once more.
Homecoming: Jesus finally decides that his dual life is ruining him, so he symbolically 'kills' St. Jimmy. He returns back to his normal, regular, boring life. He gets arrested on East 12th Street (Billie Joe Armstrong actually had to fill out paperwork at this location in Oakland, California in 2003 for his DUI charges). He finally returns back home to Jingletown.
Whatsername: He reminiscences about the times he had with Whatsername and thinks about how his life would be if he had stayed with her.
This CD is very powerful and is most cleverly written by Green Day. The lyrics, vocals, and music are all amazing and are enjoyed by fans everywhere.
AMERICAN IDIOT ROX!!!!!!!!!!
PenguinPunk, June 8th, 2007 at 12:16:15am
its my other favorite besides 1039/smoothedoutslappyhours!!!
so there!
NiMrOd_1995, April 13th, 2007 at 06:01:48pm
Ok I see the point about imposing the fact on teenagers to do drugs and stuff but all their other albums do it to, and there are a lot worse things they could do then drugs. I love this album
RunningCirclesRoundU, February 25th, 2007 at 09:14:43pm
this sounded like a plug, rather than an opinion.
I also resent this CD slightly because it made a whole generation of teens and tweens think that its cool to do drugs and generally be f*cked up because the Cd promotes that sh*t.
yeah, green day are good, the album was good, but f*ckdamn, i hope their new album isnt a repeat of AI.
Magazine Sickness., February 11th, 2007 at 06:10:06am
i love that cd and i DONT CARE!!!!
billiejoehumpstre, February 11th, 2007 at 02:34:33am
American Idiot is an amazing album. Nuff said. ;)
threeam., February 10th, 2007 at 12:47:22am
American Idiot is definitely my favorite album but like you it wasn't my first either
The Evil Alchemist, February 8th, 2007 at 10:46:11pm
American Idiot was a milestone. And it's my favorite album because it introduced me to Green Day. In terms of sound, I'm kind of drawn to Insomniac, but that doesn't mean I love AI any less.
lyrical_mess, February 7th, 2007 at 10:07:06am
American idiot is one of the best albums of Green Days career. Very well written
Shenanigan123, February 7th, 2007 at 02:19:56am
I most definitely agree with you, Funky Platypus. People need to understand that there's a deep plot that has to be analyzed several times to fully comprehend.
Letterbombx723, February 6th, 2007 at 10:44:27pm
I was gonna write a review about this, damn you Letterbomb! *shakes fist angrily in protagonist-like manner*
Welp, I think they were trying to do more than a story. I mean, if you look at all the classic rock operas, there's the story behind the story, you know? What was the point of The Wall, for instance? It's more than a story about how a guy trying to deal with all the sh*t in his life, it's making a statement not only about how people are and how they deal with things, but also it talks about the effects of our choices. Like The Wall, how the main character essentially drove himself mad in his mind because he was trying to push away his problems and got all f*cked up, and in the end he had a dream when he put himself on trial. I hope I got that right, I haven't listened to the album in a while.
I don't know, I'm just rambling on here. I'm guess I'm trying to say that there's a story beyond the story with rock operas, like American Idiot.
Funky Platypus, February 6th, 2007 at 10:37:48pm
I have to agree with Lee on this one. Plus, you can't tell me that you listened to the cd ONE TIME and understood the whole thing.
Letterbombx723, February 6th, 2007 at 09:56:02pm
Well, Kurtni. If you look at it - some of those sh*tty bands you like have put out albums like that. Or horrid songs about killing themselves or f*cking some random person. So, if you think about it...the boy who did drugs and lost the girl and got over it is a better and classic plot. Much better than causing thousands of teens to go psychotic and murder themselves.
greenday1386, February 6th, 2007 at 09:53:13pm
It's more intense than that, though! Some GD fans don't even know "American Idiot" had a story behind it. You honestly do have to "de-code" the lyrics to figure out this stuff.
Letterbombx723, February 6th, 2007 at 09:50:25pm
" I love the whole love plot Green Day so cleverly wrote. "
Right, because "boy does drugs, loses girl, gets pissed about it, then gets over it" is soooo clever.
Kurtni, February 6th, 2007 at 09:42:52pm