Album review: American Idiot

 by Jami Morain

    I used to believe that "21st Century Breakdown" was Green Day's greatest album, but after attending the "Saviors" tour, I have proven myself mistaken. "American Idiot" is a brilliant masterpiece that deserves to be placed in standing with some of the greatest albums of all time.

    Critics have claimed that album revived Green Day, called it Green Day's "Sergeant Pepper's" and changed the genre of punk rock forever.

    When I was younger, I was truly captured by the "Holiday" and "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" music videos. The more I watched them, the more I recognized they are connected. Once I started paying for music streaming, I saw that almost all of the songs on "American Idiot" are paired together, this concept was unfamiliar to me. I was too young to understand or to appreciate an album in it's entirety, so I eventually forgot it. 

Attending the "Saviors" Tour.

    Witnessing the "Saviors" show has sparked that interest in me again. I have spent the entire week listening to the album, reading the lyrics, reading reddit discussion boards and watching documentaries on the making of this album along with the tour that followed. 

    My favorite part of "American Idiot" is how the entire album follows the main character called "Jesus of Suburbia." Never have I seen an album tell such an intricate story, where the entire album flows beginning to end with a plot and characters, and reusing lyrics to keep the story bridged.

    I would consider the title track to be distant from the album's storyline, but it sets the tone of the political charge that is the "American Idiot" album. 

    Then we are introduced to Jesus of Suburbia. Billie Joe Armstrong said during an interview in "Bullet in a Bible" that he asked himself who American Idiot was and a voice in his head answered "I'm the son of rage and love. The Jesus of Suburbia." He ran with it to create a nine minute punk rock opera that has been compared to Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody."

    Then "Holiday" speaks about the state of the world as an antiwar anthem, shortly after 9/11 with the President Bush administration. As I comprehended, for the first time, what the lyrics were saying, my jaw truly dropped. "Sieg Heil to the president Gasman... Pulverize the Eiffel Towers who criticize your government... Trials by fire, setting fire..." I believe this to be Armstrong's way of catching your attention and not "beating around the bush." 

    This is followed by "Boulevard," which follows JOS feeling alone after running away from a life that he felt was meaningless trying to find where he belongs, "I walk this empty street, on the Boulevard of Broken Dreams." I find this song to be bittersweetly inspiring. He's wishes someone would find him, but he's going to keep walking down the dividing line in his mind until he figures it out.

    One of my favorite songs on the album is the beginning of "St. Jimmy." "Are We the Waiting" is a beautiful piece that I believe means something different to each listener. To me, it's about knowing your youth is slipping away and makes me feel nostalgic. However, back to the main storyline this song is about JOS finally making it to a city after feeling drawn there, but now that he has made it, it turns out he actually doesn't belong there either. He's waiting for something that may never come. 

    This song takes the listener into St. Jimmy, which is JOS' alter-ego. Jesus of Suburbia is no longer the son of rage and love but is now cold. He transforms into this rebellious, hard, confident imposter. 

    "Give Me Novacaine" is the perfect follow-up song to transition because this song is about wanting a release from pain. He feels stuck as Jimmy, that's not who he wants to be, but feels trapped inside because that's the only acceptance he has ever known. 

    "She's a Rebel" introduces Whatsername, St. Jimmy's love interest. "And she's holding on my heart like a hand grenade," inspired the album cover artwork. This song's lyrics also hint back to holiday with, "She rings the revolution, the dawning of our lives."

    "Extraordinary Girl/Letterbomb" are the downfall of St. Jimmy's and Whatsername's relationship. "Some days, he feels like dying. She gets so sick of crying." Then "Letterbomb" starts with "Nobody likes you, everyone left you," which I think is what Jimmy imagines Whatsername saying mockingly to him, like he is haunted by the break up. This idea comes from the "Jesus of Suburbia" music video, which I just now realized how that video follows the album's storyline as we meet Whatsername in the video, but we don't know that yet. This is why I love this album, because it so ridiculously intertwined that I can't even believe a punk band came up with this elaborate coming of age story. 

    "Wake Me Up When September Ends" is actually a song about Armstrong's father passing away when he was 10 and how every September he is feels that sorrow. However, I think it can still tie into JOS/St. Jimmy's story because of it's meaning and this character can definitely understand those emotions. On the other hand, I will say it is the most detached song on the album. That is not to ignore this heavy song that has made a lasting impact on people who aren't even fans of the band. 

    Now the story of our character is starting to conclude with "Homecoming." With the lyrics, "Jimmy died today. He blew his brains out into the bay," my stomach dropped. I was instantly filled with sadness because this tells me Jimmy's homecoming was him accepting he was forever an outcast and ended his life to find peace. I started to hate the album, not wanting to accept this ending. However, the next line calmed me, "In the state of mind, it's my own private suicide." Jimmy died, but JOS lives on. He chose to let go of this alter-ego and embrace his reality. 

    The song starts to wrap up as JOS looks around at where he is in life, "Don't want to be an American Idiot... The 7-11 to the fear of breakin' down so send my love a letterbomb..." The 7-11 is referring to "the center of the earth" mentioned in "Jesus of Suburbia." 

    The album now finishes the story with "Whatsername." JOS is reflecting on the girl he loved while St. Jimmy, but now that time has passed he only remember the hurt and experience, but she is slowly fading away, which is why the audience only knows her as "Whatsername." The song ends with, "If my memory serves me right, I'll never turn back time, forgetting you, but not the time," thus concluding Jesus of Suburbia's story. 

    "American Idiot" won Rock Album of the Year in 2005 and eventually became a Broadway musical. 

    Playbill explains how this punk album works as on Broadway like this, "American Idiot follows the exhilarating journey of a new generation of young Americans as they struggle to find meaning in a post 9/11 world, borne along by Green Day's electrifying score."

    Green Day felt like they were living in the success shadow of "Dookie," and were on the verge of breaking up, when they decided to completely and utterly just go for it. Thank goodness they did. If you were to compare "Dookie" and "American Idiot" I would say it was a rebranding moment for the trio. They found their voices and strengths, as they became the voice of a generation and didn't shy away from sending a political message, that I believe has created a unity and intimacy between the band and their fans. 

  

Links I recommend:

Bullet in a Bible- A concert documentary of a show during the American Idiot tour.

Heart like a Hand Grenade- The making of the album.

Story breakdown- this blog helped me break down the character and storyline for me to form my own opinion. It is worth a glance. 

My Green Day concert recap for a radio station.