Hmmmm if you had to pick one unifying theme of all punk music what would it be? I'd say rebellion. Punk music itself was created on the idea that making music didn't have to have rules. They typically started in someone's garage and were just a bunch of guys who didn't have any formal musical training just messing around (trying to get girls by saying "yeah I'm in a band)". Most of the time the bands flopped or the members just grew out of the phase. But on the rare chance some bands made it. This was the case for Green Day.
Green Day has been around since the 90's when they released their first EP at the age of 14. C'mon 14 years old and releasing a successful EP; thats amazing. At 14 I was on my couch watching Hannah Montana..... with that out there I think it's impressive that they made it. From there the band's career skyrocketed and became a staple of the punk music genre. They have released a ton of music, I mean they started making music when they were weeee little lads. But none of the music they have made can touch American Idiot. It was wildly successful and even has a broadway show after it.
American Idiot is the epitome of showing how much one band can grow. The sound of this album blends authentic punk with radio punk. It seems to have it's foot in each genre creating a perfect balance of both. In most authentic punk like NOFX the lyrics make hardly any sense and the focus of the music is on the instruments, mostly guitars and drums. Yes, I did make up the term authentic punk. But when I say authentic punk I mean the punk that is really made in a garage, sounds like a mash up of heavy instruments, and typically is not played on the radio. In this album the strong instruments compliment the vocals rather than compete for attention. Speaking of vocals, Armstrong keeps the whole authentic punk thing going because even when he is singing ballads he has this raspy, smoker voice that just makes the whole song feel grungy. Green Day kept the fast and angry tone throughout most of the album, which makes sure they stay true to their roots. With that being said, they did take some aspect from radio punk. In American Idiot, Green Day made choruses that even your grandma could sing along too which made the songs perfect for the radio. Another perk of this album being radio punk too is that the instrumentation is a lot more complex than authentic punk. I mean just range of instruments used is amazing. The album has everything from pianos to the typical guitars. When I say guitars, I'm talking about guitar pieces that feature more than three chords. American Idiot is balance of keeping the true badass punk rock but also being mainstream enough for common white girls (yes me) to like the music too.
The album has a plot line that chronicles the life of "Jesus of Suburbia" and his struggles of living in suburban, everyday America. The two bookends of the story are "Jesus of Suburbia" and "Homecoming". Both songs come in at about 9 minutes a piece which is a tad too long for my taste. It works here because Green Day keeps the energy and pace up by constantly changing the instrumentation up switching from rapid fire drums to melodic guitars and pianos. When that is put with the bold statements made by the band, it makes something worth listening too. Green Day tells their opinion on everyday life as an American through their characters which all have weird names, that I found really funny. For example, St. Jimmy and Whatsername are some of the other people in featured in the songs. But these characters are just typical teenagers growing up in suburbia who fall into the pit that is life. They wake up and realize how much it sucks being an adult, that we all get end up becoming part of "subliminal mind-fuck America".
Okay, so now that I covered a whole overview of the album I want to go into details on which songs are my jam. My favorite song is "Wake Me Up When September Ends". I love everything about it. I like that Armstrong takes a break from his yelling, well not really yelling more like casually shouting. You finally hear how soothing of a vocalist he can be. The melody is so calming in "Wake Me Up When September Ends". My absolute favorite part is how the guitar comes in right as the chorus starts. The guitar is soft but also has an edge. It's a Green Day burrito that has been wrapped in love with free guacamole on the side (I have no other way to describe my love for this song). Next is "Boulevard of Broken Dreams".The one thing that stands out to me as being different on this track is the that Armstrong just speaks the chorus and then builds up to singing or shouting a bit plus having intense drums. I think that having the chorus slowly build up makes the lyrics have more of an impact.
With all the positives being listed about the album it's time to cover some of the things that were not so hot about American Idiot. The first thing that comes to mind is the song "Homecoming". It's one of the bookends for the Jesus of Suburbia plot line and to me it's just one of the worst things they have ever put out. It drags on and is horrible hod podge of a bunch of things that do not gel. Like I said earlier, the instruments are placed together well and can work even though they are so different but "Homecoming" is the case where it does not work. It sounds just as bad as you think having a piano piece next to a huge guitar solo; it feels like they just didn't take the time to work out the transitions between each section. Overall, it's the weak link of the album and I always skip it.
American Idiot is a great album. It has everything that a good pop-punk record should have. It's catchy while still being badass. Not to mention the range of songs it has. There is seriously a song for each of your moods. I also think that it just the right amount of rebel in it. Green Day was one of the first to take aspects of authentic punk and make it mainstream, making them a huge inspiration for bands everywhere.
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