Album Review: Green Day - American Idiot (2004)

Since I first listened to it on a six-week road trip across the United States with my family in the summer of 2006, I have always enjoyed this album and I consider it not just one of the most influential albums of my life, but of the 21st Century so far. At the time of that road trip, I didn’t have a MP3 player yet, so all of my music was in CD form. However, the collection that I brought on the trip was pretty small. Only a couple of days into the trip, we celebrated my brother’s ninth birthday at Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky, with his presents being opened in a cheap motel room the same day. Among the gifts were a MP3 player, and a physical CD copy of American Idiot, my brother having recently expressed an interest in Green Day’s music. My responsible but never over-sheltering parents had (thankfully) given minimal thought to the Parental Advisory sticker, and had actually pre-loaded the album’s tracks onto the MP3 player, which naturally meant I was given undeclared custody of the CD. Over the next five weeks or so of what were often day-long hauls across the expanses of the American West, crammed into the back of a fully loaded Honda Odyssey whose trip odometer would eventually register a total of 10,676 miles, I listened to the album all the way through at least once, if not twice a day (and often more than that).

Only in retrospect can I fully appreciate the reasons why this album had such a profound impact on me. I was twelve years old and had only really known my parents music up to that point, so it was something new, and more importantly, felt like something that was entirely mine. Also, for the first time in my life I really started paying attention to lyrics and storytelling within songs, and with the distinct narrative structure that this album contains, it just so happened to be a fantastic starting point. Simply put, this album is the millennial equivalent of The Who’s Tommy or Quadrophenia. It is a very well-composed and well-structured rock opera which chronicles the trials and tribulations faced by the self-described “Jesus of Suburbia”, a product of the overprotected and misinformed generation of youths raised in the Ritalin-happy and mass media-dominated world of post-9/11 America. 

Aside from that, the undeniably volatile nature of America and the rest of the world during that mid-00s setting provides fodder for some fantastic standalone socio-political punk anthems within the broader narrative, which will surely lead to this album being reflected on thirty years from now the same way that the Sex Pistols’ “Anarchy in the U.K.” is reflected on today. In terms of the album’s immediate effects upon its release, Green Day, who had never delved too deeply into political subject matter before, soon gained an edgier and more mature image which ended up re-popularizing the group after a couple of decent but under-performing albums, and eventually American Idiot would earn the band a Grammy for best Rock Album.

So let’s light this fuse and see what all the fuss was about.

1. American Idiot

As powerful as it is overplayed, this song blasts both the presidency of George W. Bush, as well as the American media for their perceived role as government propaganda slingers for the ill-fated Iraq War. With a great pounding punk rhythm throughout and a very fine guitar solo, this song is one of the best album openers of the modern age of rock, and perfectly establishes the dysfunctional setting for the narrative to come. 

2. Jesus of Suburbia

The first of two multi-part suites on the album, this track introduces the protagonist of the narrative. The title of the first part, “Jesus of Suburbia”, refers to the self-created alias of the otherwise nameless protagonist, who observes that he is just one individual out of an entire generation raised by absentee parents via “a steady diet of soda pop and Ritalin” and a barrage of harmful mass media influence, all used as a means to “normalize” their children rather than raise them directly and support their individual talents and aspirations. Jesus of Suburbia hints that this combination of behavioral drugs and disinterested parenting will backfire and lead more of his generation to drug abuse at a young age. In the second part, “City of the Damned”, Jesus of Suburbia wanders his dead-end town, lamenting that the only “education” his peers really receive comes from places like 7-11 parking lots and shopping malls, and that most of them will likely be stuck in the town well into adulthood, never amounting to anything or finding opportunities to expand their horizons. 
   Jesus of Suburbia’s rejection of the ideals set in place for his generation manifests in the third part, “I Don’t Care”, as he angrily describes his generation as being “born and raised by hypocrites”, and in part four, “Dearly Beloved”, he seeks an explanation for his feelings through therapy, with no success. By the beginning of the fifth part, “Tales of Another Broken Home”, he comes to the conclusion that continuing “to live, but not to breathe” will only lead him further down the inevitable path of his unfortunate peers. He decides to stop being a victim of the harmful authority figures in his life and leaves his hometown in search of some truth, or at least something worth living for.

3. Holiday

Another raucous punk anthem, this song’s upbeat sound disguises some serious bitterness towards post-9/11 American foreign policy, and laments “the ones who died without a name” in the ensuing chaos of war. As far as the narrative is concerned, the song’s upbeat choruses convey Jesus of Suburbia’s newly discovered empowerment and lust for life after leaving his bleak hometown for the exciting world beyond, an experience he compares to being on holiday. This song has been a distinct favorite of mine ever since I first heard the album, and just the opening riff is still enough to keep my finger away from the skip button.

4. Boulevard of Broken Dreams

Holiday fades, both audibly and thematically, into this track as Jesus of Suburbia’s initial excitement is quickly replaced by loneliness and frustration as he struggles to find a real purpose to his newfound lifestyle. This track has a somewhat infamous reputation with some rock fans, as it quickly became the song that “spoke” to every angsty American teen, even as its catchiness gained it enough notoriety in the pop world to be covered by the scourge of musical decency known as “Kidz Bop”. However, both of these supposedly condemning factors unfairly marginalize the song, especially the former as the song doesn’t claim to be anything besides angsty in the first place, ultimately representing Jesus of Suburbia’s comedown from the emotional high of Holiday in the narrative.

5. Are We the Waiting

This track has a slow, almost U2-like vibe to it, and while it treads the same emotional ground as Boulevard of Broken Dreams, the song’s lyrics are much less vacantly gloomy and more introspective. This is arguably the lowest point of Jesus of Suburbia’s narrative, as he realizes that the outside world is just as fucked up as where he came from. He decides that he needs to fully shed the persona created by his upbringing, and ultimately declares, “Jesus of Suburbia is a lie”.

6. St. Jimmy

This blistering song, which starts with a bang immediately after the final note of the preceding track, is the heaviest and fastest on the album. As part of the albums as a whole, it is a welcome change after the bleak tone of the two previous tracks, but it is also one of my favorite standalone tracks as well. The introduction of this song’s titular character, who makes aggressively bold claims of his rebelliousness and exploits, into the narrative represents a turning point in Jesus of Suburbia’s outlook on life and the world. In actuality St. Jimmy is nothing more than a hedonistic alter ego created by the mind of Jesus of Suburbia, as he suppresses his emotions and avoids his insecurities in an attempt to recreate himself as somebody who will be remembered, or at least noticed by the surrounding world.

7. Give Me Novacaine

This track starts off with a relaxed, almost calypso-like sound through the verses that ties to yet another narrative shift, as Jesus of Suburbia relaxes under the influence of his alter-ego St. Jimmy’s “novocaine” of denial and “ignorance is bliss” attitude towards the surrounding world. Despite its importance to the narrative however, I’ve always considered it an unappealing standalone track.
 

8. She’s a Rebel

Repeating the St. Jimmy intro, this track blasts off right after the preceding track ends and doesn’t slow down. While not nearly as intense as St. Jimmy, the song is a very energetic and catchy punk rock love ballad, not too far removed from similar songs recorded by the Ramones. The track introduces the character of “Whatsername” to the narrative, a woman who Jesus of Suburbia is immediately smitten with, as he considers her to be the living embodiment of the anti-authoritarian ideals of independence he is attempting to live up to.

9. Extraordinary Girl

Beginning with a Middle Eastern-sounding intro of tribal drums and tabla, this song describes the brief and troubled relationship between Jesus of Suburbia/St. Jimmy and Whatsername. Jesus/Jimmy’s happiness in finding someone to relate to and care about quickly turns sour as Whatsername begins to recognize that his rebel attitude is ultimately nothing more than a facade, and his insincerity soon strains their relationship. The song’s lyrics can also be considered as a more straightforward commentary on how modern society encourages women to be strong and independent, yet simultaneously continues to impose a historically idealized image upon them, causing immense pressure on them as individuals.

10. Letterbomb

This song starts off with an odd but somewhat fitting vocal solo from real-life “Whatsername”, Kathleen Hanna, frontwoman of the influential Olympia, Washington punk band Bikini Kill. At this point in the narrative, Whatsername (Hanna) has had enough and calls out Jesus/Jimmy for his insincere rebellious facade, telling him that “nobody likes you”, and that his grating attitude has driven away any friends he thought he had. Thus the actual song begins, an energetic number with bitter lyrics presented from the self-deprecating point of view of Jesus/Jimmy, as he lambasts himself for his self-deception, and for not recognizing sooner that it was holding him back from making any real change in the world. Despite lyrics that initially might seem to heavily denounce traditional punk ideals, the song instead denounces anyone who would use those ideals for selfish or underhanded purposes.

11. Wake Me Up When September Ends

On that note, here’s another undeniably powerful song from the album, overplayed to death by contemporary pop radio. Originally written by frontman Billie Joe Armstrong as a tribute to his late father, at first glance this song has essentially nothing to do with the album’s narrative, with no distinct connections to the other tracks through lyrics or tone. Upon further scrutiny though, its placement on the tracklist could arguably represent a point where Jesus of Suburbia decides to reflect on his past, and the effects of the choices that he made along his journey.

12. Homecoming

The second multi-part suite of the album and a grand finale of sorts, this song is considerably different than it’s earlier counterpart in that the musical styles displayed from section to section are much more distinctly different from each other as the track goes on. In the first part, a mid-tempo piece entitled “The Death of St. Jimmy”, Jesus of Suburbia recognizes that his alter ego of St. Jimmy is so obsessed with the idea that the authority figures are solely to blame for Jesus’ problems, that he ignores the truth that an individual is ultimately responsible for their own actions, and what they choose to do with those actions. Jesus eradicates Jimmy’s influence through what he describes as Jimmy’s “self-righteous suicide”, and in the less aggressive second part “East 12th Street”, starts working a 9 to 5 job in an attempt to get his life together. He soon becomes dissatisfied though, and starts craving the happier times spent with his rebel “underbelly” friends. Stuck between his soul-crushing job and his unattainable desire to go back to friends he no longer has, Jesus of Suburbia begins to have a nervous breakdown. 
   This leads to bassist Mike Dirnt’s vocal contribution in the third part, “Nobody Likes You”, as Jesus vegetates at home watching television, and as he starts to feel like he’s worse off than where he began all the way back in his hometown, he recalls the things Whatsername said about all of his friends leaving him. In the fourth part, a piece with some heavy Ramones influence entitled “Rock and Roll Girlfriend” (which contains a rare lead vocal cameo by drummer Tré Cool), Jesus is contacted by one of his former rebel friends who has joined a rock band and become rich and famous. Perhaps realizing that even true rebels can become corrupted, Jesus of Suburbia, having completely re-examined his life choices, finally gives up his dreams of rebellion to return home to his dead-end town in the fifth and final part “We’re Coming Home Again”, though he does so with a distinct air of hope that is conveyed by a bombastic and triumphant-sounding finale to the song. Not only does this track as a whole reflect its counterpart brilliantly, but each portion is so memorable and enjoyable in its own right that I can’t recall the last time I didn’t listen to this track all the way through.

13. Whatsername

This introspective alt-rock ballad closes the album and the narrative with a somewhat ambiguous epilogue, in which Jesus of Suburbia reflects on his memories of Whatsername. He decides that “regrets are useless” and that for better or for worse, he will always remember his experiences and how they changed his outlook on life, leaving him a much wiser man than he would have been otherwise.

Though they haven’t yet been able to replicate the quality of this album, with the less structured 2009 followup 21st Century Breakdown or the 2012 experimental trilogy ¡Uno!, ¡Dos!, ¡Tré!, Green Day proved with 2004’s American Idiot that they were a band with both serious tenacity and talent, who under the right circumstances could create something truly special and resonant in the world of rock, and in the world of music in general. It is easily the most influential and thought-provoking album I heard during my formative years, and will always have a special place in my collection (regardless of whether or not two of its tracks made it onto a Kidz Bop album).

Top Three Tracks:

1. Holiday

2. Homecoming

3. St. Jimmy