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American Idiot

LedbetterusLedbetterus Posts: 592
edited January 2008 in All Encompassing Trip
A long time Green Day fan, I was as put off as the next guy by 'American Idiot'. Three or four songs from this album were played on the radio almost any time you turned it on during the reign of this album.

I did however listen to the album a bunch of times around it's release and enjoyed it. There's something about this album in it's entirety that amazed me.

Sure, it doesn't compare to 'Dookie' or one or two other Green Day albums out there. But there are some damn good songs.

The message of the album is clear. As a country we're fucked up. A message almost every Pearl Jam can agree with, to an extent. And yet so many people are so quick to criticize this album because "Green Day sold out". Is it so wrong to sell out with this message? This generation of "radio songs" are pretty pathetic, and convey almost nothing to the youth of this country. Yet some how Green Day found a way to mix popular music with a real message.

Anyway, aside from the radio songs of this album, the rest of the songs are pretty damn good. I hear a lot of other bands in 'American Idiot'. There are two songs that really make me think of The Who. 'Jesus of Suburbia' and 'Homecoming' are like Rock Operas for todays society.

Seriously, selling out aside, or whatever you think about this album, give it a chance. One listen from front to back, even if you skip the songs you've heard 1,000,000 times on the radio.. You might be impressed.

I know this post is almost three years late, but I just listened to the album again last night and I was somewhat blown away.

Give it a shot, see what you think :D
Abraham Lincoln once said, "If you are a racist, I will attack you with the North."
Post edited by Unknown User on

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    facepollutionfacepollution Posts: 6,834
    I think it is EASILY the best album they've made. Sure it was all well over- played, and the record company turned Green Day and American Idiot into a product, but that doesn't change the fact it's an incredibly well written record. Jesus of Suburbia is genius.
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    LedbetterusLedbetterus Posts: 592
    facepollution wrote:
    I think it is EASILY the best album they've made. Sure it was all well over- played, and the record company turned Green Day and American Idiot into a product, but that doesn't change the fact it's an incredibly well written record. Jesus of Suburbia is genius.

    Rock on!

    "I'm the son of rage and love
    The Jesus of suburbia
    From the bible of none of the above
    On a steady diet of
    Soda pop and Ritalin
    No one ever died for my sins in hell
    As far as I can tell
    At least the ones I got away with "
    Abraham Lincoln once said, "If you are a racist, I will attack you with the North."
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    My3rdEyeMy3rdEye Posts: 926
    Great album!! Blows the fucking doors off of Dookie in my opinion.
    My blog for your boots:
    http://inthepresenttense.blogspot.com/
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    AusticmanAusticman Posts: 1,323
    Love it!! Its the Rock Opera thing that gets me. Love St Jimmy
    I can't go the library anymore, everyone STINKS!!
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    Sian-of-the-deadSian-of-the-dead Posts: 8,963
    Jesus of Suburbia is a monumental song (easily the best on there) and the album IS good. However, no way does it compare to Dookie or Insomniac... you just can't beat classics like Brat, Brain Stew and She IMO
    Been to this many PJ shows: Reading 2006 London 2007 Manchester & London 2009 Dublin, Belfast, London, Nijmegen & Berlin 2010 Manchester 1 & Manchester 2 2012...

    ... and I still think Drive-By Truckers are better.
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    facepollutionfacepollution Posts: 6,834
    Sian-of-the-dead wrote:
    Jesus of Suburbia is a monumental song (easily the best on there) and the album IS good. However, no way does it compare to Dookie or Insomniac... you just can't beat classics like Brat, Brain Stew and She IMO

    Yeah but I think you're talking about nostalgia there, yes they are great songs, but musically and lyrically they are not on the same level as American Idiot.
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    Sian-of-the-deadSian-of-the-dead Posts: 8,963
    facepollution wrote:
    Yeah but I think you're talking about nostalgia there, yes they are great songs, but musically and lyrically they are not on the same level as American Idiot.

    Thats why I said IMO :p

    I agree, they aren't on the same level lyrically. However, musically I believe that American Idiot had more money, production and technology ploughed into it to sell to the mass market and my god, it worked. It lost that raw edge that was present in earlier albums, that cleaner sound doesn't make it better musically. Technically they're on the same, simple song writing level.

    IMO :D
    Been to this many PJ shows: Reading 2006 London 2007 Manchester & London 2009 Dublin, Belfast, London, Nijmegen & Berlin 2010 Manchester 1 & Manchester 2 2012...

    ... and I still think Drive-By Truckers are better.
  • Options
    facepollutionfacepollution Posts: 6,834
    Sian-of-the-dead wrote:
    Thats why I said IMO :p

    I agree, they aren't on the same level lyrically. However, musically I believe that American Idiot had more money, production and technology ploughed into it to sell to the mass market and my god, it worked. It lost that raw edge that was present in earlier albums, that cleaner sound doesn't make it better musically. Technically they're on the same, simple song writing level.

    IMO :D

    Even Jesus of Suburbia? That song takes a lot of twists and turns, I would say it was more accomplished musically, but what do I know?!
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    brain of cbrain of c Posts: 5,213
    don't want to be an american idiot
    d'oh!!!!!!

    http://www.myspace.com/brain_of_c
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    Sian-of-the-deadSian-of-the-dead Posts: 8,963
    facepollution wrote:
    Even Jesus of Suburbia? That song takes a lot of twists and turns, I would say it was more accomplished musically, but what do I know?!

    Lol I don't know.... you could be Sir Simon Rattle for all I know! :p I'm just saying that if you break down the basics of the songwriting it isn't all that complex.... even Jesus of Suburbia, the twists and turns are merely change in style and tempo and adding/removing instrument samples. It's like a few typical Greenday songs all blended together through production. It's a simple 4/4 beat throughout, it's most apparent in the 'I Don't Care' section of the song.

    I personally love that song, definately the best on the album and the album IS good but IMO no different or better musically than the earlier releases. It just had money and record companies backing it and so was heavily produced and given a 'cleaner' sound. I do prefer Insomniac and Dookie, and you're right, it's probably due to nostalgia! :D
    Been to this many PJ shows: Reading 2006 London 2007 Manchester & London 2009 Dublin, Belfast, London, Nijmegen & Berlin 2010 Manchester 1 & Manchester 2 2012...

    ... and I still think Drive-By Truckers are better.
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    Indian SummerIndian Summer Posts: 2,296
    I, to this day, don't understand why people think their favorite bands have sold out when they have some commercial success. If you love and support these bands why are you not happy when they are all over the radio & television....selling millions of albums.....and selling out venues every time they play. I love the American Idiot album....it's brought Green Day back from the dead, and introduced them to a whole new generation of fans. Good for them! They deserve their commercial success.
    "It's all happening"
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    Sian-of-the-deadSian-of-the-dead Posts: 8,963
    Indian Summer wrote:
    I, to this day, don't understand why people think their favorite bands have sold out when they have some commercial success. If you love and support these bands why are you not happy when they are all over the radio & television....selling millions of albums.....and selling out venues every time they play. I love the American Idiot album....it's brought Green Day back from the dead, and introduced them to a whole new generation of fans. Good for them! They deserve their commercial success.


    I didn't say it was a bad thing, I like the album. I merely stated that musically the album is no better than previous efforts.
    Been to this many PJ shows: Reading 2006 London 2007 Manchester & London 2009 Dublin, Belfast, London, Nijmegen & Berlin 2010 Manchester 1 & Manchester 2 2012...

    ... and I still think Drive-By Truckers are better.
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    lalalalaaaaaaaalalalalaaaaaaaa Posts: 2,445
    IMO Insomniac destroys everything else they ever put out, and it's sad because the single chosen for that album was probably the weakest song on there, so it didn't get the praise it deserved. But that album is what Green Day WAS all about: aggressive, simple pop music. They did it better than almost everyone...after that album, I dunno...they just got weaker and weaker to me. However that could also be a sign of me just growing out of that kind of music too, because I rarely listen to Insomniac or any Green Day at all now. 4/4 pop is ok sometimes I guess, but it rarely stands the test of time for me. The only simple music that holds up like that is punk usually.
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    pjfan31pjfan31 Posts: 7,331
    Yeh i really liked it. The trick is not to listen to the radio too much
    They played a really good concert, one of my favourites of all time. Pitty they don't change their setlists on tour.

    "like my father's come to pass
    7 years has gone so fast
    Wake me up when September ends"
    Sydney 11/02/2003
    Sydney 14/02/2003
    Sydney 07/11/2006
    Sydney 18/11/2006
    Sydney 22/11/2009
    EV Sydney 18/03/2011
    EV Sydney 19/03/2011
    EV Sydney 20/03/2011
    Melbourne 24/01/2014
    Sydney 26/01/2014
    EV Sydney 13/02/2014
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    justamjustam Posts: 21,401
    Ledbetterus wrote:
    A long time Green Day fan, I was as put off as the next guy by 'American Idiot'. Three or four songs from this album were played on the radio almost any time you turned it on during the reign of this album.

    I did however listen to the album a bunch of times around it's release and enjoyed it. There's something about this album in it's entirety that amazed me.

    Sure, it doesn't compare to 'Dookie' or one or two other Green Day albums out there. But there are some damn good songs.

    The message of the album is clear. As a country we're fucked up. A message almost every Pearl Jam can agree with, to an extent. And yet so many people are so quick to criticize this album because "Green Day sold out". Is it so wrong to sell out with this message? This generation of "radio songs" are pretty pathetic, and convey almost nothing to the youth of this country. Yet some how Green Day found a way to mix popular music with a real message.

    Anyway, aside from the radio songs of this album, the rest of the songs are pretty damn good. I hear a lot of other bands in 'American Idiot'. There are two songs that really make me think of The Who. 'Jesus of Suburbia' and 'Homecoming' are like Rock Operas for todays society.

    Seriously, selling out aside, or whatever you think about this album, give it a chance. One listen from front to back, even if you skip the songs you've heard 1,000,000 times on the radio.. You might be impressed.

    I know this post is almost three years late, but I just listened to the album again last night and I was somewhat blown away.

    Give it a shot, see what you think :D

    I like it as a whole very much too. I wasn't much of a Green Day fan before I got it but there's something about the way the words tell a story that pulled me in. :)
    &&&&&&&&&&&&&&
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    edvedder913edvedder913 Posts: 1,810
    facepollution wrote:
    I think it is EASILY the best album they've made. Sure it was all well over- played, and the record company turned Green Day and American Idiot into a product, but that doesn't change the fact it's an incredibly well written record. Jesus of Suburbia is genius.

    ditto :)
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    nfanelnfanel Posts: 2,558
    i loved this album, too. i saw them twice in concert during the american idiot tour and it was cool how they played the songs in album order...i think it'll be tough for them to follow this album up!
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    DerrickDerrick Posts: 475
    American Idiot is amazing.
    "When September Ends" is/was way overplayed, but that album is extremely well done. On a similar note, I've only been to see GD once in concert, but it was pretty fucking amazing too...it was back in 2002ish.
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    prytocorduroyprytocorduroy Posts: 4,355
    I never understood the hate for this album. Most of the people that hate it hate it because it's popular. None of them could ever give a good reason (always said something completely stupid like "it sucks").

    The marketing behind this album was genius.


    I did think it was funny that they appeared on American Idol though. Who better to promote a product to that the AI viewers? ;)
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    Slip KidSlip Kid Posts: 1,175
    I'm not a huge Green Day fan but I bought this album

    pretty well done
    I just don't trust anything that bleeds for five days and doesn't die.
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