This album must be one of the last giga-sellers, having sold (according to wikipedia) more than 6 million copies in US alone (+ 2 mil in UK). But let's pretend you haven't heard it already and let me present it to you. At the time it was a most unexpected offering from a band that had broken through ten years before with MTV hit "Basket case" and was following a respectable but declining course. I guess we have George W. Bush to thank for revitalizing punk rock by providing plenty to rebel against: War, Corporate Greed, Oppression, Mass Propaganda. Green Day make their position clear on the opening song "I'm not a part of a redneck agenda...Don't want to be an American idiot/One nation controlled by the media/Information age of hysteria/It's calling out to idiot America". And it's a really anthemic song, with a strong sing-along chorus. So far they seem to be mimicking their punk rock heroes like The Clash. But then they follow it up with a 9-minute mini-epic comprised of small segments and introducing the record's main character Jesus of Suburbia. During the course of the record we follow the life of Jesus of Suburbia and other characters and their struggle to survive in Bush's "Mindfuck America". I will not analyze the story because frankly I haven't delved too deep in it, but there's enough plot to warrant a Broadway musical with a possible movie adaptation in the works. Musically there's also a fuller palette than before with punk being just one of the colors. Bands from The Who to U2 come to mind, next to the usual suspects like The Ramones and Clash. Although there's no lack of loud guitars, some of the highlights are melancholic mid-tempo numbers like "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" and "Wake Me Up When September Ends", The latter being a reference to 9/11, made more explicit from the video clip portraying a young couple torn apart by the war in Iraq. Not much more to say except that the album is already considered a classic and included in all-time-greatest lists. If you want more details on the story, wait for the movie!
***** for American Idiot, Wake Me Up When September Ends
**** for Holiday, Boulevard of Broken Dreams, She's a Rebel
*** for Jesus of Suburbia, Are We the Waiting, St. Jimmy, Give Me Novacaine, Letterbomb, Whatsername
** for Extraordinary Girl, Homecoming
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