(Part One): http://www.spreaker.com/user/djsteele/american-idiot
(Part Two): http://www.spreaker.com/user/djsteele/american-idiot-part-two
If you were at all alive during 2004, you have probably heard of Green Day's smash hit album, American Idiot. Everything about this album, from the artwork to the story to the music, is top notch. it truly is a punk rock masterpiece, but it transcends punk music and becomes something more. Since its release it has become a centerpiece of alternative radio stations and even has been turned into a broadway musical. Here's the story. The album begins with American Idiot, a charged up, heavy anti-American anthem that screams punk. Then the story begins with the next track, broken up into several sections. Jesus of Suburbia/City of the Damned/I Don't Care/ Dearly Beloved/Tales of Another a Broken Home. Rolls right of the toungue, doesn't it? In all seriousness, this is one of my favorite songs on the album, and sets the stage for the entire story. We are introduced to our main character, Jesus, who is the self proclaimed "son of rage and love", who lives in the suburbs. Simply put, he cannot stand it. He needs something more, some excitement, something new. He visits the shopping mall and reads the graffiti on the wall, and it says that his town, The Center of the Earth, is the end of the world, meaning you can live and die in that suburb without ever really living. He says he could really care less, but he knows better. He needs out. He also mentions that "they say home is where the heart is but what a shame cause everyone's heart doesn't beat the same... It's beating out of time..." This is not where his heart is, this isn't for everyone. In the further sections, we will learn why. In I Dont Care, Jesus of Suburbia shows his apathy towards the suburbs and his home and where he lives. Dearly Beloved at first glance at the title would appear like a love song, but it is in fact, in my opinion, a sarcastic blow towards his parents. "I can't remember a word that you were saying" means he never listened to them, never took them seriously, and in the final section we learn why. Tales of Another Broken Home gives us the impression that he comes from one (a broken home). He finally iTunes away from the suburbs towards the excitement of the city, and he won't apologize for he feels no shame. Another thing: he brings followers, what I will call disciples, other individuals from similar situations. Next up is the anti-war Holiday, which is classic driving punk rock. Towards the story, it gives us Jesus' anti-war ideals. I can picture our character screaming into the rain, on his way to the city, all these dead ideas until hoarse. His followers slowly thin out until it is just Jesus remaining, walking the Boulevard of Broken Dreams. In this song, the main character now walks "a lonely road", the only one he has ever known, hardening back to how he always felt alone in his broken home, possibly abused by his parents and ignored by his peers. Then he sees the city: enter We Are The Waiting. I picture our hero standing, stunned, as the rain begins to slow as the city seems to rise up out of the mist and the fog. It gives a grand sort of feel to the city, he is awestruck: it is something he has never experienced before. When entering the city, he meets a new character: St. Jimmy. But here's the thing: St.Jimmy is merely Jesus' alter ego, not a new person, in my opinion. St. Jimmy is, for lack of a better word, a total punk badass. He also does drugs, nicknamed Novocaine by Jesus. Give Me Novocaine is a reference to Jimmy getting Jesus hooked on drugs, saying it is better than air. The next song opens up instantly, it's as if the girl, Whatsername, walks by and makes Jesus stop what he is doing, he is awestruck, how rebellious this girl is! She's a Rebel also has Jesus wondering aloud, "is she trouble like I'm trouble?". His alter ego, St. Jimmy, seems to gnaw at him, telling him not to fall for her, but it is too late. In Extraordinary Girl, we get a look into her mind and her life. "She's all alone again, wiping the tears from her eyes..." She has been hurt one too many times to feel love, she is hardened, cold. In Letterbomb she exposes St. Jimmy to be nothing more than "a figment of your fathers rage and your mothers love" and openly mocks him, which destroys him, in the radio show, I left out Wake Me Up When September Ends, as it does not, in my opinion, relate to the story, rather, it is a node to Billy Joe's late father. The second to last track is the longest on the album, clocking in at just under ten minutes. Homecoming/The Death Of St. Jimmy/East 12th Street/Nobody Likes You/Rock and Roll Girlfriend/Were Coming Home Again is the most important and in my opinion the best song on the album. It features the suicide of Jesus' alter ego after his exposure by Whatsername. He "blew his brains out into the bay" and it is described by Jesus as his "own private suicide". He is sitting at his new job filling out papers on East 12th Street, when he realizes he has to escape again. He cannot take the city, he realizes it is just like the suburbs. I draw a similarity to Born To Run here, as this Springsteen album is all about getting out, escaping, it is the motif, the theme of the album. I also see a biblical theme here. The death of St. Jimmy represents the death to self, but a spiritual rebirth for Jesus of Suburbia, in a sense, St. Jimmy dies, and takes all of Jesus of Suburbia's sins with him, cleansing him. Nobody Likes You harkens back to what Whatsername has said, echoing within Jesus' mind. Finally, in We're Coming Home Again, it is rather self explanatory, except that it references WE. Who is we? The answer, in my opinion, is all the experiences that Jesus has had in the city, coming home with him, making him a more complete person. It is as if he is dragging the dead body of St. Jimmy along with him as he treks back home. The album closes with Whatsername which has Jesus wondering if he will ever see her again, maybe he already did on the street the other day....
MY RATINGS-
Music: 9/10
Story: 9/10
Themes: 9/10
Overall: 9/10
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