Green Day officially made pop-punk a big thing with the release of “Dookie”, one of the ultimate bored, frustrated teenager albums, in 1994. Over the years the band has experimented a bit, written a hit rock ballad (“Good Riddance”), and even matured. 2000's “Warning” was given to us not by bratty barley twentysomethings but recent fathers who knew how to write good, catchy pop-punk songs while still remaining creative (“Misery”, for one, is a good genre bender).

And now, in 2004, we've come back to songs about a suburban teenager in....a rock opera?

Truthfully, you don't need to think of “American Idiot” as a rock opera, or even a concept album if you don't want to. It isn't very literal--lyrically it's pretty introspective, with plot as a bit of a backdrop.

Lead single and title track “American Idiot” opens, which, despite sounding kind of how you'd expect a Green Day single to sound, is quite good. It has an almost bratty tone akin to early Green Day ("Well maybe I'm the faggot America! I'm not a part of the red neck agenda”) with the musical skill you'd expect from a band that has been together for so long.

The best song by far is “Jesus of Suburbia”, which is nine minutes long, and get this—it doesn't get boring. This is coming from someone who prefers songs that don't go much above the four-minute mark. But Green Day make it seem effortless.

Track three, “Holiday”, is one of those anti-Bush songs that have become dime a dozen on punk albums lately, but it saves itself by being a little more lyrically subtle and an overall good song.

”Boulevard of Broken Dreams” and “We Are the Waiting” both have a more rainy day ballad sound. Both are worthy of lighter songs with an extra strong dose of the sing-along quality that the whole album possesses. The latter ends abruptly and we are introduced to “St. Jimmy”, a fast-paced punk song with an excellent breakdown that ends as abruptly as it started. St. Jimmy, according to Billie Joe Armstrong, is a "sort of a cross between Darby Crash and John the Baptist -- he could be your kid next door or the local drug dealer who is seductive and a liar and symbolizes the rotten kid that everybody wanted to be.”

And since there is something for everyone here, possible love interest Whatshername is introduced in “She’s a Rebel”, a pop-punk song that puts all of the bands that cite Green Day as a number-one influence to shame.

“Wake Me Up When September Ends” was hyped as a more grown up “Good Riddance.” And like “Good Riddance”, it’s good when you’re in the right mood, but the final two songs, “Homecoming” and “Whatshername” have a repeatability that it lacks.

“Homecoming” is another nine-minute plus affair, chronicling the death of St. Jimmy, Jesus of Suburbia returning home, and a brief interlude titled “Rock n’ Roll Girlfriend” sung and written by drummer Tre Cool (who I may add is amazing on this album). The song may start to wander into pretentiousness once in awhile, but each time it’s saved by Billie Joe chanting in a nasally voice “Nobody likes you, everyone left you, they’re all out without you, having fun.”

Things end with the nostalgic “Whatsername”, who has disappeared from Jesus of Suburbia’s life. The song is a good closer that leaves you itching to start the album over…which I think I’ll do now…



Label: Reprise Records
Release: September 21st, 2004

Track Listing:

01. American Idiot
02. Jesus of Suburbia
03. Holiday
04. Boulevard of Broken Dreams
05. We Are The Waiting
06. St. Jimmy
07. Give Me Novacaine
08. She’s a Rebel
09. Extraordinary Girl
10. Letterbomb
11. Wake Me Up When September Ends
12. Homecoming
13. Whatshername


Rating:



Review by: Lyndie