October 2004 marked the grand return after almost 4 years of silence for Green Day with the now-famous "American Idiot," a pop/rock album that partly loses the sounds that made Green Day famous back in 1993 with Dookie but gains that pop sound that is so fashionable in this new millennium.

Perhaps it was this very choice that made the most die-hard fans of pure punk wrinkle their noses. Personally, this choice didn't bother me; in fact, I thought it was the right move to open the album to people who until now didn't even know who Green Day were. In the end, this was more than the right move considering the CD has reached 9 million copies sold worldwide.

The CD immediately opens with the titular "American Idiot," the most Rock track the CD offers, as well as the first single from the album to make it onto MTV. The track is fast, enjoyable, and unlike past years, loved even by those who don't love Punk. The second track is the endless "Jesus Of Suburbia," a 12-minute-long song composed of 5 different song pieces put together by the Berkeley trio, who also made a video that Billie Joe described upon release as the "new Thriller."

The third track is "Holiday," another track more inclined towards Pop than Punk, very catchy with an engaging chorus. Now we come to the fourth track, the true highlight of the CD, "Boulevard Of Broken Dreams" which was a worldwide success, an almost perfect song for this new millennium with an impeccable composition, never trivial, with lyrics capable of bringing tears. The track has been highly awarded, winning prizes upon prizes and propelling "American Idiot" to the top of the charts. The fifth track is the beautiful and underrated "Are We The Waiting"—the emblem of Green Day's shift from Punk to Pop, even if the song is really beautiful. "St. Jimmy" is a return to Green Day's past, a track to sing at the top of your lungs given the power it imparts.

Continuing the listen, you find "Give Me Novacaine," a track that starts well but then ends badly, and the stunning "She's A Rebel"—as short as it is beautiful—my humble opinion being the best piece of the CD, in true Green Day style. "Extraordinary Girl" is a good piece that precedes the excellent "Letterbomb"—this one also fast with the classic chorus that installs itself in your head. The CD concludes with "Wake Me Up When September Ends," another of the album's diamonds, speaking of Billie Joe's father's death ten years earlier and accompanied by a very sad video. The twelfth track is the other lengthy one, "Homecoming" and to close the work, we have "Whatsername" which excellently ends the CD with its continuous changes of rhythm, a fitting conclusion to the CD.

All in all, this is more than a great album, marking the grand return of Green Day, perhaps abandoning their origins and opening the doors to new horizons.

Tracklist Lyrics and Videos

01   American Idiot (02:56)

Don't wanna be an American idiot
Don't want a nation under the new media
And can you hear the sound of hysteria
The subliminal mind fuck America

Welcome to a new kind of tension
All across the alien nation
Where everything isn't meant to be okay
Television dreams of tomorrow
We're not the ones who are meant to follow
For that's enough to argue

Well maybe I am the faggot America
I'm not a part of a redneck agenda
Now everybody do the propaganda
And sing along to the age of paranoia

Welcome to a new kind of tension
All across the alien nation
Everything isn't meant to be okay
Television dreams of tomorrow
We're not the ones who are meant to follow
For that's enough to argue

Don't want to be an American idiot
One nation controlled by the media
Information age of hysteria
It's going out to idiot America

Welcome to a new kind of tension
All across the alien nation
Everything isn't meant to be okay
Television dreams of tomorrow
We're not the ones who are meant to follow
For that's enough to argue

02   American Idiot (radio edit) ()

03   Favorite Son ()

He hit the ground running,
At the speed of light.
The star was brightly shining,
Like a neon light.

It's your favorite son.
It's your favorite son.

A fixture on the talkshows,
To the silver screen.
From here to Colorado,
He's a sex machine.

It's your favorite son.
It's your favorite son.

But isn't it a drag?
Isn't it a drag?
Isn't it a drag?
It's pretty bloody sad,
but isn't it a drag?

A clean-cut All-American,
Really ain't so clean.
His royal auditorium,
Is a murder scene.

It's your favorite son.
It's your favorite son.
Oh, isn't it a drag?
Isn't it a drag?
Isn't it a drag?
It's pretty bloody sad,
but isn't it a drag?

Well no one says it's fair.
Turn a teenage lush,
To a millionaire.

Now where's your fuckin' champion?
On a bed you laid.
He's not the All-American,
That you thought you paid.

It's your favorite son.
It's your favorite son.
But isn't it a drag?

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Other reviews

By Stràfiko Piezzecore

 This results in 'American Idiot,' a public denunciation of George W.'s administration set like a rock opera.

 'American Idiot' finally surpasses the (many) limits of its own genre, while obviously always remaining attentive to the immediacy it has always sought.


By rebel1

 American Idiot particularly reveals the ideals of the band, it’s an anthem against America and the American people specifically defined as (idiots)!

 Boulevard Of Broken Dreams... the most beautiful point of the song is right at the end… when those guitars attack with that haunting and very surprising melody.


By Spike Joe

 "Jesus Of Suburbia is a truly remarkable and well-crafted song that, despite its length, flows smoothly and can be considered one of the best tracks on the entire album."

 Green Day is like this now, and in a way, it’s perhaps a good thing since... we might get to hear some nice punk rock piece, even if commercial.


By CRAZY TRAIN

 "Don’t want to be an American idiot, don’t want a nation under the new media…"

 "Alienation has taken over the individual, who appears de-identified, deprived of the identity they were born with."


By The Punisher

 This damn blockbuster rock’n’roll only suitable for stupid kids... this FUCKING adolescent rock, banal in everything.

 I will never forgive Green Day for ruining one of the most exciting nights of my life.