•
Rating: WARNING!!! Before leaving any comments about the album, the reviewer or anything else, I would ask you to read the entire opinion, because you might find yourself perfectly agreeing with me. If not, I will accept your dissenting comments if accompanied by a proper justification. So relax, take a deep breath and save the insults for later. Thank you.
The fact is this: the Green Day have sold out shamelessly! Yes, they no longer have the dignified image that distinguished them 5 or 6 years ago. Now they’re living on MTV and 13-year-olds drool, screaming madly: "Yessssssss, Billie Joe I adore you, you are so coollll!". There they are, the idols of the previous generation have ended up in the trash!!! How disgusting, right? Not to mention the live performances, where Billie Joe just pretends to play and often messes up badly. Or not? Yes, it's exactly like that.
But...
But what?
Something else even more shocking happened. The latest Green Day album, "American Idiot", one of the best-selling albums in 2005, is the band's most mature and elaborate work! Yes dear DeBasers, many after this statement will have already decided what comment to add, and will never admit that what I say is true, but try to think about it for a moment.
"Dookie", the work that many consider the most interesting of their career, also has some really dull songs (maybe it's also the fault of the recording, eh), and they all seem the same. "American Idiot" offers us a varied and intriguing tracklist. Let me explain.
When have there ever been tracks on an album by the aforesaid band that exceed 10 minutes? When ever??? And moreover, each divided into 5 parts, as was customary in the legendary 70s! Doesn’t that sound like a big deal?
The truth is that Green Day have taken an incredible leap in quality! This album, whether you agree or not, is the absolute masterpiece of the band!!! And it's not hard to see. The tracks are surprisingly energetic, the lyrics show that (even if they have sold out badly) Green Day have guts. They too hate Bush and the typical-American figure, and state it openly, so much so that Bush himself banned the album for a period! How can you not realize the importance of an album like this?
I am NOT saying AT ALL that this album will change your life, I am saying that it's too fresh with innovation to be completely snubbed. Jesus of Suburbia is simply wonderful! Articulated in an original and convincing way. Then there's Boulevard of Broken Dreams, a track that many have debated, but if it hadn't been played on TV and radio, everyone would have loved it. The same goes for the even more beautiful Wake Me Up... Homecoming is also astonishing in its engagement. You can't talk about filler tracks, because this is a concept album in every respect! No discussion!
In conclusion, I think your comments should be a bit more logical than usual. Even if you don't like the genre, admit that this is the band's best work to date. Otherwise give me more precise motivations.
I would also remind you that this is NOT the musical genre I usually follow (my reviews prove it), and among my favorite albums are Dark Side, Tubular Bells and In the Court of the KC. So don't think I worship GD.
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
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?
Loading comments slowly
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.
