American Idiot
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| American Idiot | |||||
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| Studio album by Green Day | |||||
| Released | September 21, 2004 | ||||
| Recorded | 2003 – 2004 at Ocean Way Recording, Hollywood, California | ||||
| Genre | Punk rock | ||||
| Label | Reprise | ||||
| Producer | Rob Cavallo, Green Day | ||||
| Professional reviews | |||||
| Green Day chronology | |||||
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| Singles from American Idiot | |||||
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American Idiot is the seventh studio album by the punk rock band Green Day, originally released on September 21, 2004. Often classified as a rock opera and concept album, it was the first Green Day album to reach number one in the United States and United Kingdom. Rob Cavallo produced the album, his fourth for Green Day.
This album marked the end of a commercial slump for Green Day. Many had speculated that they would find it difficult to follow up Warning, which itself had proved slightly less popular than Nimrod.[citation needed] This is also hinted at with the long gestation time of this album, filled in with a greatest hits album (International Superhits!) and a B-sides album (Shenanigans). This is likely another reason for the band's decision to completely re-invent their style with this conceptual work. All of the album's singles proved very popular, a feat not matched since Dookie.
American Idiot debuted at #1 on the U.S. Billboard charts on October 9, 2004, thanks to the success of the "American Idiot" single. Over three months later, around the release of "Boulevard of Broken Dreams," the album returned to the number one position for two more weeks.
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[edit] Background and recording
After the release of Shenanigans, Green Day started recording an album called Cigarettes and Valentines. However, near the end of the recording sessions, the master tracks to the album were reportedly stolen. After this happened, the band was inspired to write American Idiot. They felt their writing process had become mechanical and that they needed to release something more relevant.[citation needed]
The band tried different approaches than they had been accustomed to in the studio.[1] Other examples include the songs "Jesus of Suburbia" and "Homecoming": multi-movement suites, composed in 5 different parts, that are both more than nine minutes long. In lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong's words, "One day, Mike was at the studio and he wrote a thirty-second song. I don't know, I liked it so I wanted to do one too. The one that I did, I connected to his and then Tré did one and he connected it to mine and so on and so forth until we had about ten minutes. It was just purely out of having a good time."[citation needed] These thirty-second song sessions were started in frustration when the band was trying to decide what to do after the master tapes of their originally planned album were stolen. "This sounds like a rock opera," Armstrong jokingly remarked during this session.[citation needed] The song "American Idiot" has been described by the band as their public statement in reaction to the confusing and warped scene that is American pop culture since 9/11.[citation needed] Armstrong has said that they chose to write this way because the band has obtained respect and sway in the music world, and that this social commentary is part of their natural evolution as a band.[citation needed]
[edit] Awards
American Idiot won a Grammy in 2005 for Best Rock Album and was nominated for Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Best Rock Song ("Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group,) and Best Short Form Music Video ("American Idiot"). The music video for "American Idiot" was voted 'The Greatest Rock Video Ever' in a Kerrang! poll. In the Australian Triple J's Hottest 100 for 2005, "Jesus of Suburbia" entered at #61 making it the longest song ever to place in the chart at 9 minutes and 8 seconds. Green Day also won two Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards Blimps in 2006 for Favorite Musical Group and Favorite Song ("Wake Me Up When September Ends"). They swept the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards, winning a total of seven of the eight awards they were nominated for, including the coveted Viewer's Choice Award.[2] In 2005, the album won the Juno Award for International Album of the Year.
[edit] Track listing
All tracks by Billie Joe Armstrong (lyrics) and Green Day (music), except where noted.
- "American Idiot" – 2:54
- "Jesus of Suburbia" – 9:08
- I. "Jesus of Suburbia" – 1:50
- II. "City of the Damned" – 1:51
- III. "I Don't Care" – 1:31
- IV. "Dearly Beloved" – 2:01
- V. "Tales of Another Broken Home" – 2:38
- "Holiday" – 3:52
- "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" – 4:20
- "Are We the Waiting" – 2:43
- "St. Jimmy" – 2:55
- "Give Me Novacaine" – 3:25
- "She's a Rebel" – 2:00
- "Extraordinary Girl" – 3:33
- "Letterbomb" – 4:06
- "Wake Me Up When September Ends" – 4:45
- "Homecoming" – 9:18
- I. "The Death of St. Jimmy" 2:24
- II. "East 12th St." 2:16
- III. "Nobody Likes You" (Mike Dirnt/Green Day) 1:18
- IV. "Rock and Roll Girlfriend" (Tré Cool/Green Day) 0:46
- V. "We're Coming Home Again" 3:27
- "Whatsername" – 4:15
In some countries, tracks three and four ("Holiday" and "Boulevard of Broken Dreams") are combined into a single track, with "Are We the Waiting" and "St. Jimmy" also combined into a single track.
[edit] Dates
In the lyric book that comes with the album, there are dates next to some of the names of songs (as the lyrics are written in notebook style, as if written as a journal).
- "American Idiot" February 23
- "Jesus of Suburbia" March 3
- "Holiday" April 1st
- "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" April 2
- "Are We the Waiting" Easter Sunday
- "St. Jimmy" May 7
- "Give Me Novacaine" June 13
- "She's a Rebel" July 4
- "Extraordinary Girl"
- "Letterbomb" Aug 18th
- "Wake Me Up When September Ends" Sept 10
- "Homecoming" Oct 19
- "Whatsername" January 1
[edit] Movie adaptation
Shortly after the album was released there was speculation that American Idiot might be made into a movie. VH1 quoted Armstrong as saying "We've definitely been talking about someone writing a script for it, and there's been a few different names that have been thrown at us. It sounds really exciting, but for right now it's just talk." [3] Armstrong later stated that shooting would begin for American Idiot: The Motion Picture in 2006, stressing, "We want to see how it turns out first so that it doesn't suck." [4] On June 1, 2006 Armstrong announced in an interview with MTV.com that "it's definitely unfolding" and that "every single week there's more ideas about doing a film for American Idiot, and it's definitely going to happen," [5] but the band later said, "It is gonna take a little while." Billie Joe mentioned that this project is currently on hold to work on their music. So whether or not this movie will ever actually be finished is unknown.[6]
[edit] Bonus versions
In some countries, bonus versions of the album were released.
- The most common version[citation needed] can be found in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. It features "Too Much Too Soon", one of the album's B-sides, at the end of the album.
- In the Japanese version,[7] there are 14 tracks, the last track is "Favorite Son", another B-side to the album. Another Japanese version includes a bonus CD, recorded live in Makuhari Messe on March 19, 2005. The Enhanced CD contains live footage and behind-the-scenes featurette from the Japan tour.
- In the French version, [8] there are 16 tracks, featuring three of the album's B-sides: "Too Much Too Soon", "Governator" and "Shoplifter". The French version combines "Holiday" and "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" into one track and does the same with "Are We the Waiting" and "St. Jimmy", "Give Me Novacaine" and "She's a Rebel", and "Extraordinary Girl" and "Letterbomb".
- In some special editions, a DVD featuring a 'Making of' and music videos of "Holiday" and "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" can be found.
- A limited edition version of the album was released, which was packaged to look like a book. While this version contains no extra tracks, The booklet is extended to contain artwork and journal entries made by "Saint Jimmy," which further outline the story.
- A very small number of copies were released on vinyl.
[edit] Singles
| Year | Song | Peak positions | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Modern Rock [9] |
US Main- stream Rock [9] |
UK Top 40 |
Sweden |
New Zealand |
Canada |
Australia |
Germany |
France [10] |
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| 2004 | "American Idiot" | 1 | 5 | 3 | 18 | 7 | 1 | 7 | 28 | ||||
| 2004 | "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" | 1 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 13 | 19 | |||
| 2005 | "Holiday" | 1 | 1 | 11 | 25 | 13 | 1 | 24 | 50 | ||||
| 2005 | "Wake Me Up When September Ends" | 2 | 12 | 8 | 21 | 10 | 1 | 13 | 22 | ||||
| 2005 | "Jesus of Suburbia" | 27 | 17 | 26 | 1 | 24 | 82 | ||||||
[edit] Chart positions and certifications
[edit] Peak chart positions
| Chart (2005/2006) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia Albums Chart | 1 |
| Austria Albums Chart | 1 |
| Belgium Albums Chart | 1 |
| Ireland Album Chart | 1 |
| Israel Album Chart | 1 |
| Norway Album Chart | 1 |
| Sweden Album Chart | 1 |
| Switzerland Album Chart | 1 |
| U.K. Albums Chart | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard 200 | 1 |
| World Album Chart | 1 |
| Finland Album Chart | 2 |
| New Zealand Album Chart | 2 |
| German Album Chart | 3 |
| Danish Album Chart | 4 |
| France Album Chart | 4 |
| Netherlands Album Chart | 4 |
| Italian Album Chart | 5 |
[edit] Certifications
| Chart | Certification | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| World | 8x Platinum | 14,603,300 |
| United States | 5x Platinum | 5,000,000 |
| United Kingdom | 6x Platinum | 1,800,000 |
| Canada | 8x Platinum | 800,000 |
| Australia | 6x Platinum | 420,000 |
| Germany | 2x Platinum | 400,000 |
| France | Platinum | 375,600 |
| Ireland | 8x Platinum | 120,000 |
| Mexico | Platinum | 100,000 |
| Switzerland | 2x Platinum | 80,000 |
| Austria | 2x Platinum | 80,000 |
| New Zealand | 4x Platinum | 60,000 |
| Sweden | Platinum | 60,000 |
| Brazil | Gold | 50,000 |
| Denmark | Platinum | 40,000 |
| Netherlands | Gold | 40,000 |
| Belgium | Gold | 25,000 |
| Israel | Gold | 20,000 |
| Portugal | Gold | 10,000 |
| Argentina | Silver | 5,000 |
Note: for all the certification definitions see: Certifications
[edit] Personnel
- Billie Joe Armstrong – vocals, lead/rhythm guitars
- Mike Dirnt – bass, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Nobody Likes You"
- Tré Cool – drums and percussion, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Rock and Roll Girlfriend"
[edit] Additional musicians
- Rob Cavallo - Piano
- Jason Freese – saxophone
- Kathleen Hanna – guest vocals at the beginning of "Letterbomb"
[edit] Additional personnel
- Produced by - Rob Cavallo and Green Day
- Engineered by - Doug McKean
- Assistant Engineers - Brian "Dr. Vibb" Vibberts, Greg "Stimie" Burns, Jimmy Hoyson, Joe Brown
- Additional Engineers - Chris Dugan, Reto Peter
- Recorded at - Ocean Way Recording, Hollywood, California; Capitol Studios, Hollywood, California and 880 Studios, Oakland, California
- Mixed by - Chris Lord-Alge at Image Recording Studios, Hollywood, California
- Assistant Engineer - Dmitar "Dim-e" Krnjaic
- Mastered by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound, New York
[edit] Legacy
In late 2005, Dean Gray released a mash-up version of the album—called American Edit—and became a cause célèbre when the artist was served with a cease and desist order by Green Day's record label. Tracks include "Dr. Who on Holiday" and "Boulevard of Broken Songs". Billie Joe Armstrong later stated that he heard one of the songs on the radio and enjoyed it.[11]
[edit] References
- ^ Di Perna, Alan. "Combat Rock". Guitar World. Holiday 2004.
- ^ Green Day Authority. "Band Awards - American Idiot" "Green Day Authority".
- ^ http://www.vh1.com/news/articles/1491274/20040921/green_day.jhtm
- ^ http://movie.monstersandcritics.com/news/article_6004.php/Green_Day_Hit_The_Big_Screen
- ^ Green Day Promise Next LP Will Be 'An Event' - News Story | Music, Celebrity, Artist News | MTV News
- ^ GDA | Current GD Projects
- ^ American Idiot + Live in Tokyo
- ^ Green Day - American Idiot : écouter et télécharger l'album
- ^ a b Green Day single chart history. Billboard. Retrieved on 2007-07-16.
- ^ Green Day French single chart history. Retrieved on 2007-07-16.
- ^ MTV Article on Green Day
[edit] External links
- GeekStinkBreath.net page on the album
- American Idiot LP on greendaydiscography.com
- American Idiot at The Internet Music Database
| Preceded by Suit by Nelly |
Billboard 200 number-one album October 9 - October 15, 2004 January 22 - February 4, 2005 |
Succeeded by Feels Like Today by Rascal Flatts |
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