American Idiot

American Idiot
Studio album by Green Day
Released September 21, 2004 (2004-09-21)
Recorded April 18, 2003 (2003-04-18) – March 26, 2004 (2004-03-26) at Studio 880, Oakland, California; Ocean Way Recording, Hollywood
Genre Alternative rock, punk rock
Length 57:12
Label Reprise
Producer Rob Cavallo and Green Day
Green Day chronology
Shenanigans
(2002)		 American Idiot
(2004)		 Bullet in a Bible
(2005)
Singles from American Idiot
  1. "American Idiot"
    Released: September 14, 2004 (2004-09-14)
  2. "Boulevard of Broken Dreams"
    Released: November 29, 2004 (2004-11-29)
  3. "Holiday"
    Released: March 28, 2005 (2005-03-28)
  4. "Wake Me Up When September Ends"
    Released: June 13, 2005 (2005-06-13)
  5. "Jesus of Suburbia"
    Released: October 25, 2005 (2005-10-25)

American Idiot is the seventh studio album by the American punk rock band Green Day. It was released on September 21, 2004 through Reprise Records and was produced by longtime collaborator Rob Cavallo. In mid-2003, the band began recording songs for an album entitled Cigarettes and Valentines. However, the master tracks were stolen and the band decided to start over rather than re-record Cigarettes and Valentines.[1] The group decided to produce a rock opera, inspired by the work of The Who and several musicals. It follows the life of "Jesus of Suburbia", a sort of anti-hero created by Billie Joe Armstrong. Following early recording at Studio 880 in Oakland, California, the band finished the album at Ocean Way Recording in Hollywood.

The album achieved success worldwide, charting in 27 countries and peaking at number one in nineteen of them, including the United States and the United Kingdom. Since its release, American Idiot has sold over 14 million copies worldwide,[2] over 6 million copies of which were in the United States alone,[3] including 267,000 in its opening week.[4][5] The album won a number of awards, including a Grammy for Best Rock Album, and received acclaim by critics.

Contents

Background and recording

In mid-2003, Green Day convened at Studio 880 in Oakland, California, and recorded about 20 songs for an album entitled Cigarettes and Valentines.[6][7] However, the master tracks were stolen.[1] The band, wondering if they should re-record the songs, consulted with producer Rob Cavallo over what to do. Cavallo told the members to ask themselves if the missing tracks represented the group's best work.[8] Guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong said that the band members "couldn't honestly look at ourselves and say, 'That was the best thing we've ever done.' So we decided to move on and do something completely new."[9] The band members agreed to spend the next three months writing new material.[10]

The first new song Green Day wrote was "American Idiot". The band had difficulty following it up. One day, bassist Mike Dirnt was in the studio recording a 30-second song by himself. Armstrong decided he wanted to do the same, and drummer Tré Cool followed suit. Armstrong recalled, "It started getting more serious as we tried to outdo one another. We kept connecting these little half-minute bits until we had something." This musical suite became "Homecoming", and the group subsequently wrote another suite, "Jesus of Suburbia". Armstrong was so emboldened by the creation of the two suites that he decided to make the record an album-long conceptual piece. The band took inspiration from concept records by The Who, as well as musicals including West Side Story and Jesus Christ Superstar.[6] During the group's sessions at Studio 880, the members of Green Day spent their days writing material and would stay up late, drinking and discussing music. The band set up a pirate radio station from which it would broadcast jam sessions, along with occasional prank calls.[9]

With demos completed, Green Day relocated to Los Angeles to continue work on the album.[11] The group first recorded at Ocean Way Recording, then moved to Capitol Studios to complete the album.[6] Armstrong said, "As a songwriter, I get so deep into what I'm writing about, it's almost like I have to stir up shit to write about it." The band admitted to partying during the L.A. sessions; Armstrong had to schedule vocal recording sessions around his hangovers. Armstrong described the environment, "For the first time, we separated from our pasts, from how we were supposed to behave as Green Day. For the first time, we fully accepted the fact that we're rock stars."[9]

Music

American Idiot is a concept album that tells the story of a central character named Jesus of Suburbia. The album was a departure from Green Day's typical way of writing music. Armstrong said, "As soon as you abandon the verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge [song] structure ... it opens up your mind to this different way of writing, where there really are no rules." Armstrong said the band aimed to be ambitious, which he felt many contemporary rock bands were not.[6]

The band favored loud guitar sounds for the record; Armstrong said "we were like, 'Let's just go balls-out on the guitar sound--plug in the Les Pauls and Marshalls and let it rip'". Armstrong played more lead guitar on the album than he had on any previous release, which he said he previously shied away from for fear of sounding "corny". Armstrong added tracks of acoustic guitar-playing throughout the record to augment his electric guitar rhythms and Cool's drumming, creating a percussive sound.[6]

Story

The album's protagonist, Jesus of Suburbia, emerged out of Armstrong asking himself what sort of person the title of "American Idiot" referred to. Armstrong described the character as essentially an anti-hero, a powerless "everyman" desensitized by a "steady diet of soda pop and Ritalin".[6] Jesus of Suburbia hates his town and those close to him, so he leaves for the city.[12] As the album progresses the characters St. Jimmy and Whatsername are introduced. St. Jimmy is a punk rock freedom fighter. Whatsername, inspired by the Bikini Kill song "Rebel Girl", is a "Mother Revolution" figure that Armstrong described as "kind of St. Jimmy's nemesis in a lot of ways". Both characters illustrate the "rage vs. love" theme of the album, in that "you can go with the blind rebellion of self-destruction, where Saint Jimmy is. But there's a more love-driven side to that, which is following your beliefs and ethics. And that's where Jesus of Suburbia really wants to go", according to Armstrong. Near the end of the story, St. Jimmy commits suicide. While the singer did not want to give away the details of the story's resolution, he said the intention is for the listener to ultimately realize that Jesus of Suburbia is really St. Jimmy, and Jimmy is "part of the main character that pretty much dies". In the album's final song, "Whatsername", Jesus of Suburbia loses his connection with Whatsername as well.[6]

Release and reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic 79/100[13]
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [14]
Alternative Press [15]
Robert Christgau (C+)[16]
Entertainment Weekly (B+)[17]
The Guardian [18]
IGN (10/10)[19]
Pitchfork Media (7.2/10)[20]
Rolling Stone [21]
Slant Magazine [22]
Uncut [23]

Upon its release in September 2004, American Idiot peaked at number one on the Billboard 200 album chart. The album achieved six times platinum status in the United States, six times platinum status in Canada and six times platinum status in the United Kingdom. Five singles were released from the album, all of which charted on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" topped both the Mainstream and the Modern Rock charts. Its music video received heavy airplay on music television.

American Idiot received positive reviews from most music critics. According to review aggregator website Metacritic, the album has an average critic review score of 79/100, based on 26 reviews.[13] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic gave the album a 5 out of 5 and praised the album from both perspectives; either as "a collection of great songs", or as a whole.[14] Pitchfork Media rewarded the album with a 7.2/10 and said the "ambitious" album was successful in getting across its message, and "keeps its mood and method deliberately, tenaciously, and angrily on point".[20] Uncut wrote that although the album was heavily politically focused, "slam-dancing is still possible", in a moderate review,[23] while The New York Times praised Green Day for trumping "any pretension with melody and sheer fervor".[24] IGN reviewer "JR" said "I can say with the utmost certainty that American Idiot is the single greatest album I have heard in my entire life" and gave the album a 10 out of 10,[19] a rare score that IGN has only given to a few other albums, including Prince's album Purple Rain.

Entertainment Weekly said that despite being based on a musical theater concept "that periodically makes no sense", Green Day "make the journey entertaining enough". It described most of the songs as forgettable, though, arguing the album focuses more on lyrics than music.[17] Robert Christgau said the album featured "emotional travails of two clueless punks" using "devices that sunk under their own weight back when The Who invented them",[16] and The Guardian called American Idiot a mess—"but a vivid, splashy, even courageous mess".[18] Rolling Stone said the album could have been, and was, a mess, but that the "individual tunes are tough and punchy enough to work on their own".[21]

In 2005, American Idiot won a Grammy Award for Best Rock Album and was nominated in four other categories including Album of the Year. The album helped Green Day win seven of the eight awards it was nominated for at the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards; the "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" video won six of those awards. A year later, "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" won a Grammy Award for Record of the Year. In 2009, Kerrang! named American Idiot the best album of the decade,[25] NME ranked it number 60 in a similar list,[26] and Rolling Stone ranked it 22nd.[27] Rolling Stone also listed "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" and "American Idiot" among the 100 best songs of the 2000s, at number 65 and 47 respectively.[28][29]

Accolades

Publication Accolade Rank
NARM The Definitive 200 Albums of All Time[30] 61
Rolling Stone The 100 Greatest Albums of the Decade[31][32] 22
Rolling Stone (Readers Choice) The 100 Greatest Albums of the Decade[33] 1
Kerrang 100 Greatest Rock Albums of All Time[34] 13
NME The Top 100 Greatest Albums of the Decade[35] 60
NPR The Decade's 50 Most Important Recordings[36] *
Rhapsody The 100 Best Pop Albums of the Decade[37] 6
IGN The 25 Best Rock Albums Of The Last Decade[38] *

(*) designates unordered lists.

Adaptations

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 "American Edit, "Dr. Who on Holiday", "Novocaine Rhapsody", and "Boulevard of Broken Songs". Billie Joe Armstrong later stated that he heard one of the songs on the radio and "enjoyed it".[39]

The American Idiot stage musical adaptation premiered at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre in September 2009. It was initially intended to run through October 11, but before the premiere, the theatre announced a three week extension. The musical is a collaboration between Green Day and director Michael Mayer.[40] Green Day does not appear in the production, but the show features an onstage band.[41] According to Susan Medak, managing director of the Berkeley Repertory, the theater was part of the producing team and had been looking for work that crosses generational lines.

The production transferred to Broadway at the St. James Theatre, began previews on March 24, 2010 and officially opened on April 20, 2010. The show received mixed to positive reviews from critics, but got an all-important rave review from The New York Times.[42] American Idiot won two 2010 Tony Awards: Best Scenic Design of a Musical for Christine Jones, and Best Lighting Design of a Musical for Kevin Adams. It also received a nomination for Best Musical.[43]

The current cast features Van Hughes as Johnny, American Idol runner-up Justin Guarini as Will, David Larsen as Tunny, Green Day front-man Billie Joe Armstrong as St Jimmy, Rebecca Naomi Jones as Whatsername, Jeanna de Waal as Heather, and Libby Winters as Extraordinary Girl. [44] The show features all of the songs from the album American Idiot, including b-sides, and songs from Green Day's follow-up album, 21st Century Breakdown.[45]

On September 26, it was announced that Green Day lead vocalist Billie Joe Armstrong would be appearing in the Broadway production for a limited time (September 27-October 3, 2010) as St. Jimmy while Tony Vincent attends to a family matter.[46] Armstrong returned to the production in 2011 for a 50 performance run from January 1 through February 27.[47] In addition, singer Melissa Etheridge assumed the role of St. Jimmy the first week of February 2011.[48] After Etheridge left, the role of St. Jimmy was rotated through several cast members, before Billie Joe Armstrong retook the role on April 5, 2011, for the final weeks of the show. The Broadway production closed on April 24, 2011, after 27 previews and 421 regular performances. The first national tour will start in the fall of 2011.[49]

Shortly after the album was released, there was speculation that American Idiot might be made into a film. 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."[50] Armstrong later stated that filming 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."[51] 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",[52] but the band later said, "It is gonna take a little while." In Summer of 2010, talk about creating a film adaption was brought up again, after actor Tom Hanks was interested in producing it. In an interview with Virgin Radio, when asked if the film was "true, a lie, or a mystery?" Tré Cool responded by saying that it was "a true mystery".[53]

On April 13, 2011, the American Idiot film was confirmed.[54] Michael Mayer, director of the Broadway musical, will be directing the film. It will be produced by Green Day, Pat Magnarella (Green Day's manager whom also produced Bullet in a Bible, Awesome as Fuck, and Heart Like a Hand Grenade), Playtone (Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman) and Tom Hulce.

Track listing

All lyrics written by Billie Joe Armstrong except where noted, all music composed by Green Day.

No. Title Length
1. "American Idiot"   2:54
2. "Jesus of Suburbia"
I. "Jesus of Suburbia"
II. "City of the Damned"
III. "I Don't Care"
IV. "Dearly Beloved"
V. "Tales of Another Broken Home"  		 9:08
3. "Holiday"   3:52
4. "Boulevard of Broken Dreams"   4:20
5. "Are We the Waiting"   2:42
6. "St. Jimmy"   2:56
7. "Give Me Novacaine"   3:25
8. "She's a Rebel"   2:00
9. "Extraordinary Girl"   3:33
10. "Letterbomb"   4:05
11. "Wake Me Up When September Ends"   4:45
12. "Homecoming"
I. "The Death of St. Jimmy"
II. "East 12th St."
III. "Nobody Likes You" (lyrics written by Mike Dirnt)
IV. "Rock and Roll Girlfriend" (lyrics written by Tré Cool)
V. "We're Coming Home Again"  		 9:18
13. "Whatsername"   4:14
Total length:
 57:12

Personnel

Additional musicians

Production

Chart positions

Peak chart positions

Chart (2005/2009) Peak
position		 Certifications Sales/shipments Ref.
Australian Albums Chart 1 6× Platinum 420,000 [57][58]
Austrian Albums Chart 1 2× Platinum 80,000 [58]
Argentine Albums Chart 1 2× Platinum 80,000 [58][59]
Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders) 6 [60]
Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia) 8 Gold 25,000 [60]
Canadian Albums Chart 1 6× Platinum 600,000 [61][62]
Danish Albums Chart 4 2× Platinum 60,000 [58][63]
Dutch Albums Chart 3 3× Platinum 600,000 [58][64]
European Top 100 Albums 1 [65]
Finnish Albums Chart 2 Gold 23,133 [58][66]
French Albums Chart 4 Gold 200,000 [58]
Germany Albums Chart 3 3× Platinum[67] 600,000 [58]
Irish Albums Chart 1 8× Platinum 120,000 [68]
Italian Albums Chart 5 3× Platinum 300,000 [58]
Japanese Albums Chart 3 2× Platinum 500,000+ [69][70]
Mexican Albums Chart 63 Platinum 100,000 [71][72]
New Zealand Albums Chart 2 4× Platinum 60,000 [58][73]
Norwegian Albums Chart 1 [58]
Poland Albums Chart 24 [58]
Portuguese Albums Chart 15 [58]
Spain Albums Chart 22 [58]
Swedish Albums Chart 1 Platinum 60,000 [58][74]
Swiss Albums Chart 1 2× Platinum 80,000 [58][75]
UK Albums Chart 1 6× Platinum 1,972,258 [76][77]
US Billboard 200 1 5× Platinum 6,029,000[78] [79][80]
US Billboard Catalog Albums 10 [65]
US Billboard Digital Albums 22 [65]

Decade-end charts

Chart (2000s) Position
Australia Albums Chart[81] 22
Austria Albums Chart[82] 3
US Billboard 200[83] 30

Heart Like a Hand Grenade

Heart Like a Hand Grenade
Directed by John Roecker
Produced by Nazeli Kodjoian
Starring Green Day
Music by Green Day
Editing by Dean Gonzalez, Sunset Edit
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Release date(s) March 25, 2009
Running time 120 min.
Language English

Heart Like a Hand Grenade is a 2008 film featuring Green Day during the recording of its seventh studio album, American Idiot. It was directed by John Roecker and filmed over the process of 15 months between 2004 and 2005.[84]

Release history

The film had a limited, one night release in Hollywood at Grauman's Egyptian Theatre on March 25, 2009 to a crowd of more than 400 people.[85] It has been reported that the film would be released on DVD, but as of 2011, no news has been announced if this is, in fact, true.

References

Footnotes
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  3. ^ "Week Ending Jan. 23, 2011: Beginner's Luck - Chart Watch". New.music.yahoo.com. 2011-02-16. http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/chart_watch/74248/week-ending-jan-23-2011-beginners-luck/;_ylt=Akfam86uyFfyIsqB8zLXezsPwiUv?page=2#comments. Retrieved 2011-07-28. 
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Bibliography
  • Spitz, Marc. Nobody Likes You: Inside the Turbulent Life, Times, and Music of Green Day. New York: Hyperion, 2006. ISBN 1-4013-0274-2

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39/Smooth • Kerplunk • Dookie • Insomniac • Nimrod • Warning • American Idiot • 21st Century Breakdown
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