AMERICAN IDIOT
THE ALBUM
THE BASICS
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American Idiot is Green Day’s seventh studio album.
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Released: September 20th, 2004 (UK), September 21st, 2004 (US).
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Charted in 27 countries, peaking at #1 in 19 of those countries.
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Sold 16 million copies worldwide.
THE CONCEPT
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American Idiot is a concept album - it follows the story of Jesus of Suburbia, a lower-middle-class American adolescent anti-hero.
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The album has been called a "punk rock opera" by many listeners, as the album itself follows a storyline and can be followed without the use of dialogue. American Idiot follows the journey of "Jesus of Suburbia" as he navigates his way through an America that is under the control of an "idiot ruler who let people be misinformed by the media."
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The album was released two months before U.S. President George W. Bush was reelected for his second term - the album exploded and became not only famous as a concept album but as a work of protest art as well.
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This album explores themes such as disillusionment and dissent of a generation that came of age in a period shaped by many tumultuous events like the Iraq War.
"TO ME, IT DOESN'T FEEL LIKE IT'S JUST ANOTHER ROCK
RECORD THAT SOMEBODY PUT OUT. IT FEELS LIKE WE
TAPPED INTO THE CULTURE A LITTLE BIT."
- BILLIE JOE ARMSTRONG
THE RECEPTION
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American Idiot won the 2005 Grammy for Best Rock Album, along with a slew of other Awards. The American Idiot tour was the longest tour of the band's career to date, with almost 150 concerts on multiple continents.
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In 2009, Kerrang! named American Idiot the best album of the decade, Rolling Stone listed it 22nd in The 100 Greatest Albums of the Decade, and Entertainment Weekly ranked it 6th in New Classics: The 100 Best Albums from 1983 to 2008.
"WEST COAST POP-PUNKS' FIRST
RELEASE IN FOUR YEARS IS THE
POLITICAL CONCEPT ALBUM YOU
DIDN'T KNOW THEY HAD IN THEM."
- PITCHFORK MAGAZINE
“AGAINST ALL ODDS, GREEN DAY HAS
FOUND A WAY TO HIT THEIR THIRTIES
WITHOUT EITHER BETRAYING THEIR
ORIGINAL SPIRIT OR FALLING FLAT ON
THEIR FACES."
- ROLLING STONE MAGAZINE
“THE MUSIC CONNECTS BUZZSAW
PUNK TO BRITISH ROCK FROM THE
MERSEYBEAT TO GLAM - INCLUDING
TWO NINE-MINUTE, FIVE-PART SUITES -
AND GREEN DAY TRUMPS ANY
PRETENSION WITH MELODY AND SHEER FERVOR."
- THE NEW YORK TIMES
“AFTER CRANKING OUT CARTOONISH
PUNK-POP FOR THE PAST
DECADE, GREEN DAY IS STEERING ITS
MANIACAL THREE-CHORD STAMPEDES
INTO THE THICKETS OF ADULTHOOD.
THE CHEEKY BAY AREA TRIO...HAS
COMPOSED AN AMBITIOUS PUNK-
ROCK OPERA AS HUMMABLE AND
CINEMATIC AS THE WHO'S TOMMY."
- USA TODAY
THE SONGS
To the right is a link to the album on Spotify.
Below are the music videos for all of the songs on the album. If there wasn't a music video for a specific song, I attached a link of a live performance.