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GREEN DAY :: NO AMERICAN IDIOTS a Still rocking the world a decade later a Published in PRESS Magazine February 2005
As the band that gave the world kick-ass and aero-dynamic three-minute songs that would later establish the new punk scene, Green Day started out simply as punk revivalists, recharging the energy of speedy, catchy three-chord punk-pop songs. Now, 16 years later, vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist Mike “Dirnt” Pritchard and drummer Frank Edwin “Tre Cool” Wright III, Greenday continues to redefine punk music as we know it, complete with the perfect nine-minute song included in their latest album, American Idiot released under Reprise Records in September of last year.
Of course they didn’t start out by writing nine-minute songs. Having played together since the age of 11, childhood friends Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt started off by performing with various garage bands in the refinery town of Rodeo, California. By the time they turned 14, they formed Sweet Children and slowly became part of the northern California underground punk scene. Riding on the heels of Nirvana and The Ramones, the trio gained a popular following in their small ventures and filthy nightclubs as they re-lived the early days of the aforementioned bands. Soon, their local success caught the interest of Livemore’s Lookout Records, an independent label whom the group eventually signed a contract with. By 1989, together with then drummer Al Sorbante, they obtained some money to record their debut and first EP, 1,000 Hours which they independently released on the locally based record label and was well-received in the California hardcore punk scene. Interestingly, two weeks before the release of the said EP, the band changed their name to Green Day. Later that same year, Green Day was advanced a small amount to record and release 39 Smooth a collection of 10 pop punk tracks, all of which was recorded in a single day, but without original drummer Al Sobrante, who was replaced shortly by local favorite and ex-Isocracy drummer John Kiftmeyer. Though it was Kiffmeyer who booked their first national tour, he eventually left the band to concentrate on college and was soon replaced by long standing drummer Tre Cool. Interestingly, while Tre Cool had been in a band called The Lookouts, who broke up in 1990, their final EP, IV, featured Billie Joe Armstrong playing guitar and singing backing vocals on three tracks.
Cultivating a cult following, in 1992, Green Day released their third album, Keplunk, whose underground success of having sold 50,000 records through word of mouth and underground media support led to a wave of interest from major record labels and Greenday eventually signing with Warner Brothers subsidiary Reprise Records, despite bigger offers from elsewhere. In the spring of 1994, the band released their major label debut and long-lasting breakthrough album Dookie. Gradually stalking the charts, thanks to FM Rock airplay and MTV support, Dookie became a major hit and by 1995, had sold over 10 million albums worldwide, a stunning achievement for a band who have remained faithful to a basic punk pop framework. With rock favorites “Basket Case,” “Longview” and “When I Come Around,” the band soon headed out to sold-out arena dates – which included appearances at the 1994 Lollapalooza package and the revived Woodstock event – opening for major acts and even headlining a small tour of the U.S. To top it all off, the in 1994, the band was nominated in no less than four Grammy categories, one of which they won – that of Best Alternative Music Performance. Green Day quickly followed Dookie with Insomniac in the fall of 1995, which sold over two million copies by the spring of 1996. In late 1997, they released Nimrod, which contained the number 1 radio hit, “Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life).” Three years later, their long-awaited follow-up, October 2000’s Warning, was released. This was followed by 2001’s International Superhits, and 2002’s Shenanigans, which was a collection of rare b-sides and covers previously not available.
In September of 2004, Greenday released the politically fueled American Idiot under Reprise Records, a follow up to their seventh studio release, Warning. Considered to be the best album of Green Day's 12-year career, it took four years in the making, and like its title track, this 40-minute offering is no less political and no less Greenday.
Taking an audacious leap from today's pack of punk-poppers, American Idiot is a narrative driven 'concept' album framed by two nine-minute, five-part tracks – a big rock opera from start to finish, where the songs are bundled together to tell a single story (Think Rent and Jesus Christ Superstar). Ironically, the idea of a concept album was born, when, about a year and a half ago, the band found out that their master tapes have been stolen from the studio. Not one to cry over spilled milk, or in this case, 20 recorded songs, the trio resolved to abandon the old material and start anew. Interestingly, inspiration struck when, as the band tripped around the studio Dirnt was asked by the other two band members to write a 30-second anything-goes song. Challenged as much, Armstrong and Cool each ended up writing one as well. Both pleased and surprised by their handiwork, they put the songs together, and it was then that this punk rock group decided to pursue the rock opera concept for what was then their upcoming album.
Listening to soundtracks like "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," "West Side Story" and even "Grease," the band came up with their own hazy story that revolves around several enigmatic characters, held together by themes and images that recur throughout its thirteen songs. Starting off with a tragedy, the tales of antagonist protagonists named "Jesus of Suburbia", "St. Jimmy" and "Whatsername," are loosely woven together, united by 'rage and love'.
Having matured musically beyond belief since their debut LP, 39/Smooth, American Idiot is a big departure from their South California suburban mall punk days, where their trademark power-chord beef and manic drumming may now be tempered from time to time by the sound of church bells, piano and glockenspiel, giving their music an incredible vast sound quality.
Written around the time the US invaded Iraq, war and politics become dominant themes on the album as American Idiot tackled issues regarding the United States’ government, in particular their leader, using epic song-writing and a mixture of driving and melodic punk to convey their bold messages, without being incredibly arduous like some political albums can be. A story following a youth growing up, having choices to make who represents the population, having his choices ignored, and being brainwashed in a scathing attack upon the country’s leadership, American Idiot tells the story of the alienated, de-motivated Average Joe living under the present political administration and the American media, as Jesus of Suburbia, the central character, confronts various personal and social issues from the album's first song to the last. While the album's political discontent is nothing new, this charged 13-song rock opera is undoubtedly poetic, and calls positive messages to the people to not believe all you hear and make your own mind up, making it an excellent critic to reality.
However, as much as it is a concept album, the tracks are also capable of standing up on its own as individual tracks and as a complete album listen. From the title track and the album’s first single “American Idiot,” which opens the album as it means to go on and leads into the first of two concept epics, “Jesus of Suburbia,” to the upbeat "I Don't' Care," "She's a Rebel," and "St Jimmy," to some cheeky limericks like "Give Me Novacaine," "Whatserhame," to the anthemic but melodic punk "Boulevard of Broken Dreams," "Are We The Waiting," to rock ballad, "Wake Me Up When September Ends" to the second story “Homecoming” and through the life of “St. Jimmy, Greenday have outdone themselves as they returned to the music scene with this album of a great epic.
© Valerie V. Mayuga, 2005
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