American Idiot

Expert witness account of this album incoming. It is easy to forget how big this album was, and Green Day were after this one hit. Going into it though in 2004, popular culture had passed them by. Dookie had hit 10 years earlier and while the following Green Day albums were hits, they were never going to reach the heights their breakthrough did. At the start of the 2000s, Blink 182, Good Charlotte, Sum 41 and Simple Plan had taken what Green Day were doing in the 90s and replicated it (to lesser artistic success) and dominated the charts, MuchMusic airtime (yes I’m Canadian) and magazine covers. At the same time, a narrative had been going on in music conversations that rock and roll was dying, the pendulum had swung to pop and hip hop (very short sited and mostly perpetuated by people who only get music through TV and top 40 radio, of which I was mostly too) which had contributed to the overall decline in relevancy of guitar-bass-drum acts. By time fall 2004 had come around there already were the next generation of popular rock acts coming up (The Killers and Frank Ferdinand had hit earlier in the summer, Arcade Fire would hit mainstream this fall). So here came Green Day with a new album, and it had been a few years since they had put out new music. I think there was some level of hype, and it was known this was going to be a concept album. People forget though, Green Day had changed their image in preparation of this album. For a band that had been at the height of their relevancy 10 years earlier, the refreshed look absolutely helped their appeal, as they somehow looked cooler and ahead of the curve than the other bands that had surpassed them. This was sort of a clean entry point for new fans too as they’re visually striking at this point, sound as good as they ever have and are riding this Anti-Bush wave that’s happening right before the 2014 US election. So when the American Idiot single came out, I remember the music video had gotten a lot more play than singles from previous Green Day had been. But this album just kept growing with each successive single. Holiday, Boulevard of Broken Dreams and Wake Me Up When September Ends we’re all massive hits and had endless radio play. This album landed like nothing else in rock had. They stayed in the public spotlight for at least 2 years off the strength of this record. I remember seeing them on the cover of Entertainment Weekly in 2016 still promoting American Idiot, and the band won the Grammy a few weeks later which kept them going. Now this album has been adapted into a Broadway show and Green Day is the only other band that got a Rock Band game besides the Beatles (AC/DC had a disc, but that was just songs, no band representation) So I say all of this because looking back at the 2000s decade because of when American Idiot hit, the case could be made Green Day was at the top of the rock pile, along with U2, RHCP, Coldplay and I suppose the Killers. So while people had this conversation that rock was dying in the 2000s we have to count ourselves pretty fucking lucky we had Green Day that rode the mainstream. You may hate this album but it’s better than most of the other slush pile the 2000s had to offer. The album itself though; it is still absolutely killer and it’s obvious why they became the biggest band in the world again because of this. There’s nothing challenging here about the music; it’s immediate, every song is catchy, lyrics are great (if dated criticism of America in the 2000s). So many of the songs have been ridden into the ground (anything released as a single) so the real winners here are the longer concept album saga songs (Jesus of Suburbia, Homecoming). What I have had to contend with doing this 1001 album project is putting into perspective when I would have been listening to this album before. American Idiot doesn’t seem like it’s that old. Im assuming this is because the songs in this have been played to death on the radio as well as movies and video games. I’ve also been thinking about Green Day lately as I listened to the excellent episode of the podcast Bandsplain did on Green Day a few months ago. But to place it, I would have been listening to this one when I started university. I would have listened to it on my 3rd Gen iPod (the one with the four red action buttons across the top and the first touch click wheel). I wouldn’t have even had a laptop yet, I would have still had my Compaq desktop PC. In terms of where this lands in Green Days legacy I have the unpopular opinion that this is their best album. Still incredible that this is a comeback on the level it was considering how they had fallen out of fashion, but listening to the album, it seems obvious. Could Green Day make another comeback? Sure. Apparently Green Day is hot with teenagers. They make music that sounds like what it’s like to be a teen. Among the best albums of this decade, deserved all of its sales and the success the band had from it.

“American Idiot” by Green Day (2004) Not familiar with this album or this group. Punk political opera - intriguing. Good music, shallow politics. But the music is good enough to persuade the listener to overlook the political naivety. These gentlemen would have been well advised to read a few lines of Zbigniew Brzezinski on the Iraq War before writing this opera. They still would have been wrong, but at least they would have sounded intelligent. Or are they affecting intentional unintelligence? Are they just joshing? Anyway the music is very entertaining. Head banging punk rage, with a unifying operatic theme. Plenty of creative innovations. Some real gems here. “A steady diet of soda pop and Ritalin” is a great line. Conceptually this album follows the line of “Tommy” by The Who, without being overly derivative. “Dearly Beloved” is truly good music. Integrating acoustic guitar in this genre is a stroke of genius. And the glockenspiel! Ya-ya. But check out this quatrain: Oh, therapy, can you please fill the void? Am I retarded or am I just overjoyed? Nobody's perfect and I stand accused For lack of a better word, and that's my best excuse One could step back and reflect on that for awhile. Very good drum work. Bass contributes much counterpoint. Vocals appropriate for the genre. Billie Joe Armstrong can really sing. Extraordinary musical range for punk (admittedly, my experience with punk is limited), reminiscent of what The Beatles did for rock ‘n roll on “Sgt. Pepper” and “Abbey Road”. I enjoyed this one. 4/5

Look. I know the rating should be lower. But I fucking love this album. I love it. Its a no skip album for me. I remember loving it since I was four. So many great tunes. 9/10 F. T. : A tie between Holiday and Are we the Waiting. I can't choose among my children.

Billie Jo doesn’t care if I don’t care. Well that’s lucky... Anodyne, over polished, facile, faux outrage, mock punk, unit shifting, safe rebellion, fake, fake, fake.

I might be biased, but this album marked a generation. I've always enjoyed it as a decent rock/punk album. It's fun and full of energy, but manages to express quite well the frustration and disillusionment felt at that time.

Look, we all loved some "Dookie." It was dumb punk fun. But we're not gonna pretend that Green Day didn't go gradually downhill from there in their next several albums. There were some hits in there, but nothing that hinted that they had "American Idiot" in them. I don't think Green Day was taken very seriously before "American Idiot." They were a raucous punk band, but mainstream enough to be MTV darlings and probably the band most responsible for the unfortunate wave of pop-punk of the late 90s and early 00s. (Take a star off for that if you want.) But holy crap was "American Idiot" ambitious. And I think it's the best they've ever sounded. (Who knows, maybe I would eat my words if I went back and listened to all of "Insomniac" or "Nimrod.") They cleaned up and polished their sound, and while that may sound bad for a punk band, they pulled it off so well. Regardless of any concept in the story or lyrics, Green Day really matured sonically. The punk is still there, but the songs are varied, well-structured, with great build and rise-and-fall throughout. You may not love Billy Joe's voice - it's nasally and a bit whiny - but I think you can tell here that he is becoming a better singer. It's really a great album, start to finish. It may not be the Great American Novel of the 21st century, but it's a solid concept with good lyrics for a vaguely political punk album. And it became a musical! Are Green Day sell-outs? Or did they just perfect what they do and be accepted for it?

When this album came out, I was listening to "real" punk, metal, and hardcore and couldn't be bothered with Billie Joe's pop nonsense. I like to think I've mellowed a bit since then. And I must have because I enjoyed this WAY more than I expected to. It's fun. "American Idiot," "Boulevard of Broken Dreams," and "Wake Me Up When September Ends" are great but none of the tracks are snoozers. Every song seems to have a thesis and each track makes its point well. That said, I am not here for 9-minute punk songs. And I'm not talking about the four tracks that are two songs mashed. Those get a pass because of the format. None of them break 9 minutes anyway. No, I'm talking about "Jesus of Suburbia" and "Homecoming" here. There's no excuse for that. You're padding your term papers, fellas. Just make the point and move on.

A protest rock opera that protests... something? I understand the thrust of songs like "American Idiot" and "Holiday", but "Jesus of Suburbia" seems like a protest song without a cause and more of the album resembles the latter than the former. An album that claims to protest the state of America, but magically omits any mention of race or gender or class is probably not a very effective protest album. The protagonist (the aforementioned Jesus of Suburbia) just comes off as an edgy kid with no political consciousness. At the very least, it sounds a lot better than The Offspring.

A punk rock opera concept album? Johnny Rotten would be rolling in his grave, if he were dead. Shame he's not dead really, rather than selling his soul on I'm A Celebrity and butter adverts.

Used to listen to this all the time back in the emo kid days. I still know every single word.

This is how a band does a sound change and comes out on top for it. Excellent pop rock fun.

Of all the pop punk bands, I think Green Day is the only one I actually enjoy on some level. I've only heard Dookie through Nimrod before though. I've seen this album get alot of praise and I wanted to give it a 3 when I first started listening but as the album goes on I feel like it collapses under its own weight. I respect the ambition but it was a bit of a chore to get through.

poggers

This isn’t a bad album, just not for me. The constant power chords and unsubtle social commentary got boring after a couple of tracks. The album is too long and I didn’t like the rock opera elements. They never produced anything better than Dookie in my opinion.

Parts of this are dated, and I don’t like this album as much as Dookie, but I’ll be damned if Boulevard of Broken Dreams and Holiday aren’t just as great as they’ve always been. I will say that the second half feels like a bit of a letdown, at least musically.

Thought it was purile and shite when it came out and was “pleased” to be proved right. Horrendous listening experience and I curse myself for not having enough self respect to have turned it off.

The first album we have gotten that I have listened to all the way through before this project. The way they pair two songs for the middle four tracks(plus Jesus and Homecoming both have 5 subtracks in them) is a cool concept and helps underline the bands desire to put out something they enjoyed creatively rather than something that would necessarily do well commercially - luckily this did both. I mean Punk Rock Opera? Nostalgia+Strong Songs+Creativity= 5 stars

Pretty formulaic stuff here. Well produced vanilla indie schmindy punky rocky stuff.

We already had a Green Day album. What do I get for being polite the first time? A concept album. If that's not bad enough, they have a character named St. Jimmy? Doesn't at all sound like Dr. Jimmy. Pete Townshend at 80 y.o. is still infinitely cooler than these nerds with tats.

I'm too old for this, and so are they. Singles are fine, but the rest is filler. Teen punk rock for people who think the Matrix is 'deep'.

This album already has three hits that absolutely blew up. Then I listened to the rest of the album. It didn't disappoint. I learned that this album "expresses the disillusionment and dissent of a generation that came of age in a period shaped by the tumultuous evens such as 9/11 and the Iraq War." And i'm a sucker for a politically charged album. This one hits just right.

I went into this fully expecting for it to not have aged well. I was wrong. This album still bangs.

I'm dating myself here, but American Idiot is the first album I ever owned. There are legitimate criticisms that can be made about it - it's firmly rooted in the Bush era and hasn't aged particularly well; it's a whiny sort of pop-punk for white kids in the 'burbs - but none of that is enough to detract from my rose-tinted nostalgia. Even today, I find the album's pure sincerity a very charming break from the 2010s ever-present air of irony.

A rock opera in everything but intention, this segued album is easily one of the best of the punk-pop-idiot rock that came about in the era of the Iraq war. Easily one of the best albums of the 2000's

I'd never heard of Green Day prior to the release of "American Idiot" as a single and it was massive. The rest of the album is quite good, especially "Boulevard of Broken Dreams", but it comes nowhere near the title track.

No. 74/1001 American Idiot 5/5 Jesus of Suburbia 4/5 Holiday / Boulevard of Broken D. 5/5 Are We The Waiting / St. Jimmy 4/5 Give Me Novacaine / She's a Rebel 4/5 Extraordinary Girl / Letterbomb 4/5 Boulevard of Broken Dream 5/5 Homecoming 4/5 Whatsername 4/5 Average: 4,33 Musically this is nothing revolutionary. It's just so damn fun to listen to.

wake me up when september ends

Not a fan of the genre, but there were a couple good hits. Rest of the album didn't change my opinion of the genre.

i was really not looking forward to this. i do not like green day and i told myself i would never listen to an album of theirs. it's not as bad as i thought it would be, but jesus fucking christ its so corny. im 18 and i feel like im too old for this album. best track is whatsername 6/10

I have a soft spot for a concept albums... and this one is a great pop punk rock album, that also kicks dirt at the GW Bush era, win-win! 🤘

Classic!

Still great and fun to listen all the way through. S/o to my cousins and their Limewire plug

Already heard this one, very many times - great project; one of the best pop punk works of art there is. Relevant even today.

Nostalgia bomb. Awesome album, and the slow/fast song double features are pretty fun, I kind of forgot about that format

Den her rammer lige i ned i gymnasie-mig. Der er virkelig mange gode sange og jeg kan stort set synge med på det hele. Når det er sagt, så synes jeg at der er direkte irriterende numre på pladen. Er klar over at det er meningen at det skal være en punk rock opera, men jeg kunne godt være foruden et par sange.. Stur stur 4-tal!

So I always liked Green Day – not loved, as I’m not really a punk guy, but have appreciated their work over the years… Was looking forward to listening to “American Idiot” from start-to-finish, and it did NOT disappoint… For me, there were 3 really outstanding tracks – with most of the rest being a nice collection of solid songs… My favs in order were – #1 – “Holiday” – 5-stars of out 7… #2 – “Boulevard Of Broken Dreams” – 4-stars out of 7… #3 – “Wake Me Up When September Ends” – 4-stars out of 7… I know a lot has been made of the lyrics, though nothing really stood out as exceptional – though again, really pretty solid… Not sure as to the accuracy of their protests in hindsight, but the fact that they were thinking about content like this, was at least interesting… The musicianship is top notch, and always liked Billie Joe’s vocals, so all-in-all, a pretty well put together album… I know there is massive love for the album from the younger generation – which I get, and would probably give it a 3.50 if I could – but when I look at the albums I’ve rated a 4, I just can’t get there… A strong 3 for me…

-I KNOW THIS ALBUMMMM -AND this band! -i have only listened to american idiot tho -so very excited to have a fresh listen -forgot how good this song is -remembering the cover 5sos did of this song -liking the switch up in jesus of suburbia -i do really like his voice i’ll be honest -i Do know wake me up when september ends -i honestly think the slurs are the only reason this album isn’t a 4 or a 5, but a 3 (but also because idk if this album is that amazing but it is legendary and very good

Proof that the the old axiom, “no one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people” is not only true, but that you can turn a buck (quite a few, as it turns out) calling them idiots to their face.

long songs n quirky lyrics 😪💔

decent. not in the mood

Får mig til at føle mig ung. (Sådan, lidt for ung)

Hey punk rock fans! Listen to NOFX's EP The Decline. I'm serious, listen to it. Then only after that, you''ll be able to judge whether Green Day pulled it off writing a punk opera. I leave the link down here for those who don't know what I'm talking about: https://open.spotify.com/track/2Wm84PF0DHyRQx79Lj9NwI?si=PUPhtW_UTOCvw3tgbfLlKg&utm_source=copy-link To me, NOFX certainly managed to write a punk opera five years *before* American Idiot came out, and they only needed 18 minutes of runtime to convince me. The exhilarating twists and turns of the music, the hardcore accelerations, the trippy, almost proggy interlude, the grand parade of the finale, sarcastic and desperate with its ironic trombone, and the pointed lyrics, saying what *American Idiot* tries to say with far more wit than any song on the latter--everything in *The Decline* surpasses Green Day's seventh album, and this without the financial means and production tools said album profited from. The huge difference lies in the songwriting--both for the music and the lyrics. Case in point for *American Idiot*'s overall shortcomings: 9-minute centerpiece "Jesus Of Suburbia", which soon wears out its welcome, if only because its own musical twists and turns sound lazy, torpid, and quite predictable (once again compared to the ones of "The Decline", for instance). Plus, stealing Johnny Cash's "Ring Of Fire" melody for the main guitar riff at the end of the song--and this for no discernible reason in the song itself--doesn't help me take Green Day very seriously here anyway. As for the lyrics, they are pestered by the same problem found in the rest of the LP--their supposed denunciation of American hypocrisy, as related to specific issues such as the gulf wars, the media or Bush's lies, is all too vague, not just to say virtually non-existent. Actually you'd be hard-pressed to find more than a few passing indirect allusions to those things in the lyrics of this record--PR agents from the label sure had you believe there was something politically substantial in *American idiot* at the time. Turns out there's not. As a consequence, this here sounds and feels like an all-too polished, fully-"corporate", fantasy version of so-called "rebellion". And this critique also concerns the music--those copied-and-pasted "heys" of the background vocals, those very bland, uniform chord successions, the pristine lead vocals drenched in effects that have nothing to do with punk's ethos and aesthetics. The awful truth about *American Idiot* is probably this: at the time, Green Day didn't have it in them to write enough true pop-punk anthems that would be as good and catchy and visceral as the ones on *Dookie*. So instead of admitting this and move on (or just call it a day, "green" or not), they used expensive production values, marketing, costumes, and so-called "high-brow" topical ambitions to cover their lack of inspiration. What a shame. The only true punk pop anthem that could be compared to what they did before is the nice title-track opening the LP. And if "Holiday" is already going to some other places than punk, it's still a catchy song, more than decently written. But that's it. And in the end, that's probably the only thing that's gonna save this album from a 1/5 grade on my part. Everything else is indeed either a huge letdown or a fuck-up of major proportions. The other two "hits", "Boulevard Of Broken Dreams" and "Wake Me Up When September Ends" are cheesy attempts to sell out and reproduce dad-rock ballads that didn't suit the band well anyway (those attempts worked out in the charts, unfortunately--people have bad taste sometimes). What's worse, those tunes are not even the most ridiculous thing that this record has to offer. Because even if you don't take into account Green Day's 180-degree turn when it comes to what punk should sound like and just consider the whole thing as a general mainstream rock album, *American Idiot* still doesn't work for most serious music fans out there. And the songwriting and production is to blame, once again. Those tunes can't compare with older rock operas: they are just void and calculated reenactments of their aesthetics, but without the lively inventiveness and quaint charm you could find in them. In other words, *American Idiot* is no *Tommy*. And it doesn't end with a bang, just like the latter does, but with a whimper. Worse, that long boring end actually starts *before* the middle of the record, with "Boulevard Of Broken Dreams", and drags on forever. Of course, one could argue that this anti-climactic ending is sort of the point of the story told by *American Idiot*, at least from what the songs are able to convey about the overall yarn--it's always been hard understanding the precise tales of rock operas, admittedly, so we won't blame Green Day for *that* at least. From what we can perceive about the story, everyone's in for some disappointing outcomes in the story. The "Jesus" character ends up pushing paper in a cubicle. "Whatsername" marries "Whatsisface", a soulless nobody. You can't get too excited about those final story developments, I guess. As I imagine those are actually nothing but another cynical and somewaht futile way to repeat the old "No Future" punk motto to the masses. So yes, maybe the anticlimactic end is all part of the design, and this might be another reason we won't go as low as 1/5 for this one. BUT that intellectual argument still doesn't save the album for me. Because: a. Being aware of all this still can't excuse the dour music on the second half (and remember that I wasn't even convinced by everything on the first). Ideally, you can speak about boredom without being boring yourself. b. When it comes to having anti-climactic ends for your rock opera that yet still has some emotional effect on you, maybe Green Day should have taken notes from The Pretty Things' *S.F. Sorrow* on how to pull it off. c. You can't just improvise being a rock opera writer. Apart from all the necessary conceptual pretensions and delusions of grandeur, your heart must *also* be in it somehow. Not sure where Green Day's heart was on this one. Maybe it exploded way too soon, just like that grenade on the cover, and all they could do after that was trying to pick up the pieces, and try not to look too cynical about the whole thing. Yet some music fans saw through them at the time. I sure did, and I still do now. Hence the fact that, to me, including this record in a list of essential listens somehow misses the point of what "essential" really means, in spite of a couple of decent singles. Not everyone is an "American Idiot", Billie Joe. Pass the word to Robert Dimery, please. Number of albums left to review or just listen to: 836 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory: 90 Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 40 Albums from the list I will certainly *not* include in mine (many others are more important: 35 (including this one)

Dookie is still the best Green Day album, but some classics on here

Longstanding fan of everything up to and including Dookie. But nah, there's easily 2002 better albums to listen to this. Never listened before because I was fully done with them by this point. Heard the singles and thought nah. Maybe It's ok. Maybe I just stopped liking new Green Day stuff when I stopped being a teenager when they came out. It's a theory. Wait, what? The second track is 9 minutes long. Who are this band? Starts off aping the Beach Boys and then segues into All the Young Dudes. Actually quite funny how all over the place it is. What the hell, the next track is 8 minutes. Ha, Bush sent them mad. Ok I'm on board now. Might get 3 stars just because of how ridiculous it is. Yeah boulevard is still as dull as it always was. I see what's happening here, they've just removed the space between separate songs. Nah, too long and too many mediocre songs. 2 stars it is.

Jesus, Billie Joe, and I’m not talking about the phony one in suburbia either, but the real one full of truth and grace and love. Billie Joe Armstrong is clearly hurting, as I’m certain are his devotees, probably an army of likeminded disaffected ‘youth.’ Armstrong is now 50 himself, so he would have been 32 at the time of 'American Idiot.' I’m a baby boomer, and at 32 I was already well invested in my particular vocation. My parents even more so, their parents more still, and so on. And American life in the early 20th century, not to mention the vast history of human civilization, was a whole lot tougher than anything myself or, I’m guessing, Billie Joe endured. While my grandparents were fighting WWII and my generation was trying to advance human and civil rights, yours (and I know its not all of the gen Xers) Billie Joe’s just blames their trials and tribulations on mom and dad (‘Homecoming’). ‘Welcome to a new kind of tension,’ Billie Joe announces in the title and opening track, ‘all across the alienation where everything isn’t meant to be ok. In television dreams of tomorrow we’re not the ones who’re meant to follow.’ That kinda made me sad, it really did. My heart went out to him for whatever wounds he had occurred that led him to this belief. Likewise, on the next track, ‘Jesus Of Suburbia,’ he bewails, ‘And there’s nothing wrong with me. This is how I’m supposed to be in the land of make believe that don’t believe in me.’ Again, initially, I was really hurting for the guy. Until he then threw himself to the floor- at 32, mind you- and flailing his arms and legs (and guitar picks) he cries like a bitch ass toddler: ‘I don’t care if you don’t care!’ over and over and over again. Green Day is a good, tight combo- pure power chord, no frills, locomotive pop punk. I like their sound, their energy. Hard rockin’, yet melodic, kind of reminiscent of Nirvana. But, lyrically, and conceptually… Billie Joe is in need of a good spanking. After close to an hour of bitching and blaming, I didn’t find one positive, helpful solution offered. Apparently, Billie Joe doesn’t have enough emotional/spiritual maturity to even go there. He just wants ‘America (everybody else)’ to fix it, and then ‘Wake Me Up When September Ends.’ Even then, after waking from his nice lil’ nap, he’d probably still bitch about the boxed juice you gave him: ‘Billie doesn’t want apple, he wants grape!’ 'American Idiot’s' message seems to be: America, we are only the fuckups that we had to become to survive out there on the boulevard of broken dreams you built. America, you created us. Now deal with us, or else. A message they unfortunately share with one, Charles Manson.

Green Day were my first favorite band, and this was my first favorite album. I don’t love this album quite as much as I did when I was 8 or 9 but it still has its moments. Jesus of Suburbia is still just as amazing as it was the first time I heard it.

While their earlier work is a lot more poignant and relatable, the first few tracks of American Idiot are pretty good. The thing about this point on in Green Day's discography is that they will write maybe 1-2 good songs and then phone it in for the rest of the album. That's pretty much what happens here. Most of the tracks are very vague about antiestablishment/anarchist views, but American Idiot, Jesus of Suburbia, and Holiday/Boulevard are some great doomer-minded anarchist songs. The rest of the album can really just be thrown directly in the trash. Wake Me Up When September Ends doesn't really feel like it belongs on this album, and I honestly thought it was on Twenty One Guns or Nimrod, but it definitely solidified that Green Day could phone in their earlier punk talents for radio bullshit. Oh my god... there's even fake clapping added to track 6. This band fell so hard. It's like Weezer, but at least Weezer has had redeemable moments in the last decade. Highlights: 1, 2, and 3.

Very clean album. A bit too clean and predictable, I like a bit of fuzz. Some good songs to listen to on their own, but BJ’s voice and guitar gets a bit grinding listening to a whole album.

I like their other records more. I know this was caught up in the hysteria of a rock opera but for the NEW MILLENNIUM, but I don't think it was quite as amazing as it was made out to be.

Ok guys. I’ve decided our next album is going to be a concept album! Oh wow that’s great Billy Joe. What’s the concept? A punk rock.....wait for it....OPERA! Amazing! Does that mean you’re gonna write punk songs again? Hahahaha of course not Tré Cool don’t be très dumb. No it means I’m going to base all of the songs around a few different characters. Do you think you’re capable of writing like that? Oh yeah definitely. See there’s this one character called St. Jimmy so I just call the song ‘St. Jimmy’ and write lines lines like “St. Jimmy that’s my name and don’t wear it out” Ok but that sounds awful Billy Joe. It is Tré Cool. It is.

Sophomoric attempts

Idiotisk highschool-punk MED allsang-tendenser. OMG.

Pop punks love politics. So edgy!

LOL WHO MADE THIS LIST, TRASH

246/1001

Absolutely incredible. One of my favorite albums of all time. St. Jimmy!!!!

This one's definitely influenced by nostalgia but I don't even care. Soundtrack to my high school years! I've always really liked Green Day, so even without the nostalgia factor this probably would have gotten a high rating. Solid sound and instrumentals throughout, and the songs are thoroughly entertaining. There isn't really a dud in the bunch.

Absolute banger, no weak songs. There's probably some component of bias due to nostalgia, but I think if I hadn't heard this and listened for the first time I would still think it rocks. Favorite songs were: 2. Jesus of Suburbia 3. Holiday 13. Whatsername 10/10

The day has finally come! When Stijn and I started this project I said that if this album wasn't on here then the entire list was junk. I am happy to report that the list has now been validated! The first concert I ever went to was Green Day on the American Idiot tour in Mullins Arena at UMass. Thinking back, it was cool as hell that Green Day went out to Western Mass to play a show because almost nobody does that. I think I was in the 4th grade. I remember that I had to actually save up to pay for the ticket myself. My friend's dad got us the tickets and when I went to pay him back with literal rolls of quarters I had saved, he told me he didn't want to carry those around and therefore I got the ticket for free, which was super rad. My pants were falling down all night with the rolls of quarters in my pockets and I was on cloud 9. That was a peak childhood experience and everything about that and this album made me the person I am today. Needless to say I fucking LOVE this album. I have listened to it actual hundreds of times. I can still picture my friend's mom's handwriting on the burned CD she gave me of it. I stream it now, but the feeling never changes. It is quite literally perfect. The songs are all amazing and flow together perfectly. If I was being sent to a desert island for the rest of my life and could only take one album, it would be this. No hesitation. I might even take just half of this album over any other album. I still listen to it all the way through probably once a month, minimum. I hope that never changes. Green Day, thank you for existing and creating this masterful work of art.

This is an instant 10/10 for me. "American Idiot" and "The Black Parade" are the two defining albums of my childhood. It was the first CD I ever owned and I listened to it constantly. I could go ten years without listening to it and still know every word. This album was an on-ramp not only to Green Day's older and punkier albums, but the entire world of punk music in general. My parent's friend, Kevin Meeten, heard that I was obsessed with Green Day and showed up at my house with their entire discography burned onto CDs, album covers printed out in low resolution and put inside cheap plastic CD cases. I'm not sure I even knew they had other albums prior to that moment, but they quickly became valuable currency among my friends. I would bring them around to the many houses and we'd listen to them, our minds being blown by "Dookie" and "Nimrod". This was my first introduction to music snobbery, and I was the culprit. Oh, you've only listened to American Idiot? I love basically every song on this album. I went through phases with it, each section of the album becoming my favorite for a few months at a time. I'd listen to just the first four songs on repeat, then get bored of them and realize the next four were just as good. At this point in time, I think "Homecoming" and "Whatshername" are my favorite songs. The live album of the American Idiot Tour, "Bullet In A Bible", came with a concert DVD that shared equal time inside my DVD Player with "Return of the King". I watched it on repeat and put so much pressure on my parents that I went to Green Day as my first concert a year later. It rocked. This isn't Green Day's best album, but it is definitely their most important album for me. The political angles of the album may have influenced me a lot, and unfortunately ring just as true twenty years later. I have no complaints about this album whatsoever. It fucking rocks, it changed music for me. 10/10

A scathing indictment of suburban America and its culture/belief system under the Bush administration. Also at times a beautiful display of the different ways those suburban kids/families struggle to reckon with personal tragedy. A great juxtaposition of power chords and sad but catchy melodies. It’s undeniably a 5, a good snapshot in time for a subset of Americans

For some reason I've always felt like Green Day was over-hyped. Perhaps it was influence from friends in the 90s who thought that they were "fake punk" or "sold out" or whatever. I've enjoyed their songs throughout the years. The mainstream success of American Idiot made it something that I avoided checking out. Listening to it today, I was struck by how many of these songs I've heard before. They go well together. I'm not really sure about the story of this concept album, but I enjoy the theme and feeling. This really is a great album.

Love this album It’s almost a five It’s really a 9/10 but in this case I’m rounding UP TO 5.

This was THE album that got me into rock music about 20 years ago now (Christ that makes me feel old) so I’m hardly going to be objective here, but I’ll try There are a few songs in the middle that drag slightly - Are We The Waiting, She’s a Rebel and Extraordinary Girl are all a bit bland, and Homecoming towards the end is very unfocused and feels like a load of unfinished songs slapped together rather than a larger conceptual piece. American Idiot is a concept album and is kind of political but the lyrics are often very vague and it’s difficult to tell exactly what the political stance is, especially when it gets watered down by the central doomed lovers storyline Criticism out of the way - I absolutely love it. The title track is a pure injection of energy and fire with one of the most iconic and pounding drum parts of all time. Jesus of Suburbia is even greater than the sum of its parts, a rock opera epic with so many memorable motifs. Holiday and St Jimmy are both incredibly fun, Boulevard of Broken Dreams and Give Me Novocaine are massive and gorgeous ballads, and Letterbomb is a blast of pop punk greatness with one of Green Day’s most underrated choruses. Wake Me Up is probably their most personal song and (while a bit overplayed) is so emotional and powerful when it hits, and Whatsername is a beautifully nostalgic closer with a heartstopping bridge. It’s a stunning project that blends stadium rock songwriting with pop-punk spirit and musical theatre ambition, and a complete reinvention of Green Day’s sound that led to them one of the biggest bands in the world, and my favourite band for a very very long time. I loved music for as long as I can remember but this in particular captured my heart when I was about 9 years old and opened my eyes as to what music could achieve, sonically and narratively, and what an album could be rather than just a collection of songs, and I immediately began devouring album after album until my brain melted and I signed up to listen to 1001 of the stupid things. No word of a lie, I don’t think I would have studied music at university without American Idiot, I don’t think I would have been friends with a lot of my closest pals growing up without American Idiot, and I would absolutely not be the person I am today without American Idiot. 3 stars.

- Ich finde (wenn vielleicht auch an der ein oder anderen Stelle etwas überhört) ehrlich gesagt ein perfektes Album - Konzeptalbum, das von vorne bis Hinten eine coole Geschichte erzählt - Fast jeder Song ein Hit, mehrere Welthits - Tolle Lyrics - Super Songwriting - Ich liebe nahezu jeden Track und mein Lieblingstrack auf dem Album "Holiday" war der erste Song, den ich je auf E-Gitarre gelernt habe - "Jesus Of Suburbia" ist einfach Green Days "Bohemian Rhapsody". Eine fucking Rock-Oper im besten Sinne mit großen epischen Parts, mit kleinen ruhigen Momenten, mit Leitmotiv und allem Drum und Dran. Ich sehe es immer wieder als Musical vor meinen Augen. Einfach großartig. - Dazu mit "Boulevard Of Broken Dreams" und "Wake Me Up When September Ends" zwei der schönsten Rockballaden, die je geschrieben wurden. - Allein einfach mit einem Track wie „American Idiot" zu eröffnen, ist auch schon ein Statement. - Auch abseits der großen Hits einfach soo gute Songs - Live einer der geilsten Auftritte, die ich je auf einem Festival erlebt habe, weil die einfach fast 2,5 Std. so krank Gas gegeben haben - Diese Band hat in meinen Augen mit diesem Album Legendenstatus erreicht und von immer schon auch politischem aber auch teils quatschigem Poppunk ein ernstzunehmendes Alternative Rock / Mainstream Punk Album für die Ewigkeit geschaffen. - Artwork eine 10/10 und eines der ikonischsten ever - Ich könnte wohl zu jedem Song irgendwas schreiben aber ich belasse es jetzt bei einer für mich klaren 5/5 und das obwohl ich nie so drüber nachgedacht habe Rating: 5/5

- Mein erstes, selbstgekauftes Rock-Album, Muddi wollte damals erstmal die Texte lesen, um sicherzugehen, dass das für mich hörbar ist (als ob ich damals irgendein Wort davon verstanden hätte, ich war glaube ich 9) - Was ein Banger von einem Album! Hat mich einfach in Richtung Rock, später Metal und schließlich zum Metalcore geführt. War schon derbe prägend - Neben den ganzen Hits auf der Platte, feiere ich auch viele von den nicht ganz so abgegangen Tracks extrem -> "Give Me Novacaine", "She's a Rebel", "Extraordinary Girl", "Letterbomb" und "Jesus of Suburbia" sind für mich auch so krasse Banger - Kehre immer mal wieder zu Green Day zurück und die Jungs stehen auch immer noch auf meiner Live-Bucketlist

One of the better 21st century albums

Super nostalgic for me and I think that's why I'm rating it higher. This was a really important album in my adolescence and listening to it today transported me right back.

amazing album

18 months ago I gave Dookie a semi-reluctant 5 stars (well, 4.5 stars rounded up) partially because of those classic early singles but partially because I felt it was the Green Day album I *should* rate the highest. Yes, I’d rather listen to American Idiot front-to-back, but that’s just nostalgia for an album than came out when I was 14, right? Surely the debut album, before they starting ‘selling out’, had to be objectively more authentic and better…? Since then I’ve done some reflecting, and also had the pleasure of seeing the band perform both albums live in full, and I can confidently say that American Idiot is, in fact, their masterpiece. For starters, it’s a concept album in a strong sense - it’s musically and thematically linked, with some excellent transitions between tracks, which I always appreciate. Ok, I’ve never been sure *exactly* what the narrative is supposed to be, but that doesn’t matter - the music tells a story on its own. It’s ambitious and cinematic but it never comes across as pretentious to me, as at its core it’s still using the same basic ingredients of punk-rock chords and pop melodies, just served in a different way. 20 years on it still sounds great to me.

I mean, what's to say, one of my favourite albums growing up, and every bit of this holds up.

An album with an overarching storyline? What a concept.

This showed up as my album today, and I immediately went back to my teenage years - so of course I was worried I'd be biased, that nostalgia would play its part in my review. Therefore I tried my best to go into this critically, listening as though for the first time. And you know what? It still rules. When it first came out, I didn't bother listening to it because I though "oh, this is the Wake Me Up When September Ends album, I don't wanna listen to those emos", but I think Green Day have always released maudlin singles off of bangers of albums, which really don't give you an impression of what the rest of the album is like. It's a worrying state of affairs that so much of the societal points that Green Day rally against are no better - or possibly even worse - today, and their lyrics still hit hard now. Also, how is this twenty years old?? Faves: Homecoming, Letterbomb, American Idiot

Personally, I'm more of a dookie guy. But c'mon, it's american idiot. 5/5

It was all over the screen

I loved Dookie, but then sort looked down on Green Day as "sellouts" (due mostly to the success of "Good Riddance") until this album came out. It really softened my perception of the band. It's a fantastic rock opera, and is enjoyable from end to end.

5 Stars. And so appropriate. The fascist circus is back in town. God Bless Green Day!

I Don't Care What Any RYM Using Fantano Loving /Mu/ Denizen Says

Yo what a fantastic piece of art this is. I can't believe I never listened to the whole thing until now. Teenage me would have loved it.

Yeah

This was a seminal album for me in my teenage years and brought back a lot of good memories. It still holds up well in my opinion, with a great mix of high energy punk tracks and slower ballads. I love how ambitious it is with the rock opera meta-story but most tracks hold up well on their own as well. St Jimmy and Holiday were my favorite tracks as a kid and upon revisiting the album I've learned that I had great taste.

Iconic riffs and lyrics. Topical when it came out, but unfortunately remains culturally relevant 20 years later. Extremely ambitious, but is everything it should be. I'm a sucker for a good concept album anyway. Not to mention six songs over 5min is pretty amazing for a "punk" band.

I professed to hate this album when it came out, because I believed the rhetoric that Green Day had sold out. I took me revisiting Green Day's discog in my 30's to realize that the rhetoric was wrong and so was I. This album is excellent, there's not a bad song on it, and it represents the authentic growth (that perhaps took my own growth as a person to fully realize) of a band that is among my favorites, if not my favorite.

How can I rate this down? :D It's impossible for me to be objective about it as it brings me back to my teenage years haha. It opens with American Idiot which is such an energy blast! The whole album has a great punchy, light punky vibe that I feel is a crowd pleaser in general, not just for me.

A great album. I had forgotten what's on it. The starter alone is great. Holiday/Boulevard of brolen Dreams is one of my favorites. And I always enjoy listening to 'Wake me up, when September ends'. Full marks. 5/5

Haha this can’t be a coincidence. Americans are great at self implosion, fuck Trump.

Incredible album and so nostalgic. Jesus of Duburbia is one of my favourite songs of all time along with Give Me Novocaine. One of the best albums, one of my most loved.

I didn't need to listen to rate this as I've played this album a thousand times! I'm a Green Day fan anyway and saw them live at the Emirates Stadium London a few years ago. Billy Joe Armstrong has such a great and distinctive voice and the superb material and brilliant production all together make this one of the greatest albums you will ever hear. In their own words this is a Punk Rock Opera mainly telling the story of Jesus of Suburbia an adolescent anti hero. This album gets a 5 from me

I really think that this is Green Day's best. Songs are WAY too long, like to the point that it's basically the antithesis of punk music, but damn if this whole album isn't good. This was Green Day's peak, and they have only gotten worse.

Great punk-pop all the way through

Easy 5. Iconic album that I have not heard in a while! It's political without being annoying, it rocks hard and it's an ambitious concept. I can't say I was able to follow the story. Amazingly it was also full of hits I remember being played at middle school dances! Not sure that will ever happen again.

I still love it. Particularly like Boulevard and Wake Me Up, they always give me that sort of introspective, bittersweet feeling where you think about how time is passing so quickly and you dwell on mistakes you have made.

This album is one of my favorites. Its title track got me into rock music. But that’s only part of the reason I’m giving it a high rating. It’s also because I love the story and the style. 5/5

Got this just 2 days after the 20 year anniversary edition was released, which I was planning to listen to anyway. I was 21 when this album came out and I didn’t care for it. I discovered it properly this year, and now I think it’s one of my favorite albums ever. One hour that flows so well is quite rare. And I got to hear it played live in its entirety just a few months ago!

Un tour de force: chaque pièce est un hit. Rarement le punk rock et le pop ont fait aussi bon ménage, et la revendication sociale ne boude pas son plaisir musical

Dookie will always be my favorite, but they really took their careers to the next level am with this album.

Fucking fuego. As good as I remember

Green Day’s American Idiot is an outstanding album, blending fast-paced punk, anthemic rock, and multi-part tracks that venture into almost progressive territory. Although I’ve typically found Green Day to be “okay” at best, this album stands out as one of my favorites. The instrument mix is solid, with guitars and bass doing their job well, but Trè Cool’s drumming is on a whole other level. While there’s a slight dip in quality between Give Me Novacaine and Letterbomb, the album still holds up as a classic. The hardest part of reviewing this album is resisting the urge to sing along. I wish I could have experienced one of the concerts where they played it in full. Standout track: Homecoming. Score: 5/5.

Better than I remembered

Whilst I don’t think this is their best album, it is still a great album. Like a lot of people I’d imagine, wake me up when September ends is one of my favourite Green Day songs.