American Idiot (song)

"American Idiot"
Song
B-side	"Too Much Too Soon", "Shoplifter", "Governator"

"American Idiot" is a song by American alt-rock band Green Day, and is the first single from their seventh album, American Idiot. It's rhythm is 186bpm 4/4.

Released in 2004, the single peaked at #61 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Green Day's first chart entry (previous singles had not charted), helping revive the band's career. However, the appearance of "American Idiot" on the US singles charts occurred just prior to Billboard Magazine's inclusion of internet download purchases into their Hot 100 chart data, which would have made a significant difference in the song's peak had it benefited from the new chart tabulation system. This most recent form of sales assessment has resulted in the far greater successes of "Boulevard of Broken Dreams", "Holiday" and "Wake Me Up When September Ends".

"American Idiot" became Green Day's first Top 5 single in the United Kingdom, reaching #3, and peaked at #7 in Australia. It debuted at #1 in Canada, holding onto the zenith position for five weeks.

The song was featured in the trailer for the 2005 film Wedding Crashers. The song features on the soundtrack of the American football video game Madden NFL 2005. It was featured as the closing theme song for the first season of the "Andy Milonakis" show. "Weird Al" Yankovic parodied the song on his album Straight Outta Lynwood as "Canadian Idiot" - a satirical commentary on American nationalism and the stereotypical American view of Canadians. In The Simpsons Movie, after Green Day dies after falling in the highly polluted Lake Springfield, "American Idiot" is played at the band's funeral, with a shot of the sheet music listing the song as American Idiot - Funeral Version.

Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine covered this song into a lounge style on their 2005 album Aperitif for Destruction and Avril Lavigne did as well in 2006.

Track list

Promo:

1. "American Idiot" - 2:56

CD 1:

1. "American Idiot"
2. "Too Much Too Soon"

CD 2:

1. "American Idiot"
2. "Shoplifter"
3. "Governator"

7" Picture Disc:
Side A.

1. "American Idiot"

Side B.

1. "Too Much Too Soon"

Music Video

The music video for the song was directed by Samuel Bayer. It opens in a large open building, presumably a warehouse, with the band members playing in front of a large green-and-white American flag. Throughout the song, various stunts are performed, including Tre Cool leaving the drum set and running around the stage. As the video progresses, the green coloring is drained from the flag, leaving only white with the outlines of stars and stripes. When the solo begins, green sewage-like liquid (presumeably the coloring from the now-drained flag) explodes from the speakers, and flood the set. At the end of the song, the band members all drop their instruments in the sludge, and walk off the stage.

Song information

The song was written by all three members of Green Day, and was co-produced by Green Day and Rob Cavallo. It is in the key of A-flat major, and is widely known for the guitar riff that plays through the whole song, excluding the chorus.

The whole song is similar to the intro riff from Dillinger Four's "Doublewhiskeycokenoice", written in 1997. Dillinger Four opened for Green Day on Green Day's Japan tour.

"American Idiot" criticizes the post 9/11 U.S., referring to such issues as paranoia, propaganda and media. "American Idiot" has also been certified as an RIAA Gold (500,000 downloads) along with "Boulevard of Broken Dreams", American Idiot's second single.

The song helped pave the road for the future American Idiot singles, "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" (which, in a great turnaround, would reach #2 in the U.S.), "Holiday" (a Top 30 hit worldwide), "Wake Me Up When September Ends" (which would reach #6 in the U.S. and the Top 20 worldwide), and "Jesus of Suburbia". It was their first #1 on the Modern Rock Tracks from the American Idiot album and their sixth overall.

Singles

Two separate singles for the song were released. One single contains the song "American Idiot", as well as two B-sides, "Shoplifter" and "Governator". The latter two songs were both recorded in 2003 and never intended to be used on the American Idiot album. Another single exists with only one B-side, the song "Too Much Too Soon".

There are two separate single covers as well, one shows the mom and the dad holding a kid while running, and the other shows them swinging him over a bear trap. The figures may be the "Mom" and "Brad" characters from "Jesus of Suburbia".