Jesus of Suburbia: Difference between revisions
Adozenlies97 (talk | contribs) |
Undid revision 300731904 by Adozenlies97 (talk) |
||
| Line 79: | Line 79: | ||
{{reflist}} |
{{reflist}} |
||
{{Green Day}} |
{{Green Day Singles}} |
||
[[Category:2005 singles]] |
[[Category:2005 singles]] |
||
Revision as of 19:02, 7 July 2009
| "Jesus of Suburbia" | |
|---|---|
| Song |
"Jesus of Suburbia" is the fifth and final single from Green Day's seventh studio album, American Idiot and was released on October 25, 2005. The studio version of the song, a five movement piece, runs just over 9 minutes and was considered to be unfriendly for radio appeal, so it was cut down to around 6½ minutes for the radio edit. The long version was still played on many album rock and alternative rock radio stations.
Track listings
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Jesus of Suburbia" | 9:09 |
| 2. | "Are We the Waiting" (Live from VH1 Storytellers) | 2:57 |
| 3. | "St. Jimmy" (Live from VH1 Storytellers) | 3:07 |
- 10" vinyl
Side A
- "Jesus of Suburbia" - 9:09
Side B
- "St. Jimmy" (Live from VH1 Storytellers) - 3:07
Song information
After you write a song like that, it was like, 'I can't turn back now.' You can't all of a sudden say, 'I want to write a normal record."
Billie Joe Armstrong, Christian Science Monitor, 2005[1]
The song was co-written by Green Day (with Billie Joe Armstrong writing the lyrics), and was co-produced by Rob Cavallo. Parts I, II and III of the song are in the key of C sharp major. Part III transitions out by playing a C#5/G#5 chord progression, and ends on the G#5 chord, which changes the key to G sharp major and introduces part IV, "Dearly Beloved". In part V, "Tales of Another Broken Home", the key is changed to G#7 for most of the movement, save for the bridge near the end of the track, which is once again in G sharp major. Following the bridge, part V reverts back to its original tempo and key for the song's outro.
In this song, Green Day detail the life and times of a so-called Jesus of Suburbia, the fictional protagonist of American Idiot. His real name is Jimmy, which is revealed in the extended music video when a girl calls him that and in the cut version of the video when he writes "Saint Jimmy" on a bathroom stall (later on in the American Idiot album, he officially changed his name in the song "St. Jimmy", although still calls himself Jesus of Suburbia, and is called that by Whatsername in "Letterbomb"). The name "Jesus of Suburbia" may just mean he is the savior of the rebels in suburbia. He is a resident of Jingletown, USA, and the son of a divorced mother. His younger years were spent on a "steady diet of soda pop and Ritalin", watching television, using drugs, and loitering in front of convenience stores. Although everything seems alright at first, Jimmy feels trapped and bored in Jingletown and longs for escape, as he narrates in "City of the Damned".
In a coming of age move, Jimmy leaves Jingletown by the end of the song to explore The City. His exploits in The City are not described in this song, but are described in greater detail in the rest of the album, especially in "Holiday" and "Boulevard of Broken Dreams". Nevertheless, to describe the essence of the personality of Jimmy, Green Day proclaims, "I'm the son of rage and love. The Jesus of Suburbia, from the bible of none of the above, on a steady diet of soda pop and ritalin..."
"Jesus of Suburbia" has five movements:
- I. "Jesus of Suburbia"
- II. "City of the Damned"
- III. "I Don't Care"
- IV. "Dearly Beloved"
- V. "Tales of Another Broken Home"
The song was also featured on their live album, Bullet in a Bible
The guitar solo at 8:00-8:13 follows the main theme of the Johnny Cash song "Ring of Fire".[citation needed]
The guitar/bass line from 4:22-4:55 follows the main riff of Black Sabbath's classic song "Children of the Grave".[citation needed]
Music video
 |
The music video of "Jesus of Suburbia" was directed by Samuel Bayer, who also directed the music videos for the first four singles released from the American Idiot album, and had high hopes for the music video. The official music video premiered on October 14, 2005 in the UK and on October 25, 2005 on the MTV network for viewers residing in the US. Two official versions exist: One is a twelve-minute edit, complete with dialogue while the other is a six and a half-minute director's cut, inclusive solely of the music itself and devoid of additives. The six-minute version is censored, whereas the twelve-minute version is not. The video starred Lou Taylor Pucci as the main character. Jimmy's love interest was played by Kelli Garner. Jimmy's mother was portrayed by Canadian actress Deborah Kara Unger. Although Billie Joe was originally tipped to provide the acting role of the main character, this was altered during pre-filming.
The plot of the video essentially follows that of the song. The video pays homage to "1979" by Smashing Pumpkins, which was directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris; it also made use of the snorricam which created the video's notable up close shots in the general store and party scenes. The "Jesus of Suburbia" video copies the praised video during a scene which Jesus trashes the general store such as seen in the video for "1979". Coincidentally director Samuel Bayer directed the video for Smashing Pumpkins' "Bullet with Butterfly Wings" in '95.
The intro to the uncut version while related to the song is out of place. The edited version places the intro scene near the middle making sense of Jesus' outburst against Whatsername for cheating on him.
Critical reception
People called the song "epic" and a "magnificent nine-minute rock opera." It is often recognized as one of Green Day's greatest songs.[2] It was recently voted the greatest Green Day song of all time in a Rolling Stone readers poll.[3]
External links
- Green Day plan ambitious video for next single
- Think Green Day's "September" Clip Is Epic? Just Wait For "Jesus Of Suburbia"
- Jesus of Suburbia at The Internet Music Database