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American Idiot

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Untitled

American Idiot is Green Day's seventh studio album and a rock opera, released in 2004. It may also be classified as a concept album to many. It was originally to be released in November 2003. It is the first #1 album for Green Day on both sides of the Atlantic, and it is also the fourth Green Day studio album that producer Rob Cavallo has produced.

This album marked the end of a commercial slump for Green Day. Many had speculated that they would find it difficult to follow up Warning:, which itself had proved slightly less popular than Nimrod.[citation needed] This is also hinted at with the long gestation time of this album, filled in with a greatest hits album (International Superhits!) and a B-sides album (Shenanigans). This is likely another reason for the band's decision to completely re-invent their style with this conceptual work. All of the album's singles proved very popular, a feat not matched since Dookie.

American Idiot debuted at #1 on the Billboard charts on October 9, 2004, thanks to the success of the "American Idiot" single. Over 3 months later, around the release of "Boulevard of Broken Dreams," the album returned to the number one position for 2 more weeks.

The recording

After the release of Shenanigans, Green Day started recording an album called Cigarettes and Valentines. However, near the end of the recording sessions, the master tracks to the album were stolen. After this happened, the band was inspired to write American Idiot. They felt their writing process had become mechanical and that they needed to release something more relevant.[citation needed]

The band tried different approaches than they had been accustomed to in the studio.[1] Other examples include the songs "Jesus of Suburbia" and "Homecoming": multi-movement suites, composed in 5 different parts, that are both more than nine minutes long. In lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong's words, "One day, Mike was at the studio and he wrote a thirty-second song. I don't know, I liked it so I wanted to do one too. The one that I did, I connected to his and then Tré did one and he connected it to mine and so on and so forth until we had about ten minutes. It was just purely out of having a good time."[citation needed] These thirty-second song sessions were started in frustration when the band was trying to decide what to do after the master tapes of their originally planned album were stolen. "This sounds like a rock opera," Armstrong jokingly remarked during this session.[citation needed] The song "American Idiot" has been described by the band as their public statement in reaction to the confusing and warped scene that is American pop culture since 9/11.[citation needed] Armstrong has said that they chose to write this way because the band has obtained respect and sway in the music world, and that this social commentary is part of their natural evolution as a band.[citation needed]

Awards

American Idiot won a Grammy in 2005 for Best Rock Album and was nominated for Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Best Rock Song ("American Idiot"), Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group, and Best Short Form Music Video ("American Idiot"). The music video for "American Idiot" was voted 'The Greatest Rock Video Ever' in a Kerrang! poll. In the Australian Triple J's Hottest 100 for 2005, "Jesus of Suburbia" entered at #61 making it the longest song ever to place in the chart at 9 minutes and 8 seconds. Green Day also won two Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards Blimps in 2006 for Favorite Musical Group and Favorite Song ("Wake Me Up When September Ends"). They swept the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards, winning a total of seven of the eight awards they were nominated for, including the coveted Viewer's Choice Award.[2] In 2005, the album won the Juno Award for International Album of the Year.

Movie adaptation

Shortly after the album was released there was speculation that American Idiot might be made into a movie. VH1 quoted Armstrong as saying "We've definitely been talking about someone writing a script for it, and there's been a few different names that have been thrown at us. It sounds really exciting, but for right now it's just talk." [1] Armstrong later stated that shooting would begin for American Idiot: The Motion Picture in 2006, stressing, "We want to see how it turns out first so that it doesn't suck." [2] On June 1, 2006 Armstrong announced in an interview with MTV.com that "it's definitely unfolding" and that "every single week there's more ideas about doing a film for American Idiot, and it's definitely going to happen," [3] but the band later said, "It is gonna take a little while."[citation needed]

Controversy

Due to its mainstream success, and slightly poppier influence, some fans are divided between liking "their old stuff" and "their new stuff".

Track listing

All tracks by Billie Joe Armstrong (lyrics) and Green Day (music), except where noted.

  1. "American Idiot" – 2:54
  2. "Jesus of Suburbia" – 9:08
    • I. "Jesus of Suburbia" – 1:50
    • II. "City of the Damned" – 1:51
    • III. "I Don't Care" – 1:31
    • IV. "Dearly Beloved" – 1:09
    • V. "Tales of Another Broken Home" – 2:38
  3. "Holiday" – 3:52
  4. "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" – 4:20
  5. "Are We the Waiting" – 2:42
  6. "St. Jimmy" – 2:55
  7. "Give Me Novacaine" – 3:25
  8. "She's a Rebel" – 2:00
  9. "Extraordinary Girl" – 3:33
  10. "Letterbomb" – 4:06
  11. "Wake Me Up When September Ends" – 4:45
  12. "Homecoming" – 9:18
  13. "Whatsername" – 4:12

B-sides

The following songs were recorded shortly before American Idiot and released as the album's B-sides:

  1. "I Fought the Law" (a The Bobby Fuller Four cover released on iTunes only)
  2. "Favorite Son" (released on Rock Against Bush, Vol. 2)
  3. "Shoplifter" (released on the "American Idiot" single)
  4. "Governator" (released on the "American Idiot" single)
  5. "Too Much Too Soon" (released on the "American Idiot" single)

Dates

In the lyric book that comes with the album there are dates next to some of the names of songs (as the lyrics are written in notebook style, as if it was written as a journal).

  1. "American Idiot" Feb 23
  2. "Jesus of Suburbia" Mar 3 Jingletown USA
  3. "Holiday" April 1st In The City
  4. "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" April 2
  5. "Are We the Waiting" Easter Sunday
  6. "St. Jimmy" May 7
  7. "Give Me Novacaine" June 13
  8. "She's a Rebel" July 4
  9. "Extraordinary Girl"
  10. "Letterbomb" Aug 18th
  11. "Wake Me Up When September Ends" Sept 10
  12. "Homecoming" Oct 19
  13. "Whatsername" January 1

Bonus versions

In some countries, bonus versions of the album were released.

Singles

Year Song Peak positions
US Modern Rock
[4] 		US
Main-
stream Rock
[4] 		UK
Top 40
[5] 		Sweden
[6] 		New Zealand
[7] 		France
[8] 		Canada
 Australia
 Germany
2004 "American Idiot" 1 5 3 18 7 1 7 28
2004 "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" 1 1 5 2 5 19 1 5 13
2005 "Holiday" 1 1 11 25 13 21 24 50
2005 "Wake Me Up When September Ends" 2 12 8 21 10 8 13 22
2005 "Jesus of Suburbia" 27 17 26 24 26 82

Chart positions and certifications

Peak chart positions

Chart (2005/2006) Peak
position
Australia Albums Chart 1
Austria Albums Chart 1
Ireland Album Chart 1
Israel Album Chart 1
Norway Album Chart 1
Sweden Album Chart 1
Switzerland Album Chart 1
U.K. Albums Chart 1
U.S. Billboard 200 1
World Album Chart 1
Finland Album Chart 2
New Zealand Album Chart 2
German Album Chart 3
Danish Album Chart 4
France Album Chart 4
Netherlands Album Chart 4
Italian Album Chart 5
Belgium Albums Chart 6

Certifications

Chart Certification Sales
World 8x Platinum 14,603,300
United States 5x Platinum 5,000,000
United Kingdom 6x Platinum 1,800,000
Canada 8x Platinum 800,000
Australia 6x Platinum 420,000
Germany 2x Platinum 400,000
France Platinum 375,600
Ireland 8x Platinum 120,000
Switzerland 2x Platinum 80,000
Austria 2x Platinum 80,000
New Zealand 4x Platinum 60,000
Sweden Platinum 60,000
Brazil Gold 50,000
Denmark Platinum 40,000
Netherlands Gold 40,000
Belgium Gold 25,000
Israel Gold 20,000
Portugal Gold 10,000

Note: for all the certification definitions see: Certifications

Personnel

  • Billie Joe Armstrong – vocals, lead guitar, rhythm guitar
  • Mike Dirnt – backing vocals, bass guitar
  • Tré Cool – lead vocals on "Rock and Roll Girlfriend", backing vocals, drums and percussions

Additional personnel

  • Jason Freese – saxophone
  • Rob Cavallo – piano
  • Kathleen Hanna – guest vocals at the beginning of "Letterbomb"
  • Satin Manchario – sound management, tech
  • Jason White - rhythm guitar can be seen in the "Wake me up when September ends" music video

Legacy

In late 2005, Dean Gray released a mash-up version of the album—called American Edit—and became a cause célèbre when the artist was served with a cease and desist order by Green Day's record label. Tracks include "Dr. Who on Holiday" and "Boulevard of Broken Songs". Billie Joe Armstrong later stated that he heard one of the songs on the radio and enjoyed it.[9]

References

  1. ^ Di Perna, Alan. "Combat Rock". Guitar World. Holiday 2004.
  2. ^ Green Day Authority. "Band Awards - American Idiot" "Green Day Authority".
  3. ^ American Idiot + Live in Tokyo
  4. ^ a b "Green Day single chart history". Billboard. Retrieved 2007-07-16. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference everyhit was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference swedenalbum was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference nzalbum was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ "Green Day French single chart history". Retrieved 2007-07-16.
  9. ^ MTV Article on Green Day
Preceded by Billboard 200 Number 1 Album
October 9, 2004 - October 15, 2004 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Billboard 200 Number 1 Album
January 22, 2005 - February 4, 2005 		Succeeded by
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