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Last of the American Girls

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"Last of the American Girls"
A woman spraying the American flag on a wall. The words "Green Day" appear on top of the flag, where as "Last of the American Girls" is on the left of the woman.
Single by Green Day
from the album 21st Century Breakdown
ReleasedMarch 22, 2010
Recorded2008
Genre
Length3:51
LabelReprise
Composer(s)Green Day
Lyricist(s)Billie Joe Armstrong
Producer(s)
Green Day singles chronology
"21st Century Breakdown"
(2009) 		"Last of the American Girls"
(2010) 		"When It's Time"
(2010)
Music video
"Last of the American Girls" on YouTube
Audio sample

"Last of the American Girls" is a song by American rock band Green Day. The song is the tenth track from their eighth studio album 21st Century Breakdown (2009) Written by the band and produced by Butch Vig, the song was released as the album's fifth and final single on March 22, 2010.

A music video for the track was released on April 1, 2010. The song peaked at number 26 on the US Alternative Airplay chart.

Background and composition

The band premiered "Last of the American Girls" during a secret show at the Fox Oakland Theatre on April 14, 2009, alongside other songs which would appear on 21st Century Breakdown.[1][2]

"Last of the American Girls" is a pop-punk song in the key of B major,[3] described as being reminiscent of songs from Dookie (1994)[4] and American Idiot (2004).[5] The song is considered by critics to be similar to the college rock-style of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, especially to their song "American Girl".[6][7] The song also contains harmonies reminiscent of the Beach Boys.[8] According to Armstrong, "Last of the American Girls" was initially inspired by his wife, before he incorporated his own beliefs into the lyrics.[9] Lyrically, the song describes a female rebel who is paranoid and partakes in conspiracy theories.[6] The song advances the story of 21st Century Breakdown through expanding on the idealistic and politically-driven personality of the character Gloria.[10]

Music video

The set for the music video, which consists of furniture strewn in a desert, was compared to an "apartment without walls"[11]

The music video for "Last of the American Girls" was directed by Marc Webb, who also directed other music videos from 21st Century Breakdown. It stars Lisa Stelly reprising her role as Gloria from the music video for "21 Guns".[12] The video shows a bored Gloria in a desert landscape strewn with furniture performing mundane activities like watching television and washing dishes while being followed by a pair of dancing blond twins.[13] Towards the end, Gloria causes a shooting target to burst and a car to explode by "firing" a finger gun. Shots of the band performing the song in the desert are interspersed throughout the video.[14]

The music video has been commended for its theatrical nature, with Daniel Kreps of Rolling Stone comparing the video to that of "Telephone".[14]

Critical reception

"Last of the American Girls" received mostly positive reception from critics. Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone wrote that the song "comes on as a fabulous left-wing love song to a rebel girl,"[10] while Chad Childers of Loudwire commented that the song was "among the album's better deeper cuts".[15]

Legacy

"Last of the American Girls" appears in American Idiot, a jukebox musical based on songs by Green Day, combined with the song "She's a Rebel". It is one of the few songs in the musical to originate from 21st Century Breakdown, as opposed to being from the album American Idiot itself.[16]

The song is also included in the video game Green Day: Rock Band as DLC.[17]

Credits and Personnel

Track listing

Promo CD single[18]
No.TitleLength
1."Last of the American Girls"3:51
CD maxi[18]
No.TitleLength
1."Last of the American Girls"3:53
2."Know Your Enemy" (Live)4:49
3."21st Century Breakdown" (Studio 880 Sessions)5:06
Digital download[19]
No.TitleLength
1."Last of the American Girls"3:51

Chart performance

Chart (2010) Peak
position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[20] 29
Germany (GfK)[21] 45
Hungary (Mahasz)[22] 16
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40 Tipparade)[23] 4
U.S. Billboard Rock Songs[24] 34
U.S. Billboard Alternative Songs[25] 26

References

  1. ^ Goldstein, Melissa (April 8, 2009). "Green Day Preview New Album at Secret Show!". Spin. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  2. ^ "Green Day perform new album '21st Century Breakdown' in full". NME. April 16, 2009. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  3. ^ Cook, Tobyd (April 24, 2009). "Green Day's New Album 21st Century Breakdown Reviewed Track By Track". The Quietus. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
  4. ^ "Green Day - 21st Century Breakdown". Alternative Press. May 5, 2009. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
  5. ^ Roffman, Michael (May 11, 2009). "Album Review: Green Day – 21st Century Breakdown". Consequence. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
  6. ^ a b "Album review: Green Day". NME. May 7, 2009. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
  7. ^ Brown, August (June 6, 2009). "Green Day shakes and shouts". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
  8. ^ Silver, Dan (April 18, 2009). "Rock review: Green Day, 21st Century Breakdown". The Guardian. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
  9. ^ "Green Day: 21st Century Breakdown Track By Track". Blunt. May 9, 2013. Archived from the original on April 19, 2018. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  10. ^ a b Sheffield, Rob (April 27, 2009). "21st Century Breakdown". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  11. ^ Vallejos, Tamara (April 1, 2010). "WATCH: Green Day's "American Girls" Video". Spin. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
  12. ^ Montgomery, James (March 31, 2010). "Green Day's 'Last Of The American Girls' Video: Theatrics, Explosions And Gloria". MTV. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
  13. ^ Pastorek, Whitney (April 1, 2010). "New Green Day video, 'Last of the American Girls': Guns, golden sand, girls". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
  14. ^ a b Kreps, Daniel (April 1, 2010). "Green Day Tease "Idiot" Musical in "Last of the American Girls" Video". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
  15. ^ Childers, Chad (May 25, 2016). "Green Day Albums Ranked". Loudwire. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  16. ^ Young, Alex (April 29, 2010). "Album Review: Original Broadway Cast Recording – American Idiot". Consequence. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  17. ^ Reilly, Jim (May 8, 2012). "Green Day: Rock Band Track List Revealed". IGN. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  18. ^ a b "Last Of The American Girls". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved January 3, 2011.
  19. ^ "Last Of The American Girls". Amazon.co.uk.
  20. ^ "Green Day – Last of the American Girls" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
  21. ^ "Green Day – Last of the American Girls" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
  22. ^ "Hungarian Airplay Chart". Mahasz. Retrieved 2010-05-31.
  23. ^ "Tipparade-lijst van week 27, 2010" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
  24. ^ "Last of the American Girls/She's a Rebel". billboard.com.
  25. ^ "Green Day Album & Song Chart History". billboard.com.
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