"Green Day - American Idiot"

Yeah, so the buzz around this album has been over for months. Admittedly, it's still up in the top 10 albums' sold every week, even so long after it came out, so that should tell you something right there (1, that it's a good CD, and 2, that there's really not been much good come out of late). But I only just recently picked it up for myself, so I'm only just not getting around to talking about it.

Let's skip over the stuff about how it's a "punk rock opera" and all of its influences and stuff. Yeah, it takes a lot from the Who's A Quick One. Yeah, it's like the Clash or whatever. These are, of course, very positive things. But they're not important for this discussion.

Let's also skip over the message of the album. Yes, it's an angry rant against Bush and the current administration and the idiocy of American society circa 2004. We all know this. Me rehashing all of that crap for paragraph after paragraph really doesn't bring anything new to the table.

Instead, let's talk about this album as music. In terms of sheer musicality and songwriting, this is probably the finest album this band has ever produced. tight, muscular, varied, and expressive, the music itself is pure joy to listen to. There's hard and fast punk songs, there's subtle acoustic-led ballads, there's layers and mini-suites and attention to detail. This is not a sloppy album, but for all of its polish and shine, it still sounds fresh, energetic, and exciting. This is the sort of thing music is supposed to be.

Lyrically, this is also one of the band's strongest outings, and certainly its most mature. I know it sounds strange talking about maturity with a punk band, since punk is a decidely adolescent genre, but these guys manage to transcend the genre with American Idiot. The lyrics are intelligent, witty, and often understated (which is something for a band that's written songs about masturbation). Not all of the songs are a part of the overarcing narrative about the decay of American society; at least, not directly. There are several character sketch songs scattered throughout the album, including "St. Jimmy" (a name which seems lifted from a Bruce Springsteen song, "Lost in the Flood," which features a character named "Jimmy the Saint") "Whatshername," and "Jesus of Suburbia." These character sketches describe the decline of American society in their idiosyncracies and quirks, their flaws and weaknesses. It's a fairly clever device, and it works well.

Of the two mini-suites on the album, only the second, "Homecoming," really falls flat. The first, "Jesus of Suburbia," is catchy and entertaining, introducing the character and establishing the world in which the character moves. "Homecoming" just tries to cram too much into one song, and the various "movements" of the "suite" really don't fit together the way the five mini-songs in "Jesus of Suburbia" do.

All in all, American Idiot is one of the best albums I've heard in a long time. It works on multiple levels--its narrative is compelling, and the way the songs flow into one another makes sense. On another level, each individual song (with the aforementioned exception) works well on an independent level. There is cohesiveness and variety, a nifty trick to pull off. All of this makes American Idiot a wholly satisfying and enjoyable album, perhaps even in spite of your political leanings.

~chuck

Song of the Moment: Green Day, "Holiday"