[If your reading this, you clicked on my journal. American Idiot is a very strong album. It's more than a political album. It shows the main character, Jesus of Suburbia, grow up, become smarter, and find out what is wrong with the world. It is a powerful album, with suprisingly good song writing. It has a great ending. Green Day has really matured since Dookie. They may have created the pop-punk mold, but they are trying to break it. The song writing on this album is very good. Green Day shows more emotion than before, as they create a strong story through music. The following are my responses to each song on the album, what I think of the song, and what I believe each mean. Thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts on American Idiot] (First message, May 6, 2005) I know no one is going to read this, but I'll write it any way. I'm going to give more of a review of the album than the song. 1000 people have already said enough about this song, and frankly, that is way too many. This song isn't even great. It's a solid, catchy single made more to draw attention to the album as much as contribute to it. What the song is about, is obvious, and I'm sure many people have already said what I'm about to say. It's a little political, but not extremely political. It is more of a protest against conformity. It's specifically inspired by conformaty to the current government, but conformity in general makes you an "American Idiot" according to the song. Other songs are more political. It's also about the media and other things like that. This song is a pre-face to the story. This album is not really a political album, though. It is an album with a story. It is told through ballads, some punk songs, and some decent varriety (some seem influenced by 60s pop) and it is pretty good. The story follows Jesus of Suburbia, St. Jimmy, and Whatshername. The singles are a little political, but don't really add a lot to the album. Anyway, a very good album. It's really unlike anything Green Day has done before. Hopefully I didn't just waste my time. Hopefully someone will jump to the last page and see what I wrote. I won't bet on it, but I can still hope.

First of all, this song is proof that Green Day (and Billy Joel Armstrong) have really matured as a song writer. This song is a 9 minute ballad, but it is good because it is more like Five 2-minute songs. Their are parts that are punk, parts that are catchy, and parts that are melodic. This song introduces the main character of the album. He is the Jesus of Suburbia. More is expained about him as the album goes on. I'm not really able to annalyze this song as much as I'd like. This song doesn't mean a lot by itself. It's all part of a story with the entire album. Read what others wrote for their solid opinions on the song's meaning. ------------------------------------------------------- OK, I have more to say about the song. This is a really good song. It shows very good song writing. The best part: It's 9 minutes long, so it's too long for the radio and MTV to kill. Someone on the first page said some comments that Billie Joe Armstrong said about the song. He said it's a take on religion from someone who doesn't know anything about religion. It introduces the main character, Jesus of Suburbia, and he is questioning the world around him (The government, poverty, culture, probably religion). He is a lot like Billie, in that he spent a lot of his life doing nothing and smoking pot. But now he has started to question things. Great song. It may have the best overall song writing of any Green Day song.

This is a really catchy song. Like all the singles on American Idiot, it does not advance the story a lot. This is the most political song on the album. It's also one of the catchiest. This song is more anti-Bush than "American Idiot". There are anti-war references, protests against the anger against gays and French people (I'm not making a comparison by putting the two groups next to each other). It doesn't directly protest, but it is blatantly subtle. Any way, good song. The meaning is obvious. It doesn't do a lot for the plot of the album, but it's a catchy single designed to get radio air time and get people to buy the album. ---------------------------------- Some more comments related to the story. Following the introduction of Jesus of Suburbia, he becomes increasingly aware of the world around him. In this song, he sees the problems with war and the government.

Another Single off American Idiot (I'm continuing my review of the album song-by-song). This is the song that originally got my attention. It used to be my favorite track. Unfortunately, it has been over plyaed, so it is a little cliched. It's still a great song, however. Like the other singles, it doesn't do much for the plot of the album. This one is about feeling alone in the world. Some have said it is a little political, meaning that the government has abandoned us. I don't go that far--it is more about feeling alone. It's still a very good song. ------------------------ Some more comments. This is the failure of dreams (specifically the American Dream). It's also about being alone in the world. In this case, Jesus of Suburbia is realizing that he is alone, and the world isn't always a great place. As for the song itself, I'm pretty bored of it (thank you radio...) It's still a good track next comming immediately after the up-beat Holiday. This song shows good emotions, although it is on the edge of over-doing it.

I'm continuing my review of the album. This is a great ballad. It's simple call and response. It's great musically. It doesn't contribute a lot to the story, because the best part is the "Are We We Are". But it does contribute some to the story. This story is again with Jesus of Suburbia. He is thinking about the dream city--bright lights, starry skies, and he realizes it can't exist. He is "the waiting" waiting for his dreams. The best part about this song, is it works outside the album, as well. Many people wait for their dreams in different ways. This is a great song that's fun to sing a long to.

I'm continuing my review of the album. I personally believe that this is another character being introduced. Some have argued that it is Jusus of Suburbia transformed. Both make sense, but this is what I'm going with. The song itself is up-tempo with a lot of energy. It comes immediately after "We are the Waiting", and it is a nice change. It's meaning according to me: He's another character, and this one is more about a punk attitude than Jesus of Suburbia (with a punk song to fit). He does drugs, he's a son of a bitch, and he'll join with Jesus of Suburbia. Anyway, solid song that also continues the plot. ---------------------------------- An obvious line that I missed before: "And I'm here to represent That needle in the vein of the establishment" That's what the character symbolizes.

Continuing my Review: Another ballad that also contributes to the story. I believe that St. Jimmy and Jesus of Suburbia are two different characters. I'm not sure, but that's how I'll write my review. This song is very melodic. It's also pretty good lyrically. This song is about Jesus of Suburbia trying to escape the pain of the world. He turns to drugs--probably given to him by St. Jimmy. Jimmy says it's better than air. So Jesus of Suburbia starts to use drugs to escape from the world. This song is much better in the plot of the album. It's a good song, but it's a very good song with its story.

I thought I already reviewed this, but I guess not. Good song. Old school Green Day. This song introduces the third character--Whatshername. She is a Rebel, and Green Day believes that's a good thing. She's a Rebel, She's a Saint. There's nothing more to this song besides introducing her.

I'm continuing my reviews. This song starts continues the story, by singing about Whatshername and Jesus of Suburbia. Both were basically alone. Now Jesus of Suburbia falls in love with Whatshername. Basically, Jesus of Suburbia thinks she is an Extraodinary Girl. This song has a cool intro, and is very solid. I'm glad it wasn't released as a single, because it's easy to get sick of. As part of an album, it's a part of the story. By itself, it's a silly love ballad.

I'm continuing my reviews. I personally believe that Jesus of Suburbia and St. Jimmy are two different characters, but they are also metaphors in JOS's mind. Musically, this is a great song. It combines the guitar punk sounds of dookie with the lyrical song writing of American Idiot. Whatshername is fed up with the City of the Dead (from the 2nd track on the album). She doesn't think Jesus of Suburbia is doing enough to help the world. She can't live in a place where everyone's dreams are crushed, people are turing to drugs, people have lost hope. She thinks that Jesus of Suburbia has stopped caring enough, and that he is not the "Jesus of Suburbia". I think what she is saying with the St. Jimmy line (although there are other good explenations) is that St. Jimmy is not who Jesus of Suburbia thinks he is. JOS turned to St. Jimmy because of JOS's past, and that it has not been good. A theme in this song, is that wanting to do more. The city that Whatshername lives in, is a symbol for all the forgotten places in America and around the world. The message that Whatshername is sending, is to do more to make the world a better place, and to care about the forgotten places where people live with broken dreams. Overall, the song is very good. I hope this makes sense.