HISTOIRE DE AMERICAN IDIOT
American Idiot was written to tell a story (a "punk rock opera"). The title of the album in itself, and it's art, explains of what's to come. jjee suis parti avec le dernier album de Green Day « American Idiot », enfin dernier album sorti en 2004 quand même. Et là j’ai eu la révélation - certains l’ont eu 10 ans avant moi en ce qui concerne Green Day mais bon ! :o)) – je n’ai pas entendu un groupe faire une aussi bonne musique depuis la mort d’Elvis, non je déconne. Néanmoins, j’ai vraiment pris une claque.
En résumé, Green Day s’étant fait fauché les bandes des enregistrements en studio avant la parution de leur dernier album, a décidé de récrire à zéro de nouvelles chansons. Mais pour corser le tout, le groupe a décidé de mettre la barre très haut et d’en faire un opéra rock, c'est-à-dire de raconter une histoire au fil des morceaux.
Au fil des titres, on suit l’histoire de Jos « Jesus of Suburbia », jeune homme vivant dans une banlieue américaine paumée qui décide de fuir sa vie minable et la drogue en quittant sa ville natale. En chemin il croise l’amour auprès de « what’s her name ». Après avoir combattu son côté sombre incarné en la personne de « St Jimmy », son périple le ramènera finalement chez lui. Il existe une multitude de sites dédiés à Green Day et retraçant très bien le parcours du héros au travers de l’album. Je vous invite à aller les visiter, en particulier les deux sites ci-dessous qui comportent une multitude de clips mettant en scènes les morceaux les plus fameux du groupe.
Site officiel : www.greenday.com
Autre site riche en médias: www.greendayauthority.com
Toujours au sujet de l’album, en tant que grand amateur de Queen, j’ai adoré le morceau « Jesus of Suburbia ». C’est un titre de plus de 9 minutes, composé de 5 parties aux mélodies bien distinctes. C’est un pur chef d’œuvre qui fait bien sûr penser au Bohemian Rapsody du prestigieux groupe anglais. Les anti-Bush eux, se satisferont de la magnifique ballade « When September ends » stigmatisant l’intervention américaine en Irak, peut être mon morceau préféré. Le reste de l’album, enfin, est une mine de morceaux qui vous feront bouger la tête et sauter sur place. « American Idiot », « She’s a rebel », “Extraordinary Girl”, “Give me Novocaine”, “Boulevard of Broken Dreams”. Cet album est La Perfection faite rock.
Au passage, on parle de Green Day come un groupe punk-rock. Mais franchement, leurs albums très produits, l’attention portée à leur style vestimentaire me fait plus penser aux groupes de rock californiens qu’aux petits gars des banlieues de Londres. Rien à voir avec The Clash ou plus récemment les Arctics Monkeys ou Hard-Fi. Mais ça n’enlève rien à leur efficacité.
American Idiot Tout commence ici... Voici un gosse paumé dans un "pays dirigé par les médias", il pense que c'est "une politique de merde basée sur l'aliénation, avec un plouc au commandes... " Il proclame son avis, " Don't wanna be an american Idiot"...
Jesus of suberbia Part I: Jesus of Suberbia (JOS, ce sera + court!), c'est notre "héros"... Donc voilà...Il a grandi entre rage et amour, etc... Il nous parle de ses amis, etc...et aussi de l'alcool, des cigarettes, bref le début d'une vie de débauche...Il parle aussi de son beau-père (car il l'appelle Brad...) et de sa mère. Holiday Une nouvelle vie commence! JOS a quitté sa baraque, il est à la rue. C'est le début, c'est nouveau, c'est bien! Il gueule qu'il est libre, mais s'est un peu pour se persuader lui-même que la fuite est une bonne solution: il est en "vacances"... Enfin bon, il est plus content, c'est l'important pour lui. Il y a une allusion politique avec "Zieg Heil..."... Il fuit, mais il est seul, ce qui nous mène à... Blvd of broken dreams!
Boulevard of broken dreams Notre héros est donc seul avec son ombre pour seule compagnie dans les rues froides. Il commence à se lasser de cette vie de déroute:il a nulle part où aller et se demande s'il est encore vivant. Il espère que quelqu'un le sauvera mais tout le monde dort, personne ne l'entend. Il y a tellement de silence qu'il peut entendre les battements de son coeur Are we the waiting? Etre seul c'est dur... Il commence à déprimer, à faire n'imp'... Il n'est plus le Jesus Of Suberbia, il est rien, il n'a plus autant confiance en lui que dans "Holiday"...
St. Jimmy La vie revient! Et oui, il rencontre une sorte de modèle: St Jimmy! Il est décrit dans cette chanson comme arrogant, un jeune ado, passionné par le crime ("tais-oi avant que je ne te tire dessus", "donne-moi du sang", "je suis un ado mettant un peu de fun dans le culte de la vie du crime")... Il est le roi des rues, le roi des 40 voleurs (Ali Baba???heu...): le rebelle de base. Là-dessus, notre pauvre petit JOS ne sait pas quoi faire:il est calme et innocent face à ce mec drogué ("a little bag of dope") vivant dans les rues... En gros on peut dire que JOS, c'est Jésus et Saint Jimmy, Juda, le méchant, le traître dans la bible Give me novacaine JOS sympathise avec St. Jimmy (STJ, ce sera + simple!). Il lui donne de la drogue, pour le débarasser de cette "bitter sweet migraine in my head", de ce mal de vivre, sortir de ce corps et de cet esprit qu'il ne supporte. STJ lui dit comment penser et traînent ensemble... She's a rebel Encore un virage! JOS et STJ rencontre une rebelle("she's a rebel", "the mother of all bombs gonna detonate", "she sings the revolution"), et JOS l'admire tout de suite,il l'admire et l'aime:c'est le coup de foudre! Il se demande s'ils ont les même pensées, si leurs destins vont s'unir...
Extraordinary girl Encore une description de cette Whatsername! C'est une fille formidable... Elle vend son image à qui veut l'acheter, elle est triste et pleure sous son visage souriant... JOS pense qu'il a su démasquer la belle... Il se compare à elle: elle est forte, ou du moins, fait tout pour l'être. Tandis que lui est faible, un gosse abandonné ou un chien laissé sous la pluie...
Letterbomb Whatsername écrit maintenant une lettre de rupture à JOS. Elle lui met la vérité en face des yeux: "nobody like you, everyone left you", "you're not the JOS", "made me the idiot america"...enfin bon, désarmage total pour ce pauvre garçon! Il se fout trop de tout, n'est pas assez sérieux...Elle luit dit qu'il n'est pas le JOS, ni le STJ. Donc là, problem: est-ce qu'il est devenu schyzo à cause de la drogue, et donc, il se prend pr qqun d'autre, ou alors il veut vraiment copier STJ, mais il n'est pas comme lui, il ne le sera jamais...? Bonne question... Il est devenu l'american idiot par excellence, tout ce qu'il ne voulait pas être et deteste. Tout le monde l'a rejeté, il a quitté cette ville, et devrait quitter cette vie. Elle le quitte, en gros! Wake me up when september ends Aïe! Flashback douloureux pour JOS: il est seul, a perdu ses amis ( STJ et Underbelly), et sa copine. Il est seul, triste, comme avant. (càd, comme dans Blvd of broken dreams). Mais ce n'est pas le principal sujet: c'est de la mort de son père Andy en septembre..."les souvenirs restent, et je ne peux pas oublier ce que j'ai perdu", "l'été est venu et est passé, ce sont toujours les meilleurs qui partent en premier". Voilà tout...petit sniff... Homecoming C'est la fin des haricots!!! Quand t'as nulle part où aller tu retournes chez toi Part I: JOS abandonne tout,St.Jimmy se suicide, et il se rend compte alors de l'influence qu'il avait sur lui: "il contribuait à mon suicide intérieur":les idées morbides de STJ se déteignaient sur lui. Il a tout gâché et se rend compte de l'atmosphère qui reigne ici... Il retourne dans un style de vie similaire à celui de "mom & Brad"... Whatsername Voici donc la dernière chanson de l'album ( dédiée à Whatsername), et donc la dernière partie de l'histoire... :-( JOS rentre chez lui, il est "normal"... Mais il pense toujours à sa bien-aimée... Il ne l'a plus vue depuis longtemps et revoit son visage, même s'il ne sait plus son nom. Il l'imagine maintenant, changée, peut-être mariée, et à quoi ressemble-t-elle? Et son mari? Il ne regrette pas cette histoire dans la rue, qui a été triste, mais qui lui a apporté une expérience qu'il n'oubliera pas. Il veut oublier Whatsername, mais pas cette période de sa vie, dommage, les deux sont liés!). On peut le percevoir dans la dernière phrase de l'album..."Forgetting you, but not the time"... ("T'oubliant, mais pas cette époque")... Voici donc la fin de cette histoire, parlant de la triste vie de l'Américain qui a tout foiré dans sa vie: l'"AMERICAN IDIOT". Et oui, triste tout ça, et hélas réél. "L'Amérique n'est plus ce qu'elle était. " Welcome to a new kind of tension all across the alien nation : L’histoire raconte qu’après le vol de bandes de studio de son groupe, qui a dû alors repartir de zéro, le bassiste Mike Dirnt a décidé d’écrire une chanson de trente secondes. Le chanteur Billie Joe Armstrong a demandé au batteur Tre Cool de faire de même. Collées bout à bout, les deux morceaux semblaient former un tout cohérent. Telle serait la génèse d’« American Idiot »... Ce n’est pas n’importe quel disque, puisque c’est un concept album. Certains ont déjà crié au chef d’œuvre. Il est certain qu’un opéra punk, cela surprend. Quoi qu’il en soit, c’est un disque ambitieux de la part des auteurs de Basket Case, complainte adolescente à mille lieux des réflexions menées ici, dix ans après. « American Idiot », c’est l’histoire de trois rebelles, Jesus of Suburbia, un adolescent débarassé de ses illusions, St. Jimmy (décrit comme "the son of a bitch and Edgar Allen Poe"), et d’une fille dénommée Whatsername. Peu importe la trame narrative, l’essentiel est que ces trois personnages et leurs vies servent de support à une critique assez virulente de l’Amérique post onze septembre. Dans Holiday, un autre scénario catastrophe est même imaginé : Bombs away is your punishment Conçu comme une oeuvre symétrique, « American Idiot » s’ouvre par la chanson éponyme (du pur Green Day). Puis, les choses se compliquent. En un numéro de plus de neuf minutes, cinq mini chansons sont déployées. Suivent neuf chansons de longueur plus conventionnelle. L’avant-dernier morceau est également un cinq en un, qui dépasse même de peu la durée de son jumeau, et où réapparaissent les thèmes imaginés suite à la perte des masters du groupe. Onze chansons courtes, neuf minutes pour les deux morceaux de bravoure et autant de titres les séparant. 11 et 9. Symbolique des nombres ? Et ces deux suites sont-elles pensées comme deux piliers de l’album, plantées là pour en renforcer la cohésion, s’élevant au dessus du sol comme les deux tours du World Trade Center ? Si « Warning » avait déjà marqué un élargissement des ressources musicales utilisées par Green Day, son successeur poursuit dans cette voie, sans l’élargir de façon démesurée. Les percussions particulières sur Extraordinary Girl ainsi que Jesus of Suburbia, cette dernière chanson comprenant même un passage au piano, et les cloches sur Homecoming sont parmi les audaces à noter pour un groupe censé être "punk". On relèvera également un léger affadissement du son, parfois, comme sur Boulevard of Broken Dreams, sorte de Wonderwall bis, et certains autres morceaux, heureusement peu nombreux, à la limite du "radio-friendly". En dépit de ces nuances, l’album est souvent joué sur les chapeaux de roue, et les amateurs de « Dookie » ne seront pas déçus. Selon moi, l’intérêt du disque réside en grande partie dans sa forme, car un réel effort est fait pour en faire un tout. On retrouve les mêmes expressions et les mêmes personnages d’une chanson à l’autre, celles-ci s’interpénétrant à l’instar de l’étalon du concept album, le « Tommy » de The Who. La cohérence va également jusqu’à la pochette. L’auditeur trouve son explication dans She’s A Rebel : She’s holding on my heart like a hand grenade « American Idiot » atteste que quinze ans après leurs débuts, même s’ils ne sont plus 100% punks, Billie Joe et ses acolytes sont toujours verts.
Part II: Là, il exprime sa haine, son refus de s'adapter à la vie de merde qu'il a. "home is where your heart is but what a shame 'cos everyone heart doesn't beat the same"... Il est seul...
Part III: Il envoie tout en l'air, "rien à branler" des autres, en qui il n'a pas confiance... et réciproquement! Les gens se foutent de toi, il font juste style: "hearts recycled but never saved"
Part IV: est-il taré? est-il fou? bonne question...il est pris pour victime par la société (non, pas le fromage...lol, elle était nulle, mais fallait que je la sorte!) Il dit qu'il ne se sent pas aimé...
Part V: "Tales of another broken home", "I don't feel any shame, I won't apologize", "nowhere you can go"... Voilà, c'est THE END, il se casse...Il est pris pour victime,mais il sait qu'il est innocent! Donc il ne s'excuse pas, n'est pas honteux...
Part II: La 12° rue à l'Est, le domicile de JOS! Il s'habitue à la vie en société, travaille, etc... Le gens vivent, mais JOS reste isolé: il voudrait revivre avec ses amis, fumer, boire... On retourne dans le schéma "Liberté, solitude, désespoir" de Blvd of broken dreams"...
Part III: La rupture avec Whatsername ne passe toujours pas... il espère qu'elle va revenir, mais que dalle! "Personne ne t'aime, tout le monde t'as quitté", reste gravé dans sa tête... Où est-elle allée???
Part IV: Tunny (une autre personne de la rue), lui envoie une carte postale: super vie de rockeur, pleinde femme, de musique, de sexe, de drogue, d'alcool... LA TOTALE!!!
Part V: JOS réalise toutes ses erreurs, accepte tant bien que mal... Il retourne chez "mom & Brad"... Il n'a pas de sentiments, tout est encore confus mais il existe, tout simplement, il est juste là, posé sur la Terre
Pulverize the Eiffel towers
Who criticize your government
Welcome to a new kind of tension all across the alien nation :
L’histoire raconte qu’après le vol de bandes de studio de son groupe, qui a dû alors repartir de zéro, le bassiste Mike Dirnt a décidé d’écrire une chanson de trente secondes. Le chanteur Billie Joe Armstrong a demandé au batteur Tre Cool de faire de même. Collées bout à bout, les deux morceaux semblaient former un tout cohérent. Telle serait la génèse d’« American Idiot »...
Ce n’est pas n’importe quel disque, puisque c’est un concept album. Certains ont déjà crié au chef d’œuvre. Il est certain qu’un opéra punk, cela surprend. Quoi qu’il en soit, c’est un disque ambitieux de la part des auteurs de Basket Case, complainte adolescente à mille lieux des réflexions menées ici, dix ans après. « American Idiot », c’est l’histoire de trois rebelles, Jesus of Suburbia, un adolescent débarassé de ses illusions, St. Jimmy (décrit comme "the son of a bitch and Edgar Allen Poe"), et d’une fille dénommée Whatsername.
Peu importe la trame narrative, l’essentiel est que ces trois personnages et leurs vies servent de support à une critique assez virulente de l’Amérique post onze septembre. Dans Holiday, un autre scénario catastrophe est même imaginé :
Bombs away is your punishment
Pulverize the Eiffel towers
Who criticize your government
Conçu comme une oeuvre symétrique, « American Idiot » s’ouvre par la chanson éponyme (du pur Green Day). Puis, les choses se compliquent. En un numéro de plus de neuf minutes, cinq mini chansons sont déployées. Suivent neuf chansons de longueur plus conventionnelle. L’avant-dernier morceau est également un cinq en un, qui dépasse même de peu la durée de son jumeau, et où réapparaissent les thèmes imaginés suite à la perte des masters du groupe.
Onze chansons courtes, neuf minutes pour les deux morceaux de bravoure et autant de titres les séparant. 11 et 9. Symbolique des nombres ? Et ces deux suites sont-elles pensées comme deux piliers de l’album, plantées là pour en renforcer la cohésion, s’élevant au dessus du sol comme les deux tours du World Trade Center ?
Si « Warning » avait déjà marqué un élargissement des ressources musicales utilisées par Green Day, son successeur poursuit dans cette voie, sans l’élargir de façon démesurée. Les percussions particulières sur Extraordinary Girl ainsi que Jesus of Suburbia, cette dernière chanson comprenant même un passage au piano, et les cloches sur Homecoming sont parmi les audaces à noter pour un groupe censé être "punk". On relèvera également un léger affadissement du son, parfois, comme sur Boulevard of Broken Dreams, sorte de Wonderwall bis, et certains autres morceaux, heureusement peu nombreux, à la limite du "radio-friendly".
En dépit de ces nuances, l’album est souvent joué sur les chapeaux de roue, et les amateurs de « Dookie » ne seront pas déçus. Selon moi, l’intérêt du disque réside en grande partie dans sa forme, car un réel effort est fait pour en faire un tout. On retrouve les mêmes expressions et les mêmes personnages d’une chanson à l’autre, celles-ci s’interpénétrant à l’instar de l’étalon du concept album, le « Tommy » de The Who. La cohérence va également jusqu’à la pochette. L’auditeur trouve son explication dans She’s A Rebel :
She’s holding on my heart like a hand grenade
« American Idiot » atteste que quinze ans après leurs débuts, même s’ils ne sont plus 100% punks, Billie Joe et ses acolytes sont toujours verts.
There's much confusion to actually what this album and all of its songs mean, and it's questioned to what it could mean. I'm following, basically, with my own outlook, and from information from the band.
DEFINITIONS IN THE STORY:
J./JOS/the Idiot of America: The Jesus of Suburbia
Tunny: Random person met on the street who Jimmy befriends
The Underbelly: JOS/Jimmy's group of friends
Mom and Brad: JOS' parents. The way that JOS refers to his father as Brad, could mean that is father is gone and Brad is a stepfather, which would explain why he's calling him by name.
AMERICAN IDIOT
The title track of the album. Basically, there's a confused, disoriented, angsty kid wrapped around a world of misconception and he has nowhere to go and feels hopeless and miserable. So this kid, the Jesus of Suburbia, is just crying out an anthem for the world to hear, screaming miserably "Don't wanna be an American Idiot..." He sees that he's stuck in this 'redneck agenda' and there's not a damn thing he can do to change it.
JESUS OF SUBURBIA (CITY OF THE DAMNED, I DON'T CARE, DEARLY BELOVED, TALES OF ANOTHER BROKEN HOME)
Everyone on the album has their own track. Jesus of Suburbia basically introduces us to the Jesus of Suburbia, how he was brought up in rage, and love, his atmosphere, friends, and basic general information. Part I, JOS, is just an introduction. "I'm the son of rage and love, the Jesus of Suburbia..."...Part II, City of The Damned, is just a crying out for help, hating his town, his city, and his overall miserable life that he lives. Part III, I Don't Care, is properly named and is about just that. JOS' apathetic screams of pain and how he just doesn't fucking care about anything anymore. Part IV, Dearly Beloved, is JOS asking if what he's feeling is natural, how he can get out, and if anyone can understand...Tales Of Another Broken Home, Part V, is basically the end of the anthem. JOS is fed up, fucked up, and just decides to quit town and quit the life that he's living. "I don't feel any shame, I won't apologize. When there ain't NOWHERE you can go. RUNNING AWAY from pain, when you feel victimized, tales from another broken home"...and he just leaves.
HOLIDAY
So JOS has just left town and he's living his life on the streets (Hear the sound of the falling rain...). He's speaking outloud and acting in vein :P, but it seems like he's talking himself into the fact that running away was the right thing to do. Explaining his reasons of discontent to himself. He still feels alone, and shunned from society, but it seems he feels a little more self-confidence, and happiness out on the road. It is also remotely political with the whole "Zeig heil..." thing, but it's basically just JOS yelling out and expressing his own dead beliefs onto the world. Like screaming into mid air. Also, to go 'on holiday' is said to be like, a vacation. So this is basically like an escape, a runaway. This leads us into Boulevard of Broken Dreams.
BOULEVARD OF BROKEN DREAMS
JOS is out alone, on the cold streets, nothing to do, nowhere to go. The happiness has worn off and he walks alone. Everyone's asleep, no one can hear him, no one cares, and he just walks...
ARE WE THE WAITING?
Still, alone, living it rough. JOS plays tricks in his mind, and you can see his slowly losing his sanity. He even starts to not believe who he is anymore. He's not the king of his local 711 out on the streets, where no one knows who he is...he's not the Jesus of Suburbia anymore. He's just...there.
Now is where the controversy starts. The album picks up into an angry, purely amazing, anthem about the ever-so-lovely St. Jimmy. Now, people have said, and this sounds pretty true, that the JOS is just pushed over the edge, turned into this new fuck you punkfuck named St. Jimmy. Basically, pushed off of the deep end into schizophrenia. Green Day, actually has stated, that JOS meets this kid, St. Jimmy, on the street somewhere, but that's questionable. I'll leave the interpretation up to you.
ST. JIMMY
Fast, upbeat, so effing hardcore. St. Jimmy...the patron saint of the denial. Tough, rough, not afraid to kill. The run of the mill punkkid times 70. The hardest, baddest mother fucker around. He's lived his life on the streets, knows all, sees all. Lies, and pretty cocky to boot. He can actually be seen as a foil to JOS, who's totally innocent and callow going into this thing.
GIVE ME NOVACAINE
JOS meets Jimmy and becomes close with him. They do drugs together, hang around together and JOS depends on Jimmy to keep him sane, without knowing anyone else. Give Me Novacaine is basically his experimentation with drugs, and how Jimmy introduces him to drugs to ease the pain of everyday life.
SHE'S A REBEL
While on the streets, Jimmy and JOS meet a rebel girl named Whatsername. As described in She's A Rebel, she's holding on JOS' heart like a hand grenade. For JOS, it's love at first sight. It's a basic introduction to the girl, and a new twist in JOS' heart strings. New feelings, new mindset, new atmosphere.
EXTRAORDINARY GIRL
Again, about Whatsername. JOS' feelings for her, what he thinks of her, etc...
LETTERBOMB
After getting close with Whatsername, there is an eventual breakup. The beginning "Nobody likes you, everyone left you..."...is Whatsername taunting JOS, and writing him a goodbye letter. She explains that JOS doesn't care enough, and that he isn't who he thinks he is. "You're not the Jesus of Suburbia. The St. Jimmy is a figment of, your father's rage and your mother's love, that's made the idiot america"...she's explaining that JOS has turned into what he's always hated and she leaves him. "Well she said I can't take this place, I'm leaving you behind. She said I can't take this town I'm leaving you tonight..."
WAKE ME UP WHEN SEPTEMBER ENDS
JOS is alone again. Lost his friends, the only girl he ever loved, he's out of home, out of job, and back where he started, sad and alone on the streets. He describes himself as innocent, or at least he was, and he just didn't last. They broke him down, and he's just dead inside. This is also, on a more personal note, a side song about Billie Joe's late father, who died years ago (September 1982), when Billie Joe was 10. Both explanations apply.
HOMECOMING (THE DEATH OF ST. JIMMY, EAST 12TH ST., NOBODY LIKES YOU, ROCK 'N' ROLL GIRLFRIEND)
JOS has nothing left to do. He's been on the streets. He stands alone again. So where else to go? Home. Part I, the Death of St. Jimmy. He's leaving the streets, he's going back, he's leaving Jimmy behind. He realizes that turning away wasn't the answer, and he's gained nothing from it except knowledge that life is no better in a different atmosphere. He hoped for too much, and got nothing in return. St. Jimmy kills himself, in a sense, in JOS' mind he's gone. Still, there's no one who cares, and nobody cares. Part II, East 12th St, tells us that JOS met and accepted conformity, got a job, and is just in his own world as people move around him. He'd rather be out and around with 'the underbelly', his friends. He feels trapped. Alone, and again, must get away. "This lifelike dream ain't for me"...Part III, Nobody Likes You. He's still depressed about losing Whatsername, as he waits for her to return, but no luck. All of his dreams at this point are shot to hell, as her voice still pounds in his head "NOBODY LIKES YOU, EVERYONE LEFT YOU..." Part IV, Rock 'N Roll Girlfriend, in the inlay, is shown as a postcard from "Tunny"...who seems to be another person JOS met while on the streets. Tunny explains that he's living it up whAmerican Idiot was written to tell a story (a "punk rock opera"). The title of the album in itself, and it's art, explains of what's to come. There's much confusion to actually what this album and all of its songs mean, and it's questioned to what it could mean. I'm following, basically, with my own outlook, and from information from the band.
DEFINITIONS IN THE STORY:
J./JOS/the Idiot of America: The Jesus of Suburbia
Tunny: Random person met on the street who Jimmy befriends
The Underbelly: JOS/Jimmy's group of friends
Mom and Brad: JOS' parents. The way that JOS refers to his father as Brad, could mean that is father is gone and Brad is a stepfather, which would explain why he's calling him by name.
AMERICAN IDIOT
The title track of the album. Basically, there's a confused, disoriented, angsty kid wrapped around a world of misconception and he has nowhere to go and feels hopeless and miserable. So this kid, the Jesus of Suburbia, is just crying out an anthem for the world to hear, screaming miserably "Don't wanna be an American Idiot..." He sees that he's stuck in this 'redneck agenda' and there's not a damn thing he can do to change it.
JESUS OF SUBURBIA (CITY OF THE DAMNED, I DON'T CARE, DEARLY BELOVED, TALES OF ANOTHER BROKEN HOME)
Everyone on the album has their own track. Jesus of Suburbia basically introduces us to the Jesus of Suburbia, how he was brought up in rage, and love, his atmosphere, friends, and basic general information. Part I, JOS, is just an introduction. "I'm the son of rage and love, the Jesus of Suburbia..."...Part II, City of The Damned, is just a crying out for help, hating his town, his city, and his overall miserable life that he lives. Part III, I Don't Care, is properly named and is about just that. JOS' apathetic screams of pain and how he just doesn't fucking care about anything anymore. Part IV, Dearly Beloved, is JOS asking if what he's feeling is natural, how he can get out, and if anyone can understand...Tales Of Another Broken Home, Part V, is basically the end of the anthem. JOS is fed up, fucked up, and just decides to quit town and quit the life that he's living. "I don't feel any shame, I won't apologize. When there ain't NOWHERE you can go. RUNNING AWAY from pain, when you feel victimized, tales from another broken home"...and he just leaves.
HOLIDAY
So JOS has just left town and he's living his life on the streets (Hear the sound of the falling rain...). He's speaking outloud and acting in vein :P, but it seems like he's talking himself into the fact that running away was the right thing to do. Explaining his reasons of discontent to himself. He still feels alone, and shunned from society, but it seems he feels a little more self-confidence, and happiness out on the road. It is also remotely political with the whole "Zeig heil..." thing, but it's basically just JOS yelling out and expressing his own dead beliefs onto the world. Like screaming into mid air. Also, to go 'on holiday' is said to be like, a vacation. So this is basically like an escape, a runaway. This leads us into Boulevard of Broken Dreams.
BOULEVARD OF BROKEN DREAMS
JOS is out alone, on the cold streets, nothing to do, nowhere to go. The happiness has worn off and he walks alone. Everyone's asleep, no one can hear him, no one cares, and he just walks...
ARE WE THE WAITING?
Still, alone, living it rough. JOS plays tricks in his mind, and you can see his slowly losing his sanity. He even starts to not believe who he is anymore. He's not the king of his local 711 out on the streets, where no one knows who he is...he's not the Jesus of Suburbia anymore. He's just...there.
Now is where the controversy starts. The album picks up into an angry, purely amazing, anthem about the ever-so-lovely St. Jimmy. Now, people have said, and this sounds pretty true, that the JOS is just pushed over the edge, turned into this new fuck you punkfuck named St. Jimmy. Basically, pushed off of the deep end into schizophrenia. Green Day, actually has stated, that JOS meets this kid, St. Jimmy, on the street somewhere, but that's questionable. I'll leave the interpretation up to you.
ST. JIMMY
Fast, upbeat, so effing hardcore. St. Jimmy...the patron saint of the denial. Tough, rough, not afraid to kill. The run of the mill punkkid times 70. The hardest, baddest mother fucker around. He's lived his life on the streets, knows all, sees all. Lies, and pretty cocky to boot. He can actually be seen as a foil to JOS, who's totally innocent and callow going into this thing.
GIVE ME NOVACAINE
JOS meets Jimmy and becomes close with him. They do drugs together, hang around together and JOS depends on Jimmy to keep him sane, without knowing anyone else. Give Me Novacaine is basically his experimentation with drugs, and how Jimmy introduces him to drugs to ease the pain of everyday life.
SHE'S A REBEL
While on the streets, Jimmy and JOS meet a rebel girl named Whatsername. As described in She's A Rebel, she's holding on JOS' heart like a hand grenade. For JOS, it's love at first sight. It's a basic introduction to the girl, and a new twist in JOS' heart strings. New feelings, new mindset, new atmosphere.
EXTRAORDINARY GIRL
Again, about Whatsername. JOS' feelings for her, what he thinks of her, etc...
LETTERBOMB
After getting close with Whatsername, there is an eventual breakup. The beginning "Nobody likes you, everyone left you..."...is Whatsername taunting JOS, and writing him a goodbye letter. She explains that JOS doesn't care enough, and that he isn't who he thinks he is. "You're not the Jesus of Suburbia. The St. Jimmy is a figment of, your father's rage and your mother's love, that's made the idiot america"...she's explaining that JOS has turned into what he's always hated and she leaves him. "Well she said I can't take this place, I'm leaving you behind. She said I can't take this town I'm leaving you tonight..."
WAKE ME UP WHEN SEPTEMBER ENDS
JOS is alone again. Lost his friends, the only girl he ever loved, he's out of home, out of job, and back where he started, sad and alone on the streets. He describes himself as innocent, or at least he was, and he just didn't last. They broke him down, and he's just dead inside. This is also, on a more personal note, a side song about Billie Joe's late father, who died years ago (September 1982), when Billie Joe was 10. Both explanations apply.
HOMECOMING (THE DEATH OF ST. JIMMY, EAST 12TH ST., NOBODY LIKES YOU, ROCK 'N' ROLL GIRLFRIEND)
JOS has nothing left to do. He's been on the streets. He stands alone again. So where else to go? Home. Part I, the Death of St. Jimmy. He's leaving the streets, he's going back, he's leaving Jimmy behind. He realizes that turning away wasn't the answer, and he's gained nothing from it except knowledge that life is no better in a different atmosphere. He hoped for too much, and got nothing in return. St. Jimmy kills himself, in a sense, in JOS' mind he's gone. Still, there's no one who cares, and nobody cares. Part II, East 12th St, tells us that JOS met and accepted conformity, got a job, and is just in his own wAmerican Idiot was written to tell a story (a "punk rock opera"). The title of the album in itself, and it's art, explains of what's to come. There's much confusion to actually what this album and all of its songs mean, and it's questioned to what it could mean. I'm following, basically, with my own outlook, and from information from the band.
DEFINITIONS IN THE STORY:
J./JOS/the Idiot of America: The Jesus of Suburbia
Tunny: Random person met on the street who Jimmy befriends
The Underbelly: JOS/Jimmy's group of friends
Mom and Brad: JOS' parents. The way that JOS refers to his father as Brad, could mean that is father is gone and Brad is a stepfather, which would explain why he's calling him by name.
AMERICAN IDIOT
The title track of the album. Basically, there's a confused, disoriented, angsty kid wrapped around a world of misconception and he has nowhere to go and feels hopeless and miserable. So this kid, the Jesus of Suburbia, is just crying out an anthem for the world to hear, screaming miserably "Don't wanna be an American Idiot..." He sees that he's stuck in this 'redneck agenda' and there's not a damn thing he can do to change it.
JESUS OF SUBURBIA (CITY OF THE DAMNED, I DON'T CARE, DEARLY BELOVED, TALES OF ANOTHER BROKEN HOME)
Everyone on the album has their own track. Jesus of Suburbia basically introduces us to the Jesus of Suburbia, how he was brought up in rage, and love, his atmosphere, friends, and basic general information. Part I, JOS, is just an introduction. "I'm the son of rage and love, the Jesus of Suburbia..."...Part II, City of The Damned, is just a crying out for help, hating his town, his city, and his overall miserable life that he lives. Part III, I Don't Care, is properly named and is about just that. JOS' apathetic screams of pain and how he just doesn't fucking care about anything anymore. Part IV, Dearly Beloved, is JOS asking if what he's feeling is natural, how he can get out, and if anyone can understand...Tales Of Another Broken Home, Part V, is basically the end of the anthem. JOS is fed up, fucked up, and just decides to quit town and quit the life that he's living. "I don't feel any shame, I won't apologize. When there ain't NOWHERE you can go. RUNNING AWAY from pain, when you feel victimized, tales from another broken home"...and he just leaves.
HOLIDAY
So JOS has just left town and he's living his life on the streets (Hear the sound of the falling rain...). He's speaking outloud and acting in vein :P, but it seems like he's talking himself into the fact that running away was the right thing to do. Explaining his reasons of discontent to himself. He still feels alone, and shunned from society, but it seems he feels a little more self-confidence, and happiness out on the road. It is also remotely political with the whole "Zeig heil..." thing, but it's basically just JOS yelling out and expressing his own dead beliefs onto the world. Like screaming into mid air. Also, to go 'on holiday' is said to be like, a vacation. So this is basically like an escape, a runaway. This leads us into Boulevard of Broken Dreams.
BOULEVARD OF BROKEN DREAMS
JOS is out alone, on the cold streets, nothing to do, nowhere to go. The happiness has worn off and he walks alone. Everyone's asleep, no one can hear him, no one cares, and he just walks...
ARE WE THE WAITING?
Still, alone, living it rough. JOS plays tricks in his mind, and you can see his slowly losing his sanity. He even starts to not believe who he is anymore. He's not the king of his local 711 out on the streets, where no one knows who he is...he's not the Jesus of Suburbia anymore. He's just...there.
Now is where the controversy starts. The album picks up into an angry, purely amazing, anthem about the ever-so-lovely St. Jimmy. Now, people have said, and this sounds pretty true, that the JOS is just pushed over the edge, turned into this new fuck you punkfuck named St. Jimmy. Basically, pushed off of the deep end into schizophrenia. Green Day, actually has stated, that JOS meets this kid, St. Jimmy, on the street somewhere, but that's questionable. I'll leave the interpretation up to you.
ST. JIMMY
Fast, upbeat, so effing hardcore. St. Jimmy...the patron saint of the denial. Tough, rough, not afraid to kill. The run of the mill punkkid times 70. The hardest, baddest mother fucker around. He's lived his life on the streets, knows all, sees all. Lies, and pretty cocky to boot. He can actually be seen as a foil to JOS, who's totally innocent and callow going into this thing.
GIVE ME NOVACAINE
JOS meets Jimmy and becomes close with him. They do drugs together, hang around together and JOS depends on Jimmy to keep him sane, without knowing anyone else. Give Me Novacaine is basically his experimentation with drugs, and how Jimmy introduces him to drugs to ease the pain of everyday life.
SHE'S A REBEL
While on the streets, Jimmy and JOS meet a rebel girl named Whatsername. As described in She's A Rebel, she's holding on JOS' heart like a hand grenade. For JOS, it's love at first sight. It's a basic introduction to the girl, and a new twist in JOS' heart strings. New feelings, new mindset, new atmosphere.
EXTRAORDINARY GIRL
Again, about Whatsername. JOS' feelings for her, what he thinks of her, etc...
LETTERBOMB
After getting close with Whatsername, there is an eventual breakup. The beginning "Nobody likes you, everyone left you..."...is Whatsername taunting JOS, and writing him a goodbye letter. She explains that JOS doesn't care enough, and that he isn't who he thinks he is. "You're not the Jesus of Suburbia. The St. Jimmy is a figment of, your father's rage and your mother's love, that's made the idiot america"...she's explaining that JOS has turned into what he's always hated and she leaves him. "Well she said I can't take this place, I'm leaving you behind. She said I can't take this town I'm leaving you tonight..."
WAKE ME UP WHEN SEPTEMBER ENDS
JOS is alone again. Lost his friends, the only girl he ever loved, he's out of home, out of job, and back where he started, sad and alone on the streets. He describes himself as innocent, or at least he was, and he just didn't last. They broke him down, and he's just dead inside. This is also, on a more personal note, a side song about Billie Joe's late father, who died years ago (September 1982), when Billie Joe was 10. Both explanations apply.
HOMECOMING (THE DEATH OF ST. JIMMY, EAST 12TH ST., NOBODY LIKES YOU, ROCK 'N' ROLL GIRLFRIEND)
JOS has nothing left to do. He's been on the streets. He stands alone again. So where else to go? Home. Part I, the Death of St. Jimmy. He's leaving the streets, he's going back, he's leaving Jimmy behind. He realizes that turning away wasn't the answer, and he's gained nothing from it except knowledge that life is no better in a different atmosphere. He hoped for too much, and got nothing in return. St. Jimmy kills himself, in a sense, in JOS' mind he's gone. Still, there's no one who cares, and nobody cares. Part II, East 12th St, tells us that JOS met and accepted conformity, got a job, and is just in his own world as people move around him. He'd rather be out and around with 'the underbelly', his friends. He feels trapped. Alone, and again, must get away. "This lifelike dream ain't for me"...Part III, Nobody Likes You. He's still depressed about losing Whatsername, as he waits for her to return, but no luck. All of his dreams at this point are shot to hell, as her voice still pounds in his head "NOBODY LIKES YOU, EVERYONE LEFT YOU..." Part IV, Rock 'N Roll Girlfriend, in the inlay, is shown as a postcard from "Tunny"...who seems to be another person JOS met while on the streets. Tunny explains that he's living it up where he is, and the rebel life he leads, while JOS is rotting with his dead end job, in his dead end life. Part V, We're Coming Home Again, is JOS accepting things. He's coming to the realization of everything and everyone, and is just accepting it. He comes home. It's left on a confusing note. He's not sure if he's happy or sad, he's just home, living, and he just...is.
WHATSERNAME
After being home, and just living in normality, he still regrets losing Whatsername. It's been so long, he can't even remember her name. He wonders what happened to her, and can only remember. All he has is his memories of her. The album ends with him still trying to forget "If my memory serves me right, I'll never turn back time, forgetting you, but not the time."...He doesn't regret living his life on the streets, using it as a learning experience, but still tries to forget Whatsername, and the pain that she put him through, and vice versorld as people move around him. He'd rather be out and around with 'the underbelly', his friends. He feels trapped. Alone, and again, must get away. "This lifelike dream ain't for me"...Part III, Nobody Likes You. He's still depressed about losing Whatsername, as he waits for her to return, but no luck. All of his dreams at this point are shot to hell, as her voice still pounds in his head "NOBODY LIKES YOU, EVERYONE LEFT YOU..." Part IV, Rock 'N Roll Girlfriend, in the inlay, is shown as a postcard from "Tunny"...who seems to be another person JOS met while on the streets. Tunny explains that he's living it up where he is, and the rebel life he leads, while JOS is rotting with his dead end job, in his dead end life. Part V, We're Coming Home Again, is JOS accepting things. He's coming to the realization of everything and everyone, and is just accepting it. He comes home. It's left on a confusing note. He's not sure if he's happy or sad, he's just home, living, and he just...is.
WHATSERNAME
After being home, and just living in normality, he still regrets losing Whatsername. It's been so long, he can't even remember her name. He wonders what happened to her, and can only remember. All he has is his memories of her. The album ends with him still trying to forget "If my memory serves me right, I'll never turn back time, forgetting you, but not the time."...He doesn't regret living his life on the streets, using it as a learning experience, but still tries to forget Whatsername, and the pain that she put him through, and vice versere he is, and the rebel life he leads, while JOS is rotting with his dead end job, in his dead end life. Part V, We're Coming Home Again, is JOS accepting things. He's coming to the realization of everything and everyone, and is just accepting it. He comes home. It's left on a confusing note. He's not sure if he's happy or sad, he's just home, living, and he just...is.
WHATSERNAME
After being home, and just living in normality, he still regrets losing Whatsername. It's been so long, he can't even remember her name. He wonders what happened to her, and can only remember. All he has is his memories of her. The album ends with him still trying to forget "If my memory serves me right, I'll never turn back time, forgetting you, but not the time."...He doesn't regret living his life on the streets, using it as a learning experience, but still tries to forget Whatsername, and the pain that she put him through, and vice vers