Music Review: Greenday - American Idiot (2004)

February 23, 2005

I have to admit, this was not an iTunes purchase but actually a gift from Rebekah for our vaniversary (Yes, that word is now trademarked). I had intended on buying it a few months ago through iTunes, but it has a number of songs that cannot be bought, so I decided against it. But enough about me and more about this fantastic album. It is hard to imagine this is the same band that gave us Dookie over 10 years ago. It appears that a 4th chord has been found on the guitar and the band does some amazing work.

I was actually getting a bit tired of Boulevard of Broken Dreams on the radio; I think it is competing with Basket Case for most played Green Day song. Luckily the way that the song fits with the overall album, I don’t have to worry about it being overplayed in my CD player. That is the best thing about this album, it is fairly complete and you almost prefer to listen to the album all the way through. There are some definately highlights, both Boulevard and Wake Me When September Ends stick out to myself. I also could have done with out Give Me Novacaine, but it can blend in with the rest of the album when you are listening through.

I think the bigger highlights of the album are the epic songs that actually manage to tell a story. This is reminscent of the British Invasion and works surprisingly well when Green Day does it. I especially enjoy Jesus of Suburbia and then the followup with Are We The Waiting. Overall, kudos to Green Day, another job well done.

Next Week: LCD Soundsystem - LCD Soundsystem (2005)