Posted on 03/14/2023 1:23:28 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Green Day were on the verge of something big in the early 2000s—they just didn’t know it yet. After making a fan flop album with 2000’s Warning, the follow-up was set to be a return to the old-school pop punk sound reminiscent of the days of Dookie. Although they had a good album in the can, everything changed when the master tapes were stolen.
During the original sessions for what was to become Cigarettes and Valentines, Green Day had two choices: either rerecord what they had already recorded or start again from scratch. After figuring out what to do, producer Rob Cavallo made them ask themselves if they were putting their best foot forward on their first try.
In an attempt to aim even bigger, Billie Joe Armstrong got the inspiration for his next classic when he heard the song ‘That’s How I Like It’ by Lynyrd Skynyrd on the radio. The Skynyrd tune celebrated Southern American values, from thanking God for what he’s given them to being proud of their redneck roots.
In a post-9/11 world, Armstrong was seething listening to this song, saying (via Songfacts), “It was like, I’m proud to be a redneck, and I was like, ‘Oh my God, why would you be proud of something like that?’ This is exactly what I’m against”. In response, Armstrong wrote ‘American Idiot’ as a retort to that Southern mindset, most neatly noted in the lyric “redneck agenda.”
While Armstrong was hesitant to get political in his lyrics, his bandmates pushed him to say what was on his mind. What unfolded was a firm critique of how Americans were reacting to The Iraq War and President George Bush marching troops into battle to die for no reason. Armstrong got into more political territory on the next song, ‘Holiday’, aiming a stern middle finger at the head honchos in Washington and their outlaw-like tendencies.
Although the political tension of the time was the genesis for this tune, Armstrong mentions that ‘American Idiot’ doesn’t have an anti-American sentiment, saying, “It’s about the confusion of where we’re at right now. My education was punk rock – what the Dead Kennedys said, what Operation Ivy said. It was attacking America, but it was American at the same time”.
When unpacking the rest of the record, Armstrong hit on a concept about teenagers trying to make their way through a modern version of America, trying to balance the sentiments of rage and love that everyone was suffering from at the time. Following the life of ‘Jesus of Suburbia’, the album takes on different themes across the track list, from needing some kind of relief on ‘Give Me Novacaine’ to wanting to cause as much havoc as possible on ‘St. Jimmy’.
The gamble of starting from scratch paid off, giving Green Day a second wind in the minds of rock fans and exposing them to a new era of pop-punk fans. Although Armstrong might have been uneasy about the song at the time, he credits ‘American Idiot’ for revitalising his career, saying (via Kerrang), “It created a new future for us. It’s made all of our albums since Dookie make sense for people who weren’t up to speed with what we were doing. Obviously having all this critical acclaim is a first, but that’s all”.
What’s funny is he’s the Bay Area equivalent of a redneck.
Wonder what they would think of Randy Newman’s “Rednecks” (which is really a swipe at Northern hypocrisy)
Bet this idiot is all gung-ho for going to war for Ukraine.
What does this tw@t have to say about present events?
Well I hope Billie Armstrong will remember, a Southern man don’t need him around anyhow.
And...Today.... Country music, extolling many of the same virtues he seethes against, has exploded into the mainstream and Billie Joe grasps for one last gasp of relevance....
But country music is just as woke today.
Bad rock with a fiddle. - Tom Petty
They make some catchy tunes, but they have ZERO idea of what redneck actually means.
I went and saw Pearl Jam circa 2004- and the Marines had the audacity to have a recruitment kiosk inside the grounds of the venue and Eddie Vedder had a meltdown on stage over it. Just standing there looking at this guy disparage the Marines was a eye opening event for me, for the age I was at.... but yeah...Im sure Eddie is rocking the blue and yellow these days.
“Those are our planes now.”
Well southern men don't need you around anyhow.
I've never heard of you, your band or your stupid song.
Green Day was always fake poser punk rock for teenagers.
The ultimate posers.
Ah, the Bill & Hillary days. Yes, I remember.
Well, they know the large corporations they represent don’t like them.
What’s funny is he’s the Bay Area equivalent of a redneck.
….and he doesn’t have a clue.
It’s that utter and absolute SELF GENERATED certainty that makes these tedious bastard dangerous.
I never liked his voice, or his sludgy music. Even when they ripoff an English Beat song.
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