Album Rating: 2.0

Dookie is better than this though

Album Rating: 5.0

Thanks dmathias. I love that everyone seems to have a different story about what GD means to them.

@Pikazilla there's many who will agree with you and I won't even debate it in terms of genre influence. But in terms of personal/political influence, this one easily takes the cake.

Album Rating: 2.0

This was my second album ever, by the way.

No judgment either way on the quality (I don't think I've even heard this all the way through) but has any "bigger" properly Rock album been released since this one?

Album Rating: 4.0

IDONTWANNABEANAMEEERICANIIDIOTT

Album Rating: 5.0

still remember when metallica played that

Album Rating: 4.5

Dookies lame agreed

Album Rating: 2.0

It isn't Paramore levels of lame though



That's kinda hard to beat, as far as pop rock is concerned

Album Rating: 4.0

THIS SONG IS NOT ANTI-AMERICAN...IT'S ANTI....WAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRR



great piece of writing, i agree with all the analyses of the album, though perhaps not all the political analyses. but i can accept that because you quoted me

Album Rating: 5.0

Hah was hoping you would notice. Thanks for the praise, it means a lot.

Yeah any political analysis of this is certainly up to individual perspective. I don't think it has the substance to hold its own politically; it was definitely done at least partially for the popularity/exposure (and it worked).

Is it possible to produce a record that succeeds like this in the current era? So far the best records in reaction to the national atmosphere aim for a spiritual/conscious impact (see: Golden Hour, Titanic Rising, Norman Fucking Rockwell).

Meanwhile, albums that are explicitly political lean on the side of being ham-fisted and obvious (see: Dirty Computer, Hopelessness, A Brief Inquiry...).

I'm trying to figure out why the 'apolitical' records are achieving a deeper resonance.

Album Rating: 4.0

because american idiot came out before social media was as big as it is now. it was very vogue for a rock band to shit-talk bush after the iraq war started, and global anti-americanism was at a peak, giving them a huge reach.



twitter and facebook have overtaken music and even tv/movies as the defining landscape for political commentary. when a tv show references trump, it already feels dated the second it airs (like when the unbreakable kimmy schmidt had trump jokes)

Album Rating: 5.0

Wonderful review for a record that still rules.

Not even gonna fuck with you, this album is a near classic indeed. Although I think I've heard a few of the singles waaaaay too many times

Album Rating: 5.0

Jammed this album the other day. My faves have always been Whatsername and Novacaine, but the whole album as absolutely essential to my growth. I've outgrown it, but it's still a blast every few years now.

Album Rating: 5.0

Just listened to this again earlier today. I was in elementary school when this was released and had just become really good friends with a kid who was shockingly good at guitar for his age. Green Day was one of his favorite bands and I got into them recently too, so we hit it up, jammed together as I pretended to learn how to play keys, and remained good friends for that chunk of my youth. If memory serves me right, I think we tried recruiting a "drummer" (another classmate who owned a drumkit but had the attention span of a squirrel and never really learned it) to perform "Are We The Waiting" at a school talent show. I can't even remember if we actually did it or not, but I remember the afternoons "practicing" for it and basking in that weird camaraderie of other kids who could tell the world wasn't right but didn't know the complexities of it all and thus had no answer for how to fix it. But this album, in a climate inundated with blind patriotism, was a breath of fresh air, a reminder that there was air even worth breathing.



Given Green Day's flirtations with pomp and subsequent tonedeafness to music trends around them (see just about any of their releases this decade), I've often questioned if American Idiot itself was just another charade, a statement of nothingness disguised as political commentary.



But any time that doubt sets in, I spin it and am reminded that they were hitting on something here - even if, like you said Sowing, the "story" is kind of all over and beats the line between romantic and political to a pulp, the confusion, the desperation, and the helplessness-turned-apathy that this record dredges up continues to resonate. It's bigger than itself in a way for me that few albums manage to be - and while personal experience always plays a role in making that true for any record, I'm really glad I managed to find something in it at as young an age as I did and rediscover with each listen how simultaneously time-sensitive and timeless its sentiments are. Wasn't sure how to put that all into words, but this thoughtpiece helped. Nice work.

Album Rating: 3.5

relistened to a lot of their classic shit when i found out they had new music coming (before i actually heard how fucking horrendous it is) and their good shit holds up really fucking well, this especially

Album Rating: 3.5

Fantastic review sow. Think I might revisit this

Album Rating: 4.0

This is still a great album.

Despite being a teen when this dropped, its impact on me was pretty low. Had some undeniably catchy singles though. AFI's STS was much more my pivotal teen record. Anyway, great review/essay Sowing.