The Story of Green Day's "American Idiot"
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- Опубліковано 25 чер 2024
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00:00 Intro
00:49 Title Card
00:56 Concept Album
02:06 Jesus of Suburbia
04:43 Holiday
05:14 Broken Dreams & St. Jimmy
06:38 Whatsername
07:10 Homecoming
08:11 Blasts from the Past
09:32 Last Track
10:13 Conclusion
Fun Fact: The voice of Whatsername on the track 'Letterbomb' is Kathleen Hanna, lead singer of Bikini Kill. She's also the person who gave Kurt Cobain the inspiration for 'Smells Like Teen Spirit''s title. The 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' music video was directed by Samuel Bayer, who also directed all the American Idiot videos.
That's really cool! Thanks for telling me!👍
No Courtney love had perfume called teen spirt and spray him and said haha Kurt smells like teen spirit
No, it wasn't Courtney. It was Kathleen Hanna.
Punk rock at its -most confusing- finest
iNiQu1TY V0rT3X wrong
6 months ago, I wrote a thesis on American Idiot for school and it was an amazing experience: trying to figure out the sense of the album, piece by piece, and then looking at the whole picture.
American Idiot DESERVES critical analysis, like any other work of art, in order to be appreciated as a majestic opera that, I dare say, should be studied in schools.
Kudos to you.
"For school" How cool is that? People who still go to school appreciate it 😊
now thats cool. imam try and convince my english teacher to let us do that
I might use inspiration from your comment for an English test
Something interesting I noticed listening to the album- in Jesus of Suburbia there's this line (I don't remember the exact quote) about walking a line that he wants to get off of. At the end of the song, you're pretty sure he gets off the line when he gets out of town. Now skip ahead to Boulevard of Broken Dreams, and you get "I'm walking down the line, that divides me somewhere in my mind." Implying that he never left. Not really. A cynical message of "you can't escape your past, even if you think you have".
"And I walked this line, a million and one fucking times, but not this time" that's the exact line and yeah, consistency is the key
great observation!!! I love this
Wow I just got goosebumps from reading your comment!! Thanks for pointing that out
"I've, walked this line,
A million and one fucking times.
But not this time."
Green Day just never dies. They branch out but never loose contact with their roots. Something many other bands fail to do.
leokimvideo holy crap leokim glad to see you are a fellow green day fan, great channnel
I dislike The Longshot (billies band project) though.
K1ngfish_ it was ok for me, some songs stood out too, but the style is obviously different so I get why you dislike The Longshot
A random guy You will like
Gotta agree on that, maybe I was just being subjective there
Omg when I was young I watched your Thomas videos I had no idea you like Green Day.
I kinda want to thank whoever stole the person who stole those demos.
They must have thought green day can do better, I'll steal everything and maybe they will start from scratch! Lol
Henry Walton yes and that person was Billie Joe Armstrong. It always sounds like such a far-fetched story. Who steals an album and doesn’t leak it?
Somebody should stealFather of All Motherfuckers
@@Solidsnaik you do have a point
Then steal the demos form him so you can hear some never before heard Green Day
Me: Knows literally every single detail about American Idiot
Also me: *watches this video*
Thats very relatable
Well, I relate too.
Me 😭
Same
Mood- I've watched this video like 5 times lol
It’s actually insane how timeless this album is. Relevant almost 2 decades later. Truly the last great rock opera.
American Idiot, then followed by The Black Parade. Then that was the end. That was the last great rock opera.
@@alexlaurence i LOVE the black parade!!
Don’t forget about the black parade
I must agree, those are the only recent great rock operas.@@alexlaurence
the black parade doesn't exist now?
7:12 "another 9 minute EPIC made of 5 PARTS..." yep, and this is why I love Homecoming and Jesus of Suburbia. They don't follow the common song structures with choruses and stuff. And then there's Forever Now that does the same. The reprise of Somewhere Now in the end outright surprised me because it sounded so awesome the first time I realized it. Green Day is my all time favorite band eversince highschool.
And Dirty Rotten Bastards from Tre. Gotta love Green Day
Don't forget about the title track from 21st Century Breakdown!
Forever now deserves a video of its own
Forever Now is SUCH an underrated one it deserves so much more praise
Still one of my favourite albums ever! This one line of Jesus of suburbia always gets me '...It says home is where your heart is
But what a shame
Cause everyone's heart
Doesn't beat the same'
TrafalgarLaw01 it sure does beat out of time
TVBnine city of the dead. At the end of another lost highway
Was gonna get that quote as a tattoo
luggs l you should! That’s something not everyone would think to get a tat of and the lyric is meaningful as more than just a Green Day lyric. That’s an amazing quote all around
*14 year old me proceeds to cry*
American Idiot is not just music. It's a message for everyone to remember that the current state of america has only gotten worse since 2004.
I think this is the album that shook and started to wake America up, there still are a minority who are still sleeping and i hope to fuck they wake up before election day (Unless Grand design fucks that up as well)
Fast forward to 2020 and sadly nothing has changed
bruh shit getting worse
In what way?
It's always been bad. It's just more publicised now. I have now idea why people reference the past so fondly, racism and discrimination was socially acceptable and anyone could deny a poc service. Rape was okay in marriage and so many more things! Please stop glorifying the past. We still have a long way to go in the present but stop glorifying something that wasn't even remotely good from the beginning.
Is no one gonna talk about the amazing custom made album covers for the different songs THEY’RE GREAT
looking at the lyrics in the booklet of the CD: He remembers whatshernames name - but he wants to forget her name, so her scribbled out her name.
What was it?
Holy crap, i loved this album already but this gave me a totally different perspective on it. so awesome!
monno2600 - Go listen to the full album again, but this time focus on the lyrics. Focus on the story being told. Don’t miss a thing. It’s a great journey.
SAME with me its extra awesome now
monno2600 you didn’t know this before? I thought everyone knew the concept.
same
Haut Strange me too I thought if listind to a song you knew what it was about
Whatsername is low-key the best song off the album
I like she's a rebel but whatshername is OK :)
St jimmy or homecoming
@@bigchungus8207 st.jimmy all day .
come_get_this_bread *holiday would like to know your location*
No you are definitely right. Whatsername is the absolute perfect end to the album. Nothing could replace it
When I heard: "I read the graffiti on the bathroom stall like the holy scriptures of the shopping mall," when I was like 10 or younger, I swear that was some of the most compelling lyricism my mind could comprehend.
I’m probably wrong, but I like to think that the whole point of the album is that just being a rebellious ‘screw the system’ kid isn’t enough, and that things will end in a melancholy fashion for everyone unless we revolt against it together. Almost like a subtle call for mass rebellion.
Or somet along those lines anyway
Never thought about it like that, but it makes so much sense! Especially because this album puts Green Day in a new direction, aesthetically and sonically. It's kinda like even they got tired of trying things alone and are doing something more commercial now just because (and I have nothing against it, absolutely love this album).
Now that I'm thinking about that, maybe they started doing commercial stuff to spread their message... Who knows.
Jason Smart You can definitely see it like that, but I don’t believe they intended it that way. I think that’s because they intended it to be the entire point of 21st Century Breakdown
That’s how I feel about Boulevard of Broken Dreams, that it’s more of a metaphor for being alone in your beliefs. Like you have been awakened to the sins of the world, but not one else has. Screaming into the void about how upside down the world is, and having no one understand. It’s was like he tried to lead a revolution in Holiday but then realized that no one was listening, so he then accepted his fate as a one man revolution leading the charge in only his own mind.
Jason Smart I always thought this too. Like the story is perfect by itself but it also functions as a cautionary tale for just running on the high of being a rebel and that if you don’t try to unite with people (JoS pushed W away because he got too into drugs and the aesthetic of rebellion rather than the cause I.e. being disenfranchised rather than a punk) then you’ll never break the system; it’ll break you and remould you to its fit
Yeah, I always saw it as being something of a cautionary tale against blind rebellion. Jesus of Suburbia made a big deal about breaking away and becoming his own person, but ultimately he didn't have any actual plan beyond "rebel", which led him down the path of St. Jimmy.
Warning is an underrated album
Warning is one of my favourite Green Day albums.
I don't get it why do so many people hate it.
yep is really good i steal have the cd
John Lennon Its my favoriteee
Warning has a cult following, which it got long after it was a commercial failure. Hardly underrated.
PotatoWraith Well then... 😂😂😂
The cult of life of crime. Ha... ha
American idiot isn’t an album, it’s an experience
Arguably the best and most important album by an American band ever. Pretty amazing how Green Day, a band a lot of people scoff at, have managed to record TWO of the most classic rock albums in American history!
I've never understood why people turn their nose up at the band. They've influenced so many people, saved so many lives with their music I fail to see the point. Maybe it's their success that makes people wo bitter towards them, or that their songs are relatively simple to play? Who tf cares? They've helped so many people through tough times by making music and kicking ass whilst doing so.
@@ShaggyThePunk Exactly that with how simple the songs are to play. Sure, they are “basic”, but they’re fun. In the end, that should be what music is about. It’s baffling seeing people complain about Green Day’s “lack of talent” and simplicity even when they adore The Ramones. A lot of complaints about Green Day could be applied to The Ramones and yet one is always seen as better. (Just to be clear, I love both bands.)
@@lieutenantgodzilla2420 whoever tf is saying their songs are simple to play obviously never tried playing the drum parts, tre cool is a monster
@@ShaggyThePunk They're recognized as the most iconic and revolutionary punk band out there. I think that, while everyone knows them, not everyone realizes or is willing to acknowledge that everyone knows them. They're a lot more iconic than they're given credit for. They've done so much for the rock genre, they're up there with the greats.
@@beckettmaffei they were definitely not revolutionary for punk. Black Flag was revolutionary, Patti Smith Group was revolutionary, Dead Kennedys were revolutionary, and Void was revolutionary, all for changing everything for what followed and adding new influences to the genre. All Green Day did was get famous.
I still wish we had gotten to hear Cigarettes and Valentines. It would have been so good from the songs we already know were from the setlist.
I'm glad you're telling this story. People always call Green Day sellouts for making this album without realising what actually happened and how they completely changed their style.
P.s.- Never realised how relevant the title track's lyrics are, especially in the recent years.
Agreed on that last part. Specially these lines: "Welcome to a new kind of tension
All across the alien nation
Where everything isn't meant to be okay."
Thatguy WhoDoesThings I completely agree btw your pfp is awesome I love nofx
Never cared what the fuck was a sellout. The only people complaining were lowlife scum that spent all their money on rock concerts and complained that they had bad jobs (because they flunked out of school)
@@ivansali6109 *idiot nation
@@jcam.hart8 Nope, it's alien nation. Right from the liner notes: www.scribd.com/doc/225913513/Digital-Booklet-American-Idiot
Great one as always 👍😊
This is my favorite album ever created. I got my 1st tattoo based off of the lyrics “i’m the son of rage and love”. This album and band means so much to me
My first tattoo was a Rage and Love tattoo too 🖤❤️
the art in this video is incredible.
Wait, you forgot Wake Me Up When September Ends. Where does that fit in in all of this?
Arthur Van Passel It doesn't.
WMUWSE, as I'm sure you know, is an extremely personal song of Billie Joe's written for his father... The song had been in the works since his father's death and was finally released on American Idiot. I don't see how it fits the story line of American Idiot (unless you can argue that it's about the family of Jesus of Suburbia or Jimmy etc), but it needs to be on that album.
it doesn't really fit in. but you can interpret it as the jesus of suburbia being heartbroken. homecoming is where he picks himself back up and moves on from whatsername.
What Trayus said basically. Right before "Homecoming" where JoS has his reality check, there's this moment of suffering and depression. Could be related to his absence of a father figure, since it matches the real meaning of the song(About Billie Joe's actual father).
Lol I never actually thought about it either I just assumed it was apart of the story because of the video and how war is brutal or whatever but the lyrics are way different from the video and story.
I've decided I'm going to watch the entire video before commenting.
KungFuBlitzKrieg Guess you did not
hol' up...
OK, guys. I watched the whole thing and I'm ready to comment now.
Heretic!!!
Oh ok.... Wait what?
This deserves at least 10 Million views
But also: this was good now do 21Century Breakdown
Damn this actually is about to have a million views.
I thought I was the only one wanting a 21st century breakdown version
Omg yes!
Yesss
this album curved my childhood, my mother was in the hospital for 6 months and i stayed with a family friend, this album kept me going. regardless of the negatives im glad i grew up in this era. thanks for this video and the nostalgia blast i needed.
Can you normalize your audio so that the levels don't spike when you play audio samples of the songs that you are talking about?
polarzombies nah fuck it the songs gotta bump
I believe he does that on purpose. To pull all your attention on to the lyrics/music he's talking about. It kind of makes me give all my attention to it (I don't mind).
I was about to say the same. It was a struggle every time the music played. I had to scramble to lower the volume.
was about to say this
I agree. I know its like Mozart letting you relax then get loud to get the audience attention, but listing to this at work almost burst my ear drums just to hear what he was saying I turned it way up then was pissed when the clip played. Not only that but I stopped watching cuz I didn't want to be changing volume all the time looking like a was scratching my balls
Warning IS great, got some great songs and, probably, the most experimental one of the entire carrer, Misery.
Which is awesome and underrated just like the entire album.
whyllian1234 MISERY IS MY FAV GREEN DAY SONG EVER
Warning is an amazing album. Commercially a failure, but honestly one of my favorites. It's definitely underrated and really enjoyed by true Green Day fans.
i completely agree! warning is such a great album
MISERY IS THE MOST CRIMINALLY UNDERRATED GREEN DAY SONG BUT A MASTERPIECE. THEY SHOULD PLAY THAT SONG LIVE
if there was a test to determine whether uh are a true GREEN DAY fan this would be the question... and people realizing that warning was a great album so underrated and not supposed to be a commercial failure would pass that test❤️
I really love this album. It represents so mucho for me, and how my life has become. We all can agree that Jesus of Suburbia could be one of us
i never noticed the actual lore in these songs, just makes them this much more enjoyable!
What makes it more timeless, and I don't know if this is a good thing, but these same political themes of distrust and dissatisfaction in the government, media, and America have come up again. I think as long as there's a person in power who does dumb things or is untrustworthy or just bad (which we will hopefully have less of): angry and unsatisfied teenagers are going to turn to this album to get their feelings into words. This album is the sound of angry youth and I believe it will be for a long time.
"again" excuse me, where were you when the Obama administration expanded on the Bush era violations of rights, or bombed children in 7 countries?
i as an angry unsatisfied teenager can confirm
The world has become an immensely more peaceful place, especially in comparison to the 20th century. There will always be odd years for democracy, currently political & social discourse is a bit odd in the west right now despite violence declining and economic stability. If anyone wants to read anything backing up what I say, read Steven Pinker’s books Enlightenment Now and Better Angels of Our Nature. Society has a tendency to over exaggerate the issues of the world (look up the availability heuristic).
I always find it hilarious when people like Green Day rail against the "new media" while thinking they are anything other than *a massive part of it*
They don't think about the fact that _they_ are part of creating these "jesuses" people will never be able to live up to when they put on their "image" and go to all those photo and music video shoots; when they pose for magazine covers; when they play at corporate iheart radio festivals????
I love Green Day, from their first album to their last, but the one thing I always thought they needed, was a mirror.
@@davecarsley8773 Exactly. They portray themselves as anti-establishment and against the ''new media'', while they're just as much of a part of the corporate machine as someone like Bono, for example.
Now do The Wall
Now that would be a great video!!!!
Unfortunately, Pink Floyd takes down videos using their music if it isn't licensed, so we most likely won't see that. Also, the wall is bit more well known of a concept album. Neigh, it's kind of the pinnacle of concept albums. Polyphonic normally tries to show perspectives on things that not a lot of people know about, such as w/ american idiot, a lot of people knew of the album, not a lot knew of the story, or if you did, you didn't know of the different ways it can be interpreted. The wall is a pretty straight forward story without these different societal interpretations you can have from it, also it was made into a movie which causes even more people to know the story of it all. So there are many reasons why not to do The Wall. Still one of my favorite albums personally, but yeah....
The hardest thing to follow relating to the wall is the movie, but that's because all the symbolism. Even then, pretty easy to follow.
Sammy Maxwell Does Roger own the rights to the wall or what was the outcome of the court case, it’s always so confusing to me
This just might be my favorite Green Day album.
My gf: Their last two major releases are concept albums.
Me: oh. What are they about?
Gf: well, in the first one a dude meets a girl and they loose themselves in the american system.
M: Ah, and the second?
Gf: Uhm... A dude meets a girl and they loose themselves in the american system.
my pedantic self thinks: 'lose'
The 21stcb plot is so confusing I can never understand it
cant froget the inspiration, quadrophenia! where well, a dude meets a girl and they loose themselves in the british system
@@abacus438 Green Day met mainstream success then they lost themselves in the Spanish system
This entire album was absolute brilliant poetry.
8:33
Listen Closely and you'll hear "Don't wanna be an American Idiot" in the background.
Wow, I never noticed that! Thanks!
Back in my teenage years, I used to listen to Green Day almost daily, hell even my dad (who is the most anti-metal person I know) became a fan. Up until today I didn't realize how profound this album really was, thanks.
Favourite album of my youth. Every song rolls off the previous so perfectly and there isn't a single song you want to skip. My idea of a perfect album.
Another brilliant video
Love everything about this channel!
Can you do one on 21st century breakdown?
Words can't describe how much this album means to me
Why didn’t he talk about “Wake Me Up When September Ends” and “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” ????!!!!
He did talk about boulevard
And September isn't part of the story
@@webbskul Wake Me Up When September Ends could fit into the story. It's right after Letterbomb and the way I see it, it's Jesus of Suburbia/St. Jimmy being depressed after Whatshername breaks up with him, And yes I know the real story behind the song but I'm saying in the context of the rock opera what's it about
@@christiankallio8586 meh fair point
The real question is, why didnt he talk about the deluxe edition songs
@@christiankallio8586 Just because it can, doesn't mean it is. I personally think 21st Century Breakdown can fit into that huge missing chunk of City life conflicts that happened with Jesus and Whatsername's during the mid-section of American Idiot's storyline. That part of AI's plot was too vague and undetailed. But so far as canon goes, Gloria and Christian from 21CB aren't the same characters as Jesus and Whatsername.
Great video! American Idiot changed my life forever, and it's magnificent to see how Green Day's music continues to resonate across the world even today. Thanks a lot for this video!
Letterbomb is such an underrated track
Been wanting some insight on this. Thanks for making the video!
Fantastic analysis as always. New perspective on an album I never paid much attention to but now will probably go through. Gives me a few ideas for an academic paper - keep these videos coming because they are some of the best of their kind online! Brilliant
4:23 is kinda sounds like Ring of Fire to me
This is officially my favorite video on UA-cam. Your editing is insanely amazing and your analysis abilities are fantastic. Favorite channels as of right now.
I been waiting for someone to do this
What always has intrigued me and (still does intrigue me) is how intentional every single line of every song on this album is. Like, with maybe the exception of Wake Me Up When September Ends, you know that every line is somehow correlated with the plot and and has either a metaphorical or literal meaning. Like,
"The 7-11 to the fear of breaking down", or
"Am I retarded or am I just overjoyed?", or
"Try to fight fire, setting fire / is not a way that's meant for me" or
"Forget me nots, second thoughts live in isolation / heads or tails and fairy tales in my mind", to name a few
My point is that this album is chock full of lines that I keep re-discovering and realizing that I didn't give much thought to before. It all means something. And the way you perceive the album I think changes over time, but you're never at a loss for what you think it means. It's accessible but endlessly captivating.
Brilliant. This album is so close to my heart and it’s great to see other love it too for the same reasons.
great videos man! keep it going!!
This is so well done.
Some really great song writing
So happy you’ve grown a lot since I last watched you. By the way, my 3 favorites are good riddance, wake me up when September ends, and basket case
Dude this was fantastic!!!
Love it great video
This is a pretty damn good breakdown of the album. Well done, whoever´s behind it!
Make an analysis of The Black Parade by MCR!
Jesús Cedillo PLEASE
yes
If I could haha react I would.
Let's not and say he did
^^^^^^^^^^^^
Really awesome video that picks apart each track to piece together this album's story! It's always been one of my favorites, and every few years I like to revisit the story and hear how different people interpret parts of it!
This is one of my favourite videos of all time, I’ve watched it more than 33 times and I’m still not getting bored.
I'm a simple guy I see Green Day I hit like
I'm soooo happy because I was just looking for video that explains the story of 'American Idiot'. Soooooo thanks. Can you make a video about '21st century breakdown'? It is also a great album, but I can't find a video about the story of it...
This was fantastic.
Great GREAT video! Thank you! I only wish it was longer.
Praise be the Gods! Another Polyphonic video
It took me a minute, but “tales of another broken home” sounds a lot like “ring of fire”
Thanks for the great subtitles!
Beautiful, Amazing
American Idiot was released when I was a baby. Here I am 16 years later and the songs still ring just as powerful today as they did under the historical context of 2004.
I'm live in India in Gujarat state and live in a small town called "vadodara" And it feels like green day tells my story in this album...they never know that my town and I exist but it shows that how iconic this album is ,In my eyes one of the greatest album ever how
This was amazing, just so eye opening and really got me thinking and seeing some of this in myself, it’s really crazy
Beautiful.
I remember dancing to holiday when I was a little girl about 4 or 5, my mother had just run away from my dad and my sister bought this album, we listened to it until my mom decided cursing was a bad thing for us so we didn't listen to it for many years, when I was 12 my brother got this album for his birthday and started playing it again and I got deeper meaning out of it, I was just realizing I was growing up without a father Wake me up when September ends was the best song but many other songs made me feel better about all this crap I was going through, I stopped caring about what others thought because of it. Today at 17 I got the whole story. So many people hate this band and though I can see the reasons why, I do not. It got me into allot of other music that was darker. I don't see why people always want to have a contest over, "my music is heavier than yours," nothing but meaningless arguments come out of that, why not just listen to it and enjoy your life?
Why is the music so loud compared to your voice?
Mosephone ahahha, it's a fuckin good!!!
Greenday.
If it's too loud, you're too old.
Maybe it’s so we can hear the lyrics? But there are lyrics on the screen so idk
It’s punk rock, you don’t listen to that shit turned down!
This is a great video thank you!
Just discovered this channel, and already really digging it. Grew up with Green Day in the 90's but am only just now starting to really love them.
My first album, my young single mom got it for me and said "o you'll like Green Day"... I was ten and I still have the CD in perfect condition tho I played it constantly, my mom is awesome!!
One of the greatest and best album of the 20's
I find myself listening to this album everyday
It's like a daily ritual for me
Very well done!
This needs more views, and this channel needs more subscribers. You’re massively underrated.
Warning was perfect, I'm sorry but I don't get why the public didn't like it.
Warning & American Idiot are definitely my favorite albums
They just didn't get it!
I thought minority was pretty good - you can see how they transitioned into AI from it
Green day is my favorite band
You and me both, Brian... You and me both.
FUCK YEAH GREEN DAY IS THE BEESSSTTTT
Same here brudda!
Same here!!! It's also God's Favorite Band
Mcr too anyone?
The way this guys uses the album poster/booklet and different pictures featuring the lyrics is amazing and opens the door. A detail I like to see is how the album directly tells you of the two themes. The two vinyls are shown as the rage and love parts
This is such a fantastic album, and I really enjoyed your analysis of it. Thank you!
Do a similar analysis for The Black Parade by My Chemical Romance
St. Jimmy 👏👏👏👏 your profile pic is a cut out I keep on my mirror
He did
I Need To Fix my account...
So you're the reason why I couldn't use that name
Saint Jimmy boy do I have news for you
Damn, I never realized this album was like the modern day version of Pink Floyd’s The Wall.
This is amazing.
The true face of history is always hidden in the art.
It's so interesting to see the story of JOS rather than Johnny, Tunny, and Will in the Broadway version.
Such a brilliant analysis
Amazing, succinct and insightful. Thanks
I thought it was, "All across the *idiot* nation", not alien nation.
Same, but I figured it out a few months ago.
Awesome video!! please do the story of rage against the machine (self titled). This was one of the biggest musical and political influences for me. A underrated milestone in rock history
what a great video!!
Great video!!!
Polyphonic, great video as per usual, keep them coming!
I liked this album as a middle schooler, and appreciate it so much more as an adult, but not for any of its message. (Almost cliched, really: disffected youth, "America is bad, m'kay", not to mention the negligent handling of a crucially sensitive subject like suicide.)
No, it's the diversity of musical themes that keeps me listening a decade and a half later. This is not just another punk album, though I love three-chord rock as much as the next guy. Jesus of Suburbia breaks into an astonishingly light ditty ("oooooh, oooh, oooh!") Are We The Waiting is pretty much a stadium rock power ballad, and Extraordinary Girl even has introductory drums that would be more at home on a collection of world music. The hard shifting between this eclectic mix of sounds and even ethereal vocal harmonies and the more expected "slashing and screaming" are what make American Idiot great.
P.S.: If they found room in the overall concept of the album for Wake Me Up When September Ends, couldn't they also include Shoplifter? Such a fun track that could have added a little levity to the darkness.