2 posts in 2 days

Must be some kind of record. Oh, again, wait, that's normal.

I mentioned to someone yesterday the basic topic of my blog for today. It's about an album that I've been listening to non-stop, pretty much. I listen to a LOT of music, all day every day. I belong to a music download service (I actually pay to download music, www.emusic.com) And my tastes are pretty eclectic. I don't like Rap I don't like Country (most country at least) and I don't love Top 40 (except for a few bands/songs) but the album I'm listening has a hit single AND I've liked the band for a long time.

The band is Green Day and the album is American Idiot. I liked Green Day back in the day, loved Dookie and liked their earlier stuff 1039 and Kerplunk. Nimrod and Insomniac had me "ehh" and Warning was okay. But American Idiot is amazing.

It's a punk concept album. It has two (count 'em TWO) 9 minute punk songs on it. And the lyrics are pretty amazing. Billy Joe Armstrong talks about how fucked up our nation is, not just from a political standpoint, but how messed up our values, ambitions, etc. etc. are. It follows a trio of characters, Jesus of Suburbia, St. Jimmy and Whatshername through their travels and interactions. It's a rock opera. A punk rock opera.

Green Day gets unfairly, IMO, railed for being the first big punk/pop crossover and spawning bands such as Good Charlotte, Sum 41, etc (bands I enjoy listening to but wish they would stop calling themselves punk) and even worse "artists" such as Ashley Simpson and Avril La(whatever her last name is.) Green Day has been doing this longer than those bands have even been playing music and their style has changed from pretty formulaic neo-punk to something new and more mature. Billy Joe said he wanted to make a different album after seeing what had become of the music he loved and now he has created something that's pretty amazing.

Even if you aren't a fan of the style of music or the band, if you get a chance, give this album a listen. With it being a Rock Opera, though, in order to fully enjoy it, you have to listen to it from start to finish, preferably more than once. I know I have.