[First posted on my Tumblr September 22, 2016.]
Lately on [Tumblr] I’ve been posting and writing stuff about The Psychedelic Furs, and currently working on a top favorite Furs albums blog which will come out soon. But I wanted to write something different. Yesterday was the 12th anniversary of Green Day’s seventh and second best selling album, American Idiot. I know I’m a day late with this but I feel like writing about one of the greatest albums in the world.
I was 12 when the album came out but didn’t discover them until early 2005. I remember when I first saw the music video for “American Idiot” I thought they looked crazy and didn’t like them. But then I saw the video for “Boulevard Of Broken Dreams” and started having a crush on Billie Joe Armstrong, lead singer and guitarist. After that I got into them. Though I heard “When I Come Around” and “Good Riddance” on the radio when I was a kid but never knew who sang those songs until years later.
I remember those wonderful times when I was 12, 13, and 14. I remember getting teen magazines that would have Green Day pictures and posters, getting merchandise, and hearing the songs on the radio and watching the music videos and interviews on TV. But sadly, me being young back then, my parents wouldn’t let me get the album, or even their earlier ones, cause of the explicit content. Even when I turned 18, they wouldn’t let me get it. I remember when I would be in the music section at stores I would look at the American Idiot CD, front and back, and wishing I had it. I also wished that Walmart had a clean version of it, but Green Day didn’t want their album to be censored.
Three years later I downloaded Green Day songs that didn’t have any bad words and from the American Idiot album I downloaded “Are We The Waiting,” “St. Jimmy,” (though I downloaded that one a year later) “Give Me Novacaine,” “She’s A Rebel,” “Extraordinary Girl,” “Wake Me Up When September Ends,” and “Whatsername” (I listened to that song a lot on my little pink MP3 player). But sadly what was missing was “American Idiot,” “Holiday,” and “Boulevard Of Broken Dreams,” cause those songs were special to me (especially “BOBD”) and I grew up with them. However when I was 19 I visited my aunt and uncle for the week in Washington State and on their computer they had the full album of American Idiot in the music file (probably my uncle downloaded it) and I asked my aunt if I could burn some of the songs on a CD and she said yes. I burned the songs I mentioned earlier but also burned those three songs I wanted, and I felt satisfied, though I wanted the full album so much.
On Christmas 2012 to my surprise I got Green Day’s ninth album and the first of the trilogy, ¡Uno!, and it was a clean version from Walmart. Apparently Green Day let them censor that and I was happy, my very first Green Day album.
But a month later I was on Walmart’s website and I found, finally, a clean version of American Idiot. I was so ecstatic and told my mom about it. She ordered it from the website and a few weeks later we picked it up at a Walmart. I remember holding it with joy, looking at it and thought to myself, “I finally have it, I finally have it.” After eight years of wanting that album so much! And let me tell you, it is one of the best albums I have ever heard, the best album of the 2000’s and so far the best album of the 21st century. It is beyond perfect, has no flaws, and is a masterpiece.
Like I said earlier, yesterday was the 12th anniversary and today I listened to the whole album. Two songs on it made me feel emotional. The first, “Holiday.” Whenever I would listen to this song it felt like if it was 2005 all over again, me being a 12, 13 year old, and hearing that song on the radio. It made me emotional cause it was hard to believe that that was so long ago. But then the next song “Boulevard Of Broken Dreams” came on and the moment when Billie Joe started singing, I cried through the whole song. That song is very special to me, cause the video for it made me fall in love with Billie, hearing it on the radio and watching it on TV. But also there’s kind of a sadness to it, cause those days are gone but they’re just only memories, memories that I will cherish forever. I’m 24 now but I still love Green Day, and I love Billie Joe probably more than when I did 11 years ago. He means the world to me and I feel like I can’t live without him.
I refuse to believe that American Idiot is 12 now. I feel like it just came out recently. But that’s probably a good thing, cause it doesn’t sound dated and still sounds fresh and new like it did when it was released back in 2004. It will never get old and will inspire many people for years to come. There will never be an album as wonderful as American Idiot. Thank you Green Day for this brilliant album…
“The rage and love
The story of my life…”
Lately on [Tumblr] I’ve been posting and writing stuff about The Psychedelic Furs, and currently working on a top favorite Furs albums blog which will come out soon. But I wanted to write something different. Yesterday was the 12th anniversary of Green Day’s seventh and second best selling album, American Idiot. I know I’m a day late with this but I feel like writing about one of the greatest albums in the world.
I was 12 when the album came out but didn’t discover them until early 2005. I remember when I first saw the music video for “American Idiot” I thought they looked crazy and didn’t like them. But then I saw the video for “Boulevard Of Broken Dreams” and started having a crush on Billie Joe Armstrong, lead singer and guitarist. After that I got into them. Though I heard “When I Come Around” and “Good Riddance” on the radio when I was a kid but never knew who sang those songs until years later.
I remember those wonderful times when I was 12, 13, and 14. I remember getting teen magazines that would have Green Day pictures and posters, getting merchandise, and hearing the songs on the radio and watching the music videos and interviews on TV. But sadly, me being young back then, my parents wouldn’t let me get the album, or even their earlier ones, cause of the explicit content. Even when I turned 18, they wouldn’t let me get it. I remember when I would be in the music section at stores I would look at the American Idiot CD, front and back, and wishing I had it. I also wished that Walmart had a clean version of it, but Green Day didn’t want their album to be censored.
Three years later I downloaded Green Day songs that didn’t have any bad words and from the American Idiot album I downloaded “Are We The Waiting,” “St. Jimmy,” (though I downloaded that one a year later) “Give Me Novacaine,” “She’s A Rebel,” “Extraordinary Girl,” “Wake Me Up When September Ends,” and “Whatsername” (I listened to that song a lot on my little pink MP3 player). But sadly what was missing was “American Idiot,” “Holiday,” and “Boulevard Of Broken Dreams,” cause those songs were special to me (especially “BOBD”) and I grew up with them. However when I was 19 I visited my aunt and uncle for the week in Washington State and on their computer they had the full album of American Idiot in the music file (probably my uncle downloaded it) and I asked my aunt if I could burn some of the songs on a CD and she said yes. I burned the songs I mentioned earlier but also burned those three songs I wanted, and I felt satisfied, though I wanted the full album so much.
On Christmas 2012 to my surprise I got Green Day’s ninth album and the first of the trilogy, ¡Uno!, and it was a clean version from Walmart. Apparently Green Day let them censor that and I was happy, my very first Green Day album.
But a month later I was on Walmart’s website and I found, finally, a clean version of American Idiot. I was so ecstatic and told my mom about it. She ordered it from the website and a few weeks later we picked it up at a Walmart. I remember holding it with joy, looking at it and thought to myself, “I finally have it, I finally have it.” After eight years of wanting that album so much! And let me tell you, it is one of the best albums I have ever heard, the best album of the 2000’s and so far the best album of the 21st century. It is beyond perfect, has no flaws, and is a masterpiece.
Like I said earlier, yesterday was the 12th anniversary and today I listened to the whole album. Two songs on it made me feel emotional. The first, “Holiday.” Whenever I would listen to this song it felt like if it was 2005 all over again, me being a 12, 13 year old, and hearing that song on the radio. It made me emotional cause it was hard to believe that that was so long ago. But then the next song “Boulevard Of Broken Dreams” came on and the moment when Billie Joe started singing, I cried through the whole song. That song is very special to me, cause the video for it made me fall in love with Billie, hearing it on the radio and watching it on TV. But also there’s kind of a sadness to it, cause those days are gone but they’re just only memories, memories that I will cherish forever. I’m 24 now but I still love Green Day, and I love Billie Joe probably more than when I did 11 years ago. He means the world to me and I feel like I can’t live without him.
I refuse to believe that American Idiot is 12 now. I feel like it just came out recently. But that’s probably a good thing, cause it doesn’t sound dated and still sounds fresh and new like it did when it was released back in 2004. It will never get old and will inspire many people for years to come. There will never be an album as wonderful as American Idiot. Thank you Green Day for this brilliant album…
“The rage and love
The story of my life…”
