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Green Day “Idiot – Its Just A Great Word”

added 12 August 2004 at 11.12

Singer-guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong and bassist Mike Dirnt of punk-pop godfathers Green Day have set the record straight about the lyrical inspiration for their come-back single ‘American Idiot’.

Going boldly where no Green Day lyric has gone before, the band’s new single ‘American Idiot’ pulls no punches when it comes to social commentary. While the guitars may be deceptively Green Day-sounding, the lyrics are taut, finger pointing accusations directed at anybody that gets in the way, including such choice phrases as:

"Don’t want a nation under the new media… Can you hear the sound of hysteria, The subliminal mindf**k America…I'm not a part of a redneck agenda."

"'American Idiot' is just about the confusion in what's going on today, whether it's the non-reality of reality television or what you see on CNN," Armstrong told MTV. "It's about what kind of fears are being imposed on me as a watcher of all this stuff, and just feeling completely confused and alienated."

As previously reported on Xfm Online, the album is set to be a concept album divided into chapters even containing an epic nine-minute song, 'Jesus Of Suburbia' which is broken into five parts, each with its own subtitle.

"[‘American Idiot’] really sets the stage for the journey that our character is going on," Dirnt continued.

"[The title ‘American Idiot’] is part of my self-deprecating sense of humour," Armstrong explained. "Years ago I had this T-shirt I would wear and I wrote 'idiot' and pointed an arrow right up to my face. Idiot - it's just a great word."

Green Day release the album ‘American Idiot’ on September 20 preceded by the single of the same name on September 13. The band will also headline the Carling Weekend at Reading and Leeds this year from August 27 - 29.

The full tracklisting for ‘American Idiot’ is as follows:

1. ‘American Idiot’
2. ‘Jesus Of Suburbia’
3. ‘Holiday’
4. ‘Boulevard Of Broken Dreams’
5. ‘Are We The Waiting’
6. ‘St Jimmy’
7. ‘Give Me Novacaine’
8. ‘She's A Rebel’
9. ‘Extraordinary Girl’
10. ‘Letterbomb’
11. ‘Wake Me Up When September Ends’
12. 'Homecoming'
13. 'Whatsername'

Tagged as Green Day, archive

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