Green Day Song Analysis: American Idiot

Logos, the third rhetorical appeal, is used when Macklemore establishes the setting of his song in the United States of America. He establishes the place by the use of well-known words that all can relate to America. The establishment is very clear in the lyric, “America the brave still

Rage Against the Machine’s single "Testify", the first song from their 1999 album 'The Battle of Los Angeles", is a commentary on the American public’s blindness or numbness to global issues such as war, politics, capitalism, wealth, and power through the filtering of information by the mass news media. As it relates to Sociology, “Testify” deals mainly with Marxist Conflict Theory, and also incorporates many of the topics we have learned about in class throughout the semester.

The 1970’s, filled with unraveling American society and global uncertainty, spawned many of music’s greatest artists. One of these artists was Bruce Springsteen, who has paved the way for the rock genre since his 1975 album, Born to Run. While global issues continued at the hands of politicians, no one quite captured the average Americans issues like Bruce Springsteen’s Born to Run. Preformed and composed entirely by Springsteen, with primary producer Jon Landau and incredible accompaniment by the wide-range E Street Band, the album flawlessly depicted normal Americans problems with the decaying American dream and crumbling ideals. Bruce Springsteen, through insightful lyrics and instrumentation, successfully and emotionally showcased common American ideals through his Born to Run album.

The Band was formed by brothers Chad and Mike Kroeger in Vancouver, with the help of their cousin Brandon Kroeger, and their friend Ryan Peake. Brandon Kroeger (the drummer) however, is no longer in the band. He left the group in 1997, and was replaced by two other people. First he was replaced by Mitch Guidon from 1997 to 1998. Then Mitch was replaced by Ryan Vikedal from 1998 to 2005.

We can use the words of Akeel Bilgrami in his essay “Notes toward the definition of ‘identity’” to help us analyze and question Chesney’s song. In his essay Bilgrami says there is an “outset between the ‘subjective’ and ‘objective’ aspects of identity. Your subjective identity is what you conceive yourself to be, whereas your objective identity is how you might be viewed independently of how you see yourself” (Bilgrami 5). These definitions can easily be applied to say that Chesney only provides us an objective view of the overall group. This causes wonder as to what the subjective identity of being an American these teens may have, then bringing us to question, is it possible for an objective identity to represent the subjective identity of a person? To answer this question, we must analyze how Chesney builds this identity and use outside texts such as that of Bilgrami, “The Citizen and the Terrorist” by Audrey Lorde, as well as “What does it mean to be an American?” by Sarah Song to assist in this analysis.

Armstrong was still in highschool when he first began playing gigs but he eventually dropped out. He performed at small punk clubs with his group which included John Kiffmeyer on drums at the time. The band eventually made hits with Lookout! Records, an independent label, and Green Day put out their first EP in 1989. When Kerplunk was released, Billie Joe and his band had made an unbreakable bond of friendship. The success of the album Kerplunk helped the band get big record labels. Green Day had another hit with the album Dookie. As the popularite for Green Day’s smooth pop-punk sound grew, millions of people would come to see their concerts and always want a chance to see it again. When Green Day is live, their shows would be so upbeat. Fans would be up on stage and they would sometimes sing the songs themselves. In 2004, Armstrong wrote another hit album which lead for more success for Armstrong and his crew. Before the release of the three albums Uno, Dos, Tre, Armstrong was struggling with alcohol, pills, and sleep. The September Uno, Dos, Tre came, Green Day performed at an Music festival in Los Vegas, Armstrong had a huge burst out on stage. After this, He

Since the song was originally written in 2005, and then re appeared in the Fight With Tools album it makes sense that the song would by influenced by the war America was fighting in Iraq at the time. In 2003 the Bush administration decided to invade Iraq, and from then on until the present many Americans and non-Americans have died as a result of wartime violence. Even though the war went on many Americans really started to question the reason why the war was still going on if the weapons of mas destruction were already found, the reason given for the invasion of Iraq. Some also questioned the entire reason for the war; according to a MSNBC Documentary, “Some of the most senior officials in the U.S. government, including President Bush himself, Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, asserted these claims in public with absolute confidence, even while privately, ranking U.S. military officers and intelligence professionals were voicing their doubts”(“ How the Bush Administration Sold the Iraq War”). However, the people did nothing and the war continued. The song was meant for people who wanted to change what is happening around

This moment is when Vince left the band. In these twenty-one years they released 5 albums. There newest one being Kickstart my Heart (1989), their most popular album. It was now the early 90s and an all new genre of music came into play, grunge.

They dedicated their whole life to music and the underground punk scene of a small club on Gilman Street. Although neither Billie Joe or Tre finished high school, they used their abilities to their advantage, and it ended up making them world famous. They went on to make more albums and went to greater heights when American Idiot was released. This album had a different sort of vibe that their older fans weren't used to. They lost some fans and gained even more when the record sold over 14 million copies worldwide in 2004, literally making them the most successful punk band of all time. This was all made possible by a lot of hard work and perseverance, and that alone motivated many people to pick up the guitar, bass or drums by learning from the

The British invasion began with the popularization of the rock group “The Beatles”. Their fame created an open door for other rock groups from england to make their debut in America. Although more intense, the music from the british invasion, and music influenced by it, also reflected the peace loving counterculture that was incorporated in folk music. Songs like “Revolution” by The Beatles and “Gimme Shelter” by The Rolling Stones clearly express the concerns that the public had for their own safety during war times. “Revolution” is about exactly what you would expect with the lyrics “We all want to change the world / But when you talk about destruction / Don't you know that you can count me out.” These lyrics, and akin lyrics found throughout this popular rock age, pushed many people to realize that it is better to be pacifist and fight anger with peace, rather than put american lives in jeopardy. Not only did these tunes reflect popular sentiment, they educated people on the importance of unity over segregation and

The Beatles evolved from an amateur teenage skiffle group, the Quarry Men, formed by Lennon in 1956 and named after his school, Quarry Bank High. McCartney joined the Quarry Men in July 1957, Harrison in March 1958. The only artefacts left of the Quarry Men period is a cover version of Buddy

Among these accusations was the fact that Green Day was a supposedly punk rock band with a major record label, an ironic twist on the anarchy and independence that so many punk rock bands represent. Billy Joe Armstrong actually commented on the group’s status as a punk rock band by saying “…we’re this big band now. We’ve made a lot of money. We’re not punk rock anymore… You can take us out of a punk rock environment, but you can’t take the punk rock out of us”. Although some avid punk rockers may argue that Green Day is not a true punk rock band, it is indisputable that Green Day created popular music that received high ratings.

It took the band Thirty Seconds to Mars and lead singer, Jared Leto a little longer to give the modern day world music to talk about. The band took a year to find a studio to support them. In 1998, the band signed a contract with Immortal and Virgin. Their first album was set to be released in 2002, but before that the band, Puddle of Mud, asked for them to join their six week tour around the country in the spring. Thirty Seconds

Green Day considered itself to be punk. Infact, many people consider them to be one of the greatest punk rock bands of all time, along with Blink 182 and Sum 41. Founding members Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt grew up closely associated with the punk scene near Berkeley, and for the first 15 years of its existence the boys pumped out top-40 three-minute hits about masturbating, smoking marijuana, and being pissed off. However, in 2004, Green Day showed it had matured immensely and changed style significantly with its release of the concept album “American Idiot.” A concept album is an album that tells a story throughout. This

Green Day is a pop punk/alternative rock band formed in 1986. The band consists of three members: Billie Joe Armstrong (lead singer), Mike Dirnt (bass and backing vocals), and Tré Cool (drums and percussion). The band known as Green Day originally formed in Berkeley, California by Armstrong and Dirnt, and was initially titled Sweet Children. The two were only fourteen years old at the time they founded their band. In 1988, Lookout! Records owner, Larry Livermore, signed a deal with the group to be part of his label. Shortly after being signed, the band’s name was changed to Green Day as a result of Armstrong’s and Dirnt’s love for marijuana (also to prevent confusion with another west coast pop punk band, Sweet Baby).