American Idiot

"American Idiot"
Single by Green Day
from the album American Idiot
Released	August 31, 2004
Format	CD single, DVD
Recorded	2004
Genre	Punk rock
Length	2:55
Label	Reprise
Writer(s)	Billie Joe Armstrong / Green Day
Producer	Rob Cavallo, Green Day
Certification	Platinum (RIAA)
Green Day singles chronology
"I Fought the Law" (2004) "American Idiot" (2004) "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" (2004) Audio sample file info · help

"American Idiot" is a song by the American punk rock band Green Day. It was released as the first single from their album of the same name. The song received mostly positive reviews by critics and was nominated for four Grammy Awards; Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, Best Rock Song, Best Short Form Music Video and Record of the Year.

Background

The song heavily criticizes the state of the United States circa 2004, with lines referencing the danger of the "new, biased media."^[1] Billie Joe Armstrong was inspired to write the song after hearing the Lynyrd Skynyrd song "That's How I Like It" on his car radio. Said Armstrong, "It was like, I'm proud to be a redneck and I was like, oh my God, why would you be proud of something like that? This is exactly what I'm against."^[1]

Release

Released in 2004, the single peaked at No. 61 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Green Day's first Billboard Hot 100 chart entry.^[2] All of Green Day's other hits had only managed to chart on the Hot 100 Airplay chart or the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart.^[2] However, the appearance of "American Idiot" on the US singles charts occurred just prior to Billboard's inclusion of internet download purchases into their Billboard Hot 100 chart data, which would have made a significant difference in the song's peak had it benefited from the new chart tabulation system.^[3] "American Idiot" became Green Day's first Top 5 single in the United Kingdom, reaching No. 3, and peaked at No. 7 in Australia. It debuted at No. 1 in Canada, holding onto the zenith position for five weeks. In Australia, the song was ranked No. 22 on Triple J's Hottest 100 of 2004. Green Day performed this song at the 2005 Grammy Awards.^[1] "American Idiot" has sold 1,371,000 copies as of July, 2010.^[4]

Music video

The music video for "American Idiot" features the band playing in a warehouse against a green American flag (a reference to the name of the band). In the middle of the video, the band is seen playing at different speeds (fast or slow-motion). During the bridge, the stripes of the flag melt onto the floor. The band is then sprayed by a green liquid from amplifiers next to the flag. At the end, the band drops their instruments and leaves. The song's video was directed by Samuel Bayer.

Other appearances

The song was featured in the trailer for the 2005 film Wedding Crashers. An edited version of the song is featured on the soundtrack of the American football video game Madden NFL 2005. It was featured as the closing theme song for the first season of The Andy Milonakis Show. "Weird Al" Yankovic parodied the song on his album Straight Outta Lynwood as "Canadian Idiot" – a satirical commentary on American nationalism and the stereotypical American view of Canadians.^[5] In The Simpsons Movie, the song was played by an organist at the band's funeral. Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine covered this song into a lounge style on their 2005 album Aperitif for Destruction, and Avril Lavigne did as well in 2006. The guitar riffs of the song were sampled for the theme for Johnny Test and multiple episodes of the show. A live rendition of the song recorded in Montreal, Canada on the 21st Century Breakdown World Tour featuring an extended guitar solo was featured on the CD portion of the band's 2011 live album "Awesome As Fuck".

Charts

Track listing

7" picture disc

• A. American Idiot - 2:54
• B. Too Much Too Soon - 3:33

Accolades

It was ranked the No. 13 Single of the Decade by Rolling Stone magazine in 2009 and VH1 also placed the song at No. 13 on its Top 100 Songs Of The 00's in 2011.^[7] Rolling Stone ranked it No. 432 of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2010.^[8]

References