Writing Feedback /
"American Idiot" - I feel like my words just fail to do it with justice; Album review [NEW]
The task is relatively simple: pick a rock/pop/country album that you love (you know, one of those albums that you would take with you on the proverbial deserted island), regardless of style or time period, and write a review of it, discussing every song from the album. A good review
a) provides a clear idea of the album's overall style
b) points out both the pluses and the minuses in an album; the highlights, as well as the less satisfactory songs
c) places the album in the context of the artist, band, or genre history: what is the place of the album in the output of the band? How does it differ from their other albums? Is it a landmark album for a particular style/genre? In what way? A good point here is to use comparisons with other similar artists/bands --- in this way you will provide the reader with important hints about that music, even if the reader is not familiar with the artist you are reviewing.NEED HELP ON AN ALBUM REVIEW!The task is relatively simple: pick a rock/pop/country album that you love (you know, one of those albums that you would take with you on the proverbial deserted island), regardless of style or time period, and write a review of it, discussing every song from the album. A good review
a) provides a clear idea of the album's overall style
b) points out both the pluses and the minuses in an album; the highlights, as well as the less satisfactory songs
c) places the album in the context of the artist, band, or genre history: what is the place of the album in the output of the band? How does it differ from their other albums? Is it a landmark album for a particular style/genre? In what way? A good point here is to use comparisons with other similar artists/bands --- in this way you will provide the reader with important hints about that music, even if the reader is not familiar with the artist you are reviewing.
It's taking me forever to review this album, because I feel like my words just fail to do it with justice. Awesome doesn't even enough to describe this brilliant masterpiece. "American Idiot" is a punk rock epic, but also Green Day's pursuit of changes in musical expression after 10 years being an organizing group. From the album cover as a bleeding heart like a grenade, we can identify the album as inherent in the atmosphere of war. While the album is about war and politics, originally a punk band can be very comfortable with this excuse to vent, but Green Day is not so easy to deal with such a rare good theme, they describe in their own ways of war and political views. Green day punk kept the melody, the use of the piano accompaniment, acoustic guitar, saxophone and other musical styles as a flexible foil, to express the style of the new punk era. Rhythm is the kinds of power. The drums are simple strong impact, transmission of the punk spirit, like a needle anesthetic injection, send me into a much more wonderful than the reality of magic to the world, but soon will wake you up to reality.
This CD is incredible, which contains no fillers whatsoever. Let me start this way--"American Idiot", the title song and the first single of the album, is probably the weakest link, yet it's still exceedingly good. American Idiot is a 4/4 time song with excitement. Fast punk melodies and strong on the drums along with Billie Joe starts the album with longtime fans' familiar sound, as well as a blast of energy for newcomers. Billie Joe plays his guitar as a response to his singing for the first four lines which shouts out the theme--Don't wanna be an American Idiot. Similarly, there are some strong punk singles--"St. Jimmy" and so on. St. Jimmy is actually one of the leading characters of this war diary-style album. The rhythm of St. Jimmy is fast which keeps your ears waiting for his words and what is happening. Billie has strong emphasizes on every beat, instead of on the upbeat or backbeat like other 4/4 time rock song. This is done to lay a stress on "St. Jimmy's" narrate by himself. At the end, when it gets slower and slower, they hit both the ride cymbal and the crash cymbal on "comedy" "tragedy" "St. Jimmy" "that's my nameeeeee".
"She's A Rebel" introduced JOS's girlfriend, "Whatsername". I heard the shadow of The Click Five in She's A Rebel--a song of rebellion and revolution, which culminated in the melody, expresses the album theme through the actions of a girl by a girl's thinking about life. Green day used the lively rhythm of drums-reveal the rebellion and innovation to the extreme emotional development-to let the listener unknowingly infected by such sentiments and thereby album has a deeper understanding. "Whatsername" is so incredibly catchy. It's one of those songs that get stuck in your head the first time you hear it.
"Give Me Novacaine" is also extremely smoothing, which quickly tensions punk melodies with a needle and the injection of anesthetic and puts me into a much more wonderful and trippy world than reality. Not too much electric guitar chords in the beginning just makes it sounds very peaceful. The drum set plays louder only in all the even number parts. "Give Me Novacaine" and "Are We The Waiting" basically have the melody in series with a balanced and acoustic sense of rhythm and melody. I was first hit, listening to Are We The Waiting, by the clear majestic drum beat and watery guitar, and then pretty soon becomes driving, somewhat a folksy solo, followed by a harmonic chorus of "Are we, we are, are we, we are, the waiting".
In the album, Green Day, like art rock bands， play with "movements" to the singles. Interestingly, the second song "Jesus of Suburbia" and the second song counted backward "Home Coming" are a pair of twinborn songs: each is divided into five parts and all as long as nine minutes. Both songs have tried new feelings in every part, but if the former is in the angry complaints and then the latter are released after the declaration. From the orchestration style, the former has added a series of piano chords and people singing. On this basis, the latter attempted a retro style, joined the 70's popular snare drum and bass in Chapter III. In the second paragraph "City Of The Damned" and the fifth paragraphs of "Tales Of Another Broken Home" of "Jesus of Suburbia"---like their complaint against the United States through music---the amazing piano accompaniment alone showed roaring sound of the voice. The other nine-minute masterpiece is about the St. Jimmy's death. Then, he title "Homecoming" is a reminiscent of the Vietnam War--an American soldier's last words, "I want to go home."
The beginning of 30 seconds' exotic folksy drum beat of "Extraordinary Girl" does not mean any real things until I wake up abruptly by the pulling punk melody. To some points I do not like this song, because the melody is just repeating and repeating, so do the words. "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" is another pop perfection. I usually don't care for songs that get way overplayed on radio, but this one is a major exception. Beginning with the first fifteen seconds of the electric guitar part, I started to get a feeling of wandering: a lonely guy walking on the street in a totally strange city only accompanied by his own shadow. The helpless attitude here Billie Joe created reminds me of Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Under The Bridge", which is more indicative the impression of isolation and uncertainty.
"Holiday", like some other punk songs, lays stress on every 4 beats. The word "Hey!" shouted by many people just displays the joy of celebrating. Billie's voice is just so full of energy that it seems as though he is shouting from the end of his throat and heart. "Letterbomb", another quick and passionate punk song is full of swear words like the title suggests. But Green Day makes "bastards" and "fucking" sound nice. No kidding.
Finally, "Wake Me Up When September Ends" is the 11th track of the CD. September. 11th. Coincidence? I don't think so. And the music video perfectly illustrates the point. I dare you to watch it and not feel a thing! "Summer has come and passed, the innocent can never last, wake me up when September ends." As understatement of the narrative, it easily captured my soul, when that summer burning quietly away, everything has become empty without knowledge, shallow-run guitar repeated over and over again. Begin with Billie Joe Armstrong's solo, and accompanied by drum beat, the song goes as if the rain is slowly falling down. After two repeated guitars, heavy drums finally sounded, surging to vibration on my nerves, each and all seemed to be in a manic depression. At this time, the sound of the acoustic bass forms a flood and instantly fills out the ravines.
Green Day's album brought them to a new vertex. Since the classic 1994 album "Dookie", they seemed to have been on a decline, while this album can finally prove that they can still create attractive music. Green day moved me, Billie Joe moved me. Their music is no longer just a simple triad with anger. This entire album is a whole song and song, and in a very tight convergence. After listening to "Wake Me Up When September Ends" "Give me Novacain" " Boulevard of broken dream", I can reach to at least one conclusion: having a sore throat does not mean not pure, and passion does not mean that there is no tenderness. As a punk album, American Idiot gives people a huge shock and vibration, not only because each song has brought us a brand new power of hearing, but also because the entire album showed integrity and coherence, without even a single little pause. By the end of last drum beats, I am suddenly awakened and begin my endless aftertaste.