CD OF THE WEEK: Green Day: American Idiot
Too many of today’s young punk-rock bands seem to think that a fast, three-chord composition splattered with quickly written lyrics about girls (and maybe a bit of skating, dude) constitutes good music. It sounds great in any suburban garage, but one needs more to make a difference in the world out there (including a vocalist who can sing — another aspect that these naive young bands conveniently ignore).
Green Day started out in the Nineties as a dopey American punk-rock band, armed with catchy songs and Billie Joe Armstrong’s idiosyncratic, nasal delivery. Thankfully, they decided to evolve to stay on top.
So, on American Idiot (Gallo) they have added a solid helping of social conscience, and experimented with a range of rock sounds and tempo changes, not just your garden-variety, jump-up punk trash.
The title track puts it in no uncertain terms: “Can you hear the sound of hysteria?/The subliminal mindfuck America/Welcome to a new kind of tension/All across the alienation.” It’s clear Green Day are not a happy American family — “not a part of a redneck agenda”, the song adds.
The upbeat, nine-minute Jesus of Suburbia (a song in five parts) paints a bleak picture of meaningless suburban life. Holiday is hit material; sticking in one’s head, owing to both its songwriting and content (“Bombs away is your punishment”, it says, reminiscent of Iraq news headlines).
Boulevard of Broken Dreams is another slow, strong track, with the title speaking for itself.
Are We the Waiting continues in the same vein, but then St Jimmy bursts loose with a speedy punk beat to pacify long-time fans (or scabby skater boys) who may feel a tad lost by now.
She’s a Rebel and Letterbomb are also vintage Green Day material, and Wake Me Up When December Ends is a rather touching semi-ballad.
Then, Homecoming (again in five parts, again nine minutes) stands as a well-crafted balance to Jesus of Suburbia, its mood equally hopeless and disillusioned, if too drawn out. Lastly, Whatsername is a simple rock ballad, sounding quite innocent and a bit out of place compared with what went before.
American Idiot stands strong as a political statement and a somewhat messy punk-rock concept album, if there can be such a thing. And there’s no doubt about who got Green Day’s vote.
SOUND BYTES
Ezra
Funk and Roll (BMG)
We came to know him as the Lenny Kravitz lookalike of the first Idols series, but with this debut, Ezra proves he no longer needs to go by that moniker. Nice and Slow, an utterly likeable slice of pop perfection, kicks off Funk and Roll, followed by the ballad Say It. The album is mostly filled with R&B, some of which starts to sound a little too much the same, as well as smatterings of funk. A musician in every sense of the word, he played all the instruments on the album and wrote nine of the 11 songs. This is a good start and we look forward to his next effort. Now if he could just shake off the Idols tag, too? — Nadia Neophytou
Fuzigish
Exploited and Distorted
Undoubtedly one of the country’s hardest-working and longest-surviving punk acts, Fuzigish return with their third album. There is still that raw energy we’ve come to know and love, but on this album there is a progression in the way the group style their songs. Vocalist JP really comes into his own when he tries something different from the traditional punk choruses Fuzigish are known for, as evident on tracks such as Roll Another One John and Mocambique. United and Divided embodies the punk ethos with every chord and lyric, but you’ll still find the wacky side of this sevensome on tracks such as the last, Agatha Buttworthy. — NN
Tiësto
Parade of the Athletes
Now out on disc is top-ranked European DJ Tiësto’s set of rather laid-back trance house that he spinned while athletes from around the world filed into the stadium during the Olympic Games opening ceremony in Athens. Tiësto describes it as “a historical night for me, dance music and for the Olympic, of course”. And he rose to the occassion — he is, after all, much more than simply a “disco operator”, as Mail & Guardian columnist Robert Kirby called him the following week. He wrote and composed all of Parade‘s material, including excellent tracks such as Traffic and Euphoria, and added his own interpretation of Samuel Barber’s always-beautiful Adagio for Strings. It’s stirring without being too loud or hard; use Parade of the Athletes (or “Athlete”, as the CD cover would have it) for a relaxing chill session. — Riaan Wolmarans
Yellowcard
Ocean Avenue (Capitol)
“Away” is a word Yellowcard love to sing about. Whether it’s leaving an unrequited love or losing a long-time friend, this young band infuse the word with punk guitars and catchy choruses. Although these guys do not break any musical ground with their 13-track debut for Capitol Records, member Sean Mackin’s violin on tracks such as Life of a Salesman and View from Heaven adds fresh spark to the group’s sound. — NN