Jesus of Suburbia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "Jesus of Suburbia" | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| Single by Green Day | ||
| from the album American Idiot | ||
| Released | October 25, 2005 | |
| Format | Digital download, CD single, 10" | |
| Genre | Rock Opera, Alternative Rock | |
| Length | 9:08 album version 6:30 single version |
|
| Label | Reprise | |
| Writer(s) | Green Day, Billie Joe Armstrong | |
| Producer(s) | Green Day, Rob Cavallo | |
| Chart positions | ||
|
||
| Green Day singles chronology | ||
| "Wake Me Up When September Ends" (2005) |
"Jesus of Suburbia" (2005) |
"The Saints are Coming" (2006) |
| American Idiot track listing | ||
| "American Idiot" (1) |
"Jesus of Suburbia" (2) |
"Holiday" (3) |
Jesus of Suburbia is the fifth and final single to be released from Green Day's seventh studio album, American Idiot. The single was released on October 25, 2005. Billie Joe Armstrong has stated that it will be like a prequel for their movie, American Idiot[citation needed]. The original ran just over 9 minutes, which was considered to be unfriendly for radio appeal, so it was cut down to around 6½ minutes for the radio edit.
Contents |
[edit] Song information
The song was co-written by Green Day (with Billie Joe Armstrong writing the lyrics), and was co-produced by Rob Cavallo. In this epic song, Green Day detail the life and times of a so-called Jesus of Suburbia, the fictional protagonist of American Idiot. His real name is Jimmy, which is revealed in the extended music video when a girl calls him that and in the cut version of the video when he writes "Saint Jimmy" on a bathroom stall (Later on in the American Idiot album, he officially changed his name in the song "Saint Jimmy"). The name "Jesus of Suburbia" may just mean he is the savior of the rebels in suburbia. He is a resident of Jingletown, USA, and the son of a divorcee mother. His younger years were spent on a "steady diet of soda pop and Ritalin", watching television, experimenting with drugs, and loitering in front of convenience stores Jay and Silent Bob style. Although everything seems alright at first, Jimmy feels trapped and bored in Jingletown and longs for escape, as he narrates in City of the Damned.
In a coming of age move, Jimmy leaves Jingletown by the end of the song to explore The City. His exploits in The City are not described in this song, but are described in greater detail in the rest of the album, especially in "Holiday" and "Boulevard of Broken Dreams". Nevertheless to describe the essence of the personality of Jimmy, Green Day proclaims, "I'm the son of rage and love. The Jesus of Suburbia, from the bible of none of the above, on a steady diet of soda pop and ritalin..."
"Jesus of Suburbia" is made up of five songs segued together:
- I. "Jesus of Suburbia"
- II. "City of the Damned"
- III. "I Don't Care"
- IV. "Dearly Beloved"
- V. "Tales of Another Broken Home"
The song was also released in their live album, Bullet In A Bible.
[edit] Musical qualities and influences
The song consists of five movements in the musical keys of D-flat major (Jesus of Suburbia, City of the Damned, I Don't Care), and A-flat major (Dearly Beloved, Tales from Another Broken Home). The structure of the song is common to rock operas, which often consist of several movements. Jesus of Suburbia is one of two songs on American Idiot to follow this form, the other being Homecoming.
[edit] Music video
 |
The neutrality of this section is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page. |
Samuel Bayer directed the video for "Jesus of Suburbia", the fifth and final release from the American Idiot album. He directed clips for the first four singles from American Idiot, and is quoted as saying that he hopes the final video from the album will be a fitting swan-song to the videography of the album. Bassist Mike Dirnt told VH1 that he expects the video to "shift gears a lot" because of the conclusive five parts to the power-ballad. The official music video premiered October 14, 2005 in the UK and October 25, 2005 on the MTV network for viewers residing in the U.S. It has been reported and confirmed by the members of Green Day and Bayer at MTV.com that there exists two official edits of the music video: One is a twelve-minute edit and essentially a short film, complete with dialogue; the other is a six and a half-minute director's cut, inclusive solely of the music itself and void of additives. Starring Lou Taylor Pucci as the main character – a fairly unknown actor who starred in such recent indie releases as Thumbsucker and The Chumscrubber – it has been stated by Billie Joe Armstrong that the video would be "the new 'Thriller'". Bayer himself has heralded the video as one which overshadows and outperforms the seven-minute epic "Wake Me Up When September Ends" video and his famous "Smells Like Teen Spirit" directorial accomplishment. Billie Joe was originally tipped to provide the acting role of the main character, but this altered pre-filming.
[edit] Trivia
- Jesus Of Suburbia was number 8 on Much Music's 100 greatest music videos countdown
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- NME.com, Green Day plan ambitious video for next single
- VH1.com, [1]
