How Green Day saved their dying career 

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The fact that they pulled off a 9 minute song divided into 5 distinctive parts with barely any verse-chorus-structure and still made it sound catchy TWICE on that album speaks for itself.

Letting smaller bands sponsor you is absolutely amazing, I hope this becomes a thing.

It is sad that today's music industry has turned away from albums in favor of singles. We may never get these type of albums ever again.

I'm so glad you mentioned the fact that they captured the cultural zeitgeist twice. So many people seem divided on the Green Day eras that they don't often get the credit for having 2 defining eras to begin with. Both are great

I'm from Botswana. That's a country in Africa for the unacquainted. I never knew what punk rock was and I didnt really care for music. But i vividly remember finding American Idiot on RU-vid as a 2nd year high school student around 2009, and from there i went all in on the movement. So you're absolutely right when you say that Green Day introduced a whole new generation to punk.

I’m 25 and American Idiot was my gateway to not only punk but rock and music in general. It probably shaped my entire music taste. And to discover the album at such a young age made it even more incredible as I discovered new layers in it growing up.

This album is all time. One of the few you can play front to back and there’s not a bad song. Letterbomb is a slept on gem and one of my all time favorites.

Even though I'm only a fan of 90's Green Day I can't deny the magnitude and impact of this record

System of a Down were pretty vocally against the Iraq War at this time, too. Their anti-war stuff wasn't as popular as American Idiot, but I do think they were the second biggest voice i was personally hearing at the time. I also believe this was the same year Fahrenheit 9/11 came out, so criticism of Bush and the Iraq War was definitely around.

That album was absolutely huge. I remember preppy kids and skater punks both loving it. Can't think of a similar album in the last 20 years

Weird when you see yourself in a Punk Rock MBA video unintentionally. I was actually in the Nice Guys Finish last video. My bff at the time was on stage with the band you can see him in the shot. Weird cool memories. Great vid Finn!

Green Day is my favorite band of all time and American idiot made me the person I am today. That was the most influential album in my life. I absolutely love Green Day

Green Day will always be my favorite band of all time. The guys in there are so relatable and just amazing

Someone once described this album to me as “the last truly ubiquitous rock album” and i think thats a great way to describe it

One significant impact of this album is its mix. The job Chris Lord-Alge did on this album is something producers still try to imitate 20 years later. (edit: I wrote this comment before finishing the video)

Man, you made a ton of good points here. American Idiot was my favorite album when I was a little kid that couldn't even understand what he was saying, my favorite album when I was a Green Day obsessed teenager, and it's still my favorite album now that I understand the story and musicality in relation to everything else. It really is a special album.

Cigarettes and Valentine's has always seemed like a therapy album that was meant to help keep the band together. Sometimes hearing that can be amazing, sometimes it can be uncomfortable to listen to. The fact that it helped lead to American Idiot is an absolute win in my book!

Man, I loved Warning. 🧐

I love the entire Green Day discography. Not many bands have the chemistry that they did and I’ve so much respect for them because of it; regardless of the quality of the songs.

American Idiot is my favorite album of all time. I just wish Warning was more widely appreciated. It’s my 2nd favorite Green Day album. Definitely in my top 5 albums of all time

My God, that was an album which absolutely defined my early-mid teens! Still love it to death, it still speaks to me on so many levels... Songs “Jesus of Suburbia”, “Are we Waiting” and “Give Me Novacaine” are forever in my ❤️. That was a whole era of my life, damn😭 2004-2005 were a whole vibe...

I LOVE having a band sponsor a video and think that is a fantastic way to spread the name of your band.

I know people didn't like Warning, but it was so evident in that album that Billie Joe was stretching his "storytelling" chops as far as writing goes. I love Warning....and I am proud of it.

This is the album that seriously got me into rock music and the song American Idiot itself. The first rock CD I ever bought

I'm sooo happy you talked about the mixing! It was a big deal, as a mixing engineer, I find myself constantly referencing this record. This and Black Parade by My Chemical Romance, both mixed by Chris Lord Alge

I was 9 years old when this album came out, and it changed everything for me! This is what got me into punk and alternative music. Such an amazing record

This was the first album I listened to in full on repeat at 9 years old, and I can't emphasize enough how the singles from this album were absolutely everywhere, especially "Boulevard of Broken Dreams." I must have heard it playing on the radio at least once every day. One of my most memorable childhood experiences was seeing Green Day on their American Idiot tour in 2005, and I still have the wristband from it somewhere. The album absolutely still holds up. "Homecoming" is definitely my favorite. That and "Jesus of Suburbia" made me appreciate that really long songs could still be incredible.

Warning is severely underrated, some of the best songs they've ever written are on that thing. Easily in the top 3 Green Day albums IMO

I owe my entire interest in punk rock and alternative culture to American Idiot. I vividly remember seeing the music video for the title track on MTV2, seeing them with the black shirts and red ties, and it was almost like I was struck by lightning. This album is a masterpiece and without it, I would not be into punk

I was in my freshman year when this album came out and it honestly took awhile to grow on me and I think a lot of it was because it was in the middle of my kazaa/limewire phase and I was exposing myself to a ton of new music apart from the pop punk I had been listening to, but yeah you're 100% right this was one of the most important album to ever come out, especially this century.

The point you made where Green Day delivered two generation-defining albums for entirely different age groups is 100% on the money. American Idiot changed my life and I think it's probably the only album I'd really say that about.

American idiot holds a special place in me. I was going through some hard times in life when that album came out. My parents were separating, we had money issues, I was miserable at school. American Idiot cheered me up and helped me. I have the heart grenade tattooed on my arm. I love this album to this day.

Hey Finn, Can you possibly do a future video on Wayne’s World? From the skits, to the movies, soundtracks, the impact on Queen’s career in the US and its lasting impact/influence on popular culture to this day.

It's a Top 5 album for me. I remember being emotionally moved when I first heard it all the way through. It lived in my CD player for at least three months, I couldn't get enough and was always discovering something new. Easily, one of the greatest records of all time.

I bought the American Idiot CD about 4 weeks before I deployed to Iraq. It was on repeat nearly the entire time I was there. You could not avoid it on base, everywhere you went on the FOB you would hear people blasting it. When I got back I binged all the videos on Limewire once I had a stable internet connection. Simply a masterful album and Jesus of Suburbia is still one of my favorite songs of all time.

This record has such unsettling associations for me. I love it but was so unwell when it came out and I played it constantly. Saw them on the original tour in London. Your telling was awesome finn - you’re the best!

My favorite band and album of all time. It was the 1st CD I wore out to where it wouldn't play anymore and my first tattoo was a rage and love tattoo. There are no words to explain just how influential this album was for me. I wouldn't be the same person without it.

Definitely an era defining album. Amercian idiot, city of evil, blink's self titled, three cheers for sweet revenge, were all staples of the early to mid 2000s sound in my opinion

Another amazing video. Also great editing. Definitely going to recommend this video to as many of my friends as possible.

Dude I’ve seen so many videos recently from the Finn McKenty channel that this felt like a throwback video. I appreciate everything you do good sir.

I remember when I was a kid and American Idiot came out, Green Day were MASSIVE and absolute legends, there was no band bigger than them.

American idiot was the first album I got into as a young kid. I mean like 5 years of age (2005) and this hooked me with the catchiness and amazing aesthetic 🤘🏼

Great channel, and great history! Thanks man, looking forward to the next video 🤘🏼😎

I got obsessed with Green Day's music when I was only 6 years old when American Idiot came out. And then when I was 12 I was finally old enough to listen to the album all the way through and fell in love with it... then fell in love with the whole band. They kickstarted my love for rock music, they are the reason I picked up a guitar, the first band I ever saw live and the reason I love concerts. I can thank this band for so much

Warning and Nimrod are my favorite albums XD When American Idiot was released, I was six years old and my mom would constantly listen to it. So this album holds a special place in my heart 🥲 Green Day is the band that got me into punk rock and pop punk (:

Us hardcore Green Day fans have always felt that the “stolen album” thing never happened. During the 21CB tour they eventually played the song “Cigarettes & Valentines” during some rehearsals and ended up putting it out on a live album later. That’s all we’ve gotten from that supposed “lost” session though

I've been watching your videos for years now, and I have to say that this is the most eye-opening one I've seen. A lot of what you've said has not only confirmed my own suspicions and opinions, but this one just made so much apparent to me that wasn't before. Prior to watching, I knew "American Idiot" was an excellent album, but to put in the perspective that you did made me sit back and say, "how the hell did I never realize this?" Green Day have long been one of the bands that people have either slept on or overlooked when considering the best bands of all-time or even the best punk bands, but they belong not only high up on the list, but perhaps on top. "American Idiot" was revolution for kids in my high school, who scoffed at me when I would have "Warning" in my CD player (which, I still think is a good album with some great songs). This was a fantastic analysis. You should be more than proud of the content you create, and I hope that you keep going until the wheels fall off. You're a truly intelligent punk rocker and it's refreshing to learn so much about a genre that has widely gone ignored. Much love, brother.

I was just telling my cousin about the musical! We saw the jagged lil pill musical & want to experience more alt music creatively spun into all forms of art. Green Day may seem like dad rock now, but they are so important to our generation. Finally saw them live in 2017, definitely worth it. Thanks Finn!

I was a preteen when American Idiot came out & Green Day became like my religion. I used to listen to the album on repeat 24/7. My grandma used to sing along to it with me in the car. Even she loved American Idiot. Green Day is a nostalgic band for me. Very formative & informed my political perspective at a young age too. An 11/10 album hands down.

Spot on with everything you talked about regarding this album! I remember I was obsessed with this album when it came out. I was in my early 20's at the time and it seemed to strike me in all the right places. Unfortunately, I think Green Day are back to the place they were in before they released American Idiot and hope they have another great record in them

Best birthday gift I ever got was a copy of american idiot on cd, I was 8 I think. My favorite album of all time and it's not even close. Great video btw

Finn!! big ups on promoting Naughty Juice!! Upcoming artist myself love to see that bless you for helping keep music fresh!

Why do we keep skipping insomniac? I think it's a great album that deserves mention. Finn almost seems Iike he doesn't know it exists.

This was a good video! I hope to watch more album story stuff from you. I really like how you cover music history.

Like the new editing you got dotted through this one finn!

For my part, even with AI being as good as it is, I still find myself returning to Warning more than their other albums because they leaned more into their pop sensibilities and wrote--to me--their most solid, super catchy, and super tight collection of songs. The only I ever saw them was on the Warning tour and I, too, was under the impression that they were falling off, but the arena show was very well attended (I believe sold out), the crowd was fervently into them, and they were absolutely incredible live. On the AI front, though, what initially stood out to me as groundbreaking above all else was that they managed to pull off TWO prog-punk songs in one album! And not only that, but they felt earned instead of coming across as pretentious and meandering just for the sake of being long (unlike a lot of other prog, to me).

I saw the broadway play at a very nice opera house. There was something so gratifying about seeing all these leather jacket mohawks combat boots filling the seats 🥲 my people

I remember this album was huge when I was in elementary school and I thought Green Day was a brand new band come to find out later in life that they had been around for over 10 years prior. But I never heard of Green Day and all the sudden this big album came out and all the kids love this band

Warning was VERY underrated

I was only 9 when this came out and it definitely had an impact on me, this album and Welcome to the Black Parade happens when punk bands ironically reject 'punk' and take their sound to uncharted territories - perfect mixes of the rawness of punk and the grandiose of pop/rock

This was definitely my introduction to finding my own music. Before getting a copy of American Idiot I was listening to my mom's cds of The Car's greatest hits and Ace of Base The Sign. I remember really enjoying how the insert had all the lyrics in a hand drawn style

i could write a whole book on how much this album influenced me. in short. i was just started high school, (Im from uk) about 11 or 12 years old when this album came out, and I was bullied pretty hard, I didn't really have a music taste at the time really. then AI came out being played alot, I heard it and just found myself. I was a loner and depressed from the bulling, but hearing this made me realise wasn't only one, the fact that this album was how i felt in life, that others out there also was feeling same as me. i found a place where i belonged. everyone at school or most was more into chav stuff, like emiem and 50 cent/2pak and all that stuff. i went different direction as a skater. i found who i was. im now 31 and still my fave band.

Hearing this album made me want to pick up a guitar and learn to play. Punk is still a huge part of me almost 20 years later

American Idiot was great but Dookie is my Green Day album

American idiot is the first punk album I got into. Then started to learn more about punk

Hey Finn, I love the channel! I'd love your take on Rise Against and melodic hard core. Keep up the awesome work!

Thank You, I have taken so much heat over the years for comparing this album to Tommy, Sgt Pepper, and Ziggy Stardust.

American Idiot never resonated with me, but Green Day was my first favorite band. I didn't care about music until I heard Dookie and got that "this is extremely my shit" feeling. I'm glad this blew up for them and gave that same feeling to a new generation.

Allowing bands to sponsor the vid - brilliant! Kudos to you Finn!

This was rally interesting, please do more album based videos. I would love one about Demanufacture by Fear Factory, and i think i remember you saying you liked that album too. I remember how big this was when it dropped. I'd fallen off with them after warning too. American this was a total surprise and I'm still jamming it today.

I was already exposed to Green Day before this album came out, but I'll never forget hearing American Idiot for the first time since it coincided with me becoming actively aware of socio-political issues. I remember my conservative parents hated how much I loved this "anti American, anti war" music.

I do not wish to hear more 'naughty juice' thanks that was enough.

Finn, i just created a spotify account to listen to your playlist of new music and it's really changing my life now. I discovered several artists that i want to follow now. Thanks, man, i was getting so bored of the same music all the time

Born in 1949 and coming of age listening to Motown, The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Beach Boys, The Rolling Stones, Jethro Tull, The Who, etc, I came late to Green Day. By the mid-1970s, I turned my back on rock (because I didn't like what I was hearing) and got into classical and opera, and seldom looked back. Dookie and American Idiot passed me by. Or, more accurately, I passed the music by. Then, a few years ago, I heard Green Day's Crackup. Melodically, I thought it was one of the most beautiful rock songs I'd ever heard. Listening to more of their music made me a big fan of this music that my now 41-year-old daughter was grooving to in high school. Sort of like my parents' generation, who came of age listening to the Big Band sounds of Glen Miller, Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman etc, holding their hands over their ears when rock and roll came in, and then becoming Beatles fans after hearing gems from Help, Rubber Soul, Revolver, and Sergeant Pepper.

Definitely one of the best albums ever!!

The only thing I’d like to say to this, is Cigarettes and Valentines was likely never stolen. The idea that it was stolen and not a single track from it was leaked between 2003 and 2016 when they allegedly recovered it, is ridiculous. What probably really happened was they decided they wanted to scrap the album, and felt they needed to make up a story, not for their fans so much, but to Warner Bros, so they could start over. I don’t think WB would’ve been chill with them using their money to record an entire album just so they would throw it in the garbage.

Bands sponsoring channels like yours, I think that's brillant! :D

What's really amazing about the Broadway musical is that it got nominated for Best Musical. While it didn't win, it's still an impressive feat since not every show gets nominated.

My favorite album of all time!! The album that changed my life forever, its the second coming of Christ, indeed!🤘❤️🎸💯

No punk rocker ever liked greenday except in their hippie hometown area of Berkeley and San Francisco. All of their success is from pop radio station they aren’t and never will be punk they are corporate pop rock.

Big props to your channel brother. John from DC’s Iron Cross here. Being an artefact who is now 63 and disabled I’m humbled to see the content you post. Wish I was 21 again, oh and I’d love to have my bass back!

This album got me into alternative music. I remember as a little kid my dad had this on CD. I was about 5 or 6 at the time so the album had already been out for 3 or 4 years by the time I’d heard it for the first time. But when I did I was obsessed. I remember they did some performance on TV (might’ve been for fuse but honestly I have no clue, it’s been so long) around the time 21st century was getting ready to come out, and I was glued to the TV. I wasn’t even at my own home at the time, I was at a party at a family friend’s house and 6 and a half year old me just completely commandeered the TV to watch. 14 years later they’re still one of my favorite bands!

*Important For Finn To Read:* Here I am again with my earnest request. _Another chance for you to _*_choose_*_ to develop your genuine curiosity._ You literally only live once, then you have _no_ more chances left…: Honestly, you would be _much_ more interesting to watch if you watched a few Michele Boldrin & Stephan Kinsella videos on intellectual property (IP) & learned the importance of full abolition of IP laws. Then I’d trust that you would incorporate that knowledge in your discussion of music.

Love that Finn covers my favorite concept album

American Idiot was the second album that I’d ever owned. I was 9 years old at the time and it was the coolest thing I’d ever heard. The whole album was entrancing and painted such amazing imagery in my young mind. I can safely say that this album alone is the reason why I fell in love with music

The drumming at the end of Wake Me Up When September Ends, is the best

Thank you for covering this album. This album meant a lot to me ever since I was 12. This was the first rock album I have heard in its entirety and it not only got me into rock, and even eventually metal; but it was also the reason I play guitar and eventually bass.

Another good video Finn. I'm still waiting on one about 311 though!!!

My all time favorite band!!

Dude your take on Green Day is so spot on! Great vid!

American Idiot is one of those pieces where you have to hear it as a whole. When talking about the singles individually, I’m so over listening to them. Boulevard and Wake me Up specifically. I’m like, if I hear those songs one more freaking time…but, when you hear them in the context of the album I’m like, damn these songs are truly great.

I can verify how important this album was. It got me from listening to my parents music (classic rock) to introducing me to punkish music which in turn got me to become a die hard blink fan. This album is absolutely a 10/10 even to this day.

Yo my band Goths on the Beach emailed your ppl about the promo thing. Let us know the details. Great vid again btw. Big fan.

Thanks for this dive into an important and great album :) I really, really liked Warning - it's the best Kinks album since the 60's. That said, like you, never did I expect anything like American Idiot. Given the absolute melody-writing maching that Billy Joe is, I think that the transition to arena rock that followed American Idiot is unfortunate (and their reviews fell off a cliff with GD's subsequent releases), It's a bit like Depeche Mode, another band who started off very strong, and ten years later, captured the zeitgeist again stronger and better than they'd ever had. And yet, both for DM's Violator and American Idiot, it was less of a renaissance than a final hurrah.

Huge Green Day fan here, as is my wife. They will always have a special place in my heart as they were my first gig, saw them at Milton Keynes in 2005 (thats the same gig that makes up the Bullet in a Bible live album) and they blew me and my brothers away, hell my Mum n Dad also had a great time and bring it up regularly to this day about how good it was. Me and the other half recently saw them at the Hella Mega Tour in London where they once again smashed it. While American Idiot isnt my favorite Green Day album (that goes to Insomniac) its slowly worked its was up the rankings for me, its definitely there magnum opus. Also seen the West End version of the muscial, I honestly thought it might be a bit naff, but it was brilliant, recommended.

Great video! You might want to consider taking the part in brackets out of the title to hit the algorithm a little different, i think you could be getting way more views!

One of my most favorite albums and it’s a cd I have in my car. I keep coming back to it

Fantastic content as always.

American Idiot was the first album I got into. I believe I was 13 when it came out and I was sort of figuring out what I was into and this album solidified my interest in punk rock. I haven’t really looked back since.