Jesus of Suburbia

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"After you write a song like that, it was like, 'I can't turn back now.' You can't all of a sudden say, 'I want to write a normal record."

Billie Joe Armstrong, Billboard, 2004 [9]

American Idiot is a concept album that describes the story of a central character named Jesus of Suburbia, an anti-hero created by Billie Joe Armstrong. It is written from the perspective of a lower-middle-class suburban American teen, raised on a diet of "soda pop and Ritalin." [10] Jesus hates his town and those close to him, so he leaves for The City. [11]

"Jesus of Suburbia" was the second multi-part song the group formed. Armstrong said it took "a long time" to write the song. Dirnt said that it came about from natural rehearsals between the trio. [12] The song was an extension of Armstrong's desire to write the "Bohemian Rhapsody" of the future. [13] Also, the opening bars of "Jesus of Suburbia," with their guitar-voice call and response structure, seem evocative of David Bowie's "Moonage Daydream". The middle section "I Don't Care" contains a riff that is identical to Black Sabbath's "Children of the Grave" and even features the line "from the cradle to the grave".

Because the song changes into different sections, Armstrong’s guitars were recorded differently. [14] The musicians would "split the signal from the guitar and send it into an amp while simultaneously going direct with it," to achieve a sound reminiscent of "Revolution" by the Beatles or the style of David Bowie guitarist Mick Ronson. In addition, an overdrive pedal was employed to accentuate gain from the instrument, producing a "punchy" sound to each chord. [14] For the first two sections of the song, Cool emulated Ginger Baker and Charlie Watts, two English drummers from the 1960s. For the final three, he drums in his style: "I'm tipping my hat to all these great drummers that I love, and then I kick the door down and do it... my style." [15] In addition to Watts, Cool pulled inspiration from Keith Moon and Alex Van Halen. [15] The song was composed by Green Day (with Billie Joe Armstrong writing the lyrics), and was co-produced by Rob Cavallo.

"Jesus of Suburbia" has five movements:

Music videos

Two versions of the "Jesus of Suburbia" music video exist, directed by Samuel Bayer (who also directed the music videos for the first four singles released from the American Idiot album). The official music video premiered on October 14, 2005, in the UK and on October 25, 2005, on the MTV network for viewers in the US. One version is a 12-minute edit, complete with a plot and dialogue; the other is a nine and a half-minute director's cut, inclusive solely of the music itself and devoid of additives. The twelve-minute version is censored, whereas the nine-minute version is not. The video starred Lou Taylor Pucci as Jesus. Jesus' love interest (Whatsername) was played by Kelli Garner. Jesus' mother was portrayed by Canadian actress Deborah Kara Unger. Although Armstrong was originally tipped to provide the acting role of the main character, this was altered during pre-filming.

The plot of the video essentially follows that of the song. Despite the fact it is the second track, the video reveals Jesus' and Whatsername's relationship before it is revealed in the story. The video pays homage to "1979" by Smashing Pumpkins—it also made use of the SnorriCam which created the video's notable up-close shots in the convenience store and party scenes.

Critical reception

Since its release, "Jesus of Suburbia" has received universal critical acclaim. People magazine called the song "epic" and a "magnificent nine-minute rock opera." It is often recognized as one of Green Day's greatest songs. [16] It was voted the greatest Green Day song of all time in a Rolling Stone readers poll in September 2012. [17] Magnet considered the song underrated, saying "the five-movement, nine-plus-minute song bobs and weaves its way through standard-issue pop punk (“Jesus Of Suburbia”), a piano-laced interlude (“City Of The Damned”), the slobbering, thundering middle section (“I Don’t Care”), [and] acoustic mid-tempo connective tissue (“Dearly Beloved”)." [7]

Live performances

Green Day performing in Manchester in 2024, where the Saviors Tour began GreenDayIOW230624 (364 of 367) (53818595424).jpg
Green Day performing in Manchester in 2024, where the Saviors Tour began

"Jesus of Suburbia" has been included on the set lists of many Green Day concerts, some of which played American Idiot in its entirety to promote the album. [19] The song was included on the set list for the Hella Mega Tour, a concert tour for Green Day as well as Fall Out Boy and Weezer that began in 2021. [20] The song was later included on the set list for the Saviors Tour, alongside every other song from American Idiot. [21]

Credits and personnel

Track listings

"Jesus of Suburbia"
Green Day - Jesus of Suburbia cover.jpg
Single by Green Day
from the album American Idiot
ReleasedNovember 14, 2005 [1]
RecordedJune 2003
Genre
Length
  • 9:07 (album version)
  • 6:26 (radio edit)
Label
Composer(s) Green Day
Lyricist(s) Billie Joe Armstrong
Producer(s)
Green Day singles chronology
"Wake Me Up When September Ends"
(2005)		"Jesus of Suburbia"
(2005)		"The Saints Are Coming"
(2006)
Music video
"Jesus of Suburbia" on YouTube
"Jesus of Suburbia (Short Version)" on YouTube
Australian single
No.TitleLength
1."Jesus of Suburbia"9:10
2."Are We the Waiting" (Live at VH1 Storytellers, Culver City, California on February 15, 2005)2:57
3."St. Jimmy" (Live at VH1 Storytellers in Culver City, California on February 15, 2005)3:07
iTunes digital download
No.TitleLength
1."Jesus of Suburbia"9:10
2."St. Jimmy" (Live at VH1 Storytellers in Culver City, California on February 15, 2005)3:07
Promo
No.TitleLength
1."Jesus of Suburbia"9:10
2."Jesus of Suburbia" (Radio Edit)6:28

10"

Side A
No.TitleLength
1."Jesus of Suburbia"9:10
Side B
No.TitleLength
1."St. Jimmy" (Live at VH1 Storytellers, Culver City, California on February 15, 2005)3:07
DVD
No.TitleLength
1."Jesus of Suburbia" (Video)11:53
2."Jesus of Suburbia" (Live Video, Live at Irving Plaza, New York City, New York on September 21, 2004)11:10
3."Bullet in a Bible" (Video Trailer)2:33

Charts

Chart (2005–07)Peak
position
Australia (ARIA) [22] 24
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) [23] 55
Canada Rock Top 30 (Radio & Records) [24] 6
Denmark (Tracklisten) [25] 19
Germany (GfK) [26] 76
Greece (IFPI) [27] 13
Ireland (IRMA) [28] 26
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) [29] 26
Scotland (OCC) [30] 13
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) [31] 34
UK Singles (OCC) [32] 17
UK Rock & Metal (OCC) [33] 2
US Alternative Airplay ( Billboard ) [34] 27

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada) [35] Platinum80,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI) [36] Silver200,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

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  7. 1 2 "The Over/Under: Green Day". Magnetmagazine.com. May 19, 2009. Archived from the original on December 20, 2013. Retrieved March 26, 2013.
  8. ↑ Grein, Paul. "Week Ending July 25, 2010: It's Every Rapper For Himself". Yahoo! Music. Archived from the original on February 3, 2014. Retrieved December 3, 2011. Green Day fan: American Idiot (the song) has sold 1,371,000. Jesus Of Suburbia: 204K Holiday 1,452,000
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  14. 1 2 DiPerna 2005, p. 28.
  15. 1 2 Zulaica 2004, p. 64.
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