Green Day's latest album, "American Idiot," was released on Sept. 21. Its title track, which has held the number one spot on Billboard's Modern Rock chart for its third week, expresses some of the band's opinions about Americans. The picture it paints is less than flattering, but that's not surprising from a pop-punk band that's notorious for betraying its fans —most notably with the hit song "Good Riddance." What is surprising is this song's popularity among the people it derides.
I read that "American Idiot" was first released on the soundtrack of EA Games' "Madden NFL 2005." I didn't believe it at first, so I called my brother, an avid gamer, and confirmed this. The game has already sold more than 1.35 million copies. I tried to contact John Madden through his agent, senior vice president of IMG, Sandy Montag, but was told that neither of them do interviews during football season. So why is an anti-American song on a wholesome game like "Madden," and why is it selling so well? My experience says people tell themselves they aren't supporting flag-burners.
One thing I've found through years of political discussion is Americans react badly to being called unpatriotic. Most Americans exercise their right to free speech, expressing dislike for parts of their country, but few will stand before a crowd and say, "I hate America." That attitude just isn't, well, American. So when a song like "American Idiot" comes along they tend to see around the song's thrust, making it against the parts of America they're against. One could selectively hear the line, "I'm not a part of a redneck agenda," and think, "this song is anti-Bush." Or one could hear, "One nation controlled by the media," and decide, "this song is anti-leftwing media."
Sadly, neither is correct. The song's first line most accurately conveys the band's feelings about their country: "Don't wanna be an American Idiot." What they mean is they hate being Americans and wish they weren't. They attack American ideals like "dreams of tomorrow," calling us an "information nation of hysteria" and a "subliminal mindf–k."
The music video uses a rotten green American flag to show their belief that America is evil and spoiled. The video ends with the colors of the flag running, flooding the scene and leaving the flag blank and meaningless. Make no mistake — Green Day hates America.
It is all right to hate America. Lot's of people do. But before glorifying a song that so passionately blasts our country and raising it to the top of the charts, be sure you really believe what the song says. And don't get offended when I call you unpatriotic.
Uhrich is a sophomore economics major.
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