Sing us a song of the century

That's louder than bombs and eternity

The era of static and contraband

That's leading us to the promised land

It's been five years since Green Day's American Idiot stole the spotlight on radio stations across the country and rescued the band from the brink of obscurity. Since word got around that Green Day was going to be producing another album after this last whirlwind success, it's been anyone's guess as to the subject matter and whether or not the band will deliver something worthy of renewing our admiration.

I'll admit, as a huge fan of American Idiot, I was skeptical when I hearing started details about 21^st Century Breakdown. The first rock concert I ever saw was a part of the American Idiot tour when I was in High School, and it was sort of one of those defining awesome memories from those four years that I cherish. Five years later, I'd forgotten most of the hype, so I had to go back and revisit American Idiot in reserved anticipation for this new CD. Most of the early reviews were very promising, but still, I was nervous. Was this going to be another Rock Opera? If so, would it destroy what I cherish about American Idiot?

When drop day (May 15^th) finally arrived, I went to pick up the CD before work, tearing through the annoying plastic and popping it into a CD player at work to listen to it. I started going through the album booklet while I was setting up the CD player, the lyrics I saw printed there making the three second wait for the CD to start playing seem unbearable. When the first song started, I'm pretty sure I got goosebumps.

21^st Century Breakdown presents us with a format that those familiar with American Idiot may recognize. You have two main “characters” that the album references, Christian and Gloria, and both have songs named after them (“Christian's Inferno,” “¡Viva La Gloria!” and “¿Viva La Gloria? (Little Girl)”). The  two are a pair of down on their luck young-folk who got the short end of the stick from the establishment and religion. The album unfolds in three acts, Heroes and Cons, Charlatans and Saints, and Horseshoes and Handgrenades.

The part that gave me goosebumps isn't technically a part of any act. It's the sort 57 second introduction called “Song of the Century." For me, this introduction right here illustrates a major difference between this and American Idiot. American Idiot opened with...you guessed it... “American Idiot,” a loud, brassy, anti-establishment call to arms. “Song of the Century” is much quieter and much darker in terms of the lyrics, shown above at the introduction to this article, but the song gives off the same vibe as a child singing the National Anthem.

Most of the prominent reviews out there of this album go into detail about all the influences you can find from classic rock icons throughout this album, so if you're curious you can go look them up as they're more qualified to make those judgments than I am. I can tell you I did pick up on the more classic rock vibe that 21^st Century Breakdown exudes. It follows the tradition of American Idiot by combining loud catchy political criticisms (“Know Your Enemy”) and softer but still poignant tunes (“Last Night on Earth” and “21 Guns”).

By and large, this is an across the board solid album. I can't really identify any weak point with it and I completely adore it. I've been listening to it all day and I still haven't gotten sick of it. Many people, fans and not fans alike, however, have been or probably will meet with disappointment upon listening to this for several reasons.

One, there are a lot of people who will say that this is a less punchy, watered down rehash of American Idiot.

Two, many people will criticize the “concept album” aspect to this, saying the story is too similar to American Idiot or just too dull, incoherent, or simplistic.

Three, a lot of people just don't like Green Day, either because they don't appreciate the new post-90's stuff the band has released or they never liked them to begin with.

If you're in the third camp, there really isn't much I can say here that's going to change that, so we'll move on. If you're in the other two camps, I will stay this.

The band has been quoted as saying that this is not a concept album, at least not in the same way that American Idiot was a concept album. There is a thread that ties all of the songs together and you can find a coherent story if you look for it, but it is not as overarching or in your face as it was with American Idiot. This was intentional and to be fair, I sort of appreciate it after the last album, which brings me to my next point.

I can see why people think this is a poor rehash of the same album, but I really disagree. I think it's more a matter of perspective, though. A lot of the same themes appear, to be sure, but I feel as though more than a rehash, 21^st Century Breakdown is American Idiot grown up. It is, literally, American Idiot five years later. American Idiot was a scathing, loud, angry call to arms. 21st Century Breakdown is five years later when that generation is waking up from the haze of the last eight years that the anti-Bush criticisms had such a field day with. It's looking around, mourning the losses, still angry, but also confused and torn between wanting to continue the fight, wondering if the fight was even worth it, and just wanting to drop a match and watch it all burn.

A huge part of American Idiot's success was that it dropped a month and a half before Bush was reelected, which just fueled political fire Green Day layered the album with. Now, with that over and so much push for “change” still fresh in everyone's mind, doing the same sort of loud, raging political commentary would be just off the mark and less pointed. The softer struggle between empathy and apathy, anger and despair in 21^st Century Breakdown is just as on the mark for today, and for the people who see that, this album will be enjoyable.

The long sort of it? I think it's a solid album. I don't think it will receive the same kind of acclaim American Idiot did, but it's still well worth a listen. If you liked American Idiot and can pull yourself away from some of your expectations for this album, whatever they may have been, it's completely worth your time. If you weren't a fan of American Idiot or aren't a fan of Green Day in general, you're probably best just sitting this one out.