American Idiot

In this entry I talked about what I thought music was suppose to be like. I talked about how politicized Green Day has become within the last two years and how I didn't exactly disagree with them but how I just didn't want to listen to that kind of music. Right now I'm listening to Warning and thinking about old punk bands. What I think is interesting is that punk music has, as far as I know, been an outlet for bands to "bitch and moan" about politics. The Clash did it, the Jam did and from the one song I know by them the Dead Kennedys did it as well. But what they did was, in my opinion, different than what Green Day has done with American Idiot. The older bands made social commentary through veils of differing thickness. Some of the songs (California Uber Alles for instance) were more pronounced in their commentary while others (like Lost in the Supermarket) are less pronounced. The Kinks did an excellent of making social commentary without beating the listener over the head with their message. Green Day has taken the approach of not only beating the listener over the head with their music but also with what they say. From what I've heard they've made it pretty damn obvious what they think of Bush and the current administration and though I agree with their opinion of those two entities I personally think that beating teenagers over the head isn't the best way to get their votes. I don't have any better suggestions but I do know one thing: Teens don't like being treated like idiots.
Honestly though that's not my biggest problem with American Idiot. No my biggest problem is how much production went into the album. I think the most production I've heard in a song by the Clash are trumpets. Same for The Jam. Trumpets seem to a favorite amongest punk bands. Violins and synths and all the shit Green Day used on American Idiot is what really bothers me. Punk, as far as I can tell, is a stripped down, big guitars, lots of loud drumming, screaming kind of rock and roll music. With politics and social commentary. No violins. Maybe trumpets. So, in my opinion, Green Day has committed two offences: 1) beaten listeners over the head and 2) moved away from the original aesthetics of punk rock. Everyone was making a big deal about how great the album was. I personally like Warning better. Which is kind of why I bought American Idiot. :sigh: Too bad.