- Jesus of Suburbia
Infobox Single
Name = Jesus of Suburbia
Artist =Green Day
from Album = American Idiot
Released = October 25, 2005
Format =Digital download ,CD single , 10" vinyl
Recorded =
Genre =Pop punk ,alternative rock ,punk rock
Length = 9:08 (Album version)
6:30 (Radio edit)
Label = Reprise
Writer = Green Day,Billie Joe Armstrong
Producer = Green Day,Rob Cavallo
Last single = "Wake Me Up When September Ends "
(2005)
This single = "Jesus of Suburbia"
(2005)
Next single = "The Saints are Coming"
(WithU2 )
(2006)"Jesus of Suburbia" was the fifth and final single to be released from
Green Day 's seventh studio album, "American Idiot". The single was released onOctober 25 ,2005 . The original song ran just over 9 minutes, which was considered to be unfriendly for radio appeal, so it was cut down to around 6½ minutes for the radio edit. The long version was still played on many album rock andalternative rock radio stations.Track listings
Australian single:
#"Jesus of Suburbia" - 9:09
#"Are We the Waiting" (Live from "VH1 Storytellers ") - 2:57
#"St. Jimmy" (Live from "VH1 Storytellers") - 3:0710" vinyl:
Side A
#"Jesus of Suburbia" - 9:09Side B
#"St. Jimmy" (Live from "VH1 Storytellers") - 3:07ong information
The song was co-written by
Green Day (withBillie Joe Armstrong writing the lyrics), and was co-produced byRob Cavallo . Parts I, II and III of the song are in the key of C sharp major. Part III transitions out by playing a C#5/G#5 chord progression, and ends on the G#5 chord, which changes the key to G sharp major and introduces part IV, "Dearly Beloved". In part V, "Tales of Another Broken Home", the key is changed to G#7 for most of the movement, save for the bridge near the end of the track, which is once again in G sharp major. Following the bridge, part V reverts back to its original tempo and key for the song's outro.In this song, Green Day detail the life and times of a so-called Jesus of Suburbia, the fictional
protagonist of "American Idiot". His real name is Jimmy, which is revealed in the extended music video when a girl calls him that and in the cut version of the video when he writes "Saint Jimmy" on a bathroom stall (later on in the "American Idiot" album, he officially changed his name in the song "St. Jimmy", although still calls himself Jesus of Suburbia, and is called that by Whatshername in "Letterbomb"). The name "Jesus of Suburbia" may just mean he is the savior of therebel s in suburbia. He is a resident of Jingletown,USA , and the son of a divorced mother. His younger years were spent on a "steady diet ofsoda pop andRitalin ", watching television, using drugs, and loitering in front of convenience stores. Although everything seems alright at first, Jimmy feels trapped and bored in Jingletown and longs for escape, as he narrates in "City of the Damned".In a coming of age move, Jimmy leaves Jingletown by the end of the song to explore The City. His exploits in The City are not described in this song, but are described in greater detail in the rest of the album, especially in "Holiday" and "Boulevard of Broken Dreams". Nevertheless, to describe the essence of the personality of Jimmy, Green Day proclaims, "I'm the son of
rage andlove . The Jesus of Suburbia, from thebible of none of the above, on a steady diet ofsoda pop andritalin ...""Jesus of Suburbia" has five movements:
* I. "Jesus of Suburbia"
* II. "City of the Damned"
* III. "I Don't Care"
* IV. "Dearly Beloved"
* V. "Tales of Another Broken Home"The song was also featured on their live album, "
Bullet in a Bible ".Music video
The music video of "Jesus of Suburbia" was directed by
Samuel Bayer , who also directed the music videos for the first four singles released from the "American Idiot" album, and had high hopes for the music video. The official music video premiered onOctober 14 ,2005 in the UK and onOctober 25 ,2005 on theMTV network for viewers residing in the U.S. Two official versions exist: One is a twelve-minute edit, complete with dialogue while the other is a six and a half-minute director's cut, inclusive solely of the music itself and devoid of additives. The six-minute version is censored, whereas the twelve-minute version is not. The video starredLou Taylor Pucci as the main character. Jimmy's love interest was played byKelli Garner . Jimmy's mother was portrayed by Canadian actressDeborah Kara Unger . Although Billie Joe 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.
Trivia
* "Jesus of Suburbia" was featured on
MuchMusic 's 100 Greatest Music Videos Countdown at #8.
* DirectorSamuel Bayer said this was going to be his "swan song" video. But he went on to direct Green Day's "Working Class Hero" music video.
* The video contains a reference toThe Smashing Pumpkins ' music video for "1979" in the sense of the "I Don't Care" section of the song's video closely resembling the convenience store part of the "1979" including the "Jesus Of Suburbia" from this song's video getting an Icee and throwing it over his shoulder while a chest-mounted camera follows him.
* Part II heavily quotes "On With the Show" byMötley Crüe , "Summer of '69 " byBryan Adams , Part IV quotes "Over the Rainbow " and "Come On Eileen ". Part V quotes "Ring of Fire" by June Carter andMerle Kilgore and popularized byJohnny Cash .
*7-Eleven is the main setting for most of the video.
* The video for "Jesus of Suburbia" has footage from their live album "Bullet in a Bible " where they played at Milton Keynes in 2005. The music in "Jesus of Suburbia" is an edited version of the live one they sang at Milton Keynes.
* Drummer Tré Cool states that this is one of his favorite songs in "American Idiot" because he gets to do his kind of "Drum Solo"
*In the version of the song in "Bullet in a Bible", Billie Joe changes the lyrics from "Anaheim to the Middle East" to "England to the middle east"External links
* [http://www.virgin.net/music/musicvideos/greenday_jesusofsuburbia_hi.html "Jesus of Suburbia" video (6:29 minute edit)]
* [http://www.ifilm.com/ifilmdetail/2682403 Full-length version video of "Jesus of Suburbia"]References
*NME.com, [http://web.archive.org/web/20060411075808/http://www.nme.com/news/113309.htm Green Day plan ambitious video for next single] (
Waybacked )
*VH1.com, [http://www.vh1.com/artists/news/1508693/08312005/green_poo.jhtml Think Green Day's 'September' Clip Is Epic? Just Wait For 'Jesus Of Suburbia']
* [http://netmusicdatabase.com/component/option,com_lyricsselected/Itemid,55/id,71/opt,lyrics/artist,Green_Day/album,American_Idiot/lyrid,2/track,Jesus_of_Suburbia/ Jesus of Suburbia at The Internet Music Database]
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