November's Storms Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Contrary to a lot of people in this thread, JoS didn't really speak to me when I first got into it, it didn't describe my life at that time. But I will forever be in debt because it helped make the the boy man I am today. I started to think for myself, be less afraid to stand up for myself and to be unapologetic in my beliefs/actions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebelofSuburbia Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 yay I was there at that video I keep getting amazed at the diversity of this song, even though I have known about it for 6 years now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koolkev Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Obviously an AMAZING song. Love jammin on drums to it, also. Good message, and a pretty good MV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSaltOfTheEarth Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 My Chemical Romance said JoS was a heavy influence on their song Welcome to the Black Parade too. Always cool to hear GD influencing other bands. Really? I hadn't heard that before, that's pretty cool. No wonder Welcome To The Black Parade is so great. Jesus of Suburbia does wonders on everyone and everything it touches (and before any mcr fans get pissed, I don't mean that JoS is the only reason that WTTBP is a good song) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lena549 Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 This video is AWESOME!! I just listened to it again and again It's hilarious how Billie runs across the the stage at 1:30 Jesus Of Suburbia is one of my favourite Green Day songs ever! I can't say HOW much I love it, but believe me, it's a lot! Favourite Lyrics: home is where your heart is, But what a shame, 'Cause everyone's heart, Doesn't beat the same We're beating out of time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 I love this song dearly. So dearly. I don't even know what my favorite part of the song is because the whole thing is epic, but I will try my best. I guess "Dearly Beloved/Tales Of Another Broken Home" is my favorite part, those lyrics just get to me every time. And every time I hear those lyrics I sing my heart out with them. Those paragraphs have so much emotion in them. Every time I sing a long with I always feel like I'm saying "Fuck it, Fuck you, I'm done." I know many people may have those feelings or think that when it goes into "I Don't Care", but it always hits me in "Dearly Beloved/Tale Of Another Broken Home". It seems like "He", being Johnny I guess, is telling his beloved that he's done with her and he has nothing else to say to her; When it says "I don't feel any shame, I won't apologize", He doesn't feel bad for anything that he has done and he's leaving home and he's going to forget about everything. I just love this song so much and every time I listen to this song it just reminds me how much of emotion is packed into it. Just 1 out of 13 fantastic songs off this album. (This is my interpretation of these two parts, so please hold nothing against me) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fanny. Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 I can’t even begin to explain how much that song means to me! I remember when I bought AI in 2004 and listened to it for the first time, I was reading the booklet to understand the lyrics. The first impression I got when I listened to Jesus of Suburbia was how powerful it is and how beautiful the lyrics are. I love the way Billie writes songs, how he puts words together and makes them alive is something I admire of his songwriting. Its five parts make this song a true masterpiece! Since the first time I read this particular line, it's always been one of my favorite ever "It says: home is where your heart is, But what a shame, 'Cause everyone's heart, Doesn't beat the same, We're beating out of time" And I just adore the whole Dearly Beloved part and this one: "I don't feel any shame, I won't apologize When there ain't nowhere you can go, Running away from pain, When you've been victimized, Tales from another broken home You're leaving... You're leaving... You're leaving... Ah you're leaving home..." This part and the whole song always gives me chills, every single time I listen to it! Idk there’s something about Jesus of Suburbia that is magical for me, I can’t even describe it.. I've got so much memories attached to this song from the past 6 years, it’s unbelievable! And seeing the guys perform it at the two shows I’ve been to has been a dream come true! It will always remain one of my absolute favorite Green Day songs ever! it's like this song just came out of nowhere, out of thin air as if a pure feeling deep down inside of Billie just burst out and turned into words this isn't an ordinary song with music and lyrics this is purely memories, feelings, emotions, transfigured into sound and language This is so true! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
November's Storms Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 This is no dramatic insight of mine, I got it on Wikipedia, but the beginning of the guitar solo at 7:54 sounds like Ring of Fire by Johnny Cash Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Webb_2011 Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 Probably my favorite Green Day song of all time! From the first time I heard "I'm the son of rage and love" as a 12 year old when the album came out, I knew that this was a special song. Not only because it was a 9:07 anthem, but because I believe it has parts to it that everyone can relate to. Personally for me it's helped me through the toughest of times and that's why I am forever grateful that Billie was able write this song. My favorite part of the entire song would definitely have to be the very beginning. As soon as those first chords hit, it takes you on an emotional roller coaster that seems like it will never end but once it does end, you can't help yourself but play it over and over again. I love how the song is able to start out strong with "Jesus of Suburbia" and is able to get softer as the song goes on with "Dealy Beloved" and is able to come back stronger than ever in "Tales of Another Broken Home" to wrap it all up. It is truly a masterpiece and will always hold a special place in my heart along with every Green Day song. This band has saved my life and I hope all of you have been able to connect with this band like I have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreenRanger Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 Aw man, I love every iteration of Jesus of Suburbia. It's a live version that's really stuck with me, enough to where I always think the words are wrong on the actual album, with me always singing "from England to the Middle East." And of course, I remember seeing it live. Despite being close to the back and one or two decks up, I remember really really going nuts trying to advertise my friend to play the song, I must have been doing a good job too, because the guy in front of me eventually pointed too. It and Longview have spurred many a daydream of me going up on stage to sing/play this song with Green Day live. It has a great range of upbeat paces and downbeat sections, and plenty of spaces to show off vocally. This song has it all. No American Idiot is complete without BAH! BAH! BAH!BAH! Or however you might describe it, absolutely one of the most iconic riffs in my brain. When I play it and sing it, there's this feeling of power that goes right through me. Covering this song is a journey. Everyone including you thinks you're nuts for doing it, but playing it from one end to the other is just awesome. For that time, and any time you listen to the song, you get to become this Jesus of Suburbia and preach to all of your deciples. Singing along is an absolute must. Is not optional. Can not escape. I think one of the best parts is that this is a huge, explosive rock anthem about sitting on your couch and doing nothing until you decide to get the hell out. It's about that moment when you think about how many times you've sat on the couch doing nothing thinking about how you're doing nothing and getting sick of it. It's basically a revelation. Jesus is so important to me because I'm fairly certain it was the first nine minute long song I ever heard, so it prepared me for all the other nine minute long songs out there. Green Day pulled this off right, showing me probably for the first time that songs don't have to be three minutes long. They can be entire epics. They can be five songs in one, which is what Jesus of Suburbia really is. It's a song that's pretty much awesome beyond words indeed, and defines "epic rocking" for a new millenium. Absolutely a blast to play and sing live, and when it's over, everyone is kind of left in shock. You play this song through, you'll know you have balls even if no one else notices and even if you just learned it in your room. Learning it is an accomplishment not just because it's long, but because it is inherently fun as hell to play for any instrument. Each part of the band truly gets there moment to shine here, even if in a small, short way. A lot of nine minute songs are sustained by long bridges, solos, or refrains, but not Jesus of Suburbia. It is a brilliant combination of several songs into one that works incredibly well and echoes throughout the whole album and the whole story. Fresh off seeing the musical on Broadway, there's just no better way to introduce this character, and its reprises in the musical keep everything very grounded, never letting us forget where all of our now very different characters came from. Even the music video tells an effect story, whittling down almost the whole, then-nonexistant musical into something that played out as a long movie trailer. And God damn that's a movie I'd see. Jesus of Suburbia holds a very special place in my heart, even among American Idiot songs. It's a riot to play, just a huge journey, and contains events that quite simply explode in my mind and leave it smelling like smoke for hours after listening. I can't remember a time when this song has come on somewhere and I havent air guitared at least the first part of it. I'll never forget getting to play this song live with my band, even if it was just once (Id love to do it hundreds more times). This is a song that will absolutely stay with me forever and after. It is a true rock anthem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Billiejoezee- Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 I love this song. Especially live. <33 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gdpony Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 There are just no words to describe this song. It's just perfect. excellent choice for song of the week J'net Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
in_your_face Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 It's gotta be the song of the century! The best punk ballad ever written!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GDJonny Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 Holy Fuck this is a good song! Everything about it summed up the American Idiot era; the aggression, the experimental attitude, the style, just the epic awesomess. Oh how I miss the mid 2000's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mar Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 I can still remember the first time I heard this song. I had just bought AI, and I was at my grandma's house, listening to the album on my Walkman for the first time. I was floored. I had never heard anything like it - sprawling, passionate, powerful. The lyrics are amazing, the musicianship in the song is mind boggling. It was the moment I fell in love with the band. I'm partial to the line "while the moms and Brads are away." It's a subtle change, but I think it's a genius lyric that is so reflective of life as an adolescent/teen today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bastard of 1967 Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 The title section explains where we are, the next three sections explain how we got there, and the final section shows where the narrator goes next. It's more than just a medley; it's the first act of a play. I am literally speechless. That captures so many of the different thoughts I've had about JoS and puts an interpretation on it that we've actually seen brought to life in Sam Bayer's amazing video as well as more recently by Michael Mayer's cast on Broadway. SO much work putting the pieces together and it really shows -- I only have one thing to point out (for now -- give me time and I'm sure I'll come up with more!) "The motto was just a lie." That's one of several key concepts in the album and I think only you and one other person in this thread mentioned it so far. The motto, according to JoS, is "home is where the heart is", conceptual and metaphoric for the love that you're taught from birth that you're supposed to feel for your parents, the rest of your family, your hometown, your local sports teams, "be true to your school", all that (as you've already metioned) American Idiocity that we've all been indoctrincated with -- and the promise that that love will be reciprocated. But it's a big fat hurricane of fucking lies -- the reality is that the nuclear family of the 1950s has collapsed. Instead of "Leave it to Beaver" we have single mom working two or three dead-end jobs just to pay the rent and put food on the table while deadbeat dad ran off years ago stiffing mom on the child support -- leaving the children abandoned most of the time with no adult guidance and plenty of opportunity to fuck themselves up. Or worse, we have blissfully ignorant mom running around with her "Brad" of the week leaving her kid to rot on the couch in the same way. The motto says that these people are supposed to care for you and care about you but the reality is "leave me alone, kid, I'm busy." They really don't give a shit. Just spend yourself into oblivion, take your Ritalin, your antidepressants, or whatever the "in" drug of choice is, and do whatever else you need to do to mask the pain, and it'll all be ok, right? The reason I mention this is that the concept of the "motto" comes back to us again in Letterbomb -- "Where have all the riots gone/as the city's motto gets pulverized." Billie is asking us: If this is the real world we live in, why are we being complacent in it? Why haven't we taken to the streets to burn it all the fuck down? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
November's Storms Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 The reason I mention this is that the concept of the "motto" comes back to us again in Letterbomb -- "Where have all the riots gone/as the city's motto gets pulverized." Billie is asking us: If this is the real world we live in, why are we being complacent in it? Why haven't we taken to the streets to burn it all the fuck down? Do you think its the same motto though? I dunno I kinda got the impression that the "home is where the heart is motto" was one he got in the suburbs and that made him leave for the city. The "citys motto gets pulverized" line suggests to me that the city has a different motto. What that motto is I don't know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
November's Storms Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 I guess if you look at it from a different point of view, you could argue that JOS is the most "important" song on the album. Everything that happens after the song is a direct result of and an answer to it, and the conclusions the narrator draws there ultimately end up rejected during Homecoming, followed by Whatsername, where he seems to be (much later in life) regretting that he gave up on his dream and returned to suburbia, confirming and continuing the cycle he identified in JOS as the primary reason he needed to leave it in the first place. Very true but I dunno if I agree with this last part, I never really saw Whatsername as a song of regret, admittedly I haven't delved into it as deeply as some other songs on the album but to me the song has a feeling of contention and it seems very mature. I know this isn't supposed to be a discussion of the American Idiot storyline but with a song like JoS its hard not to bring it up in context with the rest of the album. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bastard of 1967 Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Yeah, I kinda of got the idea that the Letterbomb motto line was referring to a different motto. JOS is the narrator's rebellion against the suburban "home is where the heart is," motto. When he gets to the city, he discovers and adopts a new motto. I think I'm going to stick with my original interpretation that the motto is actually the same in both contexts. In Letterbomb, Whatsername tells the protagonist that "You're not the Jesus of Suburbia/The Saint Jimmy is a figment of/Your father's rage and your mother's love" -- an in-your-face, no-holds-barred callback to JoS and an acknowlegment, recognition, or statement that "just like when you were back in suburbia, the city doesn't give a shit about you either." You didn't belong at home, you sure don't belong here, so you might as well go home because at least you can make do there without destroying yourself in the process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bastard of 1967 Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Next, Bastard, your post has really got me thinking about the meanings of Letterbomb again, and I'm going to revise my position on the two mottos. I now tend to think you're right. "Home is where the heart is," is the only motto dealt with in the story. It's the meaning of it that changes, and dramatically so, throughout the narrative. Initially, it's a term of contempt used by the protagonist to refer to the suburbia he hates, but after the events of Holiday, he comes to love the city life. It's his home now, and he's given his heart to it (despite the trials that will come). The Letterbomb lines now have a different meaning to me as well. As the world is caving in around the protagonist, the motto again is being destroyed, but this time it's being destroyed for and around him instead of by him. Big difference. Whatsername's line is saying what you propose it is, but it's also saying much more subtly that the motto isn't crumbling around the narrator--the city's just not his home. AI for Album of the Month. Please! "It's the meaning of it that changes" -- that was exactly where I was going with my line of thinking. I'm having trouble with the city becoming the protagonist's home or that he's given his heart to it after Holiday though. Quite some time ago I came across an interpretation of Holiday that suggests it was Jesus of Suburbia's first "sermon on the mount" if you will -- a rabble-rousing "look what's really happening while all you fuckups are off having your cute little party" -- except that nobody shows up to listen, or ignores him, or what you will -- essentially, his message falls on deaf ears and he still finds himself hopelessly alone. The storyline collapses into Boulevard of Broken Dreams and Are We the Waiting -- the "hangover" songs on the album. The party's over, I'm still alone, nobody likes me everyone left me they're all out without me having fun, we're all just sitting around biding our time waiting for something to happen. It's out of these desperate and hopeless ashes that the protagonist's St. Jimmy persona is born. So, I suppose St. Jimmy is the exact opposite of loving the city or giving one's heart to it -- or if anything, it's just a very short, short-lived love that quickly devolves into rage (also fitting well with the JoS storyline -- I'm the son of rage and love -- both extremes of the exact same personality). The protagonist finds that even in the city he's still a misfit outcast -- his efforts at "gentle persuasion" to get himself noticed didn't work here -- so he reacts by turning bad-ass disguised as everyone's good time...and he heads out to really fuck shit up. P.S. I think what I love the most about both AI and 21CB is that the songs on both albums can't just be interpreted in a vacuum. You *have* to pay attention to what comes both before and after each song in order to glean everything you can from them -- and I think all the more so with 21CB, it's a more difficult album to get through for that exact reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noy Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 that one of my fav its so amazing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvgirlcl Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Um, by the way, there's a strong case that could be made for the protagonist suffering from dissociative identity disorder--also known as split personalities. The first evidence of this comes in the first line of JOS, where he references himself as the son of rage and love. I've always thought of the protagonist as having a strong subplot of genuine mental health issues much more severe than the ADHD his family uses to excuse his actions. Jesus of Suburbia is the "love" identity that his mind forms to try and free people from their Idiocy. When the Jesus of Suburbia realizes that he's failed, he goes back into a deep depression and rejects the world around him, becoming more embroiled by rage until a new identity is formed--the badass St. Jimmy, who is constantly in conflict with the Jesus of Suburbia identity until Whatsername calls the protagonist on both counts and, in a roundabout way, finally forces him to get the help he needs. If this guy were real, he'd have a book written about him by a psychologist--there's evidence of split personalities, paranoid schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. This is actually one of the 'theories' I've most gotten behind, starting from the fact that he says he's the son of rage and love, and I've always seen St. Jimmy as a bit of the little red devil on your shoulder, so, character wise, one could even say that St. Jimmy appears, although in a very vague way from JOS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bastard of 1967 Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 The difference is that the protagonist never gives up on the city, or sets out with a desire to burn it down, as he did in suburbia. He just manages to royally fuck everything up by mistake. I don't think he ever fully rejected the city in the way he did suburbia, even in Homecoming when he chooses to return, well, "home." Good observation - I think that's well supported in the lyrics and I can concur with that. I also agree that JoS is one fucked up little dude before, during, and perhaps after the story. Anyone who has struggled with an inner conflict or addiction can find something in his character to identify with, and I think that's one big reason why the Broadway adaptation of the album has turned out to be as compelling as it is. And yet by Billie's own admission so much of the album and the character is autobiographical -- so I think what he's done from a creative perspective is underscored, boldfaced, highlighted the extremes of his own personality. What we see of Billiie publicly are the parts that are capable of writing deep, emotional love songs like Last Night on Earth and When It's Time, or giving the fans that "kid in a candy store" grin when he's on stage and sharing a time of his life with us..... then there are the parts that are capable of hurling a broken guitar across a stage in a momentary fit of rage or, when seeing how many people in the pit are filming him with their smartphones all at the same time instead of enjoying the moment, wishing out loud that Steve Jobs would finally die of pancreatic cancer. I suppose Billie, like other great artists that share the same urge to create, can wear his emotions on his sleeve and we see the raw edges of them from time to time. Those edges are what's bundled into songs like Jesus of Suburbia. And -- I'm thankful that over time he (unlike the character he created) was able to learn ways to mostly keep those emotions under his control. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
localinsomniac Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 The first time I listened to the song, it was on the first play through the album. I was driving from work straight to my girlfriend's college an hour and a half away. This was on release day. In the car, alone, on a practically deserted stretch of highway with the radio as loud as it could get...made me feel as though these songs and I were the only things that existed in the world, in the moment. I had no idea what to expect when American Idiot ended so abruptly, but I couldn't WAIT to find out. What happened after that was inspiring. I'd gotten to used to Green Day songs following a sort of pattern; suffice it to say, they were pretty predictable. That's fine by me, man. It makes it easier to learn to play and sing along to them. But this song - I knew it immediately - was something special. I got lost in it. It was so beautifully, almost indescribably breathtaking, not knowing where the song was going or when it would end. The thing I remember most vividly was thinking it was over at "...tales from another broken...," and being oh so wrong. That crash into the outro elicited a loud, orgasm-like "AWWNGH." It gave me goosebumps! They had done it. I was obsessed, 12 minutes into an hour-long album. Those magnificent bastards. I still try to relive that moment every time I listen to the song. What an experience. What a song. What an album. What. A fucking. Band. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
November's Storms Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 I love this thread. Um, by the way, there's a strong case that could be made for the protagonist suffering from dissociative identity disorder--also known as split personalities. The first evidence of this comes in the first line of JOS, where he references himself as the son of rage and love. I've always thought of the protagonist as having a strong subplot of genuine mental health issues much more severe than the ADHD his family uses to excuse his actions. Jesus of Suburbia is the "love" identity that his mind forms to try and free people from their Idiocy. When the Jesus of Suburbia realizes that he's failed, he goes back into a deep depression and rejects the world around him, becoming more embroiled by rage until a new identity is formed--the badass St. Jimmy, who is constantly in conflict with the Jesus of Suburbia identity until Whatsername calls the protagonist on both counts and, in a roundabout way, finally forces him to get the help he needs. If this guy were real, he'd have a book written about him by a psychologist--there's evidence of split personalities, paranoid schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. There really is something to be said for that point of view. Billie almost hints at it during an interview before playing Homecoming too http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iijIP5mFbek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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