It has been more than 15 years since Green Day released their decade-defining concept album, American Idiot. The album hit number two on the New Zealand charts shortly after my 16th birthday and I had it on repeat for years to come.
With 9/11 still fresh in our memories, the Iraq War dominating headlines and a growing neopunk subculture at our high school, American Idiot was THE album to own. I never fully embraced all of punk's sensibilities and the obsession with not "selling out" at our decile 9 Orewa College seemed rather senseless - especially while living in Helen Clark's New Zealand and wearing a school uniform.
That aside, the album's anti-war lyrics struck a chord with me, and lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong was our Greta Thunberg for the George Bush era. American Idiot won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Album and recently celebrated 10 years as a musical. This deliciously vulgar rock opera perfectly translates to the stage and is now playing at The Civic in Auckland.