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Green Day’s ‘American Idiot’ Turns 20: All the Songs Ranked


Green Day's 'American Idiot': Songs ranked worst to best on the classic 2004 album.

It’s fair to say that a trio of potty-mouthed Californian punks with tracks named “Geek Stink Breath,” “Platypus (I Hate You)” and “Dominated Love Slave” in their back catalog wouldn’t have been the prime candidates to record an era-defining blockbuster famous for holding truth to power. “Letterbomb” does get a few cool points, however, for having riot grrrl pioneer Kathleen Hanna voice Whatsername’s kiss-off (“Nobody likes you/Everyone left you”) which suggests that the saga’s only female character is also the most brutally honest. Those who grew up watching Green Day playing snotty-nosed punk on the toilet circuit may well have balked at the oddly titled “Are We the Waiting,” the kind of rock ballad that sounds tailor made for waving lighters in a multi-purpose arena.

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