"Boulevard of Broken of Broken Dreams" by Green Day, March 3, 2021

Green Day is one of the most influential bands to the bands that I like. Most influential music stays in the past; however, with their release of American Idiot, a concept album or punk rock opera about a teenager dealing with American life, Green Day saw new heights in their career. "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" was the band's biggest hit, and this album transformed the punk rock trio into something more versatile than the same three chords indicative of the genre. American Idiot was the quintessential album to have in your collection when I was in high school, and "Boulevard" was one of the coolest pop song on the radio. So sticking with the theme of emotional turbulence, I nominate this song for the day as it unleashes my high school memories.

DON'T KNOW WHERE IT GOES. If The Beatles are the first day of school of rock music, Green Day is rock's retirement party. Seriously, if you check out YouTube nostalgia lists of top songs of the year, "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" is close to one of the last ones played. Sure, you have Coldplay and Imagine Dragons, but Green Day is one of the last groups that adheres to the traditional rock sound of electric guitars, bass, and drums. Yet while the genre may be aging, when I look back at this album, it still rings true lyrically. As I've said before, I bought into Republican arguments when I was in high school, so I had a love-hate relationship with this album. On the one hand, the album was an obvious jab at American Idol, which was still a successful reality show. It was clearly satirical and used metaphor to address real issues in my teenage world. America was spending so much money in a war that seemed hopeless, even to many conservatives. George W. Bush had garnered so much disrespect around the world, and every year a little bit more of the Republican narrative was becoming harder to believe. Yet, this album was a clear attack by the liberals trying to make our society more and more Godless, I thought. I grew annoyed with the liberal media attacking traditional values. How dare Coldplay's Chris Martin stand up at the Grammy's and say "May your next president be John Kerry." You're not American, so stop influencing our elections. That was my thought back then.

READ BETWEEN THE LINES. Everyone agrees that America is messed up. The problem is no one can agree what is messed up about it. Living abroad makes me look at my conservative ideas that I got from my upbringing and shake my head. I've seen too many American idiocies, and I have to explain them to my students. And then there's the shame of being a cultural ambassador for my country that was lead by a bigot who openly only cares about how much money he can extort from the country I live in. I get a little nauseous whenever I meet American Idiots living abroad, who spout racism and have no empathy for those seeking a better life in my country, which was supposed to be the country of immigrants. If you meet too many American idiots, the natural progression is to wander the Boulevard of Broken Dreams. And it does feel lonely, like the world has gone crazy or you have. Still, I feel a little guilty after how I dismissed Chris Martin's speech in high school. I don't live there. Why should I have an opinion?