Not to mention that it was on this day in 1776 that the Continental Congress declared independence from Great Britain, however, the Declaration of Independence wasn’t adopted until July 4. I already knew that little fun fact, seriously. So, just make your 4th of July festivities start two days earlier.

Anyways, “American Idiot” was the first single from the album of the same name , released on September 14, 2004. It’s a great in your face track that helped re-spark Green Day’s career. It would also land the number one spot on Billboard’s Modern Rock Tracks.

I think the theme behind this song is pretty obvious, as if the title didn’t give it away. It’s still a great track to remind us during this time of year that we have the freedom to express ourselves. Let’s not forget that.

Here’s the video, which was directed by Samuel Bayer, who directed all the videos for American Idiot. Oh yeah, he also directed the video for a little number entitled “Smells Like Teen Spirit”.

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“Nice Guys Finish Last” was the first track off of 1997’s Nimrod, which happened to be the band’s fifth studio album. The track also appeared on Green Day’s 2001 greatest hits compilation International Superhits! and was also used in the James Van Der Beek classic Varsity Blues.

The song was already cool, but make a hysterical video that parody’s football, well then you’ve got gold baby!

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Frontman Billie Joe Armstrong told Rolling Stone in October that the band has already written around 45 songs for the new album; and I can’t wait to hear them, it’s already been over three years since American Idiot !

As of now, there is no release date, but stay tuned when more info is announced.

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I’m sure almost everyone has heard at least “American Idiot” and “Boulevard of Broken Dreams”, but the album has so much more, like the 9 minute plus “Jesus of Suburbia/City of the Damned/I Don’t Care/Dearly Beloved/Tales of Another Broken Home” melody.

With the addition of the other great singles “Holiday” and “Wake Me Up When September Ends”, another 9 minute melody and other rockers such as “She’s A Rebel” and “St. Jimmy” the album becomes a thrilling roller coaster ride that tackles all the corporate and political problems in America right now. American Idiot needs to be placed in a time capsule for future generations to hear and then feel what it was like during this strange period in America.

Simply put, three years after it’s release, American Idiot still sounds fresh and relevant.

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• There seem to be 2 theories about how the band got their name, but both include smoking an illegal substance. The first theory is that the term “green day” is a Bay Area term used to describe a day spent smoking pot. The second theory is that, while stoned, the guys heard Ernie say “green day” on Sesame Street and they like the name. Remember that there was a stuffed Ernie on the back cover of Dookie? So maybe there is some truth the Sesame Street theory.
• The origins of Green Day began with a band called Sweet Children in 1987. Sweet Children included childhood friends Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt and drummer Al Sobrante. The band would later change their name to Green Day in 1990.
• Jeff Kiffmeyer, aka Al Sobrante, was Green Day’s original drummer. He left the band to go back to school before the guys hit it big.
• Frank Edwin Wright III, aka Tre Cool, joined Green Day in 1990.
• Green Day were signed to Lookout! Records in 1989.
• The band’s second album, Kerplunk!, contains the original version of “Welcome to Paradise” and also songs from a Sweet Children EP at the end.
•  The band’s major label debut, Dookie, wanted to be originally entitled Liquid Dookie.
• The song J.A.R. stands for Jason Andrew Relva, a friend of the band who passed away. It can be found on the Angus soundtrack.
• 1995’s Insomniac was going to be called Tightwad Hill, but was changed after artist Winston Smith (who designed the cover) said that he was an insomniac after completing the piece for the band. It also fit the state that Billie Joe was in, because he had a new born son keeping him up.
• “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)”, from 1997’s Nimrod, was written before the release of Dookie and was catapulted into success when it was used during the Seinfeld clip show finale.
• The song “Minority” was Green Day’s fastest chart topping single, from 2000’s Warning.
• A cover of The Ramones “Outsider” was a B-side for Warning. It would appear on The Ramones tribute album We’re A Happy Familyand Green Day’s album of rarities Shenanigans.
• In 2003, Green Day recorded an album rumored to be entitled Cigarettes and Valentines. Unfortunately, the master tapes were stolen and the band moved on to a concept album called American Idiot.
• On September 14, 2004 Green Day released their 7th studio album, American Idiot, it would go on to land the No. 1 spot on the Billboard charts.
• The song “American Idiot” appeared in the video game Madden 2005.
• Samuel Bayer (the director behind Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit, Blind Melon’s “No Rain” and The Smashing Pumpkins’ “Bullet With Butterfly Wings”) directed all of the American Idiot music videos (“American Idiot”, “Boulevard of Broken Dreams”, “Holiday”, “Wake Me Up When September Ends” and “Jesus of Suburbia”). He also directed the band’s live DVD Bullet in a Bible and Green Day’s video for “Working Class Hero”.

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