Then to give American Idiot its props, I decided to try to learn Give Me Novacaine on guitar today. I always thought it was a very good song but I appreciate it much more now. Deceptively simple, yet powerful. The melody is so so beautiful. Never in a million years would I pull that gorgeous intro out of just a few chords. Playing music has deepened my connection to (especially) Green Day’s songs in a way that I really didn’t think was possible. A bright spot in dark times.