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Letterbomb!


J'net

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So so good, and Rebecca just elevates it to a new level.

I'm a moron, for years, apparently I didn't look close enough at my liner notes, I thought the lyrics were "the TELEVISION'S an extortionist" :lol: but tbh it kind of works too...

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OMFG thanks for having this SOTW!!!

this is one of the best green day songs ever written.

it's my favourite too!!!

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I fell in love with Letterbomb all over again when I saw the show. It makes so much more sense in the context of the musical.

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SO STRIKE THE FUCKING MATCH TO LIGHT THIS FUSE!!

i love that part :wub: :wub: :wub:

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YES. YES. YES. YES. YES!!!!!!!!!!!!

"You're not the Jesus of Suburbia!

The St. Jimmy is a figment of

Your father's rage and your mother's love -

Made me the idiot America!"

I've always felt like this part of Letterbomb makes the album completely. It just makes me feel something along the lines of fury, excitement and incomprehensible love that I can't describe.

I just kind of want to leap with joy right about now. :happy:

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whatsername is such a lovely song :wub:

one of my favorites off american idiot!

the lyrics and the music are so powerful!

I never get tired of playing or listening to this song :wub:

Song of the week is Letterbomb?

I remember when I first listened to American Idiot the album that this song was on repeat.

Although Whatsername is my favourite song, this comes in pretty close/.

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I must confess, I'd never listened to or seen a live recording of this song before I opened this thread. But I think I just died a little watching the second video :wub:

For some reason, this was one of those songs that I was indifferent to for a good while, and then one day it just jumped out at me while I was listening and said HELLO I'M AMAZING! or something like that haha. It might have been the "Where will all the martyrs go when the virus cures itself..." part.

Anyway, I adore Letterbomb, my favourite on American Idiot (I think) and definitely among my all time favourite Green Day songs :)

That. was. amazing. =)

I especially liked this note "In this respect, Letterbomb serves as the opposing "bookend" to the American Idiot title track itself -- whereas American Idiot lays down what our protagonist aspires not to be, Letterbomb exposes him for who he really is."

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There's a lot of things going on in this blazing, beautiful song. I remember thinking that the only thing that construes this as coming from Whatsername is the 'Dear J' in the lyrics book- even that is ambiguous, because 'Dear J' could just as easily be JOS writing to himself -

i wouldn't think it was JOS who wrote the letter / talking to himself.

the handwriting is of Whatsername, same with her writing on Extraordinary Girl as she talked with Jimmy.

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:wub:

Possibly my favourite song of AI, I love how

"You're not the Jesus of Suburbia!

The St. Jimmy is a figment of

Your father's rage and your mother's love -

Made me the idiot America!"

pretty much ties up the whole album.

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It's an amazing song. I love it :wub:

"You better run for your fucking life."and

"You're not the Jesus of Suburbia!

The St. Jimmy is a figment of

Your father's rage and your mother's love -

Made me the idiot America!"

:wub:

OMG, the lyrics are so epic...

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if i had to choose a favorite song from the AI album, it would be this.

it makes listening to the album so worth it, i love the energy and the way it weaves into the storyline.

its also my favorite from the Musical, i wish i could see it!

this song keeps me grounded, "you're not the Jesus of Suburbia",

it's like a wake-up slap to the face telling me to snap out of adolecent angst

and to take out the "flunkies" and losers and light a fire under my own ass.

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Without a doubt, my favourite song from American Idiot.... I listen to that album, excited about when this song is coming up.

It's so powerful musically, from the thumping drums in the intro, to the octave chord run during the "Don't look back" line, there is something in every part of this song which sends tingles down my spine.

Lyrically too, it's so poignant "This city's burnin, it's not my burden" it's definitely a song that speaks of inner turmoil and to me. A person fighting against their own pre-conceptions of what they've been led to believe over what they believe to be right?

Letterbomb, a shock to the system, a note designed to wake up the sense of morality that's been dormant within someone due to the apathy and jaded feeling created by the worlds apparent lack of empathy or ethics. It really sounds schizophrenic at times, "The town bishop's an extortionist, and he don't even know that you exist" one voice saying that the worlds corrupt and you can't change anything, you don't matter, then the next line "Stand still when it's do or Die" a second voice exclaiming the need to stand firm, aaaah i could go on but i'm on my coffee break! I'm probably talking poop anyway.

But yeah, what a song man.

Billie's favourite from A.I too :-)

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i wouldn't think it was JOS who wrote the letter / talking to himself.

the handwriting is of Whatsername, same with her writing on Extraordinary Girl as she talked with Jimmy.

I think that a lot of Billie Joe's lyrics can be interpreted in multiple ways depending on what your starting point or your frame of reference is. Frame the song one way and you get one result, frame it a different way and it leads you someplace completely different and even unexpected.

If you look at Letterbomb from the "CD booklet" (heck, even the new musical's) perspective -- Whatsername writing a scathing kiss-off letter to Jesus/Jimmy -- you hit some of the points I raised earlier in this thread. Dump the gloss that the booklet adds and focus on the lyrics -- just the lyrics -- and I think Angeline's view of Jesus as basically flagellating himself in this song is absolutely valid...and we arrive at an alternative view of Letterbomb that establishes it as the beginning of Jesus' cry for help.

I'm probably talking poop anyway.

You ain't...that was wonderful. Welcome to GDC by the way!

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I know it's been mentioned, but I see it as being a letter written to JOS by Whatsername, right up until the "Made me the idiot America" which then switches to JOS' POV. (His 'father's rage and his mother's love made him the idiot America'; she says the first bit, he comes to the next conclusion). I got this from the lyric booklet, how that bit looks like an add on of the letter, like someone else has written it on the side of the page. (From what I can remember, it's been a while since I looked at it). And Billie said this song was always meant to come from a woman's POV.

I don't think you could find a more important Green Day track.

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i tend to think things through as I'm saying them to be honest, but just thinking now about whether this is a self flagellation or a warning from whatshername,,, the last lines "She said I can't take this place I'm leaving it behind, she said I can't take this town, I'm leaving you tonight"

I think the whole song is, as I've previously alluded to a letter to himself, a last attempt at clawing back the humanity that's been knocked out of him, the realisation that unless he gets himself of the path of nihilsm/apathy then he'll have nothing in his life to be proud of, and the one person he cares about more than anything will disappear.

Thinking of it it terms of the "story", i like to think of JOS/St Jimmy reading a letter left by whatshername, telling him/them of their failings or the the things she can't live with and at the end of the letter saying "I can't take this town, I'm leaving you tonight".

So the song, I think, is more about the reaction to the letter than being the actual letter itself?

Remember, Billie had (unfortunately) quite well known troubles with his marriage a while ago (I fuckin hate talkin about this shit to be fair, privacy should be just that, but in the context of the song it's kinda poignant), the dynamic between the characters in this song, the ultimatum, it kinda mirrors those relationship troubles possibly?

This song has always seemed to be one of the most personal in the album, probably why i like it a lot, it's the way he sings it man.

Also, when you think of this song and then think of the song whatshername, it kinda hits as pretty sucky that JOS didn't get his girl back.... How very 500 days of summer :-(

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@ the whole it being a letter from the JOS thing: sorry for being a nitpicking smart-ass, but Billie said in one of the interviews about the musical something like "this song was always meant to be from a woman's perspective". Not saying that that rules out the possibility or it being a letter from the JOS(would be kind of hypocrite, seeing the rest of my post), but yeah... just wanted to throw it in :)

It is a interesting way of looking at the song, though.

What I also find interesting is that they started the letter with "Dear J". It could be just as well addressed to St. Jimmy instead of the JOS. In that scenario, it would most likely be a letter from the JOS to St. Jimmy. I guess it would be kind of a letter telling St. Jimmy what happened to whatever he promised to do, that he didn't do anything, and that he's mad at him for that. (and the part from "Made me the idiot America" - which isn't the letter anymore - could be reflecting on everything and on what happened after the letter, or something like that).

Although that is kind of a rusty one (and sorry for the weird way of telling it - I can't quite find a more clear way to describe it). And unconsciously I keep switching Christian from 21stCB up with St. Jimmy, so it might not make a whole lot of sense.

by the way I really liked the reviews (I'm too lazy to quote) so far :happy:

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OMG Letterbomb :wub:

There's nothing left to analyze.

:wub:

I love the musical version, I wish I could see it live...

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probably got the best lyrics in AI.

i remember hearing this song for the 1st time and i was like holy shit thats good

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i love this song :D Its fun to play on guitar (and easy too like many green day songs :P ) Haha i edited out the woman singing at the beginning because it feels shes insulting me instead :(:lol: but also because its not even part of the song

I believe it was my first non-single Green Day song I liked...

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my fav from american idiot.

It's not over 'till you're underground

It's not over before it's too late - probably my fav lines :wub:

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:woot:

Yay! This is probably my favorite song off of American Idiot.

This part of the song is my absolute favorite:

"You're not the Jesus of Suburbia!

The St. Jimmy is a figment of

Your father's rage and your mother's love -

Made me the idiot America!"

<3

I agree ! <3

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