Hermione Posted May 18, 2011 Posted May 18, 2011 Well American Idiot actually HAS a story whereas 21st CB has characters but no real storyline that you could follow. One is a rock opera with a storyline and one isn't, two different things. Both make excellent use of characters to express ideas and feelings in the songs but only American Idiot tells a proper story with the characters.
-Billiejoezee- Posted May 18, 2011 Posted May 18, 2011 There was actually a thread similar to this that I made...
TheSaltOfTheEarth Posted May 18, 2011 Posted May 18, 2011 Yeah I was just going to say I remember posting in a thread like this a few months ago or something. I'm not rewriting all of that, but bottom line is I think American Idiot has a better, more comprehensive and interesting storyline whereas the characters of 21st Century Breakdown feel slightly more in-depth to me compared to American Idiot (just the albums, the musical fleshed out everything wonderfully).
Red Lights Flash Posted May 18, 2011 Posted May 18, 2011 I've listened to the entire 21stCB album for like a hundred times, and I still haven't found a real story in there. So either there is none, or that part of the plan kinda failed. The American Idiot story caught me from the first lines and is really deep. I love it.
radiofriendlyunitshifter Posted May 18, 2011 Posted May 18, 2011 American Idiot, because I actually kinda know what's happenning.
Hermione Posted May 18, 2011 Posted May 18, 2011 Even though I don't think of 21st CB as a story that doesn't take away from the album at all, I must add! I agree with TheSaltOfTheEarth that the characters seem more in depth, I think the whole album is more in depth. All the ideas in the songs are explored to the fullest, they just didn't happen to use a storyline to do it that time. The band didn't 'fail' to get a clear story across, they just chose to take a different approach with that album.
justcause Posted May 18, 2011 Posted May 18, 2011 The interesting thing is how the stories mirror each other - both about journeys of one kind or another, both featuring a powerful female figure. You could say that Whatsername is 'real' and Gloria is something else, but Whatsername in her Whatsername song is 'a symbol' - that she pointedly doesn't have a name gives her a mythic quality. Whatsername is a rebel and a saint and the salt of the earth - all of these qualities are in Gloria, and more. I feel like the retrospective of AI looks to Whatsername not only in the sense of 'who I loved', but also 'why I loved' - these things that JOS was seeking in himself. In 21CB, she's found as Gloria - constantly present, constantly challenging and seeking to be voiced.
Kristen M Posted May 19, 2011 Posted May 19, 2011 American Idiot no contest. I love how the musical took songs from 21CB and used them to strengthen the storyline of AI though
pasalaska Posted May 19, 2011 Posted May 19, 2011 American Idiot. 21CB does have a story, but it's less complete. It's more like snapshots over time of Christian and Gloria's lives, and it's more about their personal lives and emotions, rather than an 'adventure' like AI is. Plus, stories of escaping home, I love.
fadi_7 Posted May 19, 2011 Posted May 19, 2011 i love the story in AI more but the songs are better in 21stCB
AwesomeAsFudge Posted May 19, 2011 Posted May 19, 2011 ADDICTED TO AMERICAN IDIOT in both story and music i don't care that much about the story, but i liked st.Jimmy somehow i would like to know the story of 21stCB i guess it would be amazing story, maybe even better than AI =)
Punx89 Posted May 19, 2011 Posted May 19, 2011 American Idiot.The best album and story in the history.
JuliaX_Ray2020 Posted May 19, 2011 Posted May 19, 2011 I prefer american idiot, 'cause I would say in 21st CB every song has his own story and in american idiot all songs make one story
littlegirl-of-suburbia Posted May 21, 2011 Posted May 21, 2011 I would say American Idiot because the story is more defined and I find the message stronger and 21CB seems to be a sort of sequel to American Idiot (story wise)
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