Part punk rock, part melodic pop, Green Day's 2004 release American Idiot was one of the defining albums of its era.
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And their look was equally distinctive.
Queanbeyan Players is bringing both to vivid life on stage with the Canberra region premiere of American Idiot.
The major source for the musical, Green Day's album American Idiot, came out 20 years ago. But it's lost none of its potency.
American Idiot's blend of punk, pop lyricism and political messaging spoke to many - especially young people - in 2004.
And it's no less relevant today.
In American Songwriter in 2022, the band's front man, Billie Joe Armstrong, said, "I would never think of American Idiot as being about the Bush administration specifically. It's about the confusion of where we're at right now."
Bassist Mike Dirnt added, "The world's in a confused state. I'm pissed off, and I'm angry, and I feel like I'm not fully represented."
Sound familiar?
The 2010 rock musical American Idiot - told mostly through the songs - fleshed out the album's characters and added some other Green Day numbers.
Its story focuses on three disaffected young men - Johnny (John Whinfield), Will (Zac Izzard) and Tunny (Darcy Kinsella) - who are living a stifling suburban life with their parents. Johnny and Tully head off to the city in search of something more while Will stays behind with his pregnant girlfriend Heather (India Cornwell). But the city isn't all the adventurous twosome hoped it would be and their lives take some unexpected turns.
The Queanbeyan production's co-music director and drummer, Jen Hinton, was 17 when American Idiot came out in 2004.
It was a turbulent time - "9/11, the London bombing, the Bali bombing, Islamophobia, homophobia" - and the album reflected this unrest and uncertainty.
"People were feeling so helpless [and] not being listened to," Hinton said.
But it wasn't all bleak. There was plenty of music - Blink 182, Good Charlotte and Paramore and much more.
Green Day itself had multiple influences, Hinton said - The Beatles and '80s punk among them - and there was a lot of craftsmanship in their music.
"Their songs are well structured and have great melodies," Hinton said.
Fashions of the period like Doc Martens, striped socks, and butterfly clips are highlighted in the production and the cast members - some of whom weren't even born when the album came out - have enjoyed discovering, or rediscovering, the past. And it probably won't remain the past. Hinton noted that every 20 years or so, things come around again.
"Everyone's having a bit of fun reviving the '90s. The early 2000s are starting to make a bit of a comeback as well," the drummer said.
Hinton said American Idiot should have particular appeal to Generation Xers and Millennials who remembered the era. And younger people could still relate to the story.
"Teenagerdom doesn't really change that much," Hinton said.
American Idiot is on at the Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre from June 20 to 29. Haze effects, coarse language, adult themes. Recommended for ages 15+. See: theq.net.au
