In 1984, Husker Du released their acclaimed double-album Zen Arcade. At 23 songs long, the lyrics string together to vaguely tell the story of a young man’s journey to run away from a terrible childhood, finding himself and seeing the true harshness of the outside world. It’s a great record, and not just because Husker Du were a great band. Rather, it’s because the guys of the Du took the idea of the concept album, a traditionally over-bloated and stupid idea hearkening back to the days of rock’s “embarrassing years” (as I like to call everything after the Beatles), and made it work.

Sure, it tells a story through the music and lyrics, and tries to embody a certain theme in this storytelling. In Zen Arcade’s case, its self-discovery, acceptance of one’s own sexual identity, and the general confusion teenagers feel in their lives, trying to figure out exactly what it is they want to do with their lives. However, this is still a far cry from Styx’s 1983 “opus” (or goddamn disaster) Kilroy Was Here and “Mr. Roboto”, supposedly about a post-apocalyptic future where music has been banned. Just what is the stigma of the concept album? Traditionally, music in general has been seen as a natural extension of the role of the storyteller in society. Why couldn’t an album of songs be used to tell a story like a book, a movie, or a play does?

Probably because then, you usually get something like Kilroy…, or my personal favorite, KISS’s Music From “The Elder”, a concept soundtrack meant to accompany a fantasy film starring the members of KISS. That’s right, KISS. You heard me. As an attempt to make a “credible” mark on the music industry for the members of KISS, the album failed miserably. Instead, what you got was perhaps the archetype of the concept album; a concept so fucking ridiculous that it only made sense to the people who thought it up. Music From “The Elder” was perhaps KISS’s worst-selling albums, and that “fantasy film” never got beyond the cocktail napkin it was scrawled on after the sales for this album came in.

2004. Green Day return to the spotlight after the somewhat commercial failure (but critically-acclaimed and one of my favorite albums) Warning, with American Idiot, a self-proclaimed “rock opera”. Similar to Zen Arcade (Billie Joe of Green Day is an admitted Husker Du fan), American Idiot tells the “story” of a young character’s travels through life, love, friendships, and homecoming. Known by no real name by referred to as “J”, or the Jesus of Suburbia, the character’s story was a Grammy winner and a commercial darling for Green Day, pushing them into a spotlight they hadn’t seen since their third album and “breakout” Dookie.

American Idiot is a great record. It has solid songs that are undeniably catchy, and the story itself is an interesting concept in general for a band to try. Now, that being said, ever since the release of American Idiot, punk rock and independent music seems like it’s been practically overrun with “concept” albums. The band Gatsby’s American Dream, in 2005, released their album Volcano, described as a thematic concept album about the volcano at Pompeii. Just this year, renowned New Jersey ska band Catch-22 released Permanent Revolution, which according to the band, is a concept album based on the life of Leon Trotsky.

I’m sorry, what? Pompeii? Leon Trotsky? What happened to teenagers finding themselves? What happened to not taking yourself too seriously? Whatever happened to an album of eleven to fourteen songs that didn’t necessarily have to have some sort of interconnecting theme or story to them, and were simply released for the joy of making music? Ever since the release of American Idiot, the idea of the concept album for underground artists looks better and better. It’s the 70’s all over again, with every Boston and Styx and KISS clone (this time Green Day clones) churning out more and more carbon copies of the same basic album (then the Beetles’ Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, now American Idiot).

It’s just one more reminder of the inherently parasitic attitudes in independent music these days, when more and more people realize that, with the right album, they can break into the big-time. And rather than produce, if not totally original, then at least honestly personal albums, bands would rather mimic popular trends in hopes of having the key demographics embrace them and propel them too the top. Zen Arcade was Husker Du’s attempt to push themselves out of the “hardcore” genre with heartfelt songs that were longer than 2 minutes and incorporated a variety of styles. American Idiot was Green Day’s big comeback and attempts to experiment with more than just a three-piece punk band who sang songs about being a deadbeat teenager or masturbation. Somehow, every other “themed” album buy an independent artist seems more like a direct result of trying to mimic Green Day’s success with the concept, rather than a genuine feeling that their idea is a story that needs to be told.

Tags: essay //