As it nears its first birthday, Green Day's punk rock opera "American Idiot" continues to earn its creators new levels of adulation. The videos for the No. 1 Billboard Modern Rock chart hits "American Idiot" and "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" earned a leading eight nominations for the MTV Video Music Awards, and the band will continue to plug the album on a North American tour that runs through early October.
But isn't the group tired of "American Idiot," which has sold 3.8 million copies in the United States, even just a little? "No," frontman Billie Joe Armstrong tells Billboard.com without hesitation. "I was just listening to the record today, to tell you the truth [laughs]. I'm really proud of this record. Because there's so much content in it, I think that's why it still has legs."
The MTV-nominated clips were collaborations with director Samuel Bayer, with whom Green Day had not previously worked. Armstrong confirms the group is still mulling turning the album into a film, but cautions, "There's a lot of strange people out there in Hollywood, so we have to stick to our guns. We want to have control over everything that's on the album. If we're going to look at a film, we have to think of it the same way as how important the record is to us."
After the North American tour wraps, Armstrong says Green Day may play stadium gigs in Australia and/or South America. "I'd love to play Russia and Cuba -- places rock shows don't normally go," he says. "After that, we'll end up sitting around and chatting about what is going to be the next album."
But Armstrong has a head start as far as that's concerned, admitting he has "about 15 new songs" in the hopper already. "Right now, it's that no-pressure/fun stage of just getting on a four-track and coming up with some goofy stuff," he says. "Eventually, something sort of unfolds. It's exciting. The juices are always flowing."
But isn't the group tired of "American Idiot," which has sold 3.8 million copies in the United States, even just a little? "No," frontman Billie Joe Armstrong tells Billboard.com without hesitation. "I was just listening to the record today, to tell you the truth [laughs]. I'm really proud of this record. Because there's so much content in it, I think that's why it still has legs."
The MTV-nominated clips were collaborations with director Samuel Bayer, with whom Green Day had not previously worked. Armstrong confirms the group is still mulling turning the album into a film, but cautions, "There's a lot of strange people out there in Hollywood, so we have to stick to our guns. We want to have control over everything that's on the album. If we're going to look at a film, we have to think of it the same way as how important the record is to us."
After the North American tour wraps, Armstrong says Green Day may play stadium gigs in Australia and/or South America. "I'd love to play Russia and Cuba -- places rock shows don't normally go," he says. "After that, we'll end up sitting around and chatting about what is going to be the next album."
But Armstrong has a head start as far as that's concerned, admitting he has "about 15 new songs" in the hopper already. "Right now, it's that no-pressure/fun stage of just getting on a four-track and coming up with some goofy stuff," he says. "Eventually, something sort of unfolds. It's exciting. The juices are always flowing."
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