"J.A.R." is a song by the American rock band

Green Day Green Day is an American rock band formed in the East Bay of California in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, together with bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt. For most of the band's career, they have been a ...

. The song was a previously unreleased track from the ''

Dookie ''Dookie'' is the third studio album and the major label debut by American rock band Green Day, released on February 1, 1994, by Reprise Records. The band's first collaboration with producer Rob Cavallo, it was recorded in late 1993 at Fantasy ...

'' sessions but it was later featured on the soundtrack to the movie ''

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'' in 1995. In August 1995, the song reached number one on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Modern Rock Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. Radio format Mod ...

Tracks chart and spent 16 weeks on it. The song peaked at number 22 on the

Hot 100 Airplay The Radio Songs chart (previously named Hot 100 Airplay until 2014 and Top 40 Radio Monitor until 1991) is released weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and measures the airplay of songs being played on radio stations throughout the United States acro ...

chart. The song was featured as the eighth track on Green Day's 2001 greatest hits collection ''

International Superhits! ''International Superhits!'' is the first greatest hits album by American rock band Green Day, released November 13, 2001, through Reprise Records. It collects all of the band's singles released between 1994 and 2000 as well as a rerecording of ...

'', and on their 2011 live album ''

Awesome as Fuck ''Awesome as Fuck'' (marketed as ''Awesome as F**k'', ''Awesome as ****'', or ''Awesome: Live'') is a live album by American rock band Green Day, released on March 22, 2011, by Reprise Records. The album is composed of tracks recorded during ...

''.

Background

The acronym stands for 'Jason Andrew Relva', a childhood friend of Green Day bassist

Mike Dirnt Michael Ryan Pritchard (born May 4, 1972), better known by his stage name Mike Dirnt, is an American rock musician who is the co-founder, bassist, backing and occasional lead vocalist, and former guitarist of Green Day. He has also played in seve ...

. Jason Relva was born on November 16, 1972, and died at the age of 19 on April 18, 1992, as the result of injuries sustained from a car accident. Mike Dirnt wrote the song in remembrance of him. Jason Relva is thanked in the liner notes of '' 1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours'' and '' Kerplunk''.

Track listing

Vinyl Box Set

Chart positions

Reception

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, f ...

listed "J.A.R." as the ninth best Green Day song, commenting "It's a winner in its own right, and in a sense, its bubbling bass, buzzing chord crashes, and Tre Cool's killer chorus drum beat is the Platonic ideal of a Green Day song." Both

Mark Hoppus Mark Allan Hoppus (born March 15, 1972) is an American musician, songwriter and record producer best known as the bassist and co-lead vocalist for the rock band Blink-182, being the only constant member and the only one to appear on every album. ...

blink-182 Blink-182 (stylized as blink-182) is an American rock band formed in Poway, California in 1992. Their current lineup consists of bassist/vocalist Mark Hoppus, guitarist/vocalist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker. Though their sound has ...

and Chris DeMakes of

Less Than Jake Less Than Jake is an American ska punk band from Gainesville, Florida, formed in 1992. The band consists of Chris DeMakes (guitars, vocals), Roger Lima (bass, vocals), Matt Yonker (drums), Buddy Schaub (trombone), and Peter "JR" Wasilewski (saxoph ...

rated "J.A.R." as their favorite Green Day song. Hoppus stated that the opening guitar riff of the blink-182 song " What's My Age Again?" was created by him trying and failing to play the opening bass riff of "J.A.R." on his guitar.

References

1995 singles Green Day songs Songs written by Mike Dirnt Song recordings produced by Rob Cavallo Songs based on real people {{Punk-song-stub