''American Edit'' is a

mashup Mashup may refer to: * Mashup (culture), the rearrangement of spliced parts of musical pieces as part of a subculture * Mashup (education), combining various forms of data and media by a teacher or student in an instructional setting * Mashup (mus ...

album released by

Party Ben Ben Gill, better known as Party Ben, is a DJ in San Francisco. He spent many years working at radio station Live 105 and producer of mashup music. Mashups From June 2003 to December 30, 2005, Party Ben hosted the "Sixx Mixx" on Live 105, a wee ...

and

Team9 Team9 is the work of the English-Australian producer Neil Mason. Most of his work is unauthorized mashups. Team9 formed in 1997 as a five piece band and released two albums, ''Gas and Air'' in 1999 and ''My Tape Machine'' in 2002. Originally ...

under the shared alias Dean Gray. Its primary basis is the

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 powe ...

album '' American Idiot''—the name "Dean Gray" is a

spoonerism A spoonerism is an occurrence in speech in which corresponding consonants, vowels, or morphemes are switched (see metathesis) between two words in a phrase. These are named after the Oxford don and ordained minister William Archibald Spooner, w ...

of "Green Day".

Release and aftermath

The album was an internet-only release with no intent of commercial gain; Dean Gray asked fans who enjoyed the album to donate to

charities A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definition of a cha ...

Green Day had been known to support. Nevertheless, only 10 days after its November 18, 2005, release, the ''American Edit'' website was shut down, reportedly after receiving a

cease and desist A cease and desist letter is a document sent to an individual or business to stop alleged illegal activity. The phrase "cease and desist" is a legal doublet, made up of two near-synonyms. The letter may warn that, if the recipient does not dis ...

order from Green Day's label,

Warner Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

, despite Green Day singer Billie Joe Armstrong having called the project "really cool". Green Day Mash-Up Leads To Cease-And-Desist Order, Grey Tuesday-Style Protest
by James Montgomery, at

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

; published December 20, 2005; retrieved May 29, 2020 The website returned online soon after but without inclusion of the music. Despite the cease and desist, the album endured through word of mouth and fan protests staged in support of the album. Following the shutdown,

91X XETRA-FM (91.1 MHz), branded as 91X, and sometimes identified as XTRA-FM, is an English-language radio station licensed to Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. It airs an alternative rock radio format. The studios and offices are on Cornerstone Cour ...

, a

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...

in San Diego, aired the entire album. Soon after, on December 13, 2005, a fan-organized event referred to as "Dean Gray Tuesday" (a reference to 2004's

Grey Tuesday ''The Grey Album'' is a mashup album by Danger Mouse, released in 2004. It mixes an a cappella version of rapper Jay-Z's '' The Black Album'' with samples from the Beatles' self-titled ninth album, commonly known as "The White Album". ''Th ...

) was staged as a protest against the shutdown, in which the album was uploaded to a number of participating

website A website (also written as a web site) is a collection of web pages and related content that is identified by a common domain name and published on at least one web server. Examples of notable websites are Google Search, Google, Facebook, Amaz ...

s as torrents, direct MP3 downloads or

ZIP Zip, Zips or ZIP may refer to: Common uses * ZIP Code, USPS postal code * Zipper or zip, clothing fastener Science and technology Computing * ZIP (file format), a compressed archive file format ** zip, a command-line program from Info-ZIP * Zi ...

archives.

Video clips Video clips refer to mostly short videos, most of the time called memes, which are short videos of silly jokes and funny clips, most of the time coming from movies or any entertainment videos such as YouTube. The term is also used more loosely to ...

of "Dr. Who on Holiday", "American Jesus", and "Boulevard of Broken Songs" were also made available. The shutdown and protest contributed to international press coverage beyond the music industry. An edited, four-song version of ''American Edit'' was performed as a "mashup rock opera" at the Bootie 3-Year Anniversary Party at DNA Lounge in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

on August 11, 2006. Entitled ''Dean Gray – American Edit: The Theatrical Experience'', the show – presented by the band Smash-Up Derby and starring

performance art Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...

ist Foxy Cotton – was a combination of

live music A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variety an ...

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

, and visuals. In 2008 an unofficial extended version of the album was released online at

The Pirate Bay The Pirate Bay (sometimes abbreviated as TPB) is an online index of digital content of entertainment media and software. Founded in 2003 by Swedish think tank Piratbyrån, The Pirate Bay allows visitors to search, download, and contribute mag ...

. Subtitled "Deluxe Edition 2008", this version of the album featured the same original 11 tracks plus and additional 4 new songs, "Can't Get a Life", "Country Basket", "I Like American Idiots", and "Greenday Triple Tracker", from

DJ Pegasus A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile D ...

, who had no part in the original album. This version also included a slightly altered version of "Ashanti's Letterbomb" in the place of the version from the original American Edit. The track, "The Bad Homecoming", would precipitate an actual collaboration between U2 and Green Day in 2006: a cover of " The Saints Are Coming". On August 10, 2009, the song was played by DJ

Adam-12 ''Adam-12'' is an American television police procedural crime drama television series created by Robert A. Cinader and Jack Webb. The series follows Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers Pete Malloy and Jim Reed as they patrol the stre ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

's WBCN during the station's four-day farewell to analog broadcasting.

Track listing

# "American Jesus" – 8:40 ## "American Idiot" ## "Jesus' Tears" ## "Summer of the Damned" ## "Suburban Ring" ## "It's Like That" #* Samples – Green Day, " American Idiot", "

Jesus of Suburbia "Jesus of Suburbia" is a song by American rock band Green Day. It was released as the fifth and final single from the group's seventh studio album, '' American Idiot'', and the second song on the album. With the song running for 9 minutes and 8 ...

" #* Samples –

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

, " I Got a Woman" #* Samples –

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

, "

Gold Digger Gold digger is a term for a person, typically a woman, who engages in a type of transactional relationship for money rather than love. If it turns into marriage, it is a type of marriage of convenience. Etymology and usage The term "gold ...

" #* Samples –

Smokey Robinson William "Smokey" Robinson Jr. (born February 19, 1940) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and former record executive director. He was the founder and front man of the Motown vocal group the Miracles, for which he was also chief ...

, "

The Tears of a Clown "The Tears of a Clown" is a song written by Hank Cosby, Smokey Robinson, and Stevie Wonder and originally recorded by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles for the Tamla Records label subsidiary of Motown, first appearing on the 1967 album '' Make It H ...

" #* Samples – Bryan Adams, " Summer of '69" #* Samples –

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...

, "

Ring of Fire The Ring of Fire (also known as the Pacific Ring of Fire, the Rim of Fire, the Girdle of Fire or the Circum-Pacific belt) is a region around much of the rim of the Pacific Ocean where many volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur. The Ring o ...

" #* Samples –

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...

's inaugural address ("ask not what your country can do for you") #* Samples – "

George Bush Doesn't Care About Black People "George Bush Doesn't Care About Black People" is a protest song by Houston-based hip hop duo The Legendary K.O.John Leland (journalist), John Leland,Cultural Politics Art Born of Outrage in the Internet Age, ''New York Times'' (September 26, 2005 ...

" b
The Legendary KO
a mash-up of

's "

" and West's comments about

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

. #* Samples –

Mariah Carey Mariah Carey (; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Referred to as the " Songbird Supreme", she is noted for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style and signature use of the whi ...

, " It's Like That" # "Dr. Who on Holiday" – 4:57 #* Samples – Speech by

, (January 3, 2003, Fort Hood, Texas) #* Samples – Speech by

the Daleks ''The Daleks'' (also known as ''The Mutants'' and ''The Dead Planet'') is the second serial in the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast on BBC TV in seven weekly parts from 21 December 1963 to ...

, (from episode 6 of ''

Genesis of the Daleks ''Genesis of the Daleks'' is the fourth serial of the twelfth season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It was written by Terry Nation and directed by David Maloney, and originally broadcast in six weekly parts from ...

'') #* Samples – Green Day, "

Holiday A holiday is a day set aside by custom or by law on which normal activities, especially business or work including school, are suspended or reduced. Generally, holidays are intended to allow individuals to celebrate or commemorate an event or tra ...

" #* Samples – The Timelords, " Doctorin' the Tardis" #* Samples –

Gary Glitter Paul Francis Gadd (born 8 May 1944), best known by his stage name Gary Glitter, is an English former singer, songwriter, and record producer. He achieved success during the glam rock era of the 1970s and 1980s, and his career ended after he w ...

, "

Rock and Roll Part 2 "Rock and Roll" is the debut single by English glam rock singer Gary Glitter that was released in 1972, from his debut studio album ''Glitter (Gary Glitter album), Glitter''. Co-written by Glitter and Mike Leander, the song is in two parts: Part ...

" #* Samples –

Ron Grainer Ronald Erle Grainer (11 August 1922 – 21 February 1981) was an Australian composer who worked for most of his professional career in the United Kingdom. He is mostly remembered for his television and film score music, especially the theme mus ...

(arranged by Delia Derbyshire), ''Doctor Who'' theme music (sample from within "Doctorin' the Tardis") # " Boulevard of Broken Songs" – 4:42 #* Samples – Green Day, " Boulevard of Broken Dreams" #* Samples – Green Day, " American Idiot" #* Samples – Additional vocals by

Missy Elliott Melissa Arnette Elliott (born July 1, 1971), better known as Missy Elliott or Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliot, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She embarked on her music career with R&B girl group Sista in the earl ...

(from

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

's " American Life (Missy Elliott Remix)") #* Samples –

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.” The location of oases has been of critical imp ...

, " Wonderwall" #* Samples – Travis, " Writing to Reach You" #* Samples –

Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of Steven Tyler (lead vocals), Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry (guitar), Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton (bass), Joey Kramer (drums) and Brad Whi ...

, " Dream On" # "The Bad Homecoming (Waiting)" – 3:25 #* Samples – Green Day, "Homecoming" #* Samples – Green Day, "Are We the Waiting" #* Samples – U2, "

Bad Bad or BAD may refer to: Common meanings *Evil, the opposite of moral good * Erroneous, inaccurate or incorrect * Unhealthy, or counter to well-being * Antagonist, the threat or obstacle of moral good Acronyms * BAD-2, a Soviet armored troll ...

" #* Samples – U2, "

Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It is the third track on their eleventh studio album, ''How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb'' (2004), and was released as the album's second single worldwide except in Nort ...

" # "St. Jimmy the Prankster" – 2:22 #* Samples – Green Day, "St. Jimmy" #* Samples – The Offspring, " Original Prankster" #* Samples – Adam Freeland, "

We Want Your Soul "We Want Your Soul" is a song by British DJ and producer Adam Freeland; the song made the top 40 charts in several countries, and resulted in an award-winning music video. It is the first song to which Freeland wrote the lyrics; he describes it as ...

" #* Samples – Bill Hicks,

Monologue In theatre, a monologue (from el, μονόλογος, from μόνος ''mónos'', "alone, solitary" and λόγος ''lógos'', "speech") is a speech presented by a single character, most often to express their thoughts aloud, though sometimes a ...

, (Dominion Theater,

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, November, 1992) #* Samples – Bryan Ferry, "Let's Stick Together" # "Novocaine Rhapsody" – 4:18 #* Samples – U2, " Bullet the Blue Sky" #* Samples – Green Day, "Give Me Novacaine" #* Samples –

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

, " Bohemian Rhapsody" # "Impossible Rebel" – 2:05 #* Samples – Green Day, "She’s a Rebel" #* Samples –

Theme song Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at so ...

to '' Mission: Impossible'' #* Samples –

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...

, " God Save the Queen" #* Samples – Speech by George W. Bush #* Samples –

Dire Straits Dire Straits were a British rock band formed in London in 1977 by Mark Knopfler (lead vocals and lead guitar), David Knopfler (rhythm guitar and backing vocals), John Illsley (bass guitar and backing vocals) and Pick Withers (drums and percuss ...

, " Money for Nothing" #* Samples –

Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock music, but their musical style has changed over the course of its existence. Ori ...

, " Smoke on the Water" (

riff A riff is a repeated chord progression or refrain in music (also known as an ostinato figure in classical music); it is a pattern, or melody, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or accompani ...

) # "Ashanti's Letterbomb" – 4:32 #* Samples – Green Day, "Letterbomb" #* Samples – Ashanti, "

Only U "Only U" is a song by American singer Ashanti from her third studio album, ''Concrete Rose'' (2004). The song's introduction uses a sample of Club Nouveau's 1986 song " Why You Treat Me So Bad". "Only U" is a rock-tinged song, that finds Ash ...

" #* Samples –

Buffalo Springfield Buffalo Springfield was a rock band formed in Los Angeles by Canadian musicians Neil Young, Bruce Palmer and Dewey Martin and American musicians Stephen Stills and Richie Furay. The group, widely known for the song "For What It's Worth", relea ...

, " For What It's Worth" #* Samples –

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

, "

Who Are You ''Who Are You'' is the eighth studio album by English rock band the Who, released on 18 August 1978 by Polydor Records in the United Kingdom and MCA Records in the United States. Although the album received mixed reviews from critics, it was a ...

" # "Greenday Massacre" – 3:43 #* Samples – Green Day, "

Wake Me Up When September Ends "Wake Me Up When September Ends" is a song by American rock band Green Day, released on June 13, 2005, as the fourth single from the group's seventh studio album, '' American Idiot'' (2004). The acoustic ballad was written by frontman Billie Joe ...

" #* Samples – The Eagles, "

Lyin' Eyes "Lyin' Eyes" is a song written by Don Henley and Glenn Frey and recorded in 1975 by the American rock band Eagles, with Frey singing lead vocals. It was the second single from their album ''One of These Nights'', reaching No. 2 on the ''Billboard ...

" #* Samples –

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in Basildon, Essex, in 1980. The band currently consists of Dave Gahan (lead vocals and co-songwriting) and Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, co-lead vocals and main songwriting). Depeche ...

, " Just Can't Get Enough" #* Samples –

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

, " A Day in the Life" #* Samples –

, " Blackbird" #* Samples –

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991.Talkin ...

, "

Road to Nowhere "Road to Nowhere" is a rock song written by David Byrne for the 1985 Talking Heads album ''Little Creatures''. It also appeared on '' Best of Talking Heads'', '' Sand in the Vaseline: Popular Favorites'', the ''Once in a Lifetime'' box set and t ...

" #* Samples – Additional vocals by

Tim McGraw Samuel Timothy McGraw (born May 1, 1967) is an American country singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He has released 16 studio albums (11 for Curb Records, four for Big Machine Records and one for Arista Nashville). 10 of those album ...

(from " Over and Over" by

Nelly Cornell Iral Haynes Jr. (born November 2, 1974), better known by his stage name Nelly, is an American rapper, singer, actor and entrepreneur. He embarked on his music career with the hip hop group St. Lunatics in 1993 and signed to Universal ...

) # "Whatsername (

Susanna Hoffs Susanna Lee Hoffs (born January 17, 1959) is an American singer and guitarist, best known as a co-founder of the pop-rock band The Bangles. Hoffs founded The Bangles (originally called the Bangs) in 1981 with Debbi and Vicki Peterson. They re ...

)" – 3:28 #* Samples – Green Day, "Whatsername" #* Samples – The Bangles, " Manic Monday"

Original bonus track

# "Boulevard of Broken Songs (Dance Mix)" – 6:19

Bonus tracks from American Edit Deluxe 2008

# "Boulevard of Broken Songs (Dance Mix)" – 6:19 # "Can't Get a Life" – 2:05 #* Samples – Green Day, " Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" #* Samples –

, " Just Can't Get Enough" # "Country Basket" – 2:55 #* Samples – Green Day, " Basket Case" #* Samples –

, "

Country Grammar (Hot Shit) "Country Grammar (Hot Shit)" (also known as "Country Grammar (Hot...)") is the debut single of American rapper Nelly. The song was written by Nelly and Jason "Jay E" Epperson, who also produced the track. Released on February 29, 2000, as the lead ...

" # "I Like American Idiots" – 5:18 #* Samples – Green Day, " American Idiot" #* Samples – BodyRockers, " I Like the Way" # "Greenday Triple Tracker" – 7:39 #* Samples – Green Day, " Boulevard of Broken Dreams" #* Samples – Green Day, "

" #* Samples – Green Day, " American Idiot"

References

External links

BoingBoing article about ''American Edit''

MTV News article about ''American Edit''
{{Authority control Mashup albums American Idiot 2005 remix albums Unofficial remix albums Sampling controversies