04 - Jesus of Suburbia

Title – Jesus of suburbia / නගරාසන්න කිතු තුමා

(Amateur photographer / ආරම්භක ඡායාරුපශිල්පියෙක්)

Photographed by Camera – Canon: EOS REBEL T6 – EFS 18 – 55 mm

Open for ideas and criticism.

අදහස් හා උදහස් වලට විවෘතයි.

Jesus of Suburbia is a reflection of an image of a model - Christ the Redeemer which is an Art Deco statue of Jesus Christ in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, created by French sculptor Paul Landowski and built by the Brazilian engineer Heitor da Silva Costa, in collaboration with the French engineer Albert Caquot. Its construction was started in 1922.

The photograph is reflecting the model statue near a suburban ordinary house window. This image was taken in Gampaha, Sri Lanka. The image reflects loneliness, time and sadness.

The title and the photograph is about the internal struggle of a human in his personal exploration in morality. I personally believe this concept is hard to assume with the first perception of the photograph. But since Jesus is a reflection of religious morality I find it obvious that the viewers may at least grasp the half of the theme.   

"Jesus of Suburbia" is a song by American punk 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 9 seconds, it is Green Day's second longest song (with the band's longest song being fellow American Idiot song "Homecoming", which runs for 9 minutes and 19 seconds) and the group's longest song to be released as a single.

American Idiot is a concept album that describes the story of a central character named Jesus of Suburbia, an anti-hero created by Billie Joe Armstrong. It is written from the perspective of a lower-middle-class suburban American teen, raised on a diet of "soda pop and Ritalin."  Jesus hates his town and those close to him, so he leaves for The City.

"Jesus of Suburbia" was the second multi-part song the group formed. Armstrong said it took "a long time" to write the song. Dirnt said that it came about from natural rehearsing between the trio. The song was an extension of Armstrong's desire to write the "Bohemian Rhapsody" of the future.

I personally also believed that “Jesus of Suburbia” will be the “Bohemian Rhapsody” of Green Day.

As the song changes into different sections, Armstrong’s guitars were recorded differently.  The song was composed by Green Day (with Billie Joe Armstrong writing the lyrics), and was co-produced by Rob Cavallo.

"Jesus of Suburbia" has five movements:

·         I. "Jesus of Suburbia" (0:00 – 1:51)

·         II. "City of the Damned" (1:51 – 3:42)

·         III. "I Don't Care" (3:42 – 5:25)

·         IV. "Dearly Beloved" (5:25 – 6:30)

·         V. "Tales of Another Broken Home" (6:30 – 9:10)

Since “Bohemian Rhapsody” came up, a small description would suffice.

"Bohemian Rhapsody" is a song by the British rock band, Queen. It was written by Freddie Mercury for the band's 1975 album A Night at the Opera. It is a six-minute suite, consisting of several sections without a chorus: an intro, a ballad segment, an operatic passage, a hard rock part, and a reflective coda. The song is a more accessible take on the 1970s rock genre. It was reportedly the most expensive single ever made at the time of its release, though the exact cost of production cannot be determined.

In the explanation, Queen states that "Bohemian Rhapsody" is about a young man who has accidentally killed someone and, like 'Faust', sold his soul to the devil.

Faust, also called Faustus, or Doctor Faustus, a hero of one of the most durable legends in Western folklore and literature, the story of a German necromancer or astrologer who sells his soul to the devil in exchange for knowledge and power. 

There was a historical Faust, indeed perhaps two, one of whom more than once alluded to the devil as his Schwager or crony. One or both died about 1540, leaving a tangled legend of sorcery and alchemy, astrology and soothsaying, studies theological and diabolical, necromancy and, indeed, sodomy. Contemporary references indicate that he was widely traveled and fairly well known, but all observers testify to his evil reputation. Contemporary humanist scholars scoffed at his magical feats as petty and fraudulent, but he was taken seriously by the Lutheran clergy, among them Martin Luther and Philippe Melanchthon.

It is called “Bohemian Rhapsody” because it depicts the life of a 'bohemian', whose original meaning is 'artist' while 'Rhapsody' is a fantasy (literally, it could play in his head) or a vision; within this song, Freddie Mercury foresees his life in a symbolic way.

I was exposed to “Jesus of Suburbia” in 2011. I was amazed by its structure and innovation. And some of its aspects is a reflection of my childhood and youth. One of my favorite and loved songs from the western world.

Image processing used in this photo editing is Focal and filtered B&W, Infrared film, HDR-ish.