52. Nat Cassidy Goes On The Hero's Journey with Genesis, Green Day and Titus Andronicus

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After discussing Green Day’s American Idiot on a previous episode (Ep. 48), Al became fixated on a couple of questions. Did Green Day send Jesus of Suburbia on a Hero’s Journey? And were they telling essentially the same story that Titus Andronicus told in The Monitor (Ep. 34) and that Genesis told in The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway?

Here to help Al grapple with these questions is playwright/novelist/actor/musician Nat Cassidy, who makes his return after appearing on Ep. 27. Nat breaks down the aspects of each album that fit the pattern of a Hero’s Journey and those that don’t, as well as discuss what he loves about each album and the many projects that he has been working on of late.

You can follow Nat on Twitter at @natcassidy and on Instagram at @catnassidy. You can find out even more about Nat’s work at natcassidy.com.

Al is on Twitter at @almelchiorBB, and this show has accounts on Twitter and Instagram at @youmealbum. Be sure to follow @youmealbum to find out in advance about upcoming guests and featured albums for this podcast.

1:17 Nat joins the show

2:35 Al explains why he wanted to do an episode on these three albums

4:35 Nat summarizes the plots of all three albums

13:04 Are these plots examples of the Hero’s Journey?

19:35 Nat talks about how these albums allude to other pieces of pop culture

21:04 Each protagonist shares the experiences of being lost and being “punk”

23:01 Al and Nat discuss their relationship with punk rock

28:14 None of the protagonists want to fit in

29:56 Does the Civil War theme obscure the message of The Monitor?

33:49 The protagonists from American Idiot and The Monitor both revel in other people thinking they’re losers

35:19 Al highlights some of the similarities and differences between the protagonists

39:06 Jesus imagery plays a key role in each of these stories

40:48 Nat and Al ponder the role of nihilism in these stories

46:28 Nat argues that Jesus of Suburbia did change by the end of American Idiot

49:34 Nat thinks doing a rock opera helped take Green Day’s sonic journey to a more varied, interesting place

52:10 Nat sees Genesis embracing chaos throughout The Lamb

54:00 Nat thinks The Monitor’s protagonist may go on a Hero’s Journey after all

57:10 To what degree are these protagonists’ journeys a reflection of their times?

1:10:59 Nat wonders if The Monitor is asking whether a Hero’s Journey is even possible now

1:12:23 Al asserts that Patrick Stickles’ New Jersey is not the stereotypical New Jersey

1:16:36 Does Nat have a favorite among these three albums?

1:27:04 Nat discusses his current and upcoming projects

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