J.A.R.

"J.A.R." is a song by the American rock band Green Day. Written by bassist Mike Dirnt about a friend who committed suicide in a car crash,[4] the song was a previously unreleased track from the Dookie sessions but it was later featured on the soundtrack to the movie Angus in 1995. In August 1995, the song reached number one on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and spent 16 weeks on it. The song peaked at number 22 on the Hot 100 Airplay chart. The song was featured as the eighth track on Green Day's 2001 greatest hits collection International Superhits!, and on their 2011 live album Awesome as Fuck.

For other uses, see Jar (disambiguation).
"J.A.R. (Jason Andrew Relva)"
Single by Green Day
from the album Angus: Music from the Motion Picture and International Superhits!
ReleasedAugust 1, 1995[1]
Genre
Length2:51
LabelReprise
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Green Day singles chronology
"She"
(1995)		 "J.A.R. (Jason Andrew Relva)"
(1995)		 "Geek Stink Breath"
(1995)
Audio
"J.A.R. (Jason Andrew Relva)" on YouTube

Background

The acronym stands for 'Jason Andrew Relva', a childhood friend of Green Day bassist Mike Dirnt. 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 crash. Mike Dirnt wrote the song in remembrance of him.[5] In an interview, Dirnt suggested that Relva had intended to commit suicide since Relva had been reportedly going 95 miles-per-hour before the crash.[4]

Jason Relva is thanked in the liner notes of 1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours and Kerplunk.

Track listing
Promo
No.TitleLength
1."J.A.R. (Jason Andrew Relva)"2:51

Vinyl Box Set

Side A
No.TitleLength
1."J.A.R. (Jason Andrew Relva)"2:51
Side B
No.TitleLength
1."Emenius Sleepus"1:44

Chart positions
Chart (1995) Peak
position
US Radio Songs (Billboard)[6] 22
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[7] 17
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[8] 1

Reception

PopMatters 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."[9]

Both Mark Hoppus of Blink-182 and Chris DeMakes of Less Than Jake 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.[10][11][12]

References
  1. Burt, Greg (July 28, 1995). "Rock: New Singles For August" (PDF). R&R (1105): 64. ISSN 0277-4860.
  2. Solman, Gregory (July 30, 1995). "Green Day's 'J.A.R.' Unsealed". San Francisco Chronicle.
  3. "Green Day: Awesome as Fuck". Sputnikmusic. April 16, 2011. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
  4. "About - "J.A.R.' - Green Day". Genius.com. 2015. Retrieved April 2, 2023. ("He was going 95, I think he committed suicide." – Dirnt)
  5. Carter, Emily (2020-04-27). "10 lesser known Green Day songs that everyone needs to hear". Kerrang!. Retrieved 2021-12-28.
  6. "Green Day Chart History (Radio Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  7. "Green Day Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  8. "Green Day Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  9. Ramirez, AJ (19 September 2012). "Nice Guys Finish Last: The Top 15 Green Day Songs". PopMatters. Retrieved 2023-02-10.
  10. DeMakes, Chris (October 19, 2020). "Chris DeMakes a Podcast. Ep. 21: Mark Hoppus discusses blink-182's "What's My Age Again?"". Spotify.
  11. Carter, Emily (2020-10-20). "Mark Hoppus Reveals The Green Day Song That Inspired The Opening Riff To blink-182's What's My Age Again?". Kerrang!. Retrieved 2021-12-28.
  12. Aniftos, Rania (2020-10-20). "Blink-182's Mark Hoppus Reveals the Green Day Song That Inspired 'What's My Age Again?'". Billboard. Retrieved 2021-12-28.
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