in Iraq [is] basically to build a pipeline and put up a fucking Wal-Mart." Armstrong felt a duty to keep his sons away from violent images, including video games and news coverage of the war in Iraq and the 9/11 attacks. Armstrong noted divisions between America's "television culture" (which he said only cared about cable news) versus the world's view of America, which could be considered as careless warmongers. Dirnt felt similarly, especially so after viewing the 2004 documentary Fahrenheit 9/11. "You don't have to analyze every bit of information in order to know that something's not fucking right, and it's time to make a change." Cool hoped the record would influence young people to vote Bush out, or, as he put it, "make the world a little more sane." He had previously felt that it was not his place to "preach" to kids, but felt there was so much "on the line" in the 2004 election that he must. The album also takes aim at giant corporations putting small companies out of business. Cool made an example out of record shops closing when a national retailer makes it to town. "It's like there's just one voice you can hear," he said. "Not to sound like a preachy person, but it's getting towards the Big Brother of George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four— except here you have two or three corporations running everything." Composition Music Speaking on the album's musical content, Armstrong remarked, "For us, American Idiot is about taking those classic rock and roll elements, kicking out the rules, putting more ambition in, and making it current." Part of recording the album was attempting to expand their familiar punk rock sound by experimenting with different styles such as new wave, Latin, and polka music. The band listened to various rock operas, including the Who's Tommy (1969) and David Bowie's The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972). Armstrong was particularly inspired by the Who's Quadrophenia, finding more in common with its "power chord mod-pop aesthetic" than other concept records, such as The Wall by Pink Floyd. In addition, they listened to the cast recordings of Broadway musicals West Side Story, The Rocky Horror Show, Grease, and Jesus Christ Superstar, and they let contemporary music influence them, including rappers Eminem and Kanye West, as well as rock band Linkin Park. Armstrong considered rock music a "conservative" business