J.A.R.

"J.A.R. (Jason Andrew Relva)"
"J.A.R. (Jason Andrew Relva)"
Single by Green Day
from the album Angus: Music from the Motion Picture and International Superhits!
Released	August 1, 1995
Genre	Punk rock;
Length	2:51
Label	Reprise
Composer(s)	Green Day;
Lyricist(s)	Mike Dirnt;
Producer(s)	Rob Cavallo; Green Day;
Green Day singles chronology
Audio
	"J.A.R. (Jason Andrew Relva)" on YouTube

"J.A.R." (alternatively titled "J.A.R. (Jason Andrew Relva)") 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!, on their 2011 live album Awesome as Fuck, and on the 30th anniversary reissue of Dookie alongside a cassette demo of the song.

Background

The acronym stands for Jason Andrew Relva, a childhood friend of Green Day bassist Mike Dirnt. 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. Dirnt wrote the song in remembrance of him.^[5]

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

Track listing

Promo
No.	Title	Length
1.	"J.A.R. (Jason Andrew Relva)"	2:51

Vinyl Box Set

Side A
No.	Title	Length
1.	"J.A.R. (Jason Andrew Relva)"	2:51

Side B
No.	Title	Length
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

^ Burt, Greg (July 28, 1995). "Rock: New Singles For August" (PDF). R&R (1105): 64. ISSN 0277-4860. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2023-03-15. Retrieved 2023-03-15.
^ Solman, Gregory (July 30, 1995). "Green Day's 'J.A.R.' Unsealed". San Francisco Chronicle.
^ "Green Day: Awesome as Fuck". Sputnikmusic. April 16, 2011. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
^ "About - "J.A.R.' - Green Day". Genius.com. 2015. Archived from the original on April 2, 2023. Retrieved April 2, 2023. ("He was going 95, I think he committed suicide." – Dirnt)
^ Carter, Emily (2020-04-27). "10 lesser known Green Day songs that everyone needs to hear". Kerrang!. Archived from the original on 2021-12-28. Retrieved 2021-12-28.
^ "Green Day Chart History (Radio Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
^ "Green Day Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
^ "Green Day Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
^ Ramirez, AJ (19 September 2012). "Nice Guys Finish Last: The Top 15 Green Day Songs". PopMatters. Archived from the original on 2023-02-10. Retrieved 2023-02-10.
^ DeMakes, Chris (October 19, 2020). "Chris DeMakes a Podcast. Ep. 21: Mark Hoppus discusses blink-182's "What's My Age Again?"". Spotify. Archived from the original on October 5, 2023. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
^ 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!. Archived from the original on 2021-12-28. Retrieved 2021-12-28.
^ Aniftos, Rania (2020-10-20). "Blink-182's Mark Hoppus Reveals the Green Day Song That Inspired 'What's My Age Again?'". Billboard. Archived from the original on 2021-12-28. Retrieved 2021-12-28.

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[1] Burt, Greg (July 28, 1995). "Rock: New Singles For August" (PDF). R&R (1105): 64. ISSN 0277-4860. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2023-03-15. Retrieved 2023-03-15.

[solman-2] Solman, Gregory (July 30, 1995). "Green Day's 'J.A.R.' Unsealed". San Francisco Chronicle.

[sputAAF-3] "Green Day: Awesome as Fuck". Sputnikmusic. April 16, 2011. Retrieved August 26, 2017.

[geniusverified-4] "About - "J.A.R.' - Green Day". Genius.com. 2015. Archived from the original on April 2, 2023. 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!. Archived from the original on 2021-12-28. Retrieved 2021-12-28.

[sc_Billboardradiosongs_Green_Day-6] "Green Day Chart History (Radio Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved November 12, 2016.

[sc_Billboardmainstreamrock_Green_Day-7] "Green Day Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved November 12, 2016.

[sc_Billboardalternativesongs_Green_Day-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. Archived from the original on 2023-02-10. Retrieved 2023-02-10.

[opening_riff-10] DeMakes, Chris (October 19, 2020). "Chris DeMakes a Podcast. Ep. 21: Mark Hoppus discusses blink-182's "What's My Age Again?"". Spotify. Archived from the original on October 5, 2023. Retrieved October 20, 2020.

[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!. Archived from the original on 2021-12-28. 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. Archived from the original on 2021-12-28. Retrieved 2021-12-28.

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v t e Green Day
Billie Joe Armstrong Mike Dirnt Tré Cool John Kiffmeyer Sean Hughes Raj Punjabi
Studio albums	39/Smooth Kerplunk Dookie Insomniac Nimrod Warning American Idiot 21st Century Breakdown ¡Uno! ¡Dos! ¡Tré! Revolution Radio Father of All Motherfuckers Saviors
Live albums	Bullet in a Bible Awesome as Fuck Woodstock 1994 BBC Sessions
Compilations	1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours International Superhits! Shenanigans Demolicious Greatest Hits: God's Favorite Band
EPs	1,000 Hours Slappy Sweet Children Bowling Bowling Bowling Parking Parking Tune In, Tokyo... Last Night on Earth: Live in Tokyo 21 Guns
Tours	Pop Disaster Tour American Idiot World Tour 21st Century Breakdown World Tour 99 Revolutions Tour Revolution Radio Tour Hella Mega Tour The Saviors Tour
Associated acts	Foxboro Hot Tubs The Network Pinhead Gunpowder The Frustrators The Lookouts The Big Cats The Influents The Longshot The Coverups
Related articles	Discography List of songs Awards and nominations Adeline Records Seltzer v. Green Day, Inc Punk Bunny Coffee Cigarettes and Valentines Money Money 2020 Stop Drop and Roll!!! American Edit Green Day's American Idiot soundtrack Green Day: Rock Band songs ¡Cuatro! Foreverly "Boulevard of Broken Songs" Ordinary World Love Is for Losers No Fun Mondays Money Money 2020 Part II: We Told Ya So!
Category

v t e Green Day songs
1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours	"Knowledge"
Kerplunk	"Welcome to Paradise"
Dookie	"Longview "Basket Case "She" "When I Come Around"
Insomniac	"Stuck with Me" "Geek Stink Breath" "Brain Stew / Jaded" "Walking Contradiction"
Nimrod	"Nice Guys Finish Last" "Hitchin' a Ride" "Redundant" "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)"
Warning	"Warning" "Waiting" "Minority"
American Idiot	"American Idiot" "Jesus of Suburbia" "Holiday" "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" "Wake Me Up When September Ends"
21st Century Breakdown	"21st Century Breakdown" "Know Your Enemy" "East Jesus Nowhere" "Last of the American Girls" "21 Guns"
Awesome as Fuck	"Cigarettes and Valentines"
¡Uno!	"Let Yourself Go" "Kill the DJ" "Oh Love"
¡Dos!	"Stray Heart" "Amy"
¡Tré!	"X-Kid" "The Forgotten"
Revolution Radio	"Bang Bang" "Revolution Radio" "Still Breathing"
Father of All Motherfuckers	"Father of All..." "Oh Yeah!"
Saviors	"The American Dream Is Killing Me" "Look Ma, No Brains!" "Bobby Sox" "One Eyed Bastard" "Dilemma"
Other songs	"J.A.R." "Xmas Time of the Year" "I Fought the Law" "The Saints Are Coming" "The Simpsons Theme" "Don't Want to Know If You Are Lonely" "Dreaming"