- Insomniac (Green Day album)
-
Insomniac 
Studio album by Green Day Released October 10, 1995 Recorded Late 1994–mid 1995 at various locations Genre Punk rock Length 32:49 Label Reprise Producer Rob Cavallo and Green Day Green Day chronology Dookie
(1994)Insomniac
(1995)Foot in Mouth
(1996)Singles from Insomniac - "Geek Stink Breath"
Released: September 25, 1995 - "Stuck with Me"
Released: December 27, 1995 - "Brain Stew/Jaded"
Released: July 3, 1996 - "Walking Contradiction"
Released: August 20, 1996
Insomniac is the fourth studio album by the American punk rock band Green Day. It was released on October 10, 1995 through Reprise Records. Though it peaked at number two in the United States and went double-platinum (according to the RIAA)[1] by 1996, Insomniac did not have the sales endurance of its predecessor, Dookie, largely due to its slightly darker lyrical tone and heavier, more abrasive sound.[2] Insomniac is the band's third-best selling album behind Dookie and American Idiot with sales at over 8 million worldwide and 2,076,000 copies in the US alone.[3] The album was reissued on vinyl on May 12, 2009. It was originally going to be titled Tight Wad Hill, after the thirteenth track on the album, but was renamed to Insomniac when Armstrong asked artist Winston Smith, who did the artwork for the album, how the cover art was done in such a short amount of time.
Contents
Background
In 1995, Green Day's single for the Angus soundtrack was released, entitled "J.A.R.". The single debuted at number 1 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. "J.A.R." was followed by Insomniac, which was released in the fall of 1995.
Before the name Insomniac, the band considered naming the album Tight Wad Hill (after track 13 on the album). After visiting collage artist Winston Smith for the album cover, Billie Joe Armstrong asked him how he managed to make such intricate pieces in such short times. Smith answered: "It's easy for me. I am an insomniac."[4] Armstrong himself has said that the album title comes from his own insomnia, after having been woken up frequently during the night due to his son's screams.
According to a Tweet by Armstrong on February 6, 2011, one of his regrets was not naming the album Jesus Christ Supermarket, stating that "JCSM is a much better title".[5]
Cover art
"God Told Me to Skin You Alive"
The collage on the album cover was created by Winston Smith [6] and is called God Told Me to Skin You Alive, a reference to the Dead Kennedys song "I Kill Children". Interestingly enough, the cover art contains an image (the dentist) that was originally used in a collage featured in the inside cover art of Dead Kennedys' album Plastic Surgery Disasters. Smith knew drummer Tré Cool from Green Day's time at Lookout! Records and told Tré that if he ever needed album artwork that he should call him.[4] The cover art features several hidden images: a naked woman, three fairies, and several other ghostly faces in the flames.[4] There are also three skulls on the entire album cover and back – one for each member of Green Day. One of the skulls requires you to view the piece at an angle. The hidden skull is taken from Hans Holbein's 1533 painting The Ambassadors.[4] Green Day's version, however, is slightly different from the original, with the woman holding Billie Joe's sky blue Fernandes imitation Stratocaster rather than an acoustic guitar.[4]
Reception
Professional ratings Review scores Source Rating Allmusic 
[7]Robert Christgau (A-)[8] Entertainment Weekly (B)[9] Rolling Stone [10]Insomniac did not have the big sales or airplay as the singles from Dookie, but it was generally well-received by critics. It earned four out of five stars from Rolling Stone, which said "In punk, the good stuff actually unfolds and gains meaning as you listen without sacrificing any of its electric, haywire immediacy. And Green Day are as good as this stuff gets".[11]
Entertainment Weekly gave the album a B with particular praise for Billie Joe Armstrong, stating that: "Fans needn't worry about Armstrong, a new father, rhapsodizing over the joys of changing diapers or whining about being a wealthy rock star. Once more, the songs relate the travails of a pathetic, self-loathing goofball whose sense of self-worth is continually reduced to rubble by sundry jerks, authority figures, and cultural elitists."
However, Green Day was slightly criticized for not progressing as much as their predecessors. Entertainment Weekly stated that: "Insomniac does make you wonder about Green Day's growth, though. Between albums one and four, The Clash, to take an old-school example, branched out from guitar crunch to reggae, dub, and Spectorized pop. By comparison, Green Day sound exactly the same as on their first album, albeit with crisper production and, ominously, a palpable degeneration in their sense of humor. The few hints of growth are fairly microscopic: a tougher metallic edge to a few of the songs ... and lyrics that are bleaker than Dookie's."
Allmusic similarly noted that "they kept their blueprint and made it a shade darker. Throughout Insomniac, there are vague references to the band's startling multi-platinum breakthrough, but the album is hardly a stark confessional on the level of Nirvana's In Utero. ... While nothing on the album is as immediate as "Basket Case" or "Longview," the band has gained a powerful sonic punch, which goes straight for the gut but sacrifices the raw edge they so desperately want to keep and makes the record slightly tame. Billie Joe hasn't lost much of his talent for simple, tuneful hooks, but after a series of songs that all sound pretty much the same, it becomes clear that he needs to push himself a little bit more if Green Day ever want to be something more than a good punk-pop band. As it is, they remain a good punk-pop band, and Insomniac is a good punk-pop record, but nothing more."[7]
Singles and commercial success
The first single released from Insomniac was "Geek Stink Breath". The song was popular on both top forty and modern rock radio stations and peaked at number 27 on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay. It was mostly well-received by critics. It has been played live heavily during Green Day's career and at most shows during the 21st Century Breakdown World Tour.
The second single, released as a tangible single exclusively in the United Kingdom, was "Stuck with Me". The song was moderately successful in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand, but was not one of the group's bigger hits in the US.
The third single from the album was "Brain Stew/Jaded". Oddly, the two were separate songs (tracks 10 and 11 on Insomniac), but they were released together as a single and a music video. They are both the most notable songs from the album, becoming fan favorites; the two of them are frequently performed at Green Day concerts (sometimes the only songs from Insomniac played live).
The last single from the album was "Walking Contradiction". The song was less of a success compared to the other singles off of Insomniac, only managing to chart at number 21 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks. However, its music video became one of Green Day's best-known videos.
Track listing
All lyrics written by Billie Joe Armstrong, except where noted, all music composed by Green Day.
No. Title Length 1. "Armatage Shanks" 2:17 2. "Brat" 1:43 3. "Stuck with Me" 2:16 4. "Geek Stink Breath" 2:15 5. "No Pride" 2:19 6. "Bab's Uvula Who?" 2:08 7. "86" 2:47 8. "Panic Song" (lyrics written by Mike Dirnt and Armstrong) 3:35 9. "Stuart and the Ave." 2:03 10. "Brain Stew†" 3:13 11. "Jaded" 1:30 12. "Westbound Sign" 2:12 13. "Tight Wad Hill" 2:01 14. "Walking Contradiction" 2:31 Total length:32:49 Japanese version No. Title Length 15. "I Wanna Be on T.V." (originally performed by Fang) 1:17 Australian tour edition CD2 (Live Tracks EP) No. Title Length 1. "Welcome to Paradise" (Live) 3:44 2. "One of My Lies" (Live) 2:19 3. "Chump" (Live) 2:59 4. "Longview" (Live) 3:59 5. "Burnout" (Live) 2:07 6. "2,000 Light Years Away" (Live) 2:24 B-sides and outtakes
Song Length Release(s) "I Wanna Be on T.V." 1:17 Originally performed by the punk rock band Fang; B-side to "Geek Stink Breath" "Don't Wanna Fall in Love" 1:38 B-side to "Geek Stink Breath" "Do Da Da" 1:30 Originally titled "Stuck with Me"; B-side to "Brain Stew/Jaded" "Good Riddance" 2:01 Original version of the later famous single; B-side to "Brain Stew/Jaded" "J.A.R." 2:52 Featured on the soundtrack for the film Angus; released as its own single in 1995 ^† Gapless track, seamlessly transitioning into the following song.
Charts
Album
Year Chart Position 1995 Billboard 200 2 1995 Canadian RPM Albums Chart 4 Singles
Year Song Peak chart positions US Airplay[12] US Mod
[12]US Main
[13]CAN
[14][15]CAN
Alt
[16][17][18]UK 1995 "Geek Stink Breath" 27 3 9 22 1 16 1995 "Stuck with Me" — — — — — 24 1996 "Brain Stew/Jaded" 35 3 8 35 1 28 1996 "Walking Contradiction" 70 21 25 — 19 — Personnel
Production
- Rob Cavallo; Green Day – producers
- Kevin Army – engineer
- Jerry Finn – mixing
- Richard Huredia; Bernd Burgdorf – additional engineers
- Winston Smith – cover art
- Dirk Walter - art direction[19]
- David Harlan - typographic design[19]
In popular culture
- The song "Westbound Sign" was used in the teaser trailer for the Disney/Pixar film Cars.
- The title "Bab's Uvula Who?" comes from a 1976 SNL sketch with Gilda Radner and Chevy Chase.[20]
- "86" was featured in the 1996 MTV film Joe's Apartment.
- The songs "Geek Stink Breath", "Brain Stew", and "Jaded" are featured in the music game Green Day: Rock Band.
References
- ^ "RIAA Certificates for Insomniac". riaa.com.
- ^ Green Day: Behind the Music
- ^ "Week Ending July 11, 2010: A Full Recovery - Chart Watch". new.music.yahoo.com. July 14, 2010.
- ^ a b c d e "Winston Smith Gallery: God Told Me to Skin You Alive (Insomniac), 1995". winstonsmith.com.
- ^ Billie Joe Armstrong official Tweet, February 6, 2011 Twitter.com. Retrieved 2011-02-08.
- ^ "The Montage Art of Winston Smith". winstonsmith.com.
- ^ a b "Insomniac". Allmusic.com. http://allmusic.com/album/insomniac-r224097.
- ^ "Green Day". robertchristgau.com.
- ^ Browne, David. "Insomniac". ew.com. October 20, 1995.
- ^ Rolling Stone Review
- ^ Coleman, Mark. "Insomniac." Rolling Stone. November 1995.
- ^ a b "Green Day single chart history". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?model.vnuArtistId=54578&model.vnuAlbumId=754886. Retrieved 2007-07-16.[dead link]
- ^ "Green Day - Billboard Singles". allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/green-day-p69310/charts-awards/billboard-singles. Retrieved 2010-10-26.
- ^ "Top Singles - Volume 62, No. 21, January 08 1996". RPM. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.2851&type=1&interval=30&PHPSESSID=c6btf3r8hs459qqt5ln3o3dcv5. Retrieved 2010-10-26.
- ^ "Top Singles - Volume 63, No. 3, March 04 1996". RPM. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.2906&type=1&interval=30&PHPSESSID=c6btf3r8hs459qqt5ln3o3dcv5. Retrieved 2010-10-26.
- ^ "Rock/Alternative - Volume 62, No. 11, October 16, 1995". RPM. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.9104&type=1&interval=50&PHPSESSID=c6btf3r8hs459qqt5ln3o3dcv5. Retrieved 2010-10-26.
- ^ "Rock/Alternative - Volume 62, No. 24, January 29, 1996". RPM. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.9206&type=1&interval=50&PHPSESSID=c6btf3r8hs459qqt5ln3o3dcv5. Retrieved 2010-10-26.
- ^ "Rock/Alternative - Volume 63, No. 24, July 29, 1996". RPM. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.3046&type=1&interval=50&PHPSESSID=c6btf3r8hs459qqt5ln3o3dcv5. Retrieved 2010-10-26.
- ^ a b Insomniac liner notes. Retrieved 2011-10-13
- ^ "SNL Transcripts: Elliot Gould: 05/29/76: Babs' Uvula". snltranscripts.jt.org.
Categories:- Green Day albums
- 1995 albums
- Reprise Records albums
- Albums produced by Rob Cavallo
- "Geek Stink Breath"
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
