Insomniac (album)
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| Insomniac | ||
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| Studio album by Green Day | ||
| Released | October 10, 1995 | |
| Recorded | April - June 1995 | |
| Genre | Punk rock | |
| Length | 32:55 | |
| Label | Reprise Records | |
| Producer(s) | Green Day and Rob Cavallo |
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| Professional reviews | ||
|---|---|---|
| Green Day chronology | ||
| Dookie (1994) |
Insomniac (1995) |
nimrod. (1997) |
Insomniac is the fourth studio album from the punk rock band Green Day. It was released in 1995 on the Reprise Records label. Though it reached #2 in the U.S. and went 2x Platinum, Insomniac didn't have the sales endurance of its predecessor, Dookie, largely due to its slightly darker lyrical tone and more abrasive sound. Though many consider Insomniac to be more consistent than Dookie, it did not feature a well-known hit single akin to "Longview" or "Basket Case".
Insomniac has sold 2 million units in the United States as of August 2006. It is Green Day's third most successful album after Dookie and American Idiot.
Contents |
[edit] Fanfare
Insomniac is a major favorite amongst Green Day fans. The album is probably the most "punk" by standard terms since the band has been on a major label. Instead of making a Dookie 2, per se, they responded with an album that was darker than its Diamond-certified predecessor, Dookie. The band seemed to have put out the record they wanted to, and not what the major label wanted to, unlike most other Green Day albums on the Reprise label this album did not feature a number 1 hit on the Modern Rock Tracks chart, (although J.A.R. hit number 1 and was meant for the album but was not included, American Idiot, and Dookie each had 3.[citation needed]
[edit] Track listing
All tracks by Billie Joe Armstrong (lyrics) and Green Day (music), except where noted.
- "Armatage Shanks" – 2:17
- "Brat" – 1:43
- "Stuck With Me" – 2:16
- "Geek Stink Breath" – 2:15
- "No Pride" – 2:20
- "Bab's Uvula Who?" – 2:07
- "86" – 2:48
- "Panic Song" (Billie Joe Armstrong/Mike Dirnt/Green Day) – 3:35
- "Stuart and the Ave." – 2:04
- "Brain Stew" – 3:13
- "Jaded" – 1:31
- "Westbound Sign" – 2:13
- "Tight Wad Hill" – 2:01
- "Walking Contradiction" – 2:31
[edit] Singles
- Geek Stink Breath - First single (1995)
- Stuck With Me - Second single (1995)
- Brain Stew/Jaded - Third single (1996)
- Walking Contradiction- Video Only (No Single) (1996)
[edit] B-sides
- "I Want to Be On TV." - A cover of the punk band Fang
- "Don't Wanna Fall in Love"
- "You Lied"
- "Do Da Da" - The original version of "Stuck With Me"
- "Good Riddance" - The original version of the popular Green Day song
- "J.A.R." - Featured on the soundtrack for the movie Angus
[edit] Trivia
(To read about the album cover from the artist firsthand, click here.)
- Before the name 'Insomniac', the band considered the naming the album 'Tight Wad Hill' (after the thirteenth track of the album). After visiting collage artist Winston Smith for the album cover, Billie Joe 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."
- When Billie Joe was asked what his biggest regret was he responded "That we didn't name Insomniac 'Jesus Christ Supermarket'".
- The collage on the album cover was created by Winston Smith [1] and is called God Told Me To Skin You Alive. Smith knew Tre Cool from Green Day's time at Lookout! Records and told Tre that if he ever needed album artwork that he should call him.
- 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.
- The cover art also features images of a naked woman, 3 fairies, a skull, and several other ghostly faces in the flames.
- There are 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 Holbein's 1533 painting 'The Ambassadors'.
- The title, "Babs' Uvula Who?" comes from a 1976 SNL sketch with Gilda Radner and Chevy Chase. [1]
- Green Day's version of the painting slightly differs from the original, with the woman holding Billie Joe's original blue Stratocaster instead of an acoustic guitar.
[edit] Personnel
- Billie Joe Armstrong - Vocals, Guitars
- Mike Dirnt - Bass, Backing Vocals
- Tré Cool - Drums
[edit] Production
- Producers: Green Day, Rob Cavallo
- Engineer: Kevin Army
- Mixer: Jerry Finn
- Second Engineers: Richard Huredia, Bernd Burgdorf
- Cover design: Winston Smith
- Drum tech: Mike "Sack" Fasano
- Guitar tech: Mr. C Steffes
- Project coordination: Cheryl Jenets
[edit] Notes
- ^ SNL Transcripts: Elliot Gould: 05/29/76: Babs' Uvula http://snltranscripts.jt.org/75/75vuvula.phtml
