Brain Stew/Jaded

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“Brain Stew / Jaded”
“Brain Stew / Jaded” cover
Single by Green Day
from the album Insomniac
Released July 3, 1996
Format CD, cassette, vinyl
Recorded 1995
Genre Alternative rock, post-grunge
Length
  • 4:44 (Both Songs)
  • 3:13 (Brain Stew)
  • 1:30 (Jaded)
Label Reprise Records
Producer Green Day, Rob Cavallo
Green Day singles chronology
"Stuck With Me"
(1995)
"Brain Stew/Jaded"
(1996)
"Walking Contradiction"
(1996)

"Brain Stew"/"Jaded" are the third and fourth singles from Green Day's 1995 album Insomniac released in 1996. The two songs are transitional: "Brain Stew" ending and moving right into "Jaded" without the music stopping. They are tracks 10 and 11 on the album Insomniac, and due to the transition were put out together as one single. The combination of the two became an alternative-rock radio staple.

"Brain Stew" was written as a result of lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong's exhaustion being kept up all night by his newborn son.

Contents

[hide]

[edit] Track listing

  1. "Brain Stew"/"Jaded"
  2. "Do Da Da"
  3. "Good Riddance (Early Demo)
  4. "Brain Stew" (Clean Radio Faded Ending)

[edit] Other versions

"Brain Stew"

"Jaded"

  • A live version found on Bowling Bowling Bowling Parking Parking. (recorded March 26, 1996 at Sporthalle, Prague, Czech Republic)

[edit] Music videos

The "Brain Stew/Jaded" single was accompanied by a visually striking video which received heavy airplay on MTV which was split into two different halves that greatly visual contrast, the "Brain Stew" half and the "Jaded" half.

[edit] Brain Stew Music Video

The music video for "Brain Stew" is all in sepia for the "Brain Stew" part and shows the band lying on a couch being pulled through a landfill by a bulldozer. Several strange things appear, such as Hawaiian Hula dancers and an old lady with a chalkboard (both in the construction site). The video is meant to depict the effects insomnia has on the brain (for example, the hallucinations, in which Billie Joe admits to being high during the filming to give the correct feel to the video.).

[edit] Jaded Music Video

When the song transitions into "Jaded", the color comes back and shows the band playing the song in a fast-cut, wobbly-camera style. This video project was directed by Kevin Kerslake, who had previously directed videos for Nirvana, and would go on to make videos for Rise Against.

[edit] Notes

  • The CD single was available on a limited edition CD, shaped like a brain.
  • In the recording of "Brain Stew" for the album, Billie Joe Armstrong said he used as many as 10 guitar overdubs to achieve the scratchy dissonant sounds in the latter part of the song.
  • The band said they were sneezing out sand for "weeks" after the filming of the "Brain Stew" music video.
  • "Brain Stew" is actually the name of one of Billie Joe's old friends. He can be seen on the VH1 show 'Green Day: Behind The Music' under the name James Washburn. His picture can be seen on the '39/smooth' vinyl record in the center, as well as in an old picture of Green Day playing live circa 1991 in the pictures section of the remastered version of 1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours. His name was also thanked in the linear notes of Kerplunk.
  • "Brain Stew" was included on Clear Channel's list of "songs with questionable lyrics" following the September 11, 2001 attacks.

[edit] Chart positions

Year Single Chart Position
1996 Brain Stew/Jaded Modern Rock Tracks (US) No. 3
1996 Brain Stew/Jaded Mainstream Rock Tracks (US) No. 8
1996 Brain Stew/Jaded Official UK Singles Chart No. 28