Brain Stew / Jaded

"Brain Stew / Jaded"
Song

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.

Due to the simplicity of "Brain Stew", a song containing only 5 power chords, 5 bass notes, and a relatively simple drum pattern for Tre Cool's usual fast tom fills and explosive transitions, this song is one of the first to appear in the repertoire of many garage bands.

The musical pattern in Brain Stew also bares a remarkable similarity to the one found in Led Zeppelin's, Babe I'm Gonna Leave You, that begins at the 2:22 mark, and also Chicago's 25 or 6 to 4. Later, Papa Roach's "Last Resort" also used the same chord progression.

Track listing

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

Other Versions

"Brain Stew"

• A remix of the song featured on the Godzilla soundtrack in 1998.
• A live version featured on Bowling Bowling Bowling Parking Parking. (recorded March 26, 1996 at Sporthalle, Prague, Czech Republic)
• Another live version on Bullet in a Bible.

"Jaded"

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

Music Video

The 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. The music video 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.). 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.

Trivia

• 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.
• The phrase "Brain Stew" may be a reference to "Manson", a parody of Lassie on the short-lived Ben Stiller Show in which Bob Odenkirk plays 'Manson' as a rural family's "dog". As the family seems to understand Lassie's barks, the family in the parody understands Manson's delusional babble. The writers, including David Cross came up with a variety of new phrases for Manson based on his real life nonsense, including "We'll have brain stew when I'm the cook, jack!"
• The opening guitar riff of "Brain Stew" follows exactly the same melody, albeit simplified rhythm, as Chicago's "25 or 6 to 4". Also, Californian nu-metal band Papa Roach were accused of ripping off the riff for their hit single "Last Resort".
• If one looks closely in the "thanks to" section of the band's second album Kerplunk!, one of the people that is thanked is Brain Stew.
• "Brain Stew" was included on Clear Channel's list of "songs with questionable lyrics" following the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Chart positions

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1996	Brain Stew	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