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Insomniac (Green Day album)

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Insomniac is the fourth studio album by the American punk rock band Green Day, released on October 10, 1995 by Reprise Records. Though it peaked at number 2 on the Billboard 200 chart and was certified 2x platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America[1] in 1996, Insomniac did not have the sales endurance of its predecessor Dookie, largely due to its slightly darker lyrical tone and its heavier and more abrasive sound.[2] Insomniac has sold over 2,100,000 copies in the United States according to Billboard as of 2012.[3] The album was reissued on vinyl on May 12, 2009.

Background

Before the name Insomniac was decided on, 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. Armstrong also mentions his insomnia in the song "Brain Stew".

"Panic Song" was inspired by bassist Mike Dirnt's panic attacks he has suffered as a result of being born with an enlarged mitral valve in his heart.[5] "86" discusses the rejection Green Day faced from the 924 Gilman Street music club in Berkeley after the band's rise to fame in 1994.[6]

Cover art

God Told Me to Skin You Alive

The collage on the album cover was created by Winston Smith [7] 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 (1982). Smith knew drummer Tré Cool from Green Day's time at Lookout! Records and told Cool 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 the viewer to tilt 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 Armstrong's Sonic Blue Fernandes imitation Stratocaster rather than an acoustic guitar.[4]

"Geek Stink Breath"
"Geek Stink Breath" is the lead single from the album.
Problems playing this file? See media help.
"Brain Stew/Jaded"
"Brain Stew/Jaded" is the third single from the album.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[8]
Alternative Press[9]
Entertainment WeeklyB[10]
Los Angeles Times[11]
Rolling Stone[12]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[13]
Spin8/10[14]
Sputnikmusic3.5/5[15]
The Village VoiceA−[16]

Insomniac did not have the big sales or airplay as the singles from Dookie, but it was generally well received by critics. It earned three and a half 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".[12]

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."[10]

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."[8] Robert Christgau opined "[Armstrong's] songs conceptualize his natural whine with a musicality that undercuts his defeatism."[16]

The album was included at number 8 on Rock Sound's "The 51 Most Essential Pop Punk Albums of All Time" list.[17]

Singles and commercial success

The first single released from Insomniac was "Geek Stink Breath". The song was successful on both Top 40 and rock radio stations and peaked at number 27 on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay.

The second single, released 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". The two were separate songs (tracks 10 and 11 on Insomniac), but they were released together as a single and a music video.

The last single from the album was "Walking Contradiction".

The song "86" was released as a promotional single in Spain and Germany.[18]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Billie Joe Armstrong, except where noted; all music is composed by Green Day, except where noted

No.TitleLength
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.TitleLength
15."I Wanna Be on T.V." (written by Sam McBride and Tom Flynn; originally performed by Fang)1:17
Total length:34:06
Australian tour Souvenir Edition live EP
No.TitleLength
1."Welcome to Paradise"4:06
2."One of My Lies"2:25
3."Chump"2:39
4."Longview"3:30
5."Burnout"2:03
6."2000 Light Years Away"2:49

Charts

Album

Year Chart Position
1995 Billboard 200 2
1995 Canadian RPM Albums Chart 4
1995 Australia (ARIA) [19] 5

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[20] Platinum 70,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[21] Gold 25,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[22] 2× Platinum 200,000^
Germany (BVMI)[23] Gold 250,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[24] Platinum 300,000^
United States (RIAA)[25] 2× Platinum 2,000,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Singles

Year Song Peak chart positions
US Airplay[26] US Alt
[26] 		US Main
[27] 		CAN
[28][29] 		CAN
Alt
[30][31][32] 		AUS[33] UK
1995 "Geek Stink Breath" 27 3 9 22 1 40 16
1995 "Stuck with Me" — — — — — 46 24
1996 "Brain Stew/Jaded" 35 3 8 35 1 — 28
1996 "Walking Contradiction" 70 21 25 — 19 — —

Personnel

Green Day

Production

References

Citations
  1. ^ "RIAA Certificates for Insomniac". riaa.com.
  2. ^ Green Day: Behind the Music
  3. ^ http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/481423/green-day-the-billboard-cover-story Retrieved Feb 3 2013
  4. ^ a b c d e "Winston Smith Gallery: God Told Me to Skin You Alive (Insomniac), 1995" at the Wayback Machine (archived November 29, 2001). winstonsmith.com.
  5. ^ Myers, 2006. p. 22
  6. ^ Case, Wesley (May 3, 2013). "A brief guide to Green Day". The Baltimore Sun. Tribune Publishing. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
  7. ^ "The Montage Art of Winston Smith". winstonsmith.com.
  8. ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Insomniac – Green Day". AllMusic. Retrieved September 27, 2012.
  9. ^ Raub, Jesse (June 22, 2010). "Green Day – Insomniac". Alternative Press. Archived from the original on August 29, 2010. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  10. ^ a b Browne, David (October 20, 1995). "Insomniac". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved September 27, 2012.
  11. ^ Ali, Lorraine (October 8, 1995). "Green Day: Something for All". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  12. ^ a b Coleman, Mark (November 2, 1995). "Insomniac". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 26, 2012.
  13. ^ Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian, eds. (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. pp. 347–48. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  14. ^ Weisbard, Eric (December 1995). "Green Day: Insomniac". Spin. 11 (9): 118. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  15. ^ Downer, Adam (September 13, 2005). "Green Day – Insomniac (staff review)". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved September 27, 2012.
  16. ^ a b Christgau, Robert (November 14, 1995). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  17. ^ Bird, ed. 2014, p. 73
  18. ^ "Green Day 86 - Eighty Six Spain Promo CD single (CD5 / 5") (72974)". Eil.com. Retrieved 2013-12-06.
  19. ^ Steffen Hung. "Green Day - Stuck With Me". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 2012-09-27.
  20. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2001 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association.
  21. ^ "Austrian album certifications – Green Day – Insomniac" (in German). IFPI Austria.
  22. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Green Day – Insomniac". Music Canada.
  23. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Green Day; 'Insominiac')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  24. ^ "British album certifications – Green Day – Insomniac". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type Insomniac in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  25. ^ "American album certifications – Green Day – Insomniac". Recording Industry Association of America.
  26. ^ a b "Green Day single chart history". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 5, 2013. Retrieved 2007-07-16. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  27. ^ "Green Day - Billboard Singles". AllMusic. Retrieved 2010-10-26. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  28. ^ "Top Singles - Volume 62, No. 21, January 08 1996". RPM. Retrieved 2010-10-26. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  29. ^ "Top Singles - Volume 63, No. 3, March 04 1996". RPM. Retrieved 2010-10-26. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  30. ^ "Rock/Alternative - Volume 62, No. 11, October 16, 1995". RPM. Retrieved 2010-10-26. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  31. ^ "Rock/Alternative - Volume 62, No. 24, January 29, 1996". RPM. Retrieved 2010-10-26. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  32. ^ "Rock/Alternative - Volume 63, No. 24, July 29, 1996". RPM. Retrieved 2010-10-26. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  33. ^ Steffen Hung. "Australian charts portal". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 2012-09-27.
  34. ^ a b Insomniac liner notes. Retrieved 2011-10-13
  35. ^ "SNL Transcripts: Elliot Gould: 05/29/76: Babs' Uvula". snltranscripts.jt.org.
Sources
  • Bird, Ryan, ed. (September 2014). "The 51 Most Essential Pop Punk Albums of All Time". Rock Sound (191). London: Freeway Press Inc. ISSN 1465-0185.
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