Tag Archives: insomniac

#1300: Green Day – Stuck with Me

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Green Day’s Insomniac will be out for 30 years this coming October. Not like I can say its initial release was something I was aware of at the time, being that I would have only been six months old. But having been a fan of the band since 2005 and followed their work up until the Uno! Dos! Tré days, becoming familiar with the majority of their discography in the process, I can firmly state that Insomniac is my favourite album. I don’t think this should be any kind of breaking news to anyone reading, ’cause I’m fairly sure I’ve said the same thing in a previous Green Day-Insomniac post. But if you are a first-time reader, then, hey, my favourite album of Green Day’s is Insomniac. It’s still their most in-your-face straight-out punk record they’ve done, filled with self-deprecation. That attitude strikes a chord with me. And ‘Stuck with Me’ is a highlight from there.

Me and ‘Stuck with Me’ go way, way back. Most likely back to those days of ’05 when I was really getting into Green Day at the time. Their official website allowed you to watch all of the music videos for their singles through Windows Media Player. The track, being a single from Insomniac – second after ‘Geek Stink Breath’ – got a music video of its own. One that I can only describe as the artwork for Insomniac come to life contrasted with a monochrome performance of the band playing the track in a small room. I didn’t have the greatest of Internet connections back in those days. When it came to watching music videos on Windows Media Player, a lot of the time was spent waiting on buffering so maybe an additional few seconds could play before it would stop again. I want to say ‘Stuck with Me’ was one of the rare, rare moments when the video played the whole way through without stopping. But that might be my mind playing tricks on me. But simple and plain, it was those repeated views/listens that got me into the track, and it’s stuck around in the mental plane ever since.

All this time, I’ve never sat down and pondered on what this song could be about. A quick skim through the lyrics, I get a sense of someone who feels comfort in being something of an outsider. Or someone who spits in the faces of the upper classes or phonies and takes great pride in it. They’re all right being the “scrub” they might be perceived to be. But at the same time, they’re also not all right. Perhaps mentally, physically, it’s not really stated. Most likely the former, when considering the subject matter of other songs on the record. Whatever lyrically is going on, it goes hand in hand with the constant rush of energy the music provides. The opening downward riff is an instant hook. And if you’re looking for some good bass guitar work, it just so happens that Insomniac is arguably the record on which bassist Mike Dirnt played a lot of his best lines. Before the last chorus on ‘Stuck with Me’, Dirnt gets his own almost-solo on his instrument accompanied by an appropriate thrashing on the drums by Tré Cool. Like a lot of good punk songs, it’s over before you probably want to get a little more into it. I think it gives more than enough in the time it lasts for. I could listen to it all the time.

#932: Green Day – No Pride

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After becoming jaded with the phenomenal success of Dookie, Green Day headed into the studio to begin work on that album’s follow up. Angry at the world, fuelled on methamphetamine, and, in particularly Billie Joe Armstrong’s case, walking around having barely reached the minimum hours needed to sleep because of a newborn child, the band produced track after track of no nonsense, pissed off punk rock that was eventually unveiled to the world as Insomniac in October 1995. The album was a lot darker in tone, from the artwork to the lyrical content, a lot of which took on a point of view along the lines of “why bother with anything in life because we all die and everything in between is pointless.”

A lot of tracks on there take on this nihilistic approach. ‘No Pride’ is a prime example. Its first line, “Well I am just a mutt, and nowhere is my home”, sets a base straight away. From there, Armstrong tells the listener to forget about hope, forget unity, don’t stand up for what you believe in, forget about your morals and values. Basically disregard all things that arguably make you a decent human being. At that point in time, he must have done so and felt no shame hence the track’s sentiment of having no pride. There are two verses and two choruses. And after a rushing instrumental break which repeats the opening chord progression four times with no solo or change up, the track falls right into the final chorus, tail-ended with the closing lines where Armstrong tells us to “close your eyes and die.”

It’s a good time all-in-all. The subject matter may be a downer, but is elevated by the simple yet effective melodies throughout and the propelling speed that track is played at. All three members perform at their most forceful throughout this album, and with an attitude that they’d never fully revisit again. Dookie may be the more popular record, that goes without saying, but those who really know about Insomniac recognise its power.

#661: Green Day – Jaded

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‘Jaded’ is the eleventh track on Green Day’s fourth album Insomniac, released all the way back in 1995. That is my favourite album of theirs. You may argue and say “err, Dookie?” or “durr, American Idiot?” I stick with my choice. The tracks on the waste no time. Billie Joe seems to be at his most self-loathing and messed up on here, which for one reason or many others I enjoy quite a bit. It’s just over half an hour in length. It won’t take up too much of your time.

When listening to the album, you will notice ‘Jaded’ launches off like a rocket while the guitars are still fading out from the preceding track ‘Brain Stew‘. This came to good use when the band needed another single from the album. Instead of releasing ‘Brain Stew’ by itself, the band/record label/whoever decided to release it and ‘Jaded’ as a joint single. The long music video for both songs can be seen above, though I set it so it could start when ‘Jaded’ begins.

The track is a minute and a half freak out to contrast with the lazy/lethargic/apathetic outlook of ‘Brain Stew’. It’s a very energetic song that basically tells you to get out there and do something with your life instead of finding yourself doing the same old thing over and over again, whether it be a 9 to 5 job or just sitting at home doing nothing at all. We’re not getting any younger, and you don’t want to get old thinking you could have done so much more with your time. Once you get past the overall jumped-up/tweaked out atmosphere of the track, or not that’s probably the best part about it all, it’s quite serious. It’s a firecracker of a tune, though.

My iPod #406: Green Day – Geek Stink Breath

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If you’re a bit squeamish, have a nervous disposition, or specifically are not interested in observing close-ups a tooth being pulled out of a person’s mouth… then the video above is not the one to watch. And yet, it was the treatment Green Day chose to be used in the video to promote the first single from their upcoming album “Insomniac“. Last seen aimlessly walking around the streets of California at night singing about an up-in-the-air relationship a few months before, the band were now louder, harsher, and in-your-face, and performing in a bright red room bursting out a track about methamphetamine use.

And those descriptions above are a few reasons why I tend to prefer “Insomniac” over “Dookie” sometimes. From what I’ve noticed the consensus is that “Insomniac” is “Dookie’s little brother”, and is okay-but-just-not-as-good as that album. It seems a bit hypocritical to say that the two shouldn’t be compared to one another, seeing as I just did that in the first sentence of this paragraph. But I will say that “Insomniac” is a underrated as hell. Give it some respect. Turns twenty this October, I want some recognition.

Admittedly “Geek Stink Breath” was not a song of theirs that I liked when I first began listening to Green Day a decade ago. The video might have had something to do with that feeling. It might have had a lot to do with it, actually. But the track, to me, sounded very, very, very simple. Didn’t really like the song’s chord progression. The vocal melody wasn’t didn’t have the effect like others such as “Minority”, “Longview”, or “Stuck with Me” had on me…. and Billie Joe sounded too snotty and grimy too. I just couldn’t get into it.

Listening to a song over and over again can have a strange effect sometimes, though. I wouldn’t say it is one of Green Day’s best songs; it’s not one of the best songs on “Insomniac”. But I think it’s choice as a single was very appropriate. The perfect song to present the band’s new sound and image. Overall, it’s alright.

My iPod #130: Green Day – Brain Stew

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Wha-hey. Another Green Day song in a matter of days. What a song too. Let me tell you alllll about it.

So the year is 2005. I get “American Idiot” for my birthday, I look at every Green Day fan site to gather as much information as I can about the three guys and their music. Green Day were my favourite band ever. What better place to find stuff about them then their offical website?

Circa 2005, the Green Day website had an “American Idiot” theme about it. Colours of red, black and white, with a lot of heart-hand grenades too. The website also put up all of their official music videos. YouTube was just about just getting started, so the only way to watch them was through RealPlayer and Windows Media Player; it was a real pain if you didn’t have the top speed needed to let the videos play at maximum quality. They always needed to buffer and all that nonsense. Being a single, “Brain Stew” was able to be viewed.

“Brain Stew” was released from the band’s fourth album “Insomniac”. Not just by itself, but with its companion “Jaded” which comes right after it.

The song is the ravings of a man who cannot get to sleep at night. One who suffers from insomnia, if you will. Although I can’t remember a time where I’ve felt so restless that I thought my eyes were going to be bleed whilst they were bulging out of my skull. I felt nervous during the night before my exam results day, and I had a bit of a tummy problem. That was about it though.

Until tomorrow.

Jamie.