October 11, 1995. “Dookie”, the breakthrough album for the Berkeley band, has sold more than ten million copies. The success is enormous, at times overwhelming, and this is precisely what sends Billie Joe Armstrong and his bandmates into a tailspin.
Criticism from the genre's purists is not lacking, and the sound of the door at 924 Gilman Street slamming in the face of those who were first spectators and then contributors to the club is still ringing in our ears.
And so, just twelve months after the powerful shake-up to their careers, Green Day releases “Insomniac”. A commercially risky move but musically necessary, to demonstrate that yes, the level of success is increasing but their identity hasn't shifted an inch.
The common thread of the fourteen tracks (as seen in the past) is anxiety, this time accompanied by anger. Billie Joe has recently become a father, and it is his psychophysical state and lack of sleep that suggest the album's title.
The cover is called “God Told Me to Skin You Alive” and its collage of images is the work of artist Winston Smith. It is an explicit tribute to the Dead Kennedys' song “I Kill Children”. Among other things, the dentist featured among the various subjects on the cover is taken from another collage, this time present on the cover of “Plastic Surgery Disasters”, also by the Kennedys.
The production is of course entrusted to Rob Cavallo, the fresh King Midas and mentor of the trio, and the label remains Reprise Records. The songwriting (all Armstrong's work) is filled with humor and sarcasm, and musically, the entire work presents a more hardcore punk sound, generally darker and heavier.
The opening track “Armatage Shanks” immediately shows the direction taken, revealing a state of disorientation and a sense of lack of identity with the cry “Stranded/Lost inside myself”. Armstrong declared that he wrote the lyrics before the release of “Dookie”, already sensing at the time a total disagreement with the direction the band's path was taking. The same tendency is seen with “Geek Stink Breath”, which is a full-on slap in the face to those who dared call Green Day sellouts.
The fresh and at times conflicting relationship with fame is addressed through “Stuck With Me”, “No Pride”, and the frenetic “Tight Wad Hill”. The anger surges powerfully with “Bab's Uvula Who?” and “86”, where the band talks bitterly about their feelings after being rejected by the Gilman club and in general by their early fans. These two tracks, along with “Walking Contradiction”, contain catchy choruses, unlike the remaining eleven, which maintain a darker tone. “Brain Stew”, the third single extracted, reprises the theme of insomnia and perfectly conveys the idea with stuttering riffs and drumming, which then transition into a powerful wall of sound.
The theme completely detaches from the anxiety and concerns with “Brat”, “Stuart and the Ave”, and “Westbound Sign”, which harken back to the early nineties and the genuine, crazy desire to make punk without any constraints or pressure. Merely pure fun and a desire to create chaos:
Seasons change as well as minds, and I'm a two-faced clown
You're Mommy's little nightmare drivin' Daddy's car around Well, destiny is dead
In the hands of bad luck
Before, it might have made some sense
But now it's all fucked up
“Panic Song” is the most emotional and explicit track, where the world is painted (already in the nineties) as a crazy machine that produces only crap (see “Dookie”). It is the only song exceeding three minutes in length, as opposed to “Jaded”, the most rapid and frenzied (just a minute and a half) but similar in accusatory and pessimistic content (“There is no progress, evolution killed it all, I found my place in nowhere”). The syncopated introduction of “Panic Song”, which extends for a third of the track's duration, leads abrasively to a vocal expression that relates to Billie Joe's anxiety and Mike Dirnt's panic attacks, caused by the incessant thoughts about the bassist's small congenital heart issue. Legend has it that Tré Cool finished recording the track with his hands full of a mixture of calluses and blood, due to the frenetic drumming.
“Insomniac” sold around two million copies, not exactly a failure when all is said and done. But the set goal was not achieved, respecting the saying that reminds us how the album following a massive success is always destined to grow in the cold shadow of its predecessor.
Once the score was settled, a tidal wave of fatigue and stress arrived, and Billie Joe, Mike, and Tré found themselves increasingly uncomfortable in that new artistic dimension, made of large and distant arenas filled with thousands of fans. From the stables to the stars, in a snap of the fingers and without even realizing it fully. Until they realized they felt much more comfortable in that stable, and from there they could still see the stars. This led to a temporary renunciation of live music to dedicate quality time to loved ones. The moments spent at home with the family brought new maturity, inspiration, and a handful of unreleased songs. But that is another story, which leads to the birth of “Nimrod”.
Personally, I am very attached to this album, always underrated but very powerful and convincing with every listen, even after a long time. Next year, “Insomniac” will blow out thirty candles and will surely be suitably honored, following the double vinyl released in the midst of the pandemic, exactly twenty-five years after that mid-nineties autumn. The double release of 2021 contains an LP dedicated to nine tracks performed live during the Prague concert in 1996.
A lifetime has passed since the first notes strummed by the then “Sweet Children”, later led to history as “Green Day”, and despite the criticism and the freak waves of time, we are still here talking about this Californian punk rock, which has overturned the rules of the game, inventing their own.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Armatage Shanks (02:17)
Stranded, lost inside myself
My own worst friend and my own closest enemy
Branded, Maladjusted
Never trusted anyone let alone myself
I must insist
On being a pessimist
I'm a loner in a catastrophic mind
Elected the rejected
I perfected the science of the idiot
No meaning and no healing
Self loathing freak and introverted deviant
I must insist
On being a pessimist
I'm a loner in a catastrophic mind
02 Brat (01:43)
Mom and Dad don't look so hot these days
They're getting over the hill
Death is closing in and catching up
As far as I can tell
Got a plan of action and cold blood
And it smells of defiance
I'll just wait for Mom and Dad to die
And get my inheritance
Now I want more
'Cause I'm getting bored
And I'm going nowhere fast
I was once filled with doubt
Now it's all figured out
Nothing good can last
Crows feet and rot are setting in
And time is running out
My parent's income interest rate
Is gaining higher clout
I'm a snot nosed slob
Without a job
And I know I damn well should
Mom and dad don't look so hot these days
But my future's looking good
03 Stuck With Me (02:15)
I'm not part of your elite
I'm just alright
Class structure, waving colors
Bleeding from my throat
Not subservient to you
I'm just alright
Down classed by the powers that be
Give me loss of hope
Cast out... Buried in a hole
Struck down... forcing me to fall
Destroyed... giving up the fight
I know I'm not alright
What's my price and will you pay it if it's alright?
Take it from my dignity
waste it until it's dead
Throw me back into the gutter
'Cause it's alright
Find another pleasure fucker
Drag them down to hell
Cast out... Buried in a hole
Struck down... forcing me to fall
Destroyed... giving up the fight
I know I'm not alright
1, 2, 3, 4
Cast out... Buried in a hole
Struck down... forcing me to fall
Destroyed... giving up the fight
I know I'm not alright
04 Geek Stink Breath (02:15)
RARGH!
I'm on a mission
I made my decision
To lead a path of self-destruction
A slow progression
Killing my complexion
And it's rotting out my teeth
I'm on a roll
No self control
I'm blowing off steam with
Meth Amphetamine
Don't know what I want
That's all that I've got
And I'm picking scabs off my face
Every hour my blood is turning sour
And my pulse is beating out of time
I found a treasure
Filled with sick pleasure
And it sits on a thick white line
I'm on a roll
No self control
I'm blowing off steam with
Meth Amphetamine
Don't know what I want
That's all that I've got
And I'm picking scabs off my face
I'm on a mission
I got no decision like a cripple
Running the rat race
Wish in one hand and shit in the other
And see which one gets filled first
I'm on a roll
No self control
I'm blowing off steam with
Methamphetamine
Don't know what I want
That's all that I've got
And I'm picking scabs off my face
Geek... stink... breath!
06 Bab's Uvula Who? (02:08)
I've got a knack for fucking everything up
My temper flies and I get myself all wound up
My fuse is short and my blood pressure is high
I lose control and I get myself all wound up
Tension mounts and I fly off the wall
I self-destruct and I get myself all wound up
Petulance and irritation sets in
I throw a tantrum and I get myself all up
Chip on my shoulder and a leech on my back
Stuck in a rut and I get myself all wound up
Killed my composure and it will never come back
Loss of control and I get myself all wound up
Blown out of proportion again
My temper snaps and I get myself all wound up
Spontaneous combustion
Panic attack
I slipped a gear I get myself all wound up
07 86 (02:47)
What brings you around?
Did you lose something the last time you were here?
You'll never find it now
It's buried deep with your identity
so stand aside and let the next one pass
Don't let the door kick you in the ass
There's no return from 86
There's no return from 86
There's no return from 86
There's no return from 86
Don't even try
Exit out the back
And never show your head around again
Purchase your ticket
And quickly take the last train out of town
so stand aside and let the next one pass
Don't let the door kick you in the ass
There's no return from 86
There's no return from 86
There's no return from 86
There's no return from 86
Don't even try
There's no return from 86
There's no return from 86
There's no return from 86
There's no return from 86
Don't even try
09 Stuart and the Ave. (02:03)
Standing on the corner of
Stuart and the Avenue
Ripping up my transfer
And a photograph of you
You're a blur of my dead past and rotting existence
As I stand laughing on the corner of insignificance
Destiny is dead
In the hands of bad luck
Before it might have made some sense
But now it's all fucked up
Seasons change as well as minds
And I'm a two faced clown
You're mommy's little nightmare
Driving daddy's car around
I'm beat down and half brain dead
The long lost king of fools
I may be dumb
But I'm not stupid enough to stay with you
10 Brain Stew (03:12)
I'm having trouble trying to sleep
I'm counting sheep but running out
As time ticks by
And still I try
No rest for crosstops in my mind
On my own, here we go
My eyes feel like they're going to bleed
Dried up and bulging out my skull
My mouth is dry
My face is numb
Fucked up and spun out in my room
On my own, here we go
My mind is set on overdrive
The clock is laughing in my face
A crooked spine
My sense dulled
Passed the point of delirium
On my own, here we go
My eyes feel like they're going to bleed
Dried up and bulging out my skull
My mouth is dry
My face is numb
Fucked up and spun out in my room
On my own, here we go
11 Jaded (01:30)
Somebody keep my balance
I think I'm falling off
Into a state of regression
The expiration date
Rapidly coming up
It's leaving me behind to rank
Always move forward
Going "straight" will get you nowhere
There is no progress
Evolution kill it all
I found my place in nowhere
I'm taking one step sideways
Leading with my crutch
Got a fucked up equilibrium
Count down from 9 to 5
Hooray! We are gonna die!
Blessed into our extinction
Always move forward
Going "straight" will get you nowhere
There is no progress
Evolution kill it all
I found my place in nowhere
Always move forward
Going "straight" will get you nowhere
There is no progress
Evolution kill it all
I found my place in nowhere, in nowhere, in no-o-owhere
12 Westbound Sign (02:13)
Boxed up
All of her favorite things
Sold the rest at a rainy yard sale
Big plans and leaving friends and
A westbound sign
Weighed out
Her choices on a scale
Prevailing nothing made sense
Just transportation and a
Blank decision... she's taking off
No time and no copping out
She's burning daylight and petrol
Blacked out the rearview mirror
Heading westward on
Strung out
On confusion road
And ten minute nervous breakdowns
Xanex a beer for thought
And she determined... She's taking off
Is it salvation?
Or an escape from discontent?
Will she find her name
In the California cement?
Punched out of the grind
That punched her one too many times...
Is tragedy 2000 miles away?
She's taking off
13 Tight Wad Hill (02:01)
Cheapskate on the hill
A thrill seeker making deals
Sugar city urchin wasting time
Town of lunatics
Begging for another fix
Turning tricks for speedballs
One more night
Making your rounds once again
Turning up empty handed
Bumming a ride
Burning daylight
Last up at dawn... tight wad hill
Drugstore hooligan
Another white trash mannequin
On display to rot up on the hill
Living out a lie
But having the time of his life
Hating every minute of his existence
Making your rounds once again
Turning up empty handed
Bumming a ride
Burning daylight
Last up at dawn... tight wad hill
Making your rounds once again
Turning up empty handed
Bumming a ride
Burning daylight
Last up at dawn... tight wad hill
14 Walking Contradiction (02:32)
Do as I say not as I do because
The shit's so deep you can't run away
I beg to differ on the contrary
I agree with every word that you say
Talk is cheap and lies are expensive
My wallet's fat and so is my head
Hit and run and then I'll hit you again
I'm a smart ass but I'm playing dumb
Standards set and broken all the time
Control the chaos behind a gun
Call it as I see it even if
I was born deaf, blind and dumb
Losers winning big on the lottery
Rehab rejects still sniffing glue
Constant refutation with myself
I'm a victim of a catch 22
I have no belief
But I believe
I'm a walking contradiction
And I ain't got no right
Do as I say not as I do because
The shit's so deep you can't run away
I beg to differ on the contrary
I agree with every word that you say
Talk is cheap and lies are expensive
My wallet's fat and so is my head
Hit and run and then I'll hit you again
I'm a smart ass but I'm playing dumb
I have no belief
But I believe
I'm a walking contradiction
And I ain't got no right
I have no belief
But I believe
I'm a walking contradiction
And I ain't got no right
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Other reviews
By Sisifo
The album was released in 1995 and contains 14 tracks of easily catchy punk-rock, with perhaps a slightly more challenging impact than Dookie.
An album that I recommend to the youngsters who will resume the school routine in September; for the older folks, well, time passes for everyone.
By anarcho92
Compared to 'Dookie', 'Insomniac' is harder, more pissed off, recorded all at once after a dose of amphetamine by the band... And you can tell!!
The song is about a boy waiting for his parents to die so he can inherit their money.