Insomniac

Rating

Album: Insomniac (Regular Weight Vinyl)
#	Song Title		Time
1)	Armatage Shanks	More Info...
2)	Brat	More Info...
3)	Stuck With Me	More Info...
4)	Geek Stink Breath	More Info...
5)	No Pride	More Info...
6)	Bab's Uvula Who?	More Info...
7)	86	More Info...
1)	Panic Song	More Info...
2)	Stuart And The Ave.	More Info...
3)	Brain Stew	More Info...
4)	Jaded	More Info...
5)	Westbound Sign	More Info...
6)	Tight Wad Hill	More Info...
7)	Walking Contradiction	More Info...
3)	Stuck With Me	More Info...	0:02
4)	Geek Stink Breath	More Info...	0:02
5)	No Pride	More Info...	0:02
6)	Bab's Uvula Who?	More Info...	0:02
7)	86	More Info...	0:02
8)	Panic Song	More Info...	0:03
9)	Stuart and the Ave.	More Info...	0:02
10)	Brain Stew	More Info...	0:03
11)	Jaded	More Info...	0:01
12)	Westbound Sign	More Info...	0:02
13)	Tight Wad Hill	More Info...	0:02
14)	Walking Contradiction	More Info...	0:02

Album: Insomniac (Regular Weight Vinyl)
#	Song Title		Time
1)	Armatage Shanks	More Info...
2)	Brat	More Info...
3)	Stuck With Me	More Info...
4)	Geek Stink Breath	More Info...
5)	No Pride	More Info...
6)	Bab's Uvula Who?	More Info...
7)	86	More Info...
1)	Panic Song	More Info...
2)	Stuart And The Ave.	More Info...
3)	Brain Stew	More Info...
4)	Jaded	More Info...
5)	Westbound Sign	More Info...
6)	Tight Wad Hill	More Info...
7)	Walking Contradiction	More Info...
3)	Stuck With Me	More Info...	0:02
4)	Geek Stink Breath	More Info...	0:02
5)	No Pride	More Info...	0:02
6)	Bab's Uvula Who?	More Info...	0:02
7)	86	More Info...	0:02
8)	Panic Song	More Info...	0:03
9)	Stuart and the Ave.	More Info...	0:02
10)	Brain Stew	More Info...	0:03
11)	Jaded	More Info...	0:01
12)	Westbound Sign	More Info...	0:02
13)	Tight Wad Hill	More Info...	0:02
14)	Walking Contradiction	More Info...	0:02

Performer Notes

Green Day: Billie Joe Armstrong (vocals, guitar); Mike Dirnt (vocals, bass); Tre Cool (drums).
If Nirvana burst the dam that kept punk rock at bay in the '80s, Green Day--with their third album, DOOKIE--were the first all-consuming flood to hit the charts. Brandishing old school Ramones and Clash riffs, the Berkeley, CA trio made out like bandits, selling nearly ten million albums, scaling mainstream magazine covers and hijacking rock-festival spotlights from established acts. But judging from the lyrical contents of INSOMNIAC, bringing punk to the malls hasn't been a very satisfying experience for singer/guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong.
Throughout, he rails at the moribund state of youth culture and his place in it, as bassist Mike Dirnt and drummer Tre Cool speed up this anger to a frenetic pace. The disses fly every which way--at well-to-doers copping poses ("Brat"), at girlfriends who just don't understand ("Stuart And The Ave."), towards the world at-large ("Panic Song"), and, most of all, at himself. As though aware that his band helped make a sacred lifestyle fashionable, Billie Joe demeans his existence in song after song--unable to even sleep in peace with himself. For the disenfranchised listener, these are the ABCs of self-hate rebellion.
Judging from the catchiness of his songs, this predicament isn't likely to end soon. "Geek Stink Breath," a heavy, mid-tempo rumble in the manner of the Sex Pistols' "Sub-Mission"; "Panic Song," with its frenzied "Pinball Wizard"-like build-up, and the fired-up, pop fury of "All Wound Up," all embody the very principals that make the punk lessons of 1977 so attractive today: simplicity, hooks, a lack of pretension, and a disdain for authority. On INSOMNIAC, Green Day puts those lessons to use yet again--their platinum nightmares are sure to follow.

Professional Reviews

Spin (12/95, p.63) - Ranked #15 on Spin's list of the `20 Best Albums Of '95.'

Spin (12/95, p.118) - 8 - Very Good - "...Rage and release become an infinite loop, spinning faster all the time, old pleasures maniacally revved up to suit what INSOMNIAC and all of us know are `Jaded' times....The Green Day three have never crunched as powerfully....a sustained thrill..."

Entertainment Weekly (10/20/95, pp.60-62) - "...like DOOKIE, 14 slices of hearty anarchy, played with a follow-the-boucing-spitball compactness and vigor. The songs are new-generation-punk formula, but there's no denying the band's ear for a hook..." - Rating: B

Alternative Press (1/96, p.80) - "...The record's a good 'un....Alongside Elastica, they're probably the best punk band around. Their sense of roots is flawless, their skills sharp, their rock'n'roll instincts finely tuned. They know how to entertain and how to write a catchy, perfect pop song..."

Musician (1/96, p.88) - "...another 14 ruthlessly economical, cheerfully alienated punk-pop flag wavers....Green Day...approach every number with its customary last-day-on-earth intensity. All of the hyper-adrenal elements found on the band's breakthrough set remain firmly in place here..."