Insomniac Tracklist
Characterised by its darker lyricism and heavy, abrasive sound, Insomniac is the fourth studio album by Green Day. Released on October 10 1995, the album was well received by fans and critics despite failing to match the great commercial success of its 1994 predecessor, Dookie.
Often regarded as Green Day’s darkest work, Armstrong’s lyricism is abundant with themes of frustration (“Brat”), rejection (“Stuck With Me”), self-doubt (“Armatage Shanks”), panic attacks (“Panic Song”), and explicit drug use (“Geek Stink Breath”). A review by Rolling Stone added:
The core message of Insomniac — like all great punk records — is that redemption is possible only through cold-eyed realism, not trendy nihilism or bleak despair.
“Insomniac” Q&A
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What has the band said about the album?
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What has been said of the album's production?
In a cover story for Rolling Stone (circa 1995), the production is discussed a bit:
During the recording of Insomniac, Green Day broke another long-standing punk taboo by embracing high production values. Punk’s do-it-yourself aesthetic has always demanded that the music remain simple; that rehearsing be kept to a minimum; and that recording be done cheaply, poorly and quickly. The original idea was to eschew the inflated sense of importance engendered by pompous arena-rock acts like Yes and Led Zeppelin. But these days, Green Day are playing those very same arenas. Consequently, the challenge for the increasingly proficient trio was to craft a monstrously loud and powerful sound while maintaining its trademark stripped-down essence.
It goes on…
According to Rob Cavallo, who co-produced both Insomniac and Dookie with the band, Green Day were after the sound of classic pop albums by groups like the Beatles and Cheap Trick rather than the sound of sloppily made punk 7-inches. “Tre changed the sound of his cymbals on almost every song,” Cavallo says. “Mike had a specific idea of the amplifiers and bass he wanted to use. And Billie and I have this little ritual: We line up a bunch of guitar amps, pick out the ones we like best, and then we develop a guitar sound.” But Tré bristles at the notion that studio trickery alone accounts for Insomniac‘s urgent wallop. He claims it was excess amounts of caffeine. “Every time we went to roll the tape, we said, ‘OK, this is it,‘” Tré says. “‘We’re going to squeeze every last drop of energy that we have, and we’re going to put it into two minutes, and then we’re going to rest afterward.’ And if it wasn’t quite all together, then we’d just wait for a little while until we got our energy back up, drink some coffee, then go back and go, ‘Yeah, let’s do this.'”
