">
 

Green Day
Insomniac


3.5
great

Review

by Electric City USER (135 Reviews)
September 13th, 2005 | 193 replies


Release Date: 1995 | Tracklist


After Green Day broke through and became a huge success with Dookie, they wanted to try something new. The result of this was Insomniac. Insomniac is a fun album, probbly for diehard fans for myself only. Fans of indie punk and the types who hate Green Day because they're popular will probbly not like this album. I am a diehard GD fan, so I enjoyed this album. Call it bias, call it whatever you want, but there's really no denying this is a very enjoybale album.

1. Armatage Shanks- A very nifty llittle opener, Armatage Shanks begins with some great drumming from Tre. However, the verses fail to live up. They sound quite generic like.... well every other Green Day song before Nimrod. The song does set some themes though for the album, like some fantastic bass work by Mike Dirnt, and some power chord riffs from Billie. The vocals are nothing to really pay attention to until te middle of the song where Billie and Mike pull out some whoa-oh's, something they avoided on Dookie. Instrumentally, cheers to Mike and Tre, but Billie's role in the song leaves a bit to be desired.

2. Brat- For those of you with Nimrod, this song sounds a bit like The grouch. This song is about a kid sittin round waitin for his inheritance. More great bass here, which will be a very common theme in the album. Generic writing and guitar from Billie. Possibly a skip track, I mean some people like this stuff, its not my favorite personally.

3. Stuck With Me- I love this song. This is a great, upbeat punk anthem with harder guitars, faster drums, and much better vocals. This song keeps a ferocious tempo going with a great chorus and verses that are far better than the previous two songs. The solo also does not disappoint with Mike doing what he does best, making the bass interesting. The only knock on it is that it's 2 15 long, but they're a 2 15 well spent.

4. Geek Stink Breath- Here's another highlight. This may sound strange, but when i heard this song on International Superhits, I saw it as a skip track. Yet for some reason, I guess I like this song more in the Insomniac concept. Yeah weird I know. The verses are ok, not my favorite. The bass prowess displayed in the previous trio of songs is absent from this song, but Billie makes up for it by putting his lazy-bum sounding lyircs to good use. The chorus is much better with the anthematic cheer "Im on a roll, No self control, falling asleep with meth-amphetamine". I can see why someone would not like it though. Kinda repetetive I must admit.

5. No Pride- This is pure filler right here. The guitar riff is one that makes u say, ok how many ways can they mix this chord triangle together? Billie made this song really generic. The bass and drums come back though, which is a plus to this song. But the verses are pointless and indiscernable, with no chorus to make up for them.

6. Bab's Uvula Who?- Quite possibly the strangest song title in the history of the world. The song is awesome, though with some great stop go action from Billie and Mike. Again Mike lives up to his role as greatest punk bassist around today, with some fancy work. Billie cranks it out with "I got a knack for ****in everything up." and the common cry of All Wound Up. No Chorus to speak of. The song is quite catchy and not one to skip. The solo is really just making the verse harder, but it sounds very good. Not a skip track.

7. 86- 86 uses the classic power chord triangle again, though this time in more of a conventional, more enjoyable way. Words make no sense whatsoever, which detracts from the verse a bit, but the palm muting for once is a nice change. Great work instrumentally form the rhythm section again. The chorus is the best part with another anthem-like cry of "There's no return from 86". Still no sense whatsoever, but still one that makes some people i know think wow, the number 86 is really cool. Fine song.

8. Panic Song- At this point of the record, it's like wow, the bass and drums are really good, so why dont we show off that. Mike plays the same note at breakneck speed with Tre doing a fantastic drumroll right behind him. The Guitar doesnt overshadow the work going on behind it, but it provides the needed melody over it. The minute and a half solo climaxes at the minute mark where the guitar doesnt stop playing and you feel the tension rise to something brilliant and angry. Then Billie Sings, and the song loses everything it was building up for. The solo is the real reason to listen to the song, though, it's quite fantastic.

9. Stuart and the Avenue- Thanks to Mike for making the intro intersting with more great bassing. The intro doesnt drag when the guitar starts which is welcome cuz the guitar is not very good. Billie's ode to lost love. It's not a great song really. Billie cries we're all f*ed up at the end and yer like that wasnt really that good. This is a filler track.

10. Brain Stew- Now you "diehard" Green Day fans out there will kill me for saying this, but Brain Stew is not a bad song. You don't have to skip it. Sure it's repetetive and really has no direction, but come on that is one catchy riff that will be stuck in your head. Billie's vocals are it's best here I feel since he needs to really do all the work. Instrumentally, well, lets just say this is the reason people argue anyone can be Green Day. It's the same riff over and over again. This is Billie's voice's time to shine and it gets you through 3 minutes until the riff explodes and leads into Jaded.

11. Jaded- Jaded is a furious punk anthem that runs around with indiscernable verses and an angry, rebellious chorus of "Always move forward/ Going straight will get you nowhere/There is no progress/Evolution killed it all/ Ive found my place in nowhere." When you read the verses in the booklet, you can appreciate the song better. Nice work instrumentally here too. Mike doesnt do his fills like normal but Tre plays extremely fast and Billie makes an old riff interesting again by putting it under a great punk melody of vocals.

12. Westbound Sign- HEre's where Green Day falls into the same trap as they did on Dookie. The next to last 3 songs on that album were pure fillers and no difference here except the next to last two are pure fillers. Same powerchord triangle. Mike plays his bass great to the bone (Notice his bass is really at it's best on songs that are boring in guitar and vocals). The song is hard to pay attention to cuz it's rally boring and the vocals leave much to be desired.

13. Tight Wad Hill- Hmm.... Lets play the same song faster and put a new title on it and you have Tight Wad Hill. Billie please we've heard this song at least once on every album. Fine drumming though. And it's over quickly which is good.

14. Walking Contradiction- Lyrically, Billie is in his writing prowess as he gives some very clever metaphors about selling out. Musically however, the song is boring. Fine bassing, but the guitar is repetetively numbing and the drums aren't special. It's a disappointing ending to the album. No soft song to be seen here as there was in Kerplunk (Words I might have Ate) or Dookie (FOD).

Overall this is a fun album. You'll see yer highlights and youll skip the fillers. To give you a sense of the album, It's better than Warning but it's not better than Nimrod, AI, or Dookie. A must have for the diehard GD heads out there, but a passover for the casual fan looking to get into the California Trio.

Plusses:

Furious punk anthems
Fantastic work done by the rythym section
Jaded
The lead in to Panic Song

Negatives:

Boring chords
Billie writes the same song over again and tweaks it to make a "new" song sometimes.
Unlike Nimrod, your getting the best of this album by purchasing International Superhits.

Please rate and reply.



Recent reviews by this author
Beach Slang Cheap Thrills On A Dead End StreetThe Men Tomorrow's Hits
Macintosh Plus Floral ShoppeThe Dismemberment Plan Uncanney Valley
Justin Timberlake The 20/20 ExperienceThe Men New Moon
user ratings (2141)
3.7
great
other reviews of this album
1 of


Comments:Add a Comment 
Rudd13
September 13th 2005


952 Comments

Album Rating: 2.5

Dammit, I was gonna do this. But sorry, I disagree.



4 stars all the way. One of the best by thye band.

Well, you beat me, and good review. :thumb:

Thor
September 13th 2005


10357 Comments

Album Rating: 4.5

This is the only Green Day album I can still listen to. I also think that Stuart and the Ave. was Green Day's best song, I don't see why I would call it a filler track.This Message Edited On 09.13.05

Electric City
September 14th 2005


15756 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

Sorry I meant to give it a 3 and a half.... best change it now.....

Storm In A Teacup
September 14th 2005


46395 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

don't like this albumThis Message Edited On 03.04.06

Zebra
Moderator
September 14th 2005


2647 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

Good review, this is tied for my favorite Green Day album with Nimrod. "Panic Song" is my favorite off of Insomniac.

YDload
September 14th 2005


1207 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

Good review. I see you were a little unkind to the other guy who reviewed this album (besides me), and the review you wrote is... well, it's actually a lot better than his. The fact that you've seen them live adds another dimension to your review that mine was unable to provide, which is another plus.



The only thing I didn't like was that you seem to give the band too much credit for being punk. Even though this is probably their angriest and quickest album, they are still nowhere near punk. They will always be pop-punk, which is just a label and shouldn't be taken as insulting, but it's true.

lais817
September 14th 2005


35 Comments


Mike Dirnt? The best bassist in punk? I might just ignore that remark..... Great review!!!

spoon_of_grimbo
September 14th 2005


2241 Comments


i quite liked No Pride actually.... dunno why.

Electric City
September 14th 2005


15756 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

-[09.14.05]

Mike Dirnt? The best bassist in punk? I might just ignore that remark..... Great review!!!







Thanks about the review. And can you name me a better bassist in punk? the things he comes up with are genius! Listen to No one Knows on Kerplunk. that 40 seconds in the beginnign is all him and original material.

YDload
September 15th 2005


1207 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

Thanks about the review. And can you name me a better bassist in punk? the things he comes up with are genius! Listen to No one Knows on Kerplunk. that 40 seconds in the beginnign is all him and original material.




Sure I could name better bassists in punk, but that's not really fair because Green Day isn't a punk band. Still...



Matt Freeman- Rancid

Fat Mike- NOFX

Paul Simonon- The Clash

Mike Watt- Minutemen (personal favorite)



And there are probably more from bands that I'm not familiar with. But it's just a naive and foolish remark to think that Mike Dirnt is the greatest "punk" bassist ever just because Longview is a catchy-as-hell bassline.

Electric City
September 15th 2005


15756 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

^Whoawhoawhoa. First off, i said best punk bassist around today. Second of all, Longview is simple as hell to play. I didnt mean that. This album in particular is built for Mike's great bassing. And No One Knows off Kerplunk. It's a shame he didn't play like his old stuff on Idiot and Warning. Those albums suffered because of that.

YDload
September 15th 2005


1207 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

Okay I see what you're saying now; your original statement was changed around from so many people quoting it. Either way, calling Mike Dirnt a punk bassist sort of implies that Green Day is a punk band, which isn't quite true.

Electric City
September 16th 2005


15756 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

Well Punk Pop def but what would YOU classify as punk? Like a band most people ahve heard of cuz im not in touch with the underground.

YDload
September 16th 2005


1207 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

I think once a punk band becomes popular (like Offspring or Rancid have, at least for a short while), they're probably going to be labelled pop-punk. But it could also just be a certain style of not being so aggressive or political, so bands like Millencolin or MXPX are pop-punk even if few people have heard of them.



Basically, if you check out the Punk forum of musicianforums, you'll see a lot of bands that neither you nor I have ever heard of, and those are punk. Or you could look back to the early days of punk where bands like The Clash or The Ramones started everything.

Electric City
September 16th 2005


15756 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

Ill give you the Clash and The Ramones, they're gods (But The Clash is very political, so that counter acts that point). But I hate how straight punk cant ever be called mainstream. Green Day and Blink 182 are great punk bands that made it big, so they're diehards ditched them because they became "pop-punk" Pop-punk is that crap you hear comin from Simple Plan and Good Charlotte. Green Day and Blink are the punk bands that a lot of people like(But then there are the jackasses who like to stain other peoples reviews by saying nothing more than Green Day Sucks), so you can call them popular punk. But there is a difference between good popular punk and the "pop punk" group of crap.

offgreenbassist
September 16th 2005


1 Comments


I totally agree with music. Im pretty tired of people putting bands that i like (offspring and millencolin) in the same category as simple plan. there is absolutely no comparison between the two.

YDload
September 16th 2005


1207 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

That's because they're still in two different categories. Here's how it works:



Millencolin, Green Day, Blink etc. - Pop-punk

Simple Plan, Avril Lavigne- Pop



See how that works? The latter group of bands has no punk in it at all, regardless of how they dress. In fact, with American Idiot I'd say Green Day is a pop band as well. You just have to learn not to think of it as a bad thing.

ocelot-05
September 17th 2005


807 Comments


I don't like punk rock music, or pop-punk for that matter, but it was a detailed review. Nice one. I'm learning all I can right now from other reviews because I'm new here.

Electric City
September 18th 2005


15756 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

^ Good luck. Welcome to the site. Put out good reviews, cuz if you put out bad ones, the people will eat you and burn you at the stake.



And I am being sarcastic.

ReturnToRock
September 21st 2005


4806 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

good review, but here are some points where i disagree:



- stuart + no pride = best songs on the album;



- NOT worse than Nimrod



other than that, good work



You have to be logged in to post a comment. Login | Create a Profile





STAFF & CONTRIBUTORS // CONTACT US

Bands: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z


Site Copyright 2005-2023 Sputnikmusic.com
All Album Reviews Displayed With Permission of Authors | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy