GREEN DAY - INSOMNIAC

Like many of my generation, Green Day was my introduction to “punk.” Hey, cut me slack. Not all 13 year olds are aware of the world of music outside of mainstream radio, especially not back in the early 90s. Green Day’s Dookie was catchy with enough snotty attitude to be a hit amongst my high school peers. Then came the follow-up.

I’m hesitant to consider Insomniac the forgotten Green Day album, especially when Warning exists. Insomniac is more the overlooked Green Day album.

A lot of my friends hated the album for essentially be an inferior rehash of Dookie. While I also thought it wasn’t quite as good as Dookie, I still found it to be something I could rock out to at the time. Can I still rock out to it in my late thirties? Let’s find out.

In hindsight, it’s probably best to view this more as a pop album rather than a punk album. And on those terms, it more or less succeeds. The melodies are catchy and everything moves along briskly. But in a way, that’s also to the album’s detriment. One of the first things I noticed is that nothing really sinks in.

No real surprises here. Other than the singles “Geek Stink Breath”, “Brain Stew”, and “Jaded” (yeah, yeah, I know they were released as one single, but technically, they’re too separate songs) and the uncharacteristically long intro to “Panic Song,” nothing really jumps out.

That said, it is still a fun listen. The snotty attitude is entertaining and the brief running time ensures it doesn’t wear out its welcome. And no cheesy ballads. Not a classic by any means, but there’s worse ways to waste a half hour of your life.