Brain Stew / Jaded
"Brain Stew" and "Jaded" are two songs released as a joint single by American rock band Green Day. They appear as the tenth and eleventh tracks and third single from the group's fourth studio album, Insomniac. The song was also included on Godzilla: The Album. The two songs were released as one single, as the songs are transitional – "Brain Stew" segues directly into "Jaded". After 9/11, "Brain Stew" was placed on Clear Channel's list of post-9/11 inappropriate titles. The song "Brain Stew" is about Armstrong dealing with insomnia. According to Armstrong himself, "Brain Stew" was originally called "Insomniac" on demo (hence the title of the album on which it is featured),[7] and "Brain Stew" is a reference to Armstrong's long-time friend, James Washburn, who is nicknamed Brain Stew.[8]
| "Brain Stew" / "Jaded" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Green Day | ||||
| from the album Insomniac | ||||
| Released | July 3, 1996 | |||
| Recorded | 1995 | |||
| Studio | Hyde Street Studios, San Francisco, California | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length |
| |||
| Label | Reprise | |||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) |
| |||
| Green Day singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Brain Stew/Jaded" on YouTube | ||||
There is also a limited edition CD single of the two songs in which the disc is in the shape of a brain.
Both "Brain Stew" and "Jaded" were included in the band's first greatest hits album International Superhits!. However, only "Brain Stew" was included in the band's second greatest hit album God's Favorite Band and is the only song off of Insomniac to be included.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Brain Stew" / "Jaded" | 4:43 |
| 2. | "Do Da Da" | 1:30 |
| 3. | "Good Riddance (Demo Version)" | 2:03 |
| 4. | "Brain Stew" (clean radio edit; faded ending) | 3:13 |
Vinyl box set
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Brain Stew" / "Jaded" | 4:43 |
| 2. | "Walking Contradiction" | 2:31 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Brain Stew" / "Jaded" (live at Sporthall, Prague, March 26, 1996) | 4:27 |
| 2. | "No Pride" | 2:20 |
Other versions
"Brain Stew"
- A live version featured on Bowling Bowling Bowling Parking Parking recorded March 26, 1996 at Sporthalle, Prague, Czech Republic. Later featured on the Vinyl Box Set version of the "Brain Stew / Jaded" single.
- Another live version on Bullet in a Bible.
- A remix was made for the soundtrack of the 1998 movie Godzilla.
- Rivers Cuomo did a cover of the song on Sessions @AOL in 2009. The performance was recorded for his band, Weezer's EP called Happy Record Store Day
- A cover was made by the band The Upside Downs named Brain Stew 10. The band was made by Ray William Johnson. [9]
"Jaded"
- A live version found on Bowling Bowling Bowling Parking Parking. (recorded March 26, 1996 at Sporthalle, Prague, Czech Republic)
- A live version was performed during the Milton Keynes concert recorded for "Bullet in a Bible" but was omitted from the CD/DVD
"Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)"
- This single features a demo version of the Nimrod track Good Riddance (Time of Your Life). This demo is played in Gb rather than G Standard.
Live performances
The "Brain Stew" part of the song has been played at almost every single one of Green Day's concerts since its release. There have been several notable performances of this song. For instance, the band played the song in front of 130,000 people at the Milton Keynes National Bowl for the live DVD–CD Bullet in a Bible. Another notable performance was when the group performed it at Goat Island in Sydney, Australia on October 19, 2000, where Armstrong mixed up the verses by accident. During the 21st Century Breakdown World Tour, the band played this after playing numerous cover rock songs.
Music video
The music video for "Brain Stew/Jaded" consists of two parts: The "Brain Stew" portion of the video is sepia toned and depicts the band lying on a couch being pulled through a landfill by a bulldozer, interspersed with shots of Hula dancers, mealworms, a dog, and a teacher writing on a chalkboard. When the song transitions to "Jaded", the video transitions to chrome and shows fast shots of the band playing the song in their recording studio with more shots of mealworms and hula dancers. The video was directed by Kevin Kerslake.[10][11]
Chart positions
| Chart (1996) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[12] | 88 |
| Canada Top Singles (RPM)[13] | 35 |
| Canada Rock/Alternative (RPM)[14] | 1 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[15] | 28 |
| US Radio Songs (Billboard)[16] | 35 |
| US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[17] | 8 |
| US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[18] | 3 |
See also
References
- ^ a b Myers, Ben (May 26, 2005). Green Day - American Idiots & The New Punk Explosion. John Blake. ISBN 9781784189433. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
- ^ Sacher, Andrew. "unpopular opinion: Green Day's 'Insomniac' is their best album". Brooklyn Vegan. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
- ^ . Archived from the original on 2015-10-02. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
- ^ "The 96 Best Alternative Rock Songs of 1996". SPIN Magazine. August 31, 2016. Retrieved August 8, 2019.
- ^ Richin, Leslie (April 12, 2016). "20 Alternative Rock Music Videos Turning 20 in 2016". Billboard. Retrieved April 23, 2022.
- ^ Miller, Ted. "Unsung Against the Mold: Green Day's Insomniac and Warning Turn 25 and 20". Rock & Roll Globe.
- ^ "Green Day Community".
- ^ "@gzbaebe shared a video on Instagram: "IT'S BILLIE JOE! #greenday #billiejoearmstrong #billiejoe #bj #bja #beej #twodollarbill #mikedirnt #mikepritchard #michaelpritchard…" • Sep 5, 2017 at 1:07am UTC". Instagram. Archived from the original on 2021-12-24.
- ^ "The Upside Downs - Brain Stew 10 (official audio)".
- ^ "Green Day: International Supervideos! (Video 2001) - IMDb" – via www.imdb.com.
- ^ "Kevin Kerslake". IMDb.
- ^ "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles Chart – Week Ending 19 May 1996". Imgur.com (original document published by ARIA). Retrieved August 11, 2017. N.B. The HP column displays the highest peak reached.
- ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 2913." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
- ^ "Top RPM Rock/Alternative Tracks: Issue 2883." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
- ^ "Green Day: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
- ^ "Green Day Chart History (Radio Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
- ^ "Green Day Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
- ^ "Green Day Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
External links
- Brain Stew official video on YouTube