Is Insomniac by Green Day an Unsung Classic? (Side A) - 378

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Could it be done? Is it possible to call anything Green Day have ever released both unsung AND (crucially, because there's a fair bit of 'meh' in their catalogue) good? Well folks, this week and next we're going to do our very best to find out. And we're joined by our good friend Rick Bruce from Coffin Mulch and Moonshine Docks.

Our contention? That their fourth album, Insomniac, is an unsung classic. This is all relative of course--in the 90s and 00s they sold bucket loads of records. How many people had copies of their records knocking about in their car footwells before 2010? Probably millions.

And it hasn't stopped. They're still pulling down millions of streams per month. Objectively, they are huge. And somewhat less objectively, they're probably the biggest punk band ever, and certainly one of the biggest bands on earth.

I mean, Insomniac itself isn't even their lowest selling record. And in this episode, we don't even get to it! It's a two parter after all.

No, in this episode we talk about everything from the 1000 Hours EP right up to, and including, Warning. With a brief detour into Pinhead Gunpowder too. We'll tackle Insomniac itself in our next episode--as is our way.

Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction
02:08 Green Day at the Super Bowl
04:47 Is It Even Possible for Green Day to be Unsung?!
05:23 Support us on Patreon
06:53 Mark's Album-a-Day Project, Power Pop Rabbit Holes & Mic Banter
08:45 Green Day 101: Origins, Pop-Punk Blueprint & Gilman Street
10:51 Influences Deep Dive: Hüsker Dü, Replacements, Costello, Op Ivy & More
15:21 Which Album Is Unsung? Debating Kerplunk, Nimrod & Insomniac
20:27 Early Timeline: Sweet Children, 1,000 Hours EP & 39/Smooth Era
22:40 Scene Discipline vs Scottish Modesty: Getting Good on Purpose
33:03 Kerplunk Breakthrough, Major-Label Controversy & Setting Up Dookie
35:27 How I First Bought Dookie (and Why It Wasn't a 5/5 Yet)
37:03 1994: The Year Pop-Punk Exploded (Offspring, NOFX, Weezer & More)
38:04 Green Day's Mainstream Breakthrough: MTV, Grammys, and the Blink-182 Ripple Effect
43:56 Insomniac (1995): Darker, Faster, Burnout After Fame
46:55 Nimrod (1997): 'Good Riddance' and the Genre-Hopping Era
51:38 Seeing Green Day Live: Glasgow Shows, Merch Regrets, and Peak Memories
53:17 Do Novelty Songs Ruin Pop-Punk? The Big Debate (Descendents, The Offspring, Blink)
59:50 Warning (2000): Polished Pivot, Chasing Hits—or Underrated Growth?
01:09:12 From Warning to American Idiot: The Stolen 'Cigarettes & Valentines' Sessions
01:12:12 On the Cusp of American Idiot (Wrap-Up & Next Part Tease)