"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 and final 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 vocalist/guitarist Billie Joe 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
B-side
  • "Do Da Da"
  • "Good Riddance"
ReleasedJuly 3, 1996 (1996-07-03)
Recorded1995
StudioHyde Street Studios, San Francisco, California
Genre
Length
  • 3:13 ("Brain Stew")
  • 1:30 ("Jaded")
  • 4:43 (both songs combined)
LabelReprise
Composer(s)Green Day
Lyricist(s)Billie Joe Armstrong
Producer(s)
Green Day singles chronology
"Stuck with Me"
(1995)
"Brain Stew" / "Jaded"
(1996)
"Hitchin' A Ride"
(1997)
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.

One of the B-sides has an early version of the song "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)", with the song having a more sarcastic tone than the original.

Both "Brain Stew" and "Jaded" were included on the band's first greatest hits album International Superhits!. However, only "Brain Stew" was included on the band's second greatest hits album God's Favorite Band and is the only song off of Insomniac to be included.

Track listing

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CD
No.TitleLength
1."Brain Stew" / "Jaded"4:43
2."Do Da Da"1:30
3."Good Riddance"2:03
4."Brain Stew" (clean radio edit; faded ending)3:13

Vinyl box set

Side A
No.TitleLength
1."Brain Stew" / "Jaded"4:43
2."Walking Contradiction"2:31
Side B
No.TitleLength
1."Brain Stew" / "Jaded" (live at Sporthall, Prague, March 26, 1996)4:27
2."No Pride"2:20

Other versions

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"Brain Stew"

"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)"

Live performances

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"Brain Stew" has been played at most Green Day concerts since its release and is one of the band’s most played songs live.[11] 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

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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.[12][13]

Chart positions

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Chart (1996) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[14] 88
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[15] 35
Canada Rock/Alternative (RPM)[16] 1
UK Singles (OCC)[17] 28
US Radio Songs (Billboard)[18] 35
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[19] 8
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[20] 3

Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[21] Silver 200,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Myers, Ben (May 26, 2005). Green Day - American Idiots & The New Punk Explosion. John Blake. ISBN 9781784189433. Archived from the original on April 9, 2023. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  2. ^ Sacher, Andrew. "unpopular opinion: Green Day's 'Insomniac' is their best album". Brooklyn Vegan. Archived from the original on April 29, 2022. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  3. ^ "20 Essential Green Day Hits". Fuse. Archived from the original on 2015-10-02. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
  4. ^ "The 96 Best Alternative Rock Songs of 1996". SPIN Magazine. August 31, 2016. Archived from the original on August 8, 2019. Retrieved August 8, 2019.
  5. ^ Richin, Leslie (April 12, 2016). "20 Alternative Rock Music Videos Turning 20 in 2016". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 7, 2021. Retrieved April 23, 2022.
  6. ^ Miller, Ted (28 October 2020). "Unsung Against the Mold: Green Day's Insomniac and Warning Turn 25 and 20". Rock & Roll Globe. Archived from the original on 17 January 2022. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
  7. ^ "Green Day Community". Archived from the original on 2017-08-27. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
  8. ^ "@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.
  9. ^ "The Upside Downs - Brain Stew 10 (official audio)". YouTube. 16 April 2021. Archived from the original on 2022-04-06. Retrieved 2022-04-06.
  10. ^ "K.Flay - Brain Stew (Official Audio)". YouTube. 8 December 2020. Archived from the original on 2024-01-16. Retrieved 2024-01-16.
  11. ^ "Green Day Tour Statistics | setlist.fm". www.setlist.fm. Archived from the original on 2024-01-26. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
  12. ^ "Green Day: International Supervideos! (Video 2001) - IMDb". Archived from the original on 2022-09-18. Retrieved 2020-11-13 – via www.imdb.com.
  13. ^ "Kevin Kerslake". IMDb. Archived from the original on 2008-03-27. Retrieved 2009-07-26.
  14. ^ "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles Chart – Week Ending 19 May 1996". Imgur.com (original document published by ARIA). Archived from the original on 17 March 2022. Retrieved August 11, 2017. N.B. The HP column displays the highest peak reached.
  15. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 2913." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  16. ^ "Top RPM Rock/Alternative Tracks: Issue 2883." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  17. ^ "Green Day: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  18. ^ "Green Day Chart History (Radio Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  19. ^ "Green Day Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  20. ^ "Green Day Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  21. ^ "British single certifications – Green Day – Brain Stew/Jaded". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved October 26, 2024.
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